The Making-Of

I talked to Alex Oesterling, an aspiring director. He's worked on multiple movies during school and were loved by many students. So, he took it more serious after graduation. Now, a self-taught movie maker, he's almost finished with his directorial debut. 

What is City of Stars?

Describe your show in a few sentences here. (Also insert Podcast Artwork below.)

Unknown Speaker 0:00
You're listening to local programming produced in K, u and v studios.

Unknown Speaker 0:09
Hey, this is Ruben with the City of Stars podcast. Here I'm interviewing up and coming artists in the Las Vegas music scene. Let's get into today's episode

Unknown Speaker 0:27
Welcome to the fifth episode of cities stores today I am joined by a very, very, very, very, very special guest, my brother, Alex.

Unknown Speaker 0:35
Hey, man, thanks for having me. Here. This is pretty cool. Thanks, dude.

Unknown Speaker 0:40
How are you?

Unknown Speaker 0:42
I'm good. Thank you for asking. I'm just working on my new project. Working. That's about it. Not much going on right now.

Unknown Speaker 0:54
What are you working on?

Unknown Speaker 0:56
I'm working on a screenplay for a short film. It's kinda like, knives out. It's this murder mystery with this ensemble of colorful characters. Yeah, I don't want to spoil too much. I'm still working on it. I'm getting there.

Unknown Speaker 1:11
Ooh, you're working on it. Yeah. Rollin.

Unknown Speaker 1:14
Rollin. What? In the discret?

Unknown Speaker 1:18
Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:19
I mean, I, I'm just creating the world and the conflicts and the characters. I'm trying to fit all of that into one story. I want to be suspenseful, I want to be mysterious and predictable, kind of funny, a little dark. So as a

Unknown Speaker 1:40
screenwriter, what's one of the more important things you need to focus on.

Unknown Speaker 1:45
Um, it's always serving the story. You don't want to get too lost in the world, or the characters or even the genres you're trying to mimic. You always want to focus on the plot how each event should occur. And try keep it together and focused. I think it's very easy to get distracted with all this emerging details. And you want to keep exploring more and more element of the story, but you need to focus and serve something people can watch.

Unknown Speaker 2:31
Beautiful, you know, I mean, you ran a lot of movies before. What have you learned over the years? Well, rival

Unknown Speaker 2:40
films, it's very different. Because you need to realize you're going to collaborate with other people. It's not like you're writing a book, or like a poem. You need to expect feedback from directors and actors, and sometimes even have to work with other writers who are working on the project. So the most important thing is to not get so attached to like your most perfect draft, because it's probably going to change in the filmmaking process. There is so much that goes into making a movie, the script is essential, but it it will need to change because you're going to face different issues and conundrums once the movie is actually being made.

Unknown Speaker 3:30
Okay. Can you tell me a lesson or earlier projects you wrote for?

Unknown Speaker 3:36
Um, so I've done like, I've done short films, I was exploring, directing and acting and a lot of different things before I focused on writing specifically. So I did, I submitted for a few, you know, young adult film festivals. I worked on a lot of film projects in high school and college. nothing groundbreaking, just, you know, whatever interesting idea I had in my head. I would try to make it for like, you know, maybe like a 10 minute project. And I never liked it. Amy. Real big film. Yeah. So I'm just kind of I'm in the process of working on bigger projects.

Unknown Speaker 4:28
Well, how about the phenomenal movies? That was groundbreaking Vegas school?

Unknown Speaker 4:33
Oh, okay. So you're talking about my old high school film series? Yeah. Yeah. So, to give context. I had a theater project. It was a four film project in which to get some contexts. Phenomenal was this for film series I worked on in high school. It was a project for my theater class. And it was a story about the student who was my classmate that wanted to be a rapper. So there was this kind of underground rapper scene in the school, there'll be like after school rap battles, and there'll be rivalries, it was pretty much eight mile. But in our schools, so we got teachers and we got other classmates, and we just got like people that didn't even go to our school anymore, but we still kind of knew them. So we want them to be in the film. That was a lot of fun. Just exploring the school, filming in interesting locations. I'm getting a lot of feedback from people like they really liked it. They always want to be in the films they looked for, for the next one to come out. It was a lot of fun. It was great.

