Here is an interview with The Delicate Cycle
Interview:
What are your main inspirations as a writer/director?
My inspiration comes from people in my life, experiences I’ve had, and important issues in
my life and the world that crop up and then weave their way into a story. I’m sure many
writers are the same in that a story starts driving you forward and taking a life of its own,
and you are striving to just keep up with it and keep the pen moving. As far as being a
director, I have gotten such clear images while I am writing, that directing is a natural step
for me in the storytelling process. Instead of just sketching the story I get to put in all the
colors too.
2. And, did anything inspire The Delicate Cycle in particular?
At the heart, my film is about the delicate cycle from boy to man. The characters were
drawn from different males in my life, but from my female perspective. Different
challenges, values, strengths, weaknesses and a passing of the baton from a man to a
boy. In many ways my adult character Lance provides a male mentorship for the
12-year-old boy Adam, in the condensed time of doing a load of laundry. I thought that
would be an interesting creative challenge for me. That, and I used to ride my bicycle
past a certain laundromat in Santa Monica every day, and started thinking about what
kind of people might strike up a friendship in the odd atmosphere of a laundromat. In
fact, the film opens with someone riding a bicycle past the laundromat.
3. What else can you tell us about the movie, and is there a particular message that you
wanted to get across to viewers?
My film is a quirky comedy with a subtle dramatic theme about reconnection in broken
relationships. My message is to look past the surface-people may be odd, flawed or have
made mistakes-but they still could offer friendship and you can always try again. There’s
a trick quarter in the film-there is a message that tricks are fun but at the end of the day
authenticity is even better.
4. How would you say that the movie stands apart from others? What makes it unique?
There are no jump cuts or exciting action scenes-it’s a relationship between a man and a
boy, with a woman (Anita) doing her laundry that serves as the eyes of the audience. It
has a throwback feel in the setting as well-I think that laundromat was built in the late ‘70s
and hasn’t seen an update, as well as a pay phone. The idea is to send you to a different
time where people connected any old place, and without screens. We should try it.
5. If you weren’t working on movies, what would you be doing today?
I had an idea to be a foreign service officer-I love languages and I was thrilled at the idea
of the government paying me to learn languages and travel the world.
6. What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create
movies?
Find a good story with a well-written script-either create it yourself or find a screenwriter.
I’ve run into so many people in the indie world who think they are going to make up the
story as they go, or use mostly improv, because they are very into cameras. You need a
camera, but you need a well-written script more. Then team up with really good people,
likely people who have a different skillset than you do. I tried to wear so many hats when I
was producing stageplays, and although I had to do that and I’m proud of it, I wouldn’t
recommend it. Working with a qualified team is way, way better. And just plan as much as
you can and then stay flexible and adaptable-because there will be curveballs. And then
just learn with each new experience and don’t forget to celebrate your efforts!
