Articles | "I Am That Girl" film details

Grace Rowe: How did you guess? Actually, "American Seoul" was a short film we made to show potential investors what the feature film would look like and we never really intended it for festivals. After shopping the script for a long time with Janet Yang (executive producer) we found that everyone really liked the script but didn't think it was marketable since it would require using unknown Asian American actors. I was pretty frustrated like most filmmakers are when they're told the myriad of reasons why their film wasn't going to get produced. So I wrote "I Am That Girl" specifically with the thought that I would finance, produce, act, and edit the film myself. The period of time from script completion to production was relatively short. I wrote the script knowing the locations I could shoot at for free to keep the costs down. I enlisted my actor friends in the other parts, and I grew up going to Yosemite so I knew where I could shoot without getting shut down. At my sister's wedding, my mother pulled me to the side and said she had saved some money for my wedding too. I told her I didn't want to get married - I wanted to make a movie! So with that small seed money I started budgeting and then I eventually made a business plan and asked friends and family to donate or invest. Finally, I ended up putting a lot of the film's expense on credit cards. (Ironic, once you watch the movie!)

GR: A producer's rep called it a cross between "Party Girl" (with Parker Posey) and "Old Joy" (a pretty obscure indie film). I loved "Party Girl" and I thought "Old Joy" had some really great moments so I thought it was quite fitting. Some more direct inspirations however, are the films "Box of Moonlight" (Dir. By Tom DiCillo) and I loved the easy, yet poignant "Walking and Talking" (Dir. Nicole Holofcener). I also wanted to make a film that juxtaposed a girl's love affair with the city and all its trappings with the gorgeous and serene wilderness that can make us reflect and return to our childlike innocence. But yes, I'm a fan of "Sex and The City" and I've read "Confessions of a Shopaholic" but I haven't seen the film so no - it's not an insult!

GR: Back when I started writing the script, I had no clue of the depth of financial trouble to come, but I did wonder how people around me were paying for things. I'd see guys in big expensive SUVs with blinged-out rims and TVs in the back, and I couldn't help but wonder if those guys secretly still lived with their moms and worked at Radio Shack. There's a certain feeling of entitlement that many Americans have - that no matter what, we should have certain things. Designer bags, fancy dinners, and open credit are just a few of them. But sooner or later, we have to pay for it, don't we? I think many people want to project an image of themselves they just can't afford. Others have to shop to try to escape their deep unhappiness. Buying things is America's biggest addiction. This country runs on our obsessive need to consume and that's why we're too fat, too unhappy, and too deep in debt. I hate to sound like I'm on a soap box, but it's something I'm trying to monitor in my own life as well. I think it's all inter-connected. What you put in your body, what you buy and how much of it - these are often the most important and political choices you can make.

GR: Well, like I said before...we're both in a ton of debt! Of course, my debt has stemmed from making this movie, whereas Maxine's debt stems from frivolous shopping and eating out all the time. Let's see...Maxine likes to dance and I like to dance...and Maxine likes Cosmopolitans and so do I, although I've pretty much quit those as of late. Other than that, we're pretty different. I'm pretty low maintenance and prefer not to wear make-up or do my hair unless I really have to. And she's the kind of girl who will wear heels on a hike, especially if it will get her out of it!

LA: The film takes a completely unexpected turn when Maxine meets a guy named Noodle, who takes her on a trip out in the wilderness (where she breaks down and orders pizza!). First, I wanted to compliment you on the development of the relationship between Maxine and Noodle... but I gotta ask you, what's up with the name Noodle? And where did this story come from?