Unknown Speaker 5:53
It was so great that they premiered a last episode at the senior side show. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 5:59
so for more context, the senior slideshow is this event near the end of the year in which the teachers and the principal they show like different videos of our semester together before you know we graduate, kind of like a reminiscence premiere. And they actually showed our last film because the principal had a cameo in it. And the film, there was this montage of all the people talking about this final rap battle. Oh, man, it's gonna go down. And the principal was in that montage. He was talking to other staff about this rap battle. And for some reason, we didn't tell him to do it. But he ended up doing a freestyle at the camera. It was cool. So we kept him. And then he said, um, I'm in it. So I have to show everyone this now. And I'm like, okay, cool. So he asked, he's like, is there anything like, inappropriate? And I'm like, Nah, it's a school project. But there was I forgot. Someone dropped an F bomb at the end of the film. But it was, it was too late. It was like the last video for the slideshow. So it wasn't like they're gonna stop the whole thing. Like it was over. That guy dropped it in the film. And I Oh, no one cared. So yeah. People were giggly? Yeah. Well, I think a lot of it was the people were just so like, the people in the film are so funny. Like, that's, that's why we picked them. There's really funny people. Yeah, I think people appreciate it that the comedy, we try to put in the films. Now

Unknown Speaker 7:49
I bring that up, because I want to understand the process of how you're, you know, you guys were described. And then, you know, transferring down to screen. I think it was like a lot of like, back and forth, like rewrite stuff,

Unknown Speaker 8:02
right? Well, this was very simple, because we didn't, it's not like now I'm trying to work on stance, and I'm working on more dramatic performances, and bigger locations. This one was so much easier because we were just at school. We knew what we had. We didn't try to cast a lot of people. So it was very simple. Pretty much everything that we wrote on the script. We just used what we had. And it always worked out. We pretty much kept we kept simple. We kept simple and fun. So we tend to try to like overdo ourselves. We knew exactly what the films were going to be. And yeah, it was very easy. It wasn't too complicated. I mean, I think the only thing that kind of changed was the the editing kind of changed the pacing, and I felt like the tone of the scenes, but that made it better. Because once you start editing, you find different beats in the scenes. And you have different takes and coverages from what we filmed. And that just made the scenes a lot better. We had more to us than just like what we wrote the day before we filmed the scene. So it wasn't too challenging. It was easy, very easy to to transition.

Unknown Speaker 9:37
And now it's a little more tougher because of the higher budget.

Unknown Speaker 9:43
Yeah, well, I'm trying to be taken more serious. So I have to do big projects. I have to try to prove myself that I can actually tell bigger stories. So it takes more time and money and it takes more I'm casting to make these kinds of movies. It's not like a high school film project anymore. I'm trying to work on more real projects, like you look at it, and you're like, that's a real movie. I think that's the goal for a screenwriter is to make like a real movie. Because your agenda, you're trying to sell the script, you want to tell an exciting story, you want to tell something interesting and insightful. But if you want to work in the film industry, then you have to pitch something exciting, something that like, yeah, people want to see that. But, you know, people aren't going to watch your 10 minute short film anymore. People want to, like watch real movies. So you have to start changing your mindset when writing stories like this has to be like a real movie, like this has to be something that director and all the actors and all the art departments can get behind on. So that's the new that's the new analyse challenge. Like it's a burden, but i It's the new like, it's like a new mindset. You know, I don't know if that makes sense. But it's definitely legs, it's, it's, you're no longer writing for yourself, or even for a couple friends, like you're writing for strangers, very talented, and cool people. But you know, they don't know you, like, you know, you know, working on this film project to like, get a grade, you're like working on this, because you believe in it. You're passionate in your form. And you really want to make it for other people to see. Because, you know, that's why actors and directors do what they do. You know, like, they want to be taken serious, and they don't just want to be like, artists isn't, you know, in their homes, like they want to go out in the world and share what they have for other people. Like, that's the ultimate goal for most of us.

Unknown Speaker 12:08
Yeah, so, you know, continuing with that thought, what scripts do you look up to, and you can like, imitate, as I guide in her, me,

Unknown Speaker 12:24
I think back to the future, is my to go script, I love it. Those are definitely my kinds of movies I love something has a little bit of everything. It's like sci fi, it's a comedy, it's kind of a drama. This is like, kinda like action adventure a little bit, it becomes like a rom com it becomes a rom com I love stories that can just balance so many different kinds of tones. That's why I mentioned earlier knives out as the basis for my new script. I love that movie, it balanced with so many different tones, and characters and themes. Like it's, it could, it could have easily been like a very basic murder mystery. But the the writers, um, really just crafted a great story that was so I can't even predict it. I was like, I don't know how this is going to add like they really had a very surprising and fresh story. You know, it's a pretty basic premise, like who killed him. And just the way they approached it with all the different characters and storylines was fantastic. So that's something I want to emulate. And so like, movies like knives out back to the future, those are just fantastic scripts through and through, like, that's definitely what I want to strive for is having a solid foundation for the director and the actors and everyone you know, it's at the end dates up to the the actual filming, that will make the script what it is, but they still need some kind of guy they still need somebody to work off of. So making that script as strong as it can be is going to help them translate the story was their role in the film.

