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Billy Crystal andBen Schwartzshare the spotlight inStanding Up , fall Down , a marvelous clowning / drama from author Peter Hoare and director Matt Ratner . Schwartz ( Sonic the Hedgehog , Parks and Recreation ) stars as Scott , a New York - born comic who regain himself come back home after failing to find fame out West . While shin to determine his next stride , he meets Marty , played by Crystal ( City Slickers , When Harry Met Sally ) , analcoholic skin doctor with his own issue . Together , they spring an unconvincing friendly relationship and inspire each other to be better people . It ’s a dear narrative full of mirthful clowning and genuine emotion .
Standing Up , Falling Downmarks the feature directorial launching of Matt Ratner , who has already made his mark on the theatre conniption and grow multiple movie under his Tilted Windmills Productions banner . After making waves at Tribeca and various other film fete across the country over the course of 2019 , the time has finally come forStanding Up , Falling Downto make its debut in theatre of operations and VOD services .
Related : Screen Rant ’s Standing Up , come down Down Review
While promoting the release ofStanding Up , Falling Down , managing director Ratner speak to Screen Rant about his oeuvre on the moving picture , from the decision to shoot the moving-picture show in the undervalued fringe ofNew York City ’s Long Beach neighborhoodand how the casting of Schwartz and Crystal came about . Coincidentally , Billy Crystal is also from Long Beach , and many of the plastic film ’s shooting location held personal value to theMonsters Universitystar , which only added to the cozy and personable nature of the picture .
Standing Up , Falling Downreleases February 21 in theaters and VOD .
Let ’s talk about shooting in New York City . I live in Far Rockaway , and I guess I could technically drown to Long Beach from here , but that would be exceedingly dangerous , and there are much better ways for me to get there . Can you talk about flash in New York , but particularly in a region like farseeing Beach ? It ’s not the classic NYC figure of speech of Manhattan skyscrapers , but are no less part of the metropolis .
Yeah , you know , it ’s rummy . The cinema was write there , the writer grew up there . I ’m from Cleveland . And as we were figuring out how to get the pic made , we were n’t of necessity wedded to shooting there . We wanted it to feel specific , but we did n’t necessarily make love where it was go bad to be . But then I went out there , spent some time with the writer , and it ’s just … It has a character that is so unique , so it ’s own , and we felt like it was really where we needed to be .
Is that where Billy Crystal enter the picture ?
We did n’t write it for Billy , but he ’s actually from Long Beach . So it wound up being a very serendipitous thing . And if you take the air around Long Beach , you realize Billy must have 50 uncles , because everyone you talk to is , like , " Oh yeah , Billy ’s uncle lives right next door ! " And there was a lot of weird serendipity with the film , that mode . The coffee shop , that play for L.A. in the movie , where Scott ’s bombing in the beginning , that ’s really the umber shop class , unbeknown to us , where the writer wrote the first draft of the screenplay . Then there ’s the tantrum in the tabernacle , where , again , we did not communicate this to Billy before we scouted it , but it bend out to be the precise tabernacle where Billy had his bar mitzvah . So , you have sex , little mo , like with the character run in the wetsuit . We were out there in November , but we picture people surfing ! So being able to have that kind of live - in spirit to it … Anytime you ’re capable to film where you ’ve jell it , it adds so much legitimacy and specificity . And shooting in New York , my background is in theater , so the point of cast you may get to come out and shoot for two or three days in New York … Everyone ’s there . Not just people like Debra Monk , who plays the female parent , she ’s won two Tonys , and she elevate the film so much . But even down to people like Michael Kostroff , who plays the rabbi , he ’s only start out one scene , but it ’s a polar scene , and he ’s someone you recognize from everything . And being able-bodied to have access to that talent pool as a manager , it ’s such a blessing .
Yeah , I recognize Mike Carlsen from Kimmy Schmidt . I imagine he ’s a New Yorker .
Yeah , Mike ’s from New York .
I entail , just take care at him !
( Laughs ) Again , it ’s something where you desire to believe the family relationship between them . They ’ve got a odd human relationship between them , the bartender and Billy ’s eccentric . And a lot of the film is about the relationship between Billy and Ben , but part of what utter to me about the motion picture is that every part was so amply realized on the page that I palpate like we could get really dynamic performers to do it and bring out even more nicety and specificity . Part of what draw me to the book was that roles 3 - 9 are also dynamic , flesh - out , interesting roles . There ’s a really coolheaded movie to be made about Ruis trying to become a cop , a cool movie to be made about Becky stuck in a loveless marriage . That , I guess , coupled with shooting in New York , allowed us to create this real ensemble that gave Billy and Ben people to bet off of .
Absolutely . I particularly enjoyed Ruis , because he ’s set up to be a total punchline , but then once Ben and Billy meet him and they all become friends , you really get to find out about this guy cable . " There ’s however - many news report in the Naked City , " right ?
Yes . In terms of Ruis , that line , " Ruis is awe-inspiring , " has to not be a punchline . It has to be true . And when we blab to David Castañeda , who since has done The Umbrella Academy and is a marvelous thespian , he ’s just that coolheaded ! He ’s got it . It ’s effortless . But he ’s also not " douchey nerveless , " he ’s " endearing cool . " One of the last spoken tune in the flick is about Ruis , so he ’s got ta make it .
You ’ve grow a bunch of movies over the years , but this is really your first time directing a characteristic . Was there something particular about this one that made you stop and go , " I involve to be behind the television camera pulling the strings on this one ? "
My background signal is in theater . I studied maneuver , and directing ’s always been the passionateness . I commence producing and fell into it , but was always … Every film I ’ve produce , I ’ve always been appear for the good affair for me to conduct . And it ’s such a unlike type of allegiance . I ’ve been live , breathing , sleeping , dreaming this task for over two yr , now . So it had to be something I ’d care about . And I ’ve always been pull out to stories that blend humor and commiseration in a manner this playscript did . I loved the fact that , from the first time I learn it , there were bit where I was express joy out loudly , which never happens with a script , and there were moments that I found implausibly emotionally affecting .
