- Sound speeding. Do you mind just slating this for me however you like?
- Ahhhhhhh.
- There ya go.
- Hello, everybody. I'm Alex Wolff.
My film "The Cat And The Moon" is out now.
We're going to break down some scenes.
We're gonna draw on some faces.
And also I just ate a bunch of pastry, so I'm feeling good.
Let's do this.
"- We're here with Alex Wolff.
- Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise Alex Wolff.
- First met Alex Wolff as an adorable little boy on Nickelodeon.
- A little bite, unless you want me to.
- He's filling up IMBD with films my friend "My Friend Dahmer",
"Patriot Day", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2",
and now this "Jumanji" movie.
- Jumanji.
- This is your feature film directorial debut.
- The movie is "The Cat And The Moon."
- You wrote this, you directed it, you produce it, you compose music.
- That was like the most rewarding experience in my life.
My character goes through a tough road.
He comes to New York to stay with this older jazz musician
while his mother is treated in rehab facility.
And while he's there he meets this group of friends
who take him around the city
and show him what it has to offer
and it gets pretty wild and crazy.
And he has a kind of a tumultuous journey
to processing his really tough life at this moment in time.
As a first-time director,
I just wanted to make a movie about young people
that took young people seriously.
I'd wanted to express some need I had inside of me to tell the story.
"- We have so much time for all the other serious stuff.
But for now I...
...I just want to be."
- I was very very involved in the business and producing
and I was cold calling people to ask for money every day.
And for a five years, I was going into meetings by myself and pitching the script
and people telling me every single thing that was wrong with me.
And that was the hardest part.
Getting anybody to take you seriously and the heart-wrenching reality
that your movie is not as important
to everybody else's as it is to you.
At a certain point, I just said,
I will do literally anything to make this movie.
Boots on the ground, every day calling people
and just begging them.
Can we use your house, please?
"- What you think?
You like?
- Yeah, it's cool. Thanks."
- Okay, so I got my little pen here.
"- This one's voice, Sheamus."
This is one of my favorite moments in the movie
and I was like, you know, just to get in the zone,
let's just have you like freestyle rap for us.
"- I'm reckless. Buy you hoe a necklace.
I wreck chicks."
- To me this scene encapsulates the movie
where we see the thin line
between people just hanging out, having fun, to,
okay, there's some emotional turmoil going on with our lead character.
"- So, whose spot is this, man? It's super nice.
- Um, I'm staying with my dad's, like, old friend right now."
- With this frame, it was important to me to have a group of people
and lots of different things going on
and then watching it change within the frame.
My favorite movies, it's always like,
you're watching a lot of different things having a scene
and then you watch them change.
Like my favorite thing is watching a frame within a frame.
"- So you definitely need to get that last."
- Because it was very interesting to me to see this dynamic
where Nick is sort of uncomfortable, by what's going on here.
He would rather be involved
in what's going on here with him.
And Seamus is kind of like giving a line drive to him about this whole conversation.
"- I mean... so, he was... he used to play with my dad in, like, a band.
He's, like, a musician so."
- I recommend you watch all movies.
I recommend that you steal from all movies.
I watch them and I was like, I don't know if I can do that,
but if that's what I want to chase.
Okay, we're going to talk about this scene
which is the introduction into the hotel.
The boys make the conscious effort to bury the trauma,
they've just experienced.
"- And how about that?"
- By going to this party and trying to have fun.
♪ ♪
This scene.
I wanted you to feel the progression and that
a party, it can be a huge stepping stone in your adult life.
And so I wanted to just follow him in.
I just wanted this kinetic shot of what it actually feels
like to go on a party and then as it progresses,
we're inside the party.
One of the things that I find that in party scenes the background
is just sometimes just like.
You know.
So I gave every single person a specific partner.
I was like, okay, you're with him
like you're boyfriend and girlfriend.
There's one part where girls like with a champagne glass doing some,
you know crazy thing in the champagne glass.
And she was just doing that,
I was like, can you do that in this next shot?
And then I had this girl say,
Cameron, Cameron, I need your help, and walking by.
These are all little details,
but I had to make it feel like a party.
And so between takes,
we would just play music and I'd get people dancing
because people are nervous, people are super shy.
And I did give the illusion like it was a big party
but inside I was having an anxiety attack.
Oh my God, how are we going to make it? It's two in the morning.
But you have to do that.
You have to keep it fun.
♪ ♪
This scene is the beginning of a really intense downward spiral.
Basically, Nick is having this breakdown.
He's been on this awkward double date with Eliza and Sheamus.
He's madly in love with Eliza.
He's never talked about his dad's death really to anybody
and he's talked about it with Eliza.
"- Don't be sorry. - It's so stupid."
And here she is with this other guy and this guy that he really likes this friend,
even though he knows he's cheating on her.
I wanted to basically take all this chaos
and then just...
...just put it all in one taxi cab.
"- Sir, um.
Can we pull over the cab right now?
- Sir, it's a green light.
(inaudible)
- Pull over the fucking cab! Pull over the fucking cab!
(inaudible)."
- This is the last scene we shot the movie.
It was a full-blown nightmare.
The cab was like eight times smaller than I expected.
We were all piled in there
and we had to keep separating the scene.
We did my coverage first.
Which has Lola in the car with me.
Eliza and Sheamus were not in the car.
There was supposed to be breakaway glass or something there.
We ended up having that's real,
like that crazy material that's in the cabs
that hurt so bad.
Every single one of my knuckles was split open
with like my skin peeling.
I think if you're a director and are going to direct a movie,
my personal advice is that you should go to an acting class
and you should at least know what it's like to be
on the stage or on camera.
They're not that different. They shouldn't be.
I think when directing is really amazing,
they're working together.
They're working in tandem.
My advice to people who want to make a film,
make short films first.
I have a few that are so bad.
Like truly unwatchable terrible shorts,
but I finished them.
I kind of kept this weird thing where I'm like,
you know what that was terrible,
but I'd like have to do it again,
I have to make it a little less terrible and a little less terrible.
And as you keep doing that
finally I felt the confidence to make this film.
The world right now is built on trying to make young filmmakers feel
like their film doesn't matter.
You know, only Quentin Tarantino matters.
They're going to go well. This doesn't have this and it doesn't have this
and you don't have a star and you don't have
and that you don't have money.
And I guess my thing is just don't let anybody tell you
that you can't make the movie
because the worst that happens is you made a movie.
You know, even if it's terrible or if it wins best picture
you made the movie
and that is ahead of so many other people.
Just do it.
Like Shia says.
"- Just do it!"
- And he's right.
"- What do you waiting for?
Do it!"
- Hey, everybody.
So that's my discussion
about my first film "The Cat And The Moon."
I would love if you comment below your favorite first films from some directors.
And if there's three films that come to mind
that remind you of "Cat And The Moon" that you think of.
Thank you and comment below.
And come to my house later, we're having a party.
" - Just do it.
Yes, you can."