David Black chats to Scott Day about his upcoming feature film, Wanda and Sully.
Scott Day
DB – Hi Scott, can you tell what Wanda and Sully is about?
SD – Okay, so in essence Wanda & Sully is about two teenagers, scholarly and social Wanda, and anarchistic, edgy Sully, who begin investigating the student representative council leader's affairs when Sully suspects he's involved with an embezzling scheme.
Scott Day and Nick Owens
DB – Before making Wanda and Sully, I believe that you’ve got a bit of a background in film, including releasing an animated short called “Everyone’s a Robot” while you were still studying? Can you tell us a bit about your experience leading up to making Wanda and Sully?
SD – Well, to answer your second question, I graduated from high school in 2013 and immediately started attending Swinburne's Bachelor of Film and Television course for a year before realizing I didn't enjoy it. It was a good course for gaffers and DOPs, but it wasn't for me, who mainly wants to write and produce. I made some connections from the course, however, and decided to make Everyone's a Robot in 2016 with a few of those connections I met in the animation department. I also reconnected with Molly Daniels, who also attended the Swinburne course and left for similar reasons, so she could voice the lead female character in ‘Everyone's a Robot’.
Callum Gault as Eugene Lemon
DB – One of the most vital things in pre production for a feature film is choosing the right crew. Can you tell us a bit about your choices there?
SD – Definitely, we had an amazing crew. Tegan Rodgers is an incredible 1st AD, Tim Smith (who worked on Rostered On) was on sound duties and nailed it, and Darby Maxwell is a visionary DOP. Dia Taylor and Mike Fajgman were also amazing producers who kept up with the demanding shoot. Matt Williams, although new to the directing game, also managed to get incredible performances from our already talented cast. It was a great shoot because everyone was on top of things. Glen Cook, who was the gaffer on our film, was also fantastic. He, Darby, Best Boy Grace Attridge and our production designer Eryn Hilditch really made Wanda & Sully visually unique and I can’t thank them enough for it. They all did an incredible job and I definitely lucked out with the crew.
Mieke Billing-Smith as Wanda
DB – Of course, a film isn’t a film without actors. Who are your main actors and what do you feel that each brought to the film?
SD – Where do I begin? Grant Young was incredible as Sully, and brought an energy and enthusiasm to the role which I found infectious. Mieke Billing-Smith was also incredible as Wanda, the voice of reason. I loved everyone in our cast, especially Callum Gault as Eugene Lemon, who is hilarious and I hope people cast him in more comedy roles after this because he’s perfect for the genre.
Grant Young as Sully
DB – Scott, there are many feature films that come out in the local indie film industry every year. Many are soon forgotten. Can you tell me what makes Wanda and Sully so special and why people should watch it?
SD – Wanda & Sully is unique because it blends genres together in a way that’s never been seen before. It’s a pastiche of Aaron Sorkin and Dan Harmon television shows in film form. It’s like if Alexander Payne’s Election and NBC’s Community had a love child, it was raised by David Fincher’s The Social Network and Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, its favourite movies was All the President’s Men and favourite TV shows were The West Wing and Community.
DB – Scott … you have me sold! When is your film coming out and where can our readers see it?
SD – Well, we’re currently looking for a distributor, so I can’t tell you when it’s coming out quite yet, but when we do get a distributor, it should come out sometime next year.
DB – Can I get some links so that people can follow your work Scott?