GR: Sometimes when I write a script, a name just pops in my head, and that's where "Noodle" came from. When you watch the movie you'll realize that Noodle is really different from Maxine - he's much more laid-back and definitely not superficial. But his nickname, "Noodle" is a reminder (only to him) that he had a different life before - he used to party and go crazy like Maxine. This is never revealed in the script, it's really a character choice I made while I was developing his back-story. As far as the actual story goes, it's a combination of fiction and true events of a few friends of mine. I used to work with a girl who used to go out and party every night. One time when I asked her how she did it, she told me that when she was seventeen her mother died and she had to raise her younger brothers and sisters essentially by herself. She said she felt like she lost a part of her childhood so when they were able to take care of themselves she moved to L.A. and had been partying non stop ever since. I found it fascinating, because you never would have known this other part of her by meeting her- she just seemed like a typical party girl. But behind all that she had a responsible and maternal side along with a tragic and difficult past. That's how Maxine is - she comes off as a shallow and materialistic girl at first, but deep down she is much more than that. The experience she has with Noodle is what changes her and reminds her of who she used to be and what really makes her happy in life.

GR: Definitely no wild animals, although we did have a deer scene that never made it in the movie. I had written a scene where Maxine and Noodle are laying down in a meadow at night staring at the stars when they hear a noise. Being the city girl that she is, Maxine immediately thinks it's a serial killer and freaks out. Later we find out it's a deer. Well, because it's really impossible to shoot a deer unless you have a deer wrangler (read, $$$), I searched on E-Bay and found a taxidermy deer for about $300. The problem was, I couldn't afford the whole deer, so instead it was just the deer head and we had to mount it on a C-stand to try to get the shot. But no matter how many times we shot it from different angles, the thing just looked like a dead deer head! So instead it became the crew's photo op and we took a lot of pictures with the deer on the C-stand in precarious outfits - smoking a cigarette, drinking a beer with the grips, etc. We had some good times on the shoot, when we weren't running and gunning it!

GR: This movie is definitely my baby! It's funny, though- there's a saying that to make a good movie, you have to kill your babies! And I've done that also. There's a lot of footage that never made it into the film, but I think it's ultimately better without it. A big part of what inspired me to make this film is that I love doing it! I've been an actress pretty much my whole life, but filmmaking makes me happy in so many more rich and fulfilling ways. I know that this is only the first feature of many to come, and I'm working on a project that I'm planning on directing myself this time, along with writing and acting in it. I want to be the female version of Woody Allen! I also think it's very important for me to stick it out in this tremendously competitive field, because it's what I feel I was born to do. I want to inspire the next generations to come to make their own films and tell their stories against the odds, because we must and we will change the face of American cinema and television. But only if we never give up! As far as doors go, I'm really breaking them down- they don't just open in this bleak economic time for indie filmmakers. But I have a tremendous amount of tenacity and hope for the future. And I think honestly, that's what it takes, because otherwise, what else do you have?

GR: I tell them there're hot chicks in the movie in bikinis! Just joking. Honestly, I tell people no matter who they are the same basic premise - it's a story about a girl who's in a tremendous amount of debt from shopping and partying who meets a guy in a club and goes on a road trip to the Sierras where she's changed forever. And then I go on to mention that there might be a twist at the end...and who doesn't like a good twist?

GR: I think it made me realize there's really nothing we can't do if we set our minds to it. People used to tell me all the time that I was going to make a feature, but I didn't know how, financially and logistically. They said, just start and you will find a way. I didn't believe them but here I am, several years later with a film I'm pretty proud of. Was it easy? Hell no! Would I do it all over again? Absolutely! After nearly having a nervous breakdown from making my first short film I honestly thought I would never produce again. Now I love it. If you're crazy like me, you get depressed when you don't have a million things on your plate. Making a movie is non-stop activity. It makes me want to make them all the time (with a few really relaxing vacations in between!) Without making "I Am That Girl" I would never have learned how to edit, create and edit sound, compose music, create motion graphics, build websites, do my own business taxes...you name it- I learned it while making this movie. I'm definitely more confident in the sense that I feel like I can do the techno computer geek stuff that intimidated me before and there's so much more to learn that I'm excited about. I also feel more confident and in control as an actor, knowing that if I don't get a part, it's okay. I'll write a really great one for myself and produce the hell out of it!

"I Am That Girl" official web site: http://www.iamthatgirlmovie.com