Matt Riddlehoover: Independent Charm
by Bambi Weavil
Our interview with out indy filmmaker and actor, the charming Matt Riddlehoover (Facebook):
Bambi Weavil: MySpace has really helped propel your career when you released your trailer, To a Tee and you were subsequently nominated and won for the MySpace Film User’s Choice Award. Let’s start off with how you ended up on MySpace and if you had
to seek out new friends or friends found you? How has MySpace helped market you?
Matt Riddlehoover: I think I ended up on MySpace like most of us did when it first started to become a household name, ya know, somebody asked, “Do you have a MySpace”? And living under a rock at the time, I answered, “A what”? So anyway, after further convincing, it seemed like a great, easy way to keep in touch with friends, a way to connect with people you’d meet around town, and a great way to learn about new music. And then when I signed up for the filmmaker account, I uploaded the trailer, just for giggles of course, and added all of my friends, or, the people I really actually know, and then as soon as the whole User’s Choice Award stuff hit the main page, it was like a whirlwind of interest.
I’d get hundreds of friend requests daily, tons of messages from people wanting to know how they could see the movie, where they could buy it, and I wrote as many of them as I could, not really knowing what to say since the movie was still in the cutting room. But, yeah, as it turned out, MySpace is also a great place for marketing films! And for that I’m grateful.
BW: I got hooked on you after a friend request from your profile – so MySpace is also a great tool for us as well. Once I saw your To a Tee trailer I knew I not only wanted to see it but interview you! Tell us how would you describe To a Tee?
MR: It’s a dark comedy. It’s definitely not a romantic comedy, I wouldn’t call it a date movie. It’s about a gay playwright who finds himself attracted to the same dark and handsome, and difficult types of guys over and over – which, more often than not, end up making great material for his plays. And then it’s also about what happens when a close friend introduces him to her dark and handsome, and difficult boyfriend.
So, it’s about a lot of things. It’s about attraction, friendship, betrayal, ultimately some sort of infidelity.
BW: What was your budget like for To a Tee? From what I can tell from the trailer, the soundtrack is going to be great. Can you talk to us about who contributed to the soundtrack?
MR: To a Tee didn’t cost that much to make actually. It was something that I wanted to do, did it independently, my friends were my actors, my classmates crewed. Musicians that I’d worked with before leant some tracks to the film, there’s a track from Matthew Ryan, one from Strays Don’t Sleep, another by Newton Dominey. And I think all in all, I called upon the talent that I did, because I knew they’d give their best and want to make something that we could all be proud of.
BW: It’s the question we can’t help but ask: how much of the movie is based on you?
MR: Like a percentage? Wouldn’t be much at all. I wrote the character and I played the character, but that doesn’t change the fact that the character is the type of person I cannot stand, but interestingly enough, the kind of story I find the most intriguing. I think flawed people, flawed heroes are the most interesting to explore. But again, this
guy lies and steals his best friend’s boyfriend and still expects the sun to shine and all to be well. I’m sometimes a painfully honest person, so the situations this character finds himself in, I doubt I’ll ever face. And bro’s before hoes in my book.
Or, I guess in my case, sistas before studs.
BW: Where can people order or see To a Tee?
MR: It’ll be available on DVD through Amazon soon. So, keep your eyes peeled!
To A Tee movie trailer
BW: You’ve also worked with Strays Don’t Sleep on two music videos, one which was featured on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, have you received any feedback and attention based on your work with them?
MR: I had a blast. Matthew Ryan is a great friend of mine and an amazing songwriter, and the Strays shoot is how we first met. We shot them back in 2005, so when the album finally dropped last year and they had one of the songs on One Tree Hill and they played Conan and the videos started snatching up awards, it was all so surprising.
BW: How did you get into film making?
MR: When I was a baby in Bermuda, my Dad videotaped everything. He’d tape me eating, sleeping, playing on the beach, splashing in the tub, watching TV, anything. Later on in Charleston, in junior high, I started picking up the camera myself, just taping anything and everything, kinda like my Dad. So, I think those home movies from
Bermuda are what started my interest in being behind the camera, or in front of it. Whichever way you look at it.
BW: What do you feel is your strongest point as a filmmaker?
MR: That’s tough. I don’t know. Okay, no, maybe this is easier than I think. This may not make sense, but I think it depends on the season. If I’m writing, I’m writing. If I’m directing, it’s directing. If I’m editing, it’s all I can think about. When I’m writing a script, don’t expect me to direct something else, I couldn’t. I’m way too into what I
write when I’m in writing mode. When I’m directing it’s the same. If I’m making a film and have to write a piece for a class or something, chances are it’ll suck. And if I’m editing a film, certainly don’t expect me to be able to write or direct something else – editing is already like re-writing and re-directing the movie you’ve just finished shooting. So, I guess my strongest point is being able to focus? I take it all very seriously and a film usually becomes my week, my Friday night, my life.
BW: What stories are you looking to tell with your filmmaking next?
MR: I have a bunch of different ideas. For instance, one’s a comedy that begins when a DMV employee follows a hot guy in a hardhat from a gas station to his construction site and then jots-down his plate number for additional info. More to come, maybe. I guess I won’t know what’s what until I sit down to start writing again. But Bookends ended up being a lot darker than To a Tee, so I’m thinking regardless of what I do next, it’ll be a comedy.
BW: What made you move to Nashville? Do you plan to call Nashville your home?
MR: I moved here for school and never expected that I’d be working and making my own films before graduation, much less while still in Nashville. So, yeah, Nashville is home definitely, right now anyway. I may move to New York after I get my degree. We’ll see.
BW: What is Nashville like from a film community sense? What is it like as a gay community?
MR: The Nashville film community is certainly growing. You’d be surprised how many people here are interested in film or filmmaking. The film festival seems to get bigger and bigger each year.
And the gay community here rocks. They’ve been so, so supportive of me this past year.
BW: Can you describe your coming out story for us?
MR: It’s really kind of boring. My Mom asked several times growing up if I was gay, and finally one day I answered, “Yes”. My parents are highly supportive and loving, creative people. I know that they accept me for who I am, and have always supported my interest in film and what I do.
BW: What inspires you?
MR: I guess people that make me question things? Odd situations? I don’t know.
Good music, rich desserts, anything. I think energy and motivation keep me going more than anything else.
BW: Tell us about Bookends, it looks rather sexy!
MR: It is rather sexy! It’s a bedroom, relationship drama about a group of friends with checkered pasts who’ve all brought some sort of surprise to a birthday party. And more than anything it’s about observation. We shot it all handheld, like a documentary or reality TV almost, like a total invasion of privacy. I just really want an audience to be able to take a good look at these people and watch. I think sometimes the best way to get to know someone is by watching them, what they do, how they behave, it’s all very telling. And in a movie like this, being able to communicate those things silently is important because the majority of the conflict in the film is internal.
BW: What nonprofits or causes do you find yourself drawn to and supporting?
MR: I’d love to get more involved in human rights and animal rights organizations. I just wish I had the time now. But one day, I’ll be all about it!
BW: Thank you for your time Matt! We expect big, big things in your future!
For more information on Matt, please check out his MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/riddlehoover.
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