And we are sitting, firstly, in this beautiful setting of Austin, Texas at South by Southwest, and this is the Awkward Family Photo that we're doing right now with the cast of The Mend. So, we got pretty much everybody. We can just name everyone or we just go around, I guess.

Hello.

Hi, I'm Lucy Owen. I'm Mickey Sumner.

Josh Lucas.

Cory Nichols.

Stephen Plunkett.

And John Mcgarry. John McGarney. John McGarnigle. Writer, director.

So let's talk about South By, first of all. Is this everyone's first time here? Is this, Yeah.

Yes.

This is everyone's first time. It's not mine but it's, yeah.

I was here as a civilian in 2010. Oh.

Very nice.

Just walked around and broke into parties and stuff.

So how's like the whole Austin experience? I mean, Austin's one of the coolest cities pretty much on the planet.

What's so amazing about this festival is it really is a out of control, wonderful party and in the best way. It's you know, Bourbon Street. It's all it's all it's all these different things combined with this, you know, artistic just uh burst of it's like a balloon that popped open or something. What's truly surreal is we we premiered the movie last night at the Alamo Ritz, which is on Sixth Street. And you you you you walk to the movie through this throng of humanity. And it's so loud. It's incredible loud and as as the director, I was thinking like, well, this no one will be able to hear the movie past all this. So you get to the theater and it's completely silent. And you have no idea what's going on outside. It's a nice juxtaposition.

So it's actually silent in the theater. You don't hear

It was a great. It was amazing. I mean, New York has you can hear subways in most theaters. And this this was a the Alamo Ritz is great. You couldn't hear anything but the movie, which is nice.

Wow. And have you guys had any like awesome food experiences here? Barbecue, Mexican? I mean, are there some staples that you guys?

I got to go to the uh Director's Lunch on uh Friday and they gave us what I was told was the best barbecue in in the world or something like that. I don't know what it was. It's called Franklin.

Franklin. Yeah.

Everyone waits for hours in line. We didn't have to do that.

You're a director now.

I had a right away. Now I'm a real director. And now I'm

You're not a civilian anymore.

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. I had had barbecue. Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah. If you guys have not tried it it I haven't actually tried it but I

It's really good.

The brisket.

The brisket. Yeah.

I don't know about that. I don't I don't want to wait in line so I don't really I can't really judge. I'm just kidding. It's a joke. It's a joke. It's great. It's great.

And you're from Texas.

I'm from Dallas. Yeah.

I'm actually from Dallas as well.

Oh, he's from Denton. You know that? So we're It's like a Texas okay awesome. Yeah.

And I just ruined it. I'm a New Yorker.

Yeah. You really are. City Slicker. So you're a New Yorker. Okay. We're And you guys are from

I'm from state next door Arkansas. So okay. You're You've got the south thing going on.

Mickey's from England.

Yeah and Are we We get to Oh. It's right on the roof. Oh did you

No no no. I think it's great actually.

What are they going to Are these mean birds or what's going on here?

Something might drop.

Are going to attack us?

That bird's going to win.

It drops.

That bird's going to sing.

You definitely don't cut before the birds attack us.

Don't add to the Awkward Family Photo.

picture perfectly.

It's the one thing you want on camera.

So The Mend, um this was your you wrote and directed the movie. This is a feature film debut.

Debut. Yeah yeah yeah. It's amazing. Uh yeah it's been a great experience. Um it's been a real like marathon. We we actually only finished shooting in mid October. And so we've been editing and mixing and scoring since then. It's been crazy. Like uh

Does it feel like you have any sense of uh separation yet at all? Cuz you just finished editing, right? So

In a weird way, I've seen the movie at this point so many times that I kind of do. Uh yeah. I mean, I'm just which I don't think and I think I'm still attuned to how it's playing and stuff but last night was the first time I've seen it with uh people. Like or like more than 10 people. Sure. Uh and so that was

How was that experience?

Uh great. I mean, there's some there's a lot of comedy in the movie and that's kind of the only confirmation you can get from the audience is hearing laughter really. And so there was some laughter so it was good. Yeah. It's nice. I think it played well.

And it's sort of like this darker comedy. You know, you're You guys play these dysfunctional brothers practically and you take over his apartment. You know, he's on this trip. He leaves town and then you're just using his a basically break in and stay unwanted and then he comes home and

I announce my um my ability to stay there even without his approval. Yeah. Which is kind of the kind of guy this guy is. He doesn't care what anybody thinks. Um but yeah no it's it's a the the joy of this movie, I think from an audience perspective and also acting it was how playful it is. How playful the sort of dark truths of it are, you know. Anyone who has a dysfunctional family, this movie Any who's got a brother or a sister for that matter. I think you know that kind of relationship where every once in a while you want to grab the person's hair and pull it. That that's the movie.

Yeah. And like crazy just you know, the power goes out or something and then you guys get into all this debauchery. Like what kind of stuff can people expect, you know, from from the movie?

I mean, really it's a story of just uh these two guys the two brothers lives kind of colliding with their girlfriends and their their families. Um again, anybody who knows it's a it's an abstract movie in the sense that it doesn't follow any sort of normal structure. It just sort of lays out these couple days in these people's lives as they sort of meet or remeet or disconnect or whatever may happen. Um and I think told very uh both funny and honest. It's it's a film. I think we're all very proud to be a part of particularly considering it was as tight and tough as you can get when you make a film.

Yeah. Cuz you all were pretty much on top of each other, right? A lot of times?

In in my apartment. Not only in his apartment, but I I showed up at work one day at 5:00 in the morning and literally there was a couple grips in the kitchen, but John and his girlfriend/producing partner were actually still in bed in the bed that I was about to get into to make a scene. It was like they were still asleep.

No, they were still asleep.

It should have been. We should have made a documentary.

It's a David Lynch moment.

Yeah, exactly.

So That's how tight it was.

That's how tight.

And you filmed in New York City. So he would literally go He would yeah, in Harlem.

Harlem. Yeah, it was great.

So that's what added to the vibe of like this just felt so like one of those real dysfunctional family situations living in New York City. Yeah. What was like your, you know, vision for that?

Uh, well, using the city was interesting. I mean, like I wanted to kind of incorporate it as much as possible into the narrative uh And it's a which it's a tricky thing to do. But um, I I hope, I hope it kind of feels like it takes place in a city, not just an apartment. You know what I mean? That's that's a trick. It's like a it's like a hard thing to accomplish I think and I and I was glad I was happy to get like our like our local deli, our local like deli guy, like you know, guys on the street, like trying to like fold in as much as many people as we know and sort of like use friends and have them come in as like little teeny roles. It's fun. A lot of fun.

So how kind of is this film a fresh take from, you know, just films sort of in the same genre? Like what sort of sets it apart?

I think it's uh, it's weirder maybe. Like, I don't really know. I mean, it's

It's weirder and funnier.

It's weirder and funnier, I hope. And it's a bit it's the tone it's a real tonal mix, you know. It's just a strange kind of ride. It's it's a complicated, strange experience and I hope that's what makes makes it stand stand out a little bit.

Awesome. Well, I think everyone is super excited to see it. And great actors.

Yes.

I think that, yeah.

Most movies have terrible actors.

Well, congratulations on everything and everyone check out The Mend.

Thank you, Young Hollywood Network for having us.

Thanks.

Thank you very much.

Absolutely.

Young Hollywood.

Love you, Young Hollywood.