David Wain Interview: The Ten
David Wain, the comedic mastermind behind Wet Hot American Summer and Stella will be releasing his latest project, The Ten this summer through Think Film. The Ten is a series of overlapping stories, each representing one of the ten commandments. I caught an early screening of the flick, and can safely say this is the funniest movie you will ever see. Go in with high hopes - - you'll be satisfied. The talented David Wain sat down with FreeIndie for the below interview.
David, thanks for doing this. So, since we are mainly a music website, I have to get this out of the way. What bands are you listening to right now? What's your favorite NYC rock venue?
I love The Hold Steady - wow. Also Craig Wedren (although I'm biased). Rock venue... let's see... Fez? CBGB? Village Gate? Bottom Line? Brownies? I guess all my favorite places have closed.
Shame, huh. Ok, about your movie. The Ten is the funniest movie I've seen in a long time. How long did it take you to write? To film?
The first draft was written in six days but we revised and rewrote on and off over a couple of years. The filming was 28 days (4 in Mexico, 2 in LA, the rest in New York City).
The film has a strong religious theme. Do you go to temple? Hold Sabbath? Eat pigs?
I like going to temple, sometimes, but I don't go too often. But I did get bar mitzva'd and and I did go to jewish camp where we had lovely shabbats. I do eat pigs, sometimes. Mainly in the form of ham & cheese.
The Ten has an unbelievable cast. How were you able to get so many big actors on your limited budget?
We offered them something better than money: diamonds. No but seriously, we offered them rubies. Of course I'm kidding. The truth is we offered them platinum.
Fancy. The mainstream comedy world seems to revolve around the Will Ferrell-centric Frat-Pack. You tend to use many of the same people in your movies. Do you think your group fits into this clique, or stands as an independent?
I think we are a distant relation but farily removed from that clique - the clicque that I'm a part of I guess started for me with The State, and has expanded to include Paul Rudd, Zak Orth, A. D. Miles and others.
The Ten was made without the support of a major film studio. Do you think this allowed you to create a more authentic product?
Without question. There's no way in hell any studio would have made any scene in The Ten - same with Wet Hot American Summer. I never thought I'd have that kind of freedom again with a second feature film and am so grateful to have been able to. I think people respond to the humor because it comes from a specific personal POV (in this case me and Ken Marino) instead of jokes by committee, playing to the focus groups.
What's a bigger sacrifice: the control you lose when you're working with a major studio, or the budget you lack when working as an independent.
Budgetary issues are always there no matter what size you're working at. Of course there were millions of compromises we made on The Ten because of the budget. But so often necessity is the mother of invention and you come up with a cooler, more elegant solution to something. Also because of the short shooting schedule you move really fast and have to work from instinct instead of just covering every option. I certainly look forward to having more money in future films - so as not to rush so much, mainly.
What are you're upcoming projects?
I'm developing a bunch of films, including SENIORS written by Jon Zack and several new TV and film projects with Ken Marino.
When will The Ten be in theaters?
August 3rd! TheTenMovie.com.