Interview: Director and Writers Matt Kane and Marc Underhill Discuss Creating, “Auggie”
By Lisa D. DeNeal
In the new movie,“Auggie,” veteran actor Richard Kind (‘Mad About You,’ ‘Argo,’ ‘Gotham’)plays Felix Greystone, an architect forced into early retirement. Felix’s angst as a retiree increases as he feels isolated from his career-driven wife Anne (Susan Blackwell) and daughter, Grace (Simone Policano), who moves in with her boyfriend.
Felix’s life changes after he uses his retirement send-off gift; a pair of augmented reality smart glasses that subconsciously creates a perfect human companion once he wears them. Model and actress Christen Harper plays Auggie and Felix’s feelings for her causes problems with his family.
“Auggie” has been the official selection of various 2019 film festivals including Newport Beach, Beverly Hills, SoHo International, and Greenwich International. “Auggie” was written by two friends, Matt Kane and Marc Underhill. Kane was the director and Underhill served as the film’s producer. Kane is an award-winning actor and director with dual UK/US citizenship and is currently based out of Los Angeles. Underhill is from Fairfield, CT and his acting credits include, ABC’s “Scandal,” and the film,“The Blackout.” Kane and Underhill are co-founders of Thundercane Productions.
Lisa D. DeNeal: First of all, I really enjoyed, “Auggie.” Without giving anything away, I was tickled at the plot twists and the ending.
Matt Kane and Marc Underhill: (Laughter). Oh, yeah! Thank you!
DeNeal: Matt, is this your first film as a director? Is it the first film you and Marc written as a team?
Kane: We’ve made a couple of short films together, but, yeah, this is our first full-length feature together.
DeNeal: How did the concept for “Auggie” come about?
Underhill: This film has been in the works for over three years, from the initial idea to festival screenings. The initial idea for “Auggie” was…we live in Los Angeles, and dating is hard and can feel quite lonely. You’re trying all of these dating apps, swiping your phone trying to meet new people, and it feels cold, sometimes. I thought that we’d make a film that was a rumination on loneliness, and how technology might sometimes serve that in terms of gratification. So the idea was to use an element reality of technology to fill that void of loneliness. We decided to use augmented reality in smart glasses to create a companion. I talked to Matt about the idea and he liked it. He also had a way to sculpt the idea and make it cool.
Kane: We wanted to look at this type of technology and how it will have an impact on people who are well established in their relationships, especially in a marriage. In this case we have someone going into retirement, and this is a vulnerable chapter in his life.
DeNeal: “Auggie” touches on loneliness and distractions from reality. You have cell phones and gaming systems and people become hermits, couch potatoes and isolated.
Kane and Underhill: Yes, exactly.
DeNeal: We know Smart glasses with augmented reality exists. We can look up data, see photos, videos, and so forth. That said, do you believe one day we will be able to experience what Felix does?
Kane: We’re not necessarily saying that our film is a cautionary tale of how this type of technology will isolate human contact. Like you said, we’ve seen how people can become attached to their cell phones and video games. I am sometimes guilty of being too attached to my phone, and I step away from it once I realize what I’m doing. I think as technology becomes increasingly more accessible, more engaging, and when emotional components become personified like in our film that it could happen. I’m sure when it does happen, some people will fall into the rabbit hole and become attached to it. I think people of various ages will become susceptible to enhanced AR like Auggie. Older people like Felix’s character are the perfect demographic for this type of technology. He is someone who is lonely and doesn’t know what to do with himself. Some people in that age demographic who are not comfortable with technology. It would be the perfect product because it would be user-friendly. You can put this in front of your face and around your eyes and your subconscious projects what you want to see. I imagine we are a decent way off from having glasses like Felix. But it seems to be around the helm of possibilities.
Underhill: Every technological revolution, there will be people saying that this is the apocalypse, and it will ruin humanity. And others will say it has the power to connect people, much like social media. The Internet has a lot of bad things, but it’s also done a lot of great things for people and society. It’s not about whether this is good or bad, but more like how will you use it and the effect it will have.
DeNeal: Exactly! While watching “Auggie” I thought about how AR can be a benefit to those who suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Being that their minds are stuck in the past most of the time.
Kane: Yes, that would ease loneliness and bring some comfort.
DeNeal: Were the scenes between Richard and Christen where you’d only see ‘Felix’ and hear, ‘Auggie,’ shot with them together or separately?
Kane: We had them together on set. We had such a short and tight schedule, we shot “Auggie” in twelve days. Luckily for us, Richard and Christen were available for the entire shoot. Both were gracious to be off-camera for the times one needed to be on-camera to deliver his or her lines. It made our jobs much easier.
DeNeal: And where was “Auggie” shot?
Underhill: In Fairfield, Connecticut, which is my hometown. Felix’s house, is my childhood home, which makes this film very special.
DeNeal: Wow!
Underhill: We flew a L.A. crew to Connecticut, with help from some friends who wanted to be a part of the project. The first floor of the house was basically all set, and the second floor was sleeping camp. We had 15 people sleeping in our house, so it was special. I don’t believe something like that has happened. We shot at various locations in Fairfield, including the cafe where I used to hang out when I was in high school. We worked with the Parks & Recreations Department to shoot at the beach, the downtown area and the gazebo. Fairfield truly opened their doors to us. The neighbors were supportive, so it was a cool thing.
DeNeal: It’s a nice house!
Underhill: [Laughs]. Thank you! I’ve always loved that house. My parents were so gracious and excited to be a part of the film, and to allowed us to use the house…it was very generous of them.
DeNeal: Indeed! I am a huge fan of Richard Kind. How did you get him on board?
Kane: We were very lucky to get him. Our fabulous casting director, Alice Merlin, sent the scripts to various agencies and managers. Richard’s manager called us Richard might be interested, and asked if we would be interested in Richard playing the character. He read the script fairly quickly. He read it on a weekend and by Monday, he was on board.
DeNeal: What was it like to direct him?
Kane: It was a wonderful experience. He is so experienced and, professional. When you have as much experience as someone like Richard, it’s like clock work. He doesn’t have a bad moment. I was 27 years old when I directed Richard, and, this is an actor who has worked with some incredible Hollywood directors over the years. He was very open to what I was trying to create, and that alone was wonderful.
DeNeal: Christen Harper as Auggie was a perfect fit opposite Felix. I thought of films like, ‘American Beauty,’ and ‘Lolita.’ Were either those films or others, inspiration behind their story in your film?
Kane: We wanted ‘Auggie’ to be an ageless quality, that she would be significantly younger than Felix, but not to the point that it’s creepy. But there is some discomfort as viewers will see in the film. What Christen does so well is she doesn’t lead with a seductive energy, but a kind and open, generous ear for him. She was a friend to Felix.
DeNeal: If you received a pair of these glasses…would you wear them?
Kane: I would be scared to use them at first. [Laughs].
Underhill: I think it would be best to not sneakingly wear them. Maybe have a talk about it before trying them on.
DeNeal: How was the reception from the audience at film festival screenings?
Kane: We were very please to find out during the Q&A, people wanted to talk about technology, communications and relationships. It was an open space to talk about relationships and loneliness. We hope this continues to be a broader discussion.
“Auggie,” is distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films, in association with Myriad Pictures. “Auggie” opens in theaters and is available on VOD, September 20. Visit www.auggiemovie.com for more information.