Yeah , it goes into some really hard place .
The idea of manage with the nature of ruefulness . Are there certain mistakes you make and wounds you cause that are too deep to come back from ? Can you un - f * * * something ? The fact that was all there in the characters without being heavy - handed , all that just made me feel like this was a report I call for to tell .
You mentioned earlier , and obviously the crux of the matter of the motion picture is the chemistry between Ben and Billy . How did you decide on these two role player ? When did you know they were proceed to be so perfect together ?
After we roll . ( Laughs ) No , no . It ’s funny , one of the vagary of sovereign filmmaking is that we do n’t have the luxury of doing thing like interpersonal chemistry reads , so you’re able to have two smart as a whip actors , but for whatever rationality , through that magical alchemy of film , it just does n’t cultivate . Ben and Billy did n’t do it each other before the shoot , and they ’ve become incredibly pricy friends . Very quickly , we saw that their relationship on and off screen really mirrored itself . Billy arrive onboard first . I was already back in New York , scouting . He ’d been on an early dream inclination , which you make and then discard because you roll in the hay there ’s no way you ’re going to be able to get someone like Billy Crystal . I normally never give quotation to agent , but I ’ll give credit to his squad ; they were really supportive of me and the labor .
How did they help ?
The last matter you want to do is to spend a month waiting for Billy Crystal to not scan your script . We ’d get the feedback that he really would face at it , and he record it . Maybe two days later . I was on a aeroplane back to L.A. , I was quickly re - learn When Harry Met Sally to prep for the meeting . The book really just catch its bait into Billy and sparked something . We visualise the pic the same means from moment one . Then there was a short list of people we were looking at for Scott , maybe five names . We sent those to Billy , along with fabric on them , and Billy really sparked to Ben ’s stuff . I talked to Ben , who was in Atlanta shooting another plastic film . I did n’t meet Ben in someone until two daylight before we shoot . But through our conversations , I could distinguish he was a guy who could do … Scott does some thing in the movie that are , to be openhearted , more or less jerky .
He does exhibit some jerk - comparable behavior , yes .
But we ask the consultation to root for him . We needed him to be someone who can make some mistakes , who does some jerky thing , but is n’t a jerky . And Ben had that . From there , you put them together , and to both of their credit , it was always about the story . Ben ’s backdrop is UCB , and Billy ’s background is obviously beyond reproach . But there was never one - upmanship , there was never … The tail never wagged the dog . Any humor we found , anything , it was always ram by what serve the story .
I imagine , if it had gone down another way , with the two of them really adjudicate to out - funny each other with their unbelievable talent , you just would n’t get any work done !
They are two of the most gifted people I ’ve ever been around in full term of , not just their mental capacity , but how quick they are . We certainly had a lot of playfulness on bent , but in the scene , it was always story - motivated and story - driven . As a director , you ca n’t require for anything more than that .
You name your setting in theater , come from Cleveland . Can you talk a bit about your trajectory in the diligence ? What inspire you to become a filmmaker in the first place ?
Sure ! I come from a culture and a family line of storytellers . That ’s always been in my blood . I fail to Northwestern , I went to school in Chicago , consider theater . I felt burned out on it , ended up spending some fourth dimension in Colorado as a ski bum , which is what I should have stuck with , and then wound up taking this kind of weird act , worked in political science in government . I wound up influence for the Justice Department in D.C. And it was really interesting , dynamic study , but it was reverse into a career , and I did n’t want to wear a cause to work every day . I matte up , if you have a modicum of discipline and make ethic , if you ’re gon na spend enough time doing whatever it is you do for a living , you ’d might as well enjoy it . So I really locomote , cold turkey , to Los Angeles . I had a lot of cup of coffee with a peck of people , I work not - very - glamourous roles in not - very - glamourous films , and then fell into produce . I got very lucky . The first film I give rise was a moving-picture show call Match , with Patrick Stewart , Matt Lillard , and Carla Gugino . It was at the Tribeca Film Festival , I think in 2014 . And two of the hoi polloi I meet on that movie , David Permut and Rick Rosenthal , I ’ve gone on to produce subsequent films with . And Rick is a manufacturer on this , and his son was my cameraman . He ’s become an fantastically dear friend and wise man . And David Permut , there ’s a hombre by the name of Chris Mangano , who worked for David , leave , started his own company , and was the one who beam me this hand . Everything in terms of my calling come from that first film .
Well , the public is at last going to get the chance to see Standing Up , Falling Down , after it got such a lovesome response at Tribeca last class . Can you talk a chip about that route , earning affirmation at the festival and now getting the chance to see how it work in the state of nature ?
It ’s been really particular . First , to premiere in New York , where we inject , where so much of the mold and work party was capable to be there because of that … And you sort of call back , maybe you know what you have , but you do n’t really make out . And finally , we do n’t make films for multitude in minuscule rough - mown screening way ; we make pic for multitude . For the last few month , to have been able to travel the rural area , doing various festivals , getting to see people , not only responding to the comedy in it , not only react to how brilliant Billy and Ben are , but to really also … People come up to me afterwards and have been somewhat affected or moved by the thing we ’ve spill the beans about today , like the nature of rue and the choices we make . And to see the film have an impingement on masses where they take something away from it that hopefully motivates them to go their life sentence a small differently , as an creative person , you ca n’t postulate for more than that .
More : Screen Rant ’s Sonic The Hedgehog Review
