Toby Poser: The Shoot Interview

14th October 2014

An independent film that’s even more powerful, more effective, and better-performed than most studio fare? That’d be The Shoot, but no surprise to hear that producer and actor Toby Poser is a Rocky fan – her film was seemingly crafted from the same wood.

The internet has been running a lot on The Shoot of late. Is the support of online important to an indie film?

Definitely. It’s like a big pool party to invite others to dive into, as opposed to a small cocktail party with room for one nice, but small, jacuzzi. It’s so cool when someone you haven’t seen since you were a kid gets in touch and says, “Hey, I saw your movies!” And they saw them because they knew they existed (and where you could watch them) from the internet… from perhaps Facebook or Twitter… where they’d perhaps seen an article posted from a cool website like yours …. It’s a beautiful web.

You’ve also seemingly got a devoted audience, because of your previous films. Is it nice knowing they’ll be people ready and raring to rent your movie when it comes out?

Yes, the support and encouragement is the best cherry on an already tasty cake. But we are aware that we can’t slack off with our production values. Even your best mates won’t be jazzed if you keep slinging the same old hash.

What are your hopes for The Shoot? Would you like to go to cinemas, or do you believe that a good DVD or VOD release is just as beneficial to a film nowadays?

There’s nothing like the thrill of seeing a film on a big screen, so the old fashioned film lover in me is hoping for a targeted theatrical release for The Shoot first, followed by a nice digital/VOD/DVD release. That would be sweet.

Films take a long time – and a lot of time – to get done. When did The Shoot start up?

The idea for it sparked from a photo shoot John was on in the 90’s. It was a fancy shoot in the Moroccan desert, and the thought always stuck with him how easy if might be to rob a posh set up in the remote desert with all this expensive equipment and all the colorful characters you might find on a fashion shoot. So over the course of last year, the current manifestation of that idea (The Shoot) trickled out from a thought, to a script (or a few), to a full blown production. The shooting itself took place mostly over a month, in both the desert (Joshua Tree) and Los angeles.

Have you screened it for an audience yet? Is that a good way to gauge what works and what doesn’t about a film?

No, we have not had a big public audience yet. While I’m sure that can really help gauge if a film is working the way you want it to, we have mostly counted on a few solid heads to run it by first. I tend to be very protective of our “baby,” letting it fully develop in our eyes before releasing it to the world to fare as it will.

Your production company is made up of the other members of your family. Do you all share the same tastes in movies? Were you all set on making The Shoot?

Yes, Wonder Wheel Productions is made up of my husband, John Adams, and our two girls, Lulu (16) and Zelda (11) and myself. The girls have pretty decent taste in movies, often introducing us to films that would have slipped below our radar. We all like a good thriller or funny, outrageous flick now and then, but the girls are not into horror yet. I’ll look forward to that day!

For The Shoot, the girls were very supportive. They have really smart input, as far as keeping a story real. Great BS monitors.

Do all the members of your family have roles in the film too?

John and I act in The Shoot, but the girls, who have acted in our other films (Rumblestrips and Knuckle Jack) were involved on the production end for this one. They helped with the camera work or sound mixing, or entertaining the other actors on set.

I just read an excellent, glowing review of your film online. How important are critics in today’s day and age though? Does it still matter what a reviewer says, in your opinion?

Thank you for the mention! We are ready to field all kinds of reviews of The Shoot. It’s apparent to me that reviews come in all shapes and sizes, and just like the weather forecast, I take any review with a grain of salt, since they don’t necessarily speak for me and my personal tastes. Of course a positive review is very helpful and feels pretty damn good, but I respect different opinions and think it’s cool we live in a place and time where so many opinions can be formed around so many different forms of expression. So, no, the review doesn’t rule. I think I learned early on, from acting onstage in particular, that you gotta have slick skin. Just let that stuff roll off…..

Finally, what’s your favorite film of all time?

I love Rocky. Every time.

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