Failed State

FAILED STATE is a Mel Brooks infused spy-ziety set in the backwash of Hollywood development where two hapless writers will do anything to protect the true narrative of FAILED STATE from the top-secret cabal of Hollywood / CIA and the chaos of our times. We prioritized a sense of uncompromising joy to fuel us in what turned out to be quite an "experimental" process.

Because we knew we were limited in terms of budget and didn’t want to overreach and make anything appear cheap, I designed the film to be a total sonic experience. During brain storm sessions in post, we came up with the image of a house band scoring it “live” as if they were just off stage and part of the cast. We wanted the audience to imagine the feeling you might have had watching world class comedic improvisers AND jazz cats in a little club. All along, we were steered by a can–do, punk rock spirit that guided each of our nine days of P.P. Yes, I said nine! Oh, and none of those nine days, except one, went longer than five hours. I read how Goddard created New Wave and approached each shooting day for Breathless and was like…Hmm, lets try that!

So, we did. But I knew two things. Don’t skimp on sound and choose the right project. Because this was to be my debut feature film, I knew I needed a story that could stand up to learning on the job. That was not a precious darling. So, I deliberately chose this wild, surrealistic cabaret from my catalogue of plays to be the first. What we learned it wanted to be during the editing process was that its true identity was a love letter, a wake-up call, and a requiem for Hollywood...and maybe for truth in general.

And what are its origins? Well, funny you should ask. The whole thing began during a real failed pitch ( so meta) where I was told that our “coming of age spy thriller set in an after-school program in DC” was like the REAL idea sharing committee between Pentagon Intelligence and Hollywood. Literally, what I heard during a real pitch. I picked my jaw up off the floor and said "that's a terrible idea." It was that moment when I saw the whole story. Then it was just a matter of accessing inner spirit animal ( Mel Brooks).

So, after years of stalling out on the one yard line with studio TV pitches, I decided to pick up the phone and use it. To make a movie! Yes, we shot it on a phone. But before that, I had to make one call - my tax preparer friend. I told her I wanted to make a feature film. Her answer was simple. No. “Matt, I love you, but it’s just too much to start an LLC, no one is investing right now, blah blah blah, and California tax law…”

Refusing to be dismayed, I said, "okay, what do I gotta to do?"

She paused, got real serious, then said, "the only way you can make this movie called FAILED STATE is if you pretend to be a bunch of teenagers playing with like a camcorder."

So that is what we did. And then slowly we became more organized. Guided by gratitude and fearlessness that we were simply making something fun with our friends, like Clerks and Swingers. And Jim J does. Each month, I would get enough money to do another day. Even though everyone was a lifelong friend, we paid everyone and I am very proud of that. And slowly slowly - this emerged. I’d tell ya how we almost lost our whole sound at picture lock, or had a sprinkler dump water on our field recorder, but that is a story for another day. Thanks for reading. And thank you for reviewing. And thanks for keeping a light on for us true believers, pirates, and lifelong film geeks trying to change the system from within, one film at a time.