One of my favorite films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival was first time directors Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul’s dramedy The D Train. The movie stars Jack Black as a desperate man trying to organize a high school reunion who courts a former classmate (James Marsden) in the hopes that his celebrity (he starred in a national commercial) may be enough to draw in other alums. While I could go into the specifics of why you should seek out this movie, I’d be giving away some of the film's secrets. Just trust me when I say The D Train is a great twist on the typical high school reunion movie and it’s worth your time and money. It also stars Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer, Henry Zebrowski, and Russell Posner. The film opens in limited release this weekend.
At the Los Angeles press day I landed an exclusive video interview with Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul. They talked about the genesis of the story, making the film in only 22 days, their first cut, casting Jack Black, not spoiling the movie in the trailer, future projects, and more.
Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul:
- 0:32 – The genesis of the story.
- 1:31 – Straying true to their original idea and the reality of the story.
- 2:18 – How they made the film in 22 days.
- 3:08 – What they learned through the process of making the movie.
- 3:48 – The length of the first cut compared to the finished film.
- 4:08 – The amount of deleted scenes versus tightening up the picture.
- 4:29 – How Jack Black was the actor they wanted to land the most.
- 5:10 – Their writing process.
- 5:58 – What they remember about premiering their movie at Sundance.
- 6:50 – Their involvement in cutting the trailer to avoid spoilers.
- 7:13 – Future projects.
