Fran Kranz Talks Murder of a Cat, Performing on Broadway and More

Collider

Fran Kranz Talks MURDER OF A CAT, the Bizarre and Clever Script, the Crazy Things He’s Seen in the Audience While Peforming on Stage and More

By Perri Nemiroff

Published Dec 5, 2014

Fran Kranz talks Murder of a Cat, the film's bizarre and clever script, the crazy things he’s seen in the audience while doing Broadway shows and more.

I’ve got no problem seeing human beings get torn apart in horror movies, but if you harm just one hair on a cat or dog’s head, I can’t handle it. However, Fran Kranz’s new comedy is an exception. Normally I’d opt out soon after learning that the movie follows what happens when Kranz’s character, Clinton, finds his beloved cat Mouser dead in the street with an arrow lodged in him, but there was enough fun to be had with Murder of a Cat to get me to deal with it and appreciate his wacky yet heartfelt mission to track down Mouser’s killer.

With Murder of a Cat hitting VOD platforms, iTunes and select theaters on December 5th, I got the opportunity to sit down with Kranz to talk about his experience making the film. He discussed his first impression of the script, playing such an unlikable character, the challenge of keeping Clinton consistent after he goes through a major style transformation, the strange things he’s spotted in the audience during performances of Death of a Salesman and You Can’t Take It With You, and loads more. Catch it all in the video interview after the jump.

Fran Kranz:

00:00 - On doing theater versus film; giving 110% throughout a two and a half hour performance.
00:38 - Looking at people in the audience while he’s performing.
01:19 - The weirdest things he’s seen in the audience while on stage.
03:24 - When he thought he walked out on stage with his cell phone in his pocket during a performance of Death of a Salesman.
04:09 - On my issue seeing animals hurt in movies.
05:00 - His first impression of the title, Murder of a Cat.
05:33 - How the material changed during production; the bizarre and funny nature of the film.
06:50 - His first impression of the script.
07:28 - On the comparison to Little Miss Sunshine.
07:55 - Figuring out who Clinton is; getting inspiration from A Confederacy of Dunces’ Ignatius Reilly.
09:55 - How people can relate to Clinton.
10:22 - Clinton’s backstory.
11:22 - On Clinton being an elitist but for no reason.
12:12 - Keeping the character consistent after Clinton drastically changes his look.
14:50 - How the production challenges affected his work.