From the looks of it, Tom Quinn is having a pretty remarkable year. He started off by winning the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance with his positively Cassavetian take on a disintegrating South Philly Irish clan, The New Year’s Parade. This week, he became one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces in Independent Film. Although the director, writer, producer, DP, gaffer, editor, financier of this micro budget film doesn’t feel like an indiewood cop-out waiting to happen, we will certainly be seeing more from him soon. While we wait for Tom’s indie darling status to cement, I chatted with him for our Media Diet interview series about what he’s listening to, his plans to remake Darby O’Gill and The Little People and how he saw The Dark Knight like everyone else.
What films or television shows have you seen recently?
In the last month or so I’ve seen The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2, Gone Baby Gone and I rewatched Giant, Zodiac, Paranoid Park, and There Will Be Blood. I have tickets for The Last Mistress so hope to see that this week.
Which ones stuck with you and why?
As predictable as it’s become, I really enjoyed The Dark Knight. It was fun to see a true Hollywood blockbuster for a change that took me back to being a kid in the theater. Also, I hadn’t seen Giant in years and had a new appreciation for how epic it really is and how well-drawn the characters are. And I’ll watch any Van Sant film repeatedly.
Does your interest in them have anything to do with your own work as a filmmaker?
I like all kinds of films and I’m sure I learn from all of them. Some are just plain fun. Although my means and interests are very different than those of, say,The Dark Knight, I still take a lot away in terms of structure, form, and character. I think formally I’m most interested in Van Sant’s recent work because of their stripped down nature. He’s also doing interesting work with non-actors, which I’d like to do more of.
How often do you read fiction? Do you wish you read more?
I do wish I read more and have no excuse. I stood in an airport bookstore for 10 minutes yesterday holding a copy of The Road, only to put it down because I couldn’t justify the 15 dollars and had a copy of John Sayles excellent Thinking in Pictures (which I’d already read several times) in my bag. I had already read Eggers’ How We Are Hungry a few months ago and loved it. The Sun Also Rises is waiting to be finished.
What would be your ideal literary adaptation? Or remake?
For whatever reason, I recently got the idea in my head that I want to remake Darby O’Gill and the Little People. It was my grandfather’s favorite film and my mom had us sit and watch it every year as kids. I remember it freaking me out. But now there’s something really appealing to me about remaking my grandfather’s favorite flick, shooting in Ireland, actually exploring the themes of the film – especially that Reaper. Anyway, I just found out that the film had been based on a book, so there you go.
How, if at all, has reading informed your filmmaking?
Well, it’s all storytelling. I think even more than what I’ve read, the stories my parents told us before bed as kids really got their hooks in me. They would alternate nights: my mom telling stories of spaceships and leprechauns; my dad telling us the story of what we’d done that day, from waking up all the way through to bed. I figure that’s why I now enjoy mixing fiction and non-fiction forms in my films.
What are you listening to recently?
I’m terrible at searching for new music but just heard this dude Doug Paisley who’s incredible. A few staples fill my iTunes: The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr, Eastern Conference Champions (killer Radiohead-esque with a East Coast spin, with Greg from The NYP on drums), Jets to Brazil, Mudhoney, and Jawbreaker and a great band from Philly named Metroplex.
If you could collaborate with one musician on a film, who would it be and why?
Blake Schwarzenbach. He’d been in Jawbreaker and Jets to Brazil – both bands I love to death. He’s a great song writer, with a real narrative sense.
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