I took a moment to talk with Daryn Tufts, director/writer of MY GIRLFRIEND’S BOYFRIEND, a fun rom-com about Jesse, a sassy, intelligent woman who has yet to find "Mr. Right." That is until she bumps into Ethan, a writer pushed to the edge of despair after having another novel rejected by publishers. For Jesse, the encounter offers more than a chance to inspire the artist in Ethan again. It also opens a new, romantic chapter in her life... with one huge complication. Moments after meeting the perfect guy for her, Jesse meets Mr. Perfect – Troy, a confident and successful advertising executive who makes almost every moment elegant and romantic. Soon Jesse is in over her head and grappling with the ultimate romantic paradox: what does a girl do when she meets "Mr. Right" after already meeting the right guy?
Q: How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?
A: Being local to Salt Lake City, I attend the Sundance Film Festival every year, which made me interested in other festivals. I first heard of the Newport Beach Film Festival a couple of years ago when I was attending some other festivals with another movie I was involved with. When it came time to submit MY GIRLFRIEND’S BOYFRIEND to film festivals, our distribution partners strongly encouraged us to submit it to Newport Beach, having nothing but tremendously positive things to say about that festival. So we did, and this will be the first time I’m coming to NBFF to experience it for myself.
Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.
A: I wanted to write a love story that did something surprising and unconventional. Over the years, I’ve noticed that many loves stories follow a very familiar and predictable story structure. I thought, wouldn’t it be interesting if a movie presented itself as a conventional love story, and then turned into something very different and surprising? Essentially, I wanted to write something that had a twist – a smart, funny love story that had heart, but also did something I’ve never seen in this genre before.
We shot the film entirely in Salt Lake City, with local crew, producers, etc. We wanted to shoot Salt Lake in a way that brought out the charm and interesting aspects of that city, hopefully in a way we haven’t seen done before. All of the main cast came from Hollywood, and we cast some of the smaller parts out of Salt Lake City.
Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in film-making.
A: I’ve always been passionate about film. Nerd, geek passionate, in fact. But I didn’t set out to be a filmmaker. I began my career as a copywriter, working for ad agencies and production companies. During and after college, I also enjoyed writing and performing sketch and improvisational comedy with a couple different comedy troupes. Those experiences were incredible, and indirectly led to some opportunities to write and act in some small independent films.
Originally, I didn’t foresee anything happening with those movies, but they each went on to find success in theaters and DVD. Once I had some experience in filmmaking and I was already working as a professional writer, I thought I’d see what I could do with it. I started writing my own screenplays and decided to produce a couple of small documentaries. And things sort of grew from there. Writing led to opportunities to act, direct, and produce. Through it all, I’ve discovered that writing and directing is what I definitely enjoy the most. I haven’t performed live comedy in a long time and while I still do a little bit of acting, writing and directing is definitely what I see myself continuing to do.
Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.
A: I guess the biggest surprise is that these actors wanted to be in the movie in the first place. I know that might seem a little cliché, but it’s really true. As independent filmmakers in Utah, we didn’t have any connections to any of these actors. All we had was a script and a business plan to throw at these actors and say “Hey…ummm… wanna be in it?” When I first heard that Alyssa Milano was interested in the film, I half-expected that the person telling me was just yanking my chain.
Making a movie is a huge process that involves a lot of people, so there are always set-backs. But we were very fortunate that things went as smoothly as they did. Alyssa really dug in and helped shape and polish the story and production of the movie, and all of the actors brought some surprises. For example, some of Chris Gorham’s best and funniest dialogue was stuff Chris came up with for his character. And our crew was incredible. I’m proud to say that on a limited budget, we have a film that looks amazing and much bigger than its budget constraints – and that was all because of the people behind the scenes.
Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?
A: Reading, writing, watching movies and great TV shows, traveling, spending time with my family and friends, and forcing myself to get to the gym once in a while. And thanks to Alyssa Milano’s influence, I’ve been twittering for the past year. Follow me! @DarynTufts
MY GIRLFRIEND’S BOYFRIEND screens at 7:45 PM on Saturday, April 24 at the Edwards Island Theater 1.
Buy tickets here:
http://newportbeachfilmfest.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=256875
Watch the trailer for MY GIRLFRIEND’S BOYFRIEND here:
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