VOD Spotlight: The Making Of I’ll See You In My Dreams

In I’ll See You in My Dreams, songstress and widow Carol (Blythe Danner) realizes that life can begin again at any age. She strikes up a friendship with her pool man (Martin Starr), pursues a relationship with a new love (Sam Elliott) and reconnects with her daughter.I'll-see-you-in-my-dreams_3_web

Brett Haley, who directed, co-wrote, and edited I’ll See You in My Dreams, recognizes that an exploration of the lives of a group of retirees might seem an unusual choice for a filmmaker in his 30s. Yet Haley sees the story of Carol, a still vital widow whose carefully constructed life suddenly collapses, as a tale that audiences of every age will identify with as they witness her tentatively begin to take another chance on life with the help of a few very good friends. “I wanted to explore that idea of living life to the fullest, rather than being afraid of it ending,” says Haley. “I don’t think older characters are often represented appropriately in films, so I tried to make something original and honest about the people in the third acts of their lives.”

I'll-See-You_Dreams_webHaley wrote the script with Marc Basch, a software engineer by day who writes short stories and novels in his spare time. “I met Marc because I was interested in adapting one of his stories for a film,” explains the director. “We worked together on the script and became friends through that process. I don’t like to write alone. I need somebody to bounce ideas off of. It has been a really great experience, and I can see it being a lifelong collaboration.”

Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith, founders of the production company Two Flints, were
impressed by the script and signed on as producers. “To have roles for older actors that weren’t peripheral was exciting,” says Green. “The script is full of genuine characters that speak truthfully. Brett and Marc did an amazing job of giving us the kinds of complex, rounded-out female characters that are needed on screen now, regardless of age.”

Green and Smith helped Haley set up a Kickstarter campaign to raise seed money for the film. To generate interest in the project, they asked elderly members of their own families and the residents of a Los Angeles area retirement community to participate in video interviews. With candid humor, participants answered questions about the advantages and disadvantages of aging, dating as a senior, and advice for younger people. “We wanted to get older people to speak to us truthfully about their lives and feelings about aging,” says Smith. “Their stories and insights were funny, charming, inspiring, and spoke directly to the themes in the film. We realized that everyone, no matter what age or background, connects to these topics, which made for a very successful campaign.”

Once the money was raised, there was still the reality of a very limited schedule to work with. Having only 18 days to shoot a full-length feature meant getting each scene right quickly and then moving on. “That was one of the biggest challenges,” says Haley. “I had to go with my gut. I couldn’t get a lot of coverage or a lot of takes. We had to really nail it and keep going.”

Luckily, Haley was familiar with this type of movie-making: his first film, The New Year, was filmed in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida, with lots of help from friends and an infinitesimal budget of $6,000. “I didn’t have movie-star-level actors,” he says. “There were no bells and whistles, no real crew or state-of-the-art equipment. It taught me that one of the most important elements in a film is the performances. If people are discussing this film and they don’t mention me, I did my job. They should be talking about Blythe and Sam and Martin and all of the actors. It’s my job to get out of the way and let the actors do their thing because that’s what tells this story.”

I’ll See You in My Dreams is available beginning September 1 on Video On Demand.  Check your cable system for availability.

© 2015 Bleecker Street Media

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