Unknown Speaker 14:25
So how is that writing roles for people?

Unknown Speaker 14:29
Like a character role for an actor? Yeah. Well, it's really rare to have a specific actor in mind because my level where I am, I'm not like completely connected with the industry. So I am kind of at the mercy of whoever is available and whoever is interested. So

Unknown Speaker 14:49
I try to write

Unknown Speaker 14:51
very interesting characters, but I have to bear in mind, I can't be too picky with exactly how they should be. He wants her like translated onto the film. And that's good. Because of course, real people are more exciting than these made up people that you put onto the script. So it's always cool and interesting to finally have a script finished our director pick it up, want to film it, and then we find the right people to be in. Because those actors, they bring a whole new life to those characters. That's just it's more fun to watch that then exactly how they were meticulously detailed and described in the scripts. So I, I put my all into the roles, but I embrace

Unknown Speaker 15:53
the actual people to writing interesting characters. Is there some kind of like struggle with making them realistic at the same time? And then, because people can be boring as well? To how do you make it realistically interesting, because there's a some characters like the Joker, or so just unrealistic. That other than Heath Ledger's portrayal that just unbelievable. I'm like, there is no, no bad guy will ever be like that. And I know, they're trying to, like make them interested in Oh, this is a different take on a villain, but I'm just like that, and Joaquin Phoenix as well. You know, I think the role only ones? How do you approach that?

Unknown Speaker 16:44
Well, it depends on your story. Because when you try and make it real, like we used to, it could be boring, because you know, we're not spending our money and time on a movie that's just like real life, unless it's like some, even if it's like, a documentary has to be somehow interesting and exciting, and almost like eye opening, there's a balance. Because at the end, you're telling a story, you're not taught, you're not like retelling life, you're telling like, you know, this three act, structured narrative, on people that don't exist, things that don't happen. I mean, even if you backdrop in some realistic, or historical event, it's still fake, it's not real. So I think it's not so much make them real, as as much make them like, human, make them relatable, make them you know, I don't say likable, like, oh, we have to make villains likable, but like, likable enough, like you're invested in that, like you're invested in what they're going through in the story, how they're contributing to, like, the ultimate flow of events. So there's definitely this balance between, I want to make them seem kinda like, they're like their actual people. But you know, it's like an illusion, you want to make them entertaining, you want to make them exciting, and you want to make them larger than life in some way. So that's the, that's always interesting. Because when you try to make them human, a lot of it just relating back to, uh, your experiences with people in the world. And all of that comes back on to the script, like, oh, yeah, that's very interesting. Like, this guy reminds me of this person that I used to know. And I think it's that kind of thing that makes characters pop out more. And it makes the audience go, Oh, yeah. Like, I know that guy. Like, I know that guy. I can relate to him. And now I'm invested in his part in this story, whatever it is, whether he's a good guy or a bad guy, like there's something about him. I'm interested in.

Unknown Speaker 19:15
So what relatable nervous did you get from the Back to the Future movies?

Unknown Speaker 19:22
Well, I think a lot of it is about overcoming your fears and insecurities. It's mostly like this coming of age story, your main character Marty McFly pretty much has to help his parents meet and fall in love and start to family together. So he has to help his dad overcome his anxieties, fears about being rejected, about you know, being bullied and kinda outcasted from by his community, he has to help his dad be confident, be strong, be assertive. And that's kind of like a coming of age theme about discovering your worth, your talents and your strength. You know, like, that's something every child teenager, you know, young adults should discover in themselves, like, yeah, like, I shouldn't let anyone or anything, put me down. Or I shouldn't tell myself, I can't do the things I want to do. You know, like, his dad's trying to write this sci fi book and his son gets excited like Ted, you know, you should publish it. And he's like, No, I don't want to be rejected by publishers. So it's those moments that a lot of young people struggle with, like, I don't want to be rejected, I don't want to fail. But a very important coming of age story lesson is like, you can't be scared those things, you gotta go for it. Because you're young, you have your whole life ahead of you in theory. So just go for it, like Chase your dreams, do what you want to do, conquer your fears. So that's definitely a big part of that story.

Unknown Speaker 21:18
And with your script, you know, you don't have to go into the specifics. But how are you approaching that with your upcoming project? Well,

Unknown Speaker 21:28
it's not

Unknown Speaker 21:30
kind of telling

Unknown Speaker 21:31
you age,

Unknown Speaker 21:32
I mean, more like relatable illness? How would what would people get out of your project more?

