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>> Don't! >> Holy ###! >> Holy ###! Go! Go! Don't pull on it, you'll ruin it! Okay, I've got to take this thing back to me mom in one piece. >> Where are we going? >> Plus, we've got to wait for that thing to close. >> Go, go, go, go, go! >> Man! Do you think those kids called the cops? Should we ditch the van? >> No, just keep driving for now! >> What the hell would you open those blinds? >> I'm sorry! I thought it was hailing! I'm compulsive sometimes. >> A good friend once said to me, John, some people work hard, some people work smart. "The Smart Ones" is a funny, clever, romantic, thrilling, and smart film from directors/writers Kevin Probst and Travis Torok. Gentlemen, welcome to Director's Cut. Did I say your last name right? >> Torok, absolutely. Kyle. >> Kyle, okay, so we've got Kyle and Travis, right? Welcome to Director's Cut. We should start over but we won't. The film was very funny, very entertaining. Set it up for us. Tell us what happens. >> Basically, "The Smart Ones" is about graduate students who decide to steal to pay for their tuition. >> And how and where did that idea come from? >> Good question. >> I think for us, when we started tossing around the idea originally, we were really completely happy with a lot of our classes ourselves. We kind of wanted to do sort of a parody off of that. Travis, himself, you know he's the type of guy who's kind of scrapping by, and he a do-it-yourself type of person. I can see how the idea coming from him, coming up with a clever way to fund your schooling. We kind of wanted to do a play off that. >> Absolutely. >> How did you two meet? How did the relationship form, and how'd you start working together? >> We met freshman year in the dorms at UW-Milwaukee. Basically, we had a couple of film classes together. We discovered that we had, you know, similar interests in movies. We shot our first film together-- what was that, sophomore year I think? >> Yeah. >> We did that in about three days. >> That ended up playing at the Wisconsin Film Festival. It was a short, little horror film. >> And what was that one called? >> That one was called "Rigor Mortis". It was a real short horror film. It actually starred Kyle Gallaghar-Schmitz who plays Charlie in the film, as well as-- >> Who we'll be chatting with later, I believe. >> Yes. As well as Derek Burton Morris, who plays Jim in the film as well. Yeah, we decided we wanted to step outside of what the school was offering us for shooting films and, kind of, take it upon ourselves to do our own work. Then it kind of just snowballed from there. We figured, hey, you know, I think we have a real good thing going here. We'll just keep shooting some films. >> Basically, our senior year we decided we wanted to shoot a feature before we graduated. >> That's what I was going to ask you is, how do you go from the short to the feature? Did you ever stop and say, wait a minute? >> We just wanted to do it before we graduated. We finished shooting the movie before we graduated, but we didn't finish editing for a whole other year. But that's what pushed us to really get started on the film. >> It's kind of a leap of faith. We just wanted to say, hey, let's go for it. >> Was it one of the things where maybe you didn't know better? I don't mean to insult you. >> Absolutely. >> But you where learning as you went, right? >> Oh, absolutely, yeah. I mean, we didn't think we knew it all, but we were trying to be headstrong about it and go in confident, but the whole thing was absolutely a learning process for us. >> Okay, we should take another look at another clip. This is another clip from "The Smart Ones," here on Director's Cut. >> Hey, is that everything from upstairs? >> Yeah. >> Great. I need to grab one more thing before we head out. >> Okay. >> Cool. >> Okay, okay. I get it now. Are you kidding? Ah, this is nice. Jesus Christ, this is nice. >> James? >> Yeah. >> Buddy? >> Yeah. >> Are you okay? >> Yeah, I am okay. You have you noticed how feng shui this house is? The entire face of the house faces East. You come into the dining room and it leads perfectly into the kitchen. Oh, Dean, I'm feeling a lot of chi right now. >> What have we told you about your architectural philandering while on the job? >> That I'm not supposed to interfere on your time, and Charlie's time. Whatever, it's a nice house. >> It is. >> Can we just stay here for a little bit? >> I'll leave that up to you. >> That is a very funny moment from "The Smart Ones," the feng shui of the house. How did you come up with that? >> I don't remember who came up with that honestly. I think we were just trying to, for the first robbery, we wanted to show of how, not how trivial, but how fun it was for the kids. >> Right. >> To break in there. >> They weren't nervous, they were enjoying the moment. >> Right. >> Let's talk about writing, and then into directing. You guys write together. How does that work? >> It wasn't entirely easy at first. Basically, we got a nice outline structure of the film, and we kind of had our scenes laid out. When it came down to that we were just splitting up scenes thinking, hey, I think I'd be good at writing this. I was a lot of back and forth though. It wasn't like, hey, I wrote this scene, and then he's not going to read it until we're shooting. We always went over each other's work. Essentially we wrote it together, but some of the scenes we wrote separately at first and then we'd go back and kind of go over it together. >> Were there ever moments were you really wanted something, or you really wanted something, and a little-- >> Yeah, absolutely. >> How'd you get around that? >> Basically, just by-- >> Fighting. >> Wrestle? >> Yeah, a lot of wrestling. >> Okay, so writing, a lot of people write together, a lot of partnerships and groups. TV shows have 11 writers. But directing, other than the Cohen brothers, name two famous directors that work together. That doesn't happen a lot. Tell us about managing that, and was that a good idea? >> I think it was a great idea honestly. Especially considering we didn't have any money for the movie starting off, and just how big the project was. It wasn't a short film. It was a feature movie. And there were shoots were either Kyle couldn't make it as a director/producer because of his schedule, and same with me. There was a couple of shoots that I couldn't make. >> You were saying, for the last
clip it was about 3
00 in the morning. I'm guessing you had a lot of that with the sets you had to use. >> Yeah. Coming back to the actual directing portion of it. You know, I think that the fact that we didn't really entirely know what we were doing the whole time. We had a general idea but we'd never tackled a project this big. So having another person to say, hey, does this idea look right to you? Or being able to bounce that idea off of someone constantly I think really helps reassure your own creative ideas. It gives you more confidence when you're going into a shoot. We always made sure we were absolutely prepared going into every shoot, being about to talk it through. >> I'm almost afraid to ask this question. But if one of you couldn't make it and the other made some decisions, how do you handle that post-shoot. >> We never actually had any problems post-shoot honestly. We'd always talk the day before if one of us couldn't make it. We'd be like, hey, these are the idea I feel most strongly about. And we have really similar ideas about filmmaking and what kind of movies and comedy we like. It was just about hashing it out beforehand. >> We stayed pretty true to the script as well. So once we had our shooting style down. We'd have the location as well. There'd be a lot of preparation, so we would feel confident it was Travis of myself going into that that day without the other one. >> Comedy is not easy, and there's some very funny moments in this. Does one of you have more of a comedy background? Or where did that come from? >> I'd say-- >> It's a hard question, are you funny? >> Exactly. Probably not, but-- I'd probably say equally both. Then I'd say the actors added a ton of humor as well. >> Did they have a little freedom? >> Yeah, we gave them a lot of freedom. I think that was one of the hardest things for us initially, was writing the script first and then seeing how that was going to translate onto the actual, you know, camera itself. >> You have to adapt for the actors as well, that you end up casting. Some of them might not fit the part perfectly. >> It's weird because you hear it in your head a hundred times, and then the minute someone else says it, it doesn't sound like what you had. >> Yeah, you think it's funny initially. So I guess, like he was saying, we owe a lot of that credibility to our actors who were able to bring their own, sort of, characters to it. They were really invested in the characters that we wrote for them. They spend a lot of time before shoots and were able to mold those characters to themselves as well. >> Speaking of your actors, let's look at some more of their work in another clip from "The Smart Ones." >> Let me explain to you our process. Several weeks before we pull a job I stake a place out and gather all the information I need. I sit in my van, like a creeper, and I watch them. I spend hours observing the home owner so I can get a feel for their schedules. You know, when they're at home, when they're at work, etc. >> So you follow them? But how do you know their names and who they are? >> That's one of the most dangerous parts of my job. >> So you have no problem stealing from complete strangers? >> It tends to get sticky otherwise. I never let things get too personal.
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clip it was about 3
That's mine. >> Well, how do you know the layout and what's inside? >> It's easy enough. Then it's just a matter of opportunity. This one's definitely going on the list! I call these two sluggers in to earn their cut, which pretty much involves unplugging electronics and hauling them into the van. Then I schlep the goods up to Sheboygan. I've got a guy who sells it online. Now you know all my top trade secrets and business philosophy. Steal from the rich, give to the poor. Viola! >> Viola? >> It's "voila." And I think it's juvenile, what you do. >> Nobody's perfect. >> It's all about the process, and the process here is we've switched out one Kyle for another Kyle. Kyle Gallagher-Schmitz joins us, who played the part of Charlie in "The Smart Ones." Welcome, Kyle. >> Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. >> And Travis is here, in case you go rouge. He's here to keep you in line. Another funny scene about the process of how you do the actual robberies. Charlie looked like it was fun to play. Was it fun to play? >> Yeah, it was. It was a good time. I think it was the best summer I ever had in college. >> How much acting experience had you had? Because you, to be honest with you, you looked like you were holding you own. I looked like, I don't want to say easy, but you were acting well. >> Thank you very much. >> You're welcome. >> I did plays in high school and I went to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and did their BFA program for acting. I'd done a fair amount of plays before that. So I've had a fair amount of experience, but I treated it as-- I just wanted to do the best I could so I'd have a really awesome reel when I moved out to Los Angeles. >> Is that what you're doing? >> Yeah, I'm actually moving in August. >> I can tell you're excited about it. >> I'm really excited about it. >> You did plays and then you went to filmmaking, which we all know is a different beast, because there's a lot of waiting around. How was it? Were you okay in between? On stage it's always go, go, go. Were you all right waiting between set-ups? >> Yeah, you know, it's different, but the mentality is the same. You know, you keep it quick, keep it fast, high-energy. You don't do it as expressively on film. It's different, but the same gig. >> The scene where Charlie talks about the animal-- >> Yes, yes. >> Where did that come from? That's hilarious. >> That's him, he wrote it. That was in the script. >> Do we have to get the other Kyle back to tell us? He's coming back. >> I can't remember exactly why I thought it up, but I will say that Kyle Probst and I both knew that Kyle Gallagher-Schmitz was going to play the role of Charlie while we were writing it. That greatly influenced the way we wrote his material compared to some of the other actors, or characters, who did know who we were going to cast yet. >> Did you go through an audition process for everybody else? You were writing for Kyle, but-- >> Absolutely. The only two people we knew we really wanted to have in it were Kyle Gallagher-Schmitz and Derek Burton-Morris who we worked with in the short film, "Rigor Mortis." Everybody else, we had auditions and freshly casted for the film. >> So Kyle-- I almost called you Charlie. You did a good job. Tell us about the future for you. You're headed out to LA. What's your plan? >> Well, I'm moving out with Derek Burton-Morris, a good buddy of mine from college. We did the BFA together. I'm moving there, signing a lease August 1st. I've got to come back to Milwaukee. I keep forgetting we're not in Milwaukee. We're in Madison. I've got to come back to Milwaukee-- >> We're everywhere. The show airs everywhere. >> This is sweet. It's going to go on my facebook I'm coming back to Milwaukee for the 110th. I work at this hotel and we're filming at the 110th. We got permission from Harley to film. We're doing this documentary series about all the festivals in Milwaukee. >> We keep busy, absolutely. >> Torok over here, he's writing, it's called "River West Greaser Gang" and it's this pilot we're trying to work on. Basically, I'm just bumping up my reel, producing stuff, trying to keep busy. >> Did you let Kyle go with some of those lines? Because that's some very fun stuff. Were you just letting him have fun and just rolling? How did that work? >> Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. We always had the script there, they always when off of the script. But if something wasn't working, or if something was working, we'd just be, like, as long as the essence of the scene still gets across. That's what we were most worried about. >> A lot of directors are a little older. Was it tough being around the same age group when you're directing someone? Were you actors cooperative with you? Were you cooperative? >> Oh, yeah! >> They were phenomenal, all the actors were phenomenal. It was actually easier directing the actors who were closer to my age. It's a little less intimidating, rather than directing actors such as Mack Heath, Tim Towne, Mark Metcalf. He's in the film. >> People who've been around for a while. We're going to talk about him. Kyle, we're going to look at another clip. Thanks for joining us. Best of luck. Here's another clip on Director's Cut. I broke my own model last night. On purpose. >> Why the hell would you do something like that? >> I kind of hit a roadblock. I got a little angry and smashed my model. Before you say anything, sir, all's not lost, because I'm working on a small, thirty acre subdivision. >> Is that a new project? >> Essentially it's a new project, but it's got the same concept as the last design. >> I'm going to stop you right there, Jim, all right? >> It just contains-- >> Listen to me! Here's the deal, all right? Nine weeks ago you proposed a project to me. I act as the client in this relationship. Correct? >> Yes, that's correct. >> I accepted that proposal. You made a commitment to complete that project. All right? Now you have to honor that commitment. You may have hit a roadblock, of course you did. You may have gotten angry, of course you did. That happens. A professional architect goes over that roadblock, moves on beyond the anger, and completes the project. You honor the commitment. That's what graduate school is about. We're teaching you to become a professional architect. Is that correct? >> Correct. >> Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. You're one of the brightest students I have. You can't just dump it mid-stream like this. Jimmy, come on! Hey, listen, what's really going on in your life? You can talk to me. >> What do you mean? >> Is it a woman, hmm, your girl? Oh, yeah, ooh, the ladies, man. They will get ya every time. I know that. >> Veteran actor Mark Metcalf in a scene from "The Smart Ones." Okay, I'm just slightly older than you two. I'm actually the age, probably, of you two combined. "Animal House," the Twisted Sister video-- Sorry, back in the days when M-TV had videos. How did you get Mark Metcalf? >> I'd worked with him on a documentary shoot prior. I didn't meet him in person, but we were working together. That's when I found out that he's a local Milwaukee actor. It was a high school shoot actually. He was just helping the high school students out, honestly. I thought he had a phenomenal work ethic. I contacted a couple people that were in charge of that shoot and they sent me his e-mail, we shot him the script, and he amazingly said, yeah. So we got to shoot with Mark Metcalf for one day. We rocked out two scenes. >> Okay, so as an independent filmmakers, I know because I've been there. It's tough, right? The craft service table is small, there's no trailer. How is he to work with as far as, you know, working with you guys? >> He was fantastic to work with. I mean, we obviously made sure that we were the most prepared for this shoot too. Because it was a little intimidating at first, being with someone of that stature. But working with him, you could tell, he knows what he's doing right off the bat. He had his lines ready. He rolled through 12 takes real quick. It was just real smooth. It was probably one of the smoother shoots that we've had. >> And he actually as an actor, went off and started doing some-- >> Improvising? >> Yeah, of his own. As directors we were just like, this is phenomenal, this is hilarious. >> And you just let it roll. >> Kept rolling, absolutely. He definitely contributed his part as well. >> That scene that he's in, that location was great. How hard was it with, I'm guessing, not a lot of budget, to get your locations? >> Locations were just basically calling in a lot of favors. You'll see a lot of the lecture halls and offices, like that architecture scene for instance. They were all shot on the UW-Milwaukee campus. I guess being a film major there, we had a little bit of pull there. So that was easy, then everything beyond that was just asking favors. The bar scene for instance, we knew the owner and said, hey, can we shoot here for a day? Can you turn the music off? Which is not easy to do. And then the suburban areas were actually around in my hometown so parent's house, neighbors' houses. So basically, where ever we could get for free, because we couldn't afford location fees. >> Did anybody in the fancy homes the guys were robbing, did you have to sign any kind of waiver, that you-- >> No, it was actually that almost all those people I knew. They were family friends and stuff so it was more-- >> Just a handshake. >> Hoping we don't do anything wrong and have to beg for forgiveness. >> Now you guys didn't actually do any robbing to finance this film, did you? >> No. >> We thought about it, but no. >> You did use Kickstarter for some of it, correct? How did that work for you, and would that be something you would say yes, do, for other young filmmakers? >> I'd say it was perfect for the project, for "The Smart Ones." Absolutely, we were originally planning on only shooting for a month, and then a month in we had about a quarter of it shot. We decided, okay, we need to re-raise a little bit of money at least. That's when we started the Kickstarter. That's right when we shot with Mark Metcalf so he helped us out with that. We could advertise that he was part of the movie as well. But it was fundamental in finishing the project, absolutely. Because we still had three more months of shooting. >> That's a long shoot. >> And nobody got paid. None of the actors got paid. None of the crew got paid. It was all just friends and local crew and talent in the area that we just talked to and they all just donated their time. >> I want to talk about that process, but let's look at another clip first. It's never a good idea to kiss in the middle of a robbery. Here's another clip form "The Smart Ones." The first time that I stole anything my hands wouldn't stop shaking. >> When did it stop? >> It didn't. >> I didn't know you got so nervous. >> Every night, but don't tell Dean. >> What's in it for me? >> I won't tell him about your endorphins. >> Deal. >> Where the hell is that other plug? >> Are you looking for this? >> Yes, I am. >> You're turning into quite the thief. Be careful. It might turn into a habit. >> Habits can easily change. Actually, I was thinking of taking up gardening later in life. I'd better get this to the van. >> Sally. I think you'd make a really fantastic burglar. And I probably should have asked you this a little while ago, but do you want to get dinner tomorrow? Possibly a movie? Sweet. I guess I gotta do some work. You keep loading. >> Oh, right. >> Rule number one of robbing houses, you don't make out while robbing houses! I always feel bad for Dean. Because Jim and Sally are-- Anyway. You guys are young filmmakers, it was a challenge for you to make this and you were begging people to help you out. What did you learn? What advice would you give to someone who's just starting out making their first feature, or even a short? >> I think one of the biggest things that I learned initially was that you can actually get a lot more done with a lot less than you think. Granted, money did become an issue at some point. But anything before that, you see the dolly shots that we had in there, and all that. Those were, you know, we created those rigs ourselves. >> You made some of your own gear. >> Right, you know, you don't need a $2,000 boom pole to get your audio. You can strap it to a pool cue if you need to. You know, we did have a lot of help with the film equipment room, but getting a lot more done with a lot less is I think one of the biggest things I learned. >> What about your crew? How do you keep the crew around? I know you begging and calling in favors, but what advice? >> I'd say, make sure you have food and drinks on set all the time. And then, just try to explain to them that hopefully whatever you're working on will benefit them as much as it's going to benefit you. For everybody that was involved with "The Smart Ones," we told them, we can't pay you but if you need something for your reel, it's experience. If you can deliver a 110%, we'll do the same as directors and producers. >> We only have a minute left. Tell me about the film festival. How was it playing in the Wisconsin Film Festival? Was it a blast? >> It was awesome. We sold out the morning of, which was great, and then had a packed house. Everybody was laughing. It was a great experience. >> It was a great reception. We were really happy to be there, and we got a lot more laughs than I initially though it would. >> It's different when you watch it in the editing room verses having 200, 100 people in a room. Everyone's going to laugh at something. >> Right. Possibly I'd seen it a hundred times at that point. >> That's not funny anymore! What's next for you two? >> A lot of projects in the works. We're working on a comedy series that we're developing that we're going to release this summer. Then as well we're working on documentary series called "Own MKE" which is a website that helps promote small, independent businesses on a network and map that you can go and click on. Then one documentary will play about the small, niche business that you might not know of if you haven't lived in Milwaukee a couple of years. >> That's a great idea! We'll be on look out for that. We've got to run. Thanks guys for being here so much. We appreciate it. >> Thanks a lot, John. >> Thanks everyone for watching. For more information on "The Smart Ones," please visit our website at wpt.org and click on Director's Cut. We'll see you next time right here on Director's Cut. >> I can't take this. I can't take this anymore! I've got to get outta here. >> What do you mean you can take this? Where are you going? >> I'm going to go take a bath.
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