Relaxing in the swanky surroundings of the Palms Hotel filmmaker courtesy lounge, I found director Kyle Patrick Alvarez and his cast. Lead actors Brian Geraghty, who plays a likable and aspiring novelist in the film and Kel O’Neill who plays his a-hole brother, are getting along fabulously. All the tensions that existed between the two characters in the film are gone as the cast and director clearly became buds. Or perhaps it’s a testament to their acting and the performance in front of me in the lounge is all an act and they do really hate each other. Either way, the award-winning trio’s journey to household names begins with this revealing interview. Yes, phone sex and other types of sex will be discussed.
How did this project come about? Kyle: In August 2006 I read an article in GQ magazine by Davy Rothbart, creator of Found Magazine and it’s a true story about a phone sex relationship he had with this girl.
Have you ever had a phone sex relationship? Kyle: No. I’ve never even had phone sex.
Then how was the phone sex so realistically portrayed? And how do I know that?
(Laugh) Kyle: I don’t know. (Laugh) I wrote it in an office which was essentially this corner near the coffee machine in a law office. There were no windows and a locked door and I still felt really uncomfortable… like when you are watching a movie on a plane and it’s R-rated and you’re really self-conscious, like checking over my shoulder and I kept doing that when I was writing scenes. But if there was something in there that made me feel rotten or nervous then that’s just what I put in.
The realism of those phone sex scenes is a testament to the great performances by your actors. So, Brian, that initial first phone sex scene is very… unnerving. That scene is one long take and it sells the whole concept of the movie. How did you pull it off… so to speak? (Laugh) Brian: I don’t know. I really don’t know how I did it. We shot that on my birthday. You know, Kyle and I and the crew worked a lot together and they really made me feel comfortable. For me, this whole movie is about trust. I was able to get there once in the first take he said, (the director) “We’re done.”
Kyle: I was happy with the first one, but we did another one just in case and we used the second one. It was a scene we never rehearsed or talked about much because I was so nervous. I was so nervous about being in the room that I had them drill a hole in the wall so I could be in the other room which is totally my own defense mechanism but I tried to play it off as being totally respectful toward him.
(Laugh)
Now you guys have a great brotherly relationship in real-life, but in the film, you’re kind of a dick. Is that fun to play? Kel: (Laugh) It’s the best thing to play, it’s the most fun thing to play. If you are playing a nice person, it’s not really leaving your comfort zone. In so many interactions in every day you have to be nice, so when you can take the gloves off and be a complete dick for like two or three weeks, it’s great. You can just compartmentalize that. And then when you’re done with your work on set, people are like, “Oh, you’re so much nicer, you’re nothing like your character… which isn’t true because I’m a complete fuckin’ asshole! (All three laugh)
One of the most hilarious scenes is when Davey and his phone sex girl reveal the number of sex partners they’ve had. So, can you each give me your number? That was hilarious because that’s a conversation that couples seem to always think they need to have. Kyle: I’m kind of a serial monogamous, I’ve always been in long term relationships in my life but there’s always going to be that kind of pressure as a guy. So, I’ve always been in these like, 3-5 year relationships as a guy and I’m 26 so you do the math. I thought that would be honest for the character, so it was my own issue.
Would it be appropriate to talk about the, um, promotional item for the film? I’ve seen a lot of different types of promo items, but this I’ve never seen.
Kyle: They come as individual socks, not pairs. When I called the sock company they were surprised that I wanted individual socks with the movie logo. I had to tell them that people were not going to wear them… that they were intended to be used for something else. Yeah… I know… classy.
