by Holly Grigg-Spall
Alex Karpovsky is best known for his performance as Ray, the grumpy barista in HBO’s Girls, and perhaps for his forthcoming role in the much-hyped Coen Brother’s Inside Llewyn Davis, but he’s also a prolific filmmaker with five features he’s directed, four of which he also produced and wrote, and three he also starred in. His most recent releases are Red Flag and Rubberneck for which he took on all four roles.
Alexis Karpovsky
HOLLY GRIGG-SPALL: What stops people from doing what you’ve been doing so well—writing, directing, producing and acting at the same time to get projects made?
ALEX KARPOVSKY: Fear. I think we come across this a lot in the arts. Fear of criticism, of success, of vulnerability and exposure, of sharing. I think that’s the underlying reason why people don’t do what they want to do.
GRIGG-SPALL: You are such a prolific filmmaker—do you enjoy the process more than the finished product, and is that what drives you to keep creating?
KARPOVSKY: It’s hard to generalize, because the process is so different and so varied. Filmmaking is so multi-faceted, especially if you’re a writer-director. It starts out very solitary, just you and your laptop for many months. Then slowly, as pre-production gains momentum, it becomes collaborative. Then with production it’s a fullon war, and it’s hectic, and chaotic, and thrilling and exhilarating. Then you are back alone with your editor again. As soon as I get sick of one stage, there’s always another waiting for me. Any one part of the process is nice because of the existence of the others.
Alex Karpovsky in Red Flag
GRIGG-SPALL: Is playing all the roles yourself easier than trying to work with other people or a studio?
KARPOVSKY: There are positives and negatives. I like that I have control, and I don’t need to compromise creatively with anyone. I have control over the timing and don’t have to wait around for permission or money. I can do something on a shoestring budget when I’m ready, which is empowering. I’ve tried to make movies with larger budgets and I’ve not had much success, so this is not all choice, there are definitely circumstantial issues here.
GRIGG-SPALL: Have you learned any strategies that you now employ to save money?
KARPOVSKY: I feel like outside of New York, and probably outside of LA—well, the last movie I made was in the South, and I’ve made one in Arkansas and in Minnesota—I find that the people outside of the major cities are quite nice and open-minded. If you approach them in a way that is genuine and nice, they will give that back to you and be generous with their time and resources. In terms of getting locations, resources, cast and equipment, you can get that for little or no money if you have the right attitude. I didn’t know that would be the case until I started doing this. Sometimes I’m working on other people’s independent movies and see they shell out a lot for locations, and I wonder if they have really asked around. If they ask five nightclub owners, one or two might say, “Yes,” for free, just because they believe in filmmaking.
Alex Karpovsky in Red Flag
GRIGG-SPALL: Do perceived rules and patterns for making a movie hamper low-budget productions?
KARPOVSKY: Some rules are necessary. The process of making a movie is Herculean in nature and tests every part of you. It can break you. But people have a lot of fear of the unknown and so they rely on convention. “Other people have done it, so I feel like I should do it.” Some conventions are necessary and some you can work around. A lot are designed for bigger machines and bigger infrastructures. If you have the luxury to go through the process with a more-experienced producer, the learning curve will be much easier.
GRIGG-SPALL: You made Red Flag while you were touring with a documentary you had made previously across the South, screening that film in small theaters. Does filmmaking come naturally to you as a creative outlet?
Promotional art for Red Flag
KARPOVSKY: I wouldn’t say it’s second nature, I just try to be spontaneous and impulsive. I try to keep an open mind to creation, and not over-think it at times. I enjoy making movies. To me, it’s fun. I like collaborating. I like how the movie can live forever, unlike theater, which is so ephemeral and once it has gone, it’s gone. I like how special film is, and how it allows me to express myself creatively in a variety of different perspectives, writing, directing and producing—all at the same time. I’m not talented in any other area of the universe, I’m not good at a musical instrument, I can’t do athletics, this is what’s left.
GRIGG-SPALL: How do you find people you enjoy collaborating with, and do you work with the same people on every project?
KARPOVSKY: Film is a very collaborative medium and you rely on a network of favors and dependencies. There’s a great community here in New York and also in Austin where I used to live. I have often held a boom for someone and in return I’ve acted in their movie, or I’ve let them have my station wagon for a few days. We need that to stretch the dollar out. It’s more DIC than DIY—Do It With the Community.
GRIGG-SPALL: How do you know when you’re finished with a project?
KARPOVSKY: I’m a big believer of testing. I test them rigorously with audiences. I can figure out what’s working based on laughter because my movies are mostly comedies. Once people start providing me with different notes, and there’s less of an overlap with those notes, I feel I’m done with this story. There’s less of a critical chorus on the project. Usually I use a festival deadline as a way to stop working on the film though.
Jaime Ray Newman as Danielle in Rubberneck
GRIGG-SPALL: Do you have several screenplays on the go at one time?
KARPOVSKY: I have a handful of ideas I’m working on at any one time, and I work one day on the first, two days on the second and three days on the third, and there’ll be one I will be inspired to make sooner rather than later. I will end up taking that one into the cave to complete it.
GRIGG-SPALL: How do you get people to see the movies you’ve made?
KARPOVSKY: The state of these new digital distribution streams is still not resolved. But it’s nice that it is so niche-based now. People who are interested in a genre or a person can access that work regardless of whether it’s come through corporate channels. I think it helps interesting and personal stories emerge because you don’t have to please the lowest common denominator. I toured my documentary Woodpecker with South Arts, an organization that brings movies to theatres in the Southern states and includes a Q&A after each screening (http://www.southarts.org).
Alex Karpovsky
If you make a movie DIY I don’t think you get respect unless it plays at a film festival and gets decent word-of-mouth going. In between the finished work and the distributor are the festivals, and it’s where all my friends see movies. The festivals are still very competitive. There’s a gatekeeper, and I’m glad there is, because there’s so much out there it’s good to have something to tell us what is worth seeing and what is not. Of course they make mistakes and it’s not always a meritocracy, but it’s the best filter we have. Tribeca Film distributed both Rubberneck and Red Flag after festival screenings, with simultaneous theater and VOD releases.