Unknown Speaker 21:38
Well, as a murder mystery, a lot of it is about trust. You know, you're trying to figure out who did it, you know, who killed the guy, but you need allies, you need to try and work with people and solve the case. So I think trust is the main theme for the story. And I think that's something we're all working on. It's like, how do we trust people? How do we invite strangers into our lives, how to be vulnerable? How do we open ourselves, get to know them, especially in like, times of trial, and fear, and uncertainty, like, those are moments like we, we need to stick together, where people need to, like band together and solve whatever issues ahead of them. So I think it's kind of like, almost like a team building exercise. You know, like, you got a bunch of people that are know each other together. And they have to try to solve puzzles, and they have to do these activities together as this new team.

Unknown Speaker 22:46
Yeah, so it was exciting. It wasn't really an escape room movie.

Unknown Speaker 22:51
It's kind of like, like an escape room. Um, we're trying to confine it to like one main location one setting. So it's kind of like an escape room. There's parts of the environment are unfolding, and there's going to be like secret rooms and stuff like that, you know,

Unknown Speaker 23:10
is it kind of like the really Wonka event, though? Really want to go over? Yeah, with the unknown? Unknown?

Unknown Speaker 23:20
Yeah, I'm gonna write him in now. I'm gonna make him the new villain, the unknown.

Unknown Speaker 23:28
Sir. So I want to know, for you, from you. Why do you love mu script so much? I was about a movie script that says there's like a bug buried and like a poetry bug.

Unknown Speaker 23:45
Oh, you know, when you write something as a bug or a poem, or whatever, it's for yourself. And yeah, it does go through some editing processes. But it's ultimately, it comes from your desk, to someone to one other person's desk, and then it hits the book stores. What's interesting about scripts is it goes to so many people's work spaces, that it's no longer your project. It's other people's project. Other people are coming in and then working on it. And that's just more exciting because people offer so much more than me, like I'm just a writer. But like I mentioned before, with actors that bring new light to characters, directors and you know, costume designers, and of course, the music people, they just bring so much more to the film. They bring so much more to the script, like it becomes this living medium, such as like words on the page, and the audience has to imagine the whole thing in their head like movies, they're just they're more exciting. And so it's this giant, collaborative process. I'm just grateful to be part of it. There's one specific part of it. You know, like I'm, I'm just laying out the mean details for a story. But after that, it's up to everyone else on how to interpret it, and make it the best it can be. And that's always gonna look different than how I saw my head. But it's always better. Because you have so much more talented and insightful people making it.

Unknown Speaker 25:29
Yeah, so how is as an artist, you share your art with ELA, ah, like, I have a vision, and you can add to like, compromise with so many people. Is that how does it feel? Or is it more like we're sharing a vision? I'm not fully seeing. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 25:50
I mean, at first, that's how I felt. I really did think I had like the best stories and the best scripts and you know, like, it's untouchable. Like, I really thought I had the greatest thing. And then once I started sharing it with people, we start working on films, they're like, Hey, we can work on this and that. And yeah, I was reluctant, reluctant, stubborn, and even defensive, like, hey, we can't get rid of that. But once I lower down my guard, and allow people to work on the script, I'm like, That was better. Once I saw it translated into the film. The script became so much better because other people were able to, like, look into it. Like, I think we work on a project for so long, you get like tunnel vision, like, you just you're so focused, you need to take a step back and just like, enjoy it as it is. So, you know, I take a step back, I let other people come in and look at it. And they could just offer so much more like I don't realize how many like, mental box I would get. Once I start presenting my script, when it's done. People would just come in with just fresh new perspectives, and just more energy. And I would just like really learn from that. i So learn from that.

Unknown Speaker 27:24
Awesome to hear I'm really, I'm excited for your movie. I can't wait to see on the big screen. Thank you as per their fancy theater. Beside Kevin's movie. Yeah, yeah, it's,

Unknown Speaker 27:37
it's perfect. They're cool. They're They're cool. They do like student films they do. Local films are really cool. They're so that's always a dream. Just have it on one screen, even if it's like on someone's laptop, and we're all like watching it in the living room. Like, that's always a dream just to complete it and have it shown to people. That's always the dream. Yeah. And where do you get when you finish a project? Or how do you feel after satisfaction, um, excitement for like the next project. And kind of that like that, that hope that I can. The I'm growing as notice. Like, I'm hoping that this is the better one. And there is another better one to come

Unknown Speaker 28:35
already. All right, Alex. Well, thanks for coming today and spending some time I love talking to movies with you. And I can't wait to see your new project, man. I'm super excited. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 28:49
Thank you so much for having me here. It's always great talking about it. Thank you so much, dude. All right. Thanks for

Unknown Speaker 28:58
Thanks for listening. Catch us again every Wednesday at 6pm on the rebel nya 1.5 h d t.

Unknown Speaker 29:15
The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more the University of Nevada Las Vegas or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai