INTERVIEW WITH TIM NAYLOR, DIRECTOR OF "THE HENCHMAN OF NOTRE DAME"
How did it feel when you were first notified that you had been selected for the Houston Comedy Film Festival?
It’s a great feeling. One, I love Houston. Two I love BBQ. Three, HCFF is aimed towards comedy and I’m a big believer in trying times, making folks laugh is a most noble pursuit. I’ve been to many festivals - some good, some bad. I’ve also worked in comedy, working as a cameraman on "Inside Amy Schumer", "Search Party" and more. The vibe on a comedy set is a 180 degrees different than working on “serious" dramas. You get paid to laugh. I’m hoping, this being my first comedy fest, it combines my love of movies and being around people that love to laugh. Believe it or not, there are people in this world that don’t like comedy. Granted, I have blocked them from my life. But I have hope, that one day when my films elicit so much as a snicker out of them, my work is done.
Why did you start entering film festivals?
First and foremost, to see a live audience enjoy the film. When you screen in a theater before a packed house, you see things land that you had no idea existed. You also see what lands with a thud or a whisper. In short, you learn loads about your skills as a mass entertainer. I know some people who get their rocks off on “likes”. Good for them. Actually, it’s pretty bad for them and I pity their souls. I live for the the shared enjoyment from a live audience. Something happens. With that many people in a crowded space, it triggers a pheromone feedback loop. There’s nothing like fear, relief, laughter, anxiety of a crowded room to make an unforgettable experience. Watch it at home or an empty theater, aside from feeling incredibly alone, your visceral reactions, absent a crowd, is like mornings on decaf.
How did you get starting in film making?
As a child, one day, I started making flip page animations in the margins of books. In my folks house, both academics, in many a classic text from Dickens to the Bible, you’d find these curious little stick figures drawn in pencil in the margins. Flip the pages and they’d come to life, usually as boxing or Kung Fu matches with the occasional tank or explosion thrown in. Those were my first films. Fast forward to college, I was studying industrial design hoping to design fast cars and cool furniture when I took a Super 8 film course. That changed everything.
Overall, how has the experience been so far with the Houston Comedy Film Festival?
I’ll give you the lowdown when it’s over. But so far the correspondence has been enthusiastic to the point where I'm looking at flights, Airbnb as well as researching the best local BBQ.
Do you have any more film projects that we can look forward to enjoying at our festivals in the future?
Yes. I recently finished a short documentary titled “Keeping the Peace”, chronicling the protests that took place around the corner from me in Brooklyn. It’s dedicated to those who are peaceful and keep the peace. I released this on You Tube as I felt the need to get it out fast. Other than that, I’ve a stack of sketch comedy that I’m tailoring for a show I can best describe as cinematic comedy, like a Black Mirror but funny. The issue I have with much of sketch and short form these days, is the lack cinematic language. My film, “The Henchman of Notre Dame”, bubbled out of a sketch writing class I took at Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC. Best 400 bucks I’ve spent in a while. After adapting it for film, I figured, let’s make this look and feel like a real movie (albeit, a very old one). So we went out of our way to give it a definitive lingua cinema. Other than that, I’m also developing the most insane reality / unscripted show that doesn’t involve butt injections or botox. If all goes to plan, I’ll be the Master of my Universe, and it'll finance my filmmaking addiction. With Zoom, I’ll direct episodes from one of my islands in slippers and a bathrobe.
What does the future hold for you in the entertainment industry?
Hopefully alot. Aside from doing home repairs and mastering Kalua pork during a pandemic, I’m not much qualified to do anything else but work in film. My stock, trade and IMDB page is in the camera department. When I can make a living at writing and directing, I’ll say goodbye to that in a heartbeat. Not that I don’t like camerawork - it ain’t digging ditches, but what is? I’m ready for a change. I’m bullish on the future as more and more content avenues pop up. They’ll need guys like me to create it. While I share some of the laments about the decline or death of cinema as theaters have been relegated to tent pole films, sequels, essentially men in tights movies, bemoaned by the likes of Scorcese, I also have to be realistic and adapt. The ideal is to have your work shown in crowded theaters nationwide. But I won’t complain if millions see on a 55” screen at home either. There are some cultural trends that do concern me though. In today’s ideological battlefield, with comedy, it’s like tip toeing through a linguistic minefield as anything truly hilarious will offend someone somewhere. It’s the law of laughs. Sooner or later someone will call me out for not casting a real hearing impaired hunchback. I am optimistic though that the mirthless masses will wake up one day, realize how sour faced their world has become, reach the boiling point and tell a joke. Cheers to that.