Olmo Schnabel and GrearPatterson Think Gen Z DeservesBetterMark Alan Burger

Olmo Schnabel and Grear Patterson. Photo courtesy of Olmo Schnabel.

Giants Being Lonely, the debut feature film directed by Grear Pattersonand produced by Olmo Schnabel, appears, at first blush, to be yet anothercoming of age film about high schoolers balancing sex, love, family, andloneliness (also, baseball). But what occurs over the course the film’s 80-odd minutes involves so much more, including (but not limited to):extended walks through the sanctuary of nature, the search for purpose ina chaotic world, all that’s found along the path for love and acceptance, andall that’s lost—but try putting that on IMDb. Giants Being Lonely marksmany firsts for the filmmaking duo: it’s Patterson’s first feature film as a

director (who now adds that title to his resumé alongside painter, sculptor,and photographer–one who’s shown in London, Vienna, and New York, toname few), Schnabel’s first as a producer, and the first film to come fromtheir production company, ROD3O, which they hope to use to spotlighthonest stories centered around Gen Z. Giants Being Lonely makes itsworld debut at the 76th Venice Film Festival this Sunday, and is the onlyAmerican film in the Horizons Competition, which highlights new trendsand figures in international filmmaking. Ahead of its premiere, Interviewcaught up with the pair to discuss the genesis of the film, why they thinkthe current portrayals of Gen Z onscreen are especially convoluted, andhow they plan to change them.

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MARK BURGER: I went in sort of blind–I read the blurb of the film online,and I knew that it was something to do with baseball and summer and highschool. But I was completely unprepared for the film. And what a way toend it! It was very unexpected.

OLMO SCHNABEL: I think that even though the movie has a darkness toit, and the characters are dealing with issues of abandonment andloneliness–these tough, profound human issues—it’s based on a true story.Grear, when he was in high school, was the first person to find out aboutwhat happened. It’s definitely a controversial decision, but I think it’s alsokind of a signature. I think it closes it out in a way where people at leastknow what happened, where maybe at moments you don’t know what’shappening. You don’t know why he’s on the verge of a nervous breakdownwhen his dad’s talking to him in the shed. So I think at the end, after notshowing anything, we thought it would be important to show everybody.

BURGER: Were there any specific paintings, films, or any other media thatyou were looking to while you were making the film?

GREAR PATTERSON: We didn’t watch any movies while we were makingthe film, but we watched Fat City and Elephant together a lot.

SCHNABEL: Barry Lyndon, Stand By Me, Badlands. Before the movie, wewatched this kind of stuff, then afterwards, we didn’t want to be asaffected. At the beginning, the Hudson River Valley School was somethingthat Grear and I spoke about, because we thought it was really interestingto think about this character in nature, and having nature be thissanctuary. That’s why we have Bobby (Jack Irving) running around in thewoods. When we went into the edit, we really cut down on a lot of stuff–wecould’ve made a whole movie about this kid just walking around in thewoods. When we went to North Carolina, we got there 15 days earlier withjust him, and we were just driving around Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, allover North Carolina, just running around the woods and filming nature.He was just able to integrate into the landscape. He felt very comfortable inthat world rather quickly.

Ben Irving in Giants Being Lonely.

BURGER: What was the intention behind choosing not to have a strictlydefined narrative?

PATTERSON: I think we really wanted to make it so that the story wouldbe relevant to as many people as possible. So by leaving the keyinformation out, the viewer was able to connect with it, and generate alittle bit of their own story. It made it so it was unique to each individual.

SCHNABEL: The movie is a feeling, it’s a state of mind, and that’s what wetry to evoke. It’s what it feels to be at that moment in your life. What it feelsto be in your head–to be on a team, or be surrounded by your friends, butyou truly feel alone. These are feelings that we think are pretty universal.When you hear “coming of age” or “baseball” you think, “Okay, America,kids.” But I think the movie lends itself to a wider audience. That’s what Ithink is beautiful about the movie–there’s an openness to it, and I thinkthat makes it more intimate and relatable.

Both Grear and I put a lot of our own, personal feelings into it. Jack, Ben,and Lily have been our best friends for a long time. Jack and Ben, the twomain actors, are brothers, and they’ve been my best friends since I waseleven. The movie is based on feelings, and instead of telling people aboutfeelings, it was more about an impression. When you see movies about kidsthese days, everything is so over-expository and vulgar. I don’t believe inthat. I believe that kids are sensitive. And with Adam (Ben Irving), at theend of the movie, I don’t think he comes off as being this evil criminal. Ithink he’s a victim to his life circumstances, and he couldn’t make it. Hegot pushed to the edge. This is something that’s happening around us, andit’s an issue we’d definitely like to have an open conversation about.

PATTERSON: Even though it has these kind of dark qualities, we still wantit to be positive. Allowing people to know that they’re not alone, and thatthese things happen, and that life is tough for everyone. Bobby, he doesn’thave anything, but he still has love in his life.

SCHNABEL: Bobby survives because, even though his dad’s an alcoholicand he’s completely couch-ridden, he tells him he loves him. So he may beabsent, but at the end of the day, Bobby is motivated by love. It’s a sadreality how, at that age, everything is so small–school, and the girls youdate, your friends, feeling insecure. It’s a volatile time. We wanted to besensitive to our subjects, and not have them on cell phones the whole timeand not have them cursing. I think the kids actually get a bad rep. Wewanted to show the beauty in adolescence. The world that we portrayedwas a world that we loved. It’s a world that doesn’t exist anymore. We

strayed away from the strip mall, we strayed away from a hyper-realisticportrait of America, and opted towards this fantastical world of the South,but we also wanted the world that we portrayed to be international. That’swhy we don’t even mention in the movie that it’s in Hillsborough, NorthCarolina. Grear and I, we set out to do something, and we made a promiseto each other, and we went there kind of like The Little Engine that Could.

PATTERSON: Yeah, The Little Engine that Could. “I think I can, I think Ican.”

SCHNABEL: We were like, “Yes, yes, yes, this is possible,” and look at itnow–it’s the only American movie in the Orizzonti Competition. I think it’simportant to tell stories like this about America, because even though it’snot political, we see a beauty in a place where, now with this whole politicalsituation, and even though this movie has ugliness in it, there might bemore love in this than the political climate in America right now. Creatingthis little world that isn’t America, but it is America, was very fun.

PATTERSON: It’s honest, and I think we really try our best to respect ourviewers. We’re never trying to assume that they know or they don’t knowanything. It’s really just trying to deliver them the information in the mostgraceful and efficient as possible way.

SCHNABEL: While leaving them space to come to their own conclusions.

PATTERSON: Exactly.

SCHNABEL: It doesn’t tell you what to feel, but it makes you feelsomething. That is something we’d like to continue to do with the workwe’re moving forward with. This is just the first piece to a body of work.ROD3O, our production company, is focused on making what we considerquality content for Generation Z, with its umbrella of independent cinemaand art house films. It’s a dying sub genre, I think, and we’d like to bring itback, contextualize it, and teach people about it.

PATTERSON: Hopefully, it’ll help people.

BURGER: Do you think there’s a lack in film, television, or otherwise,that’s portraying Gen Z, but sort of from an unfair viewpoint?

SCHNABEL: One hundred percent. I think that the portrayal of the youthand adolescence is a little bit convoluted and skewed. What I see, what Ihear, technology, social media–all of these things stray away from actuallytalking about feelings and the self. We want to bring it back to things thathave been talked about forever. We’re not reinventing the wheel here, but Ithink we want to respect young people, and show people it’s okay to besensitive and vulnerable. These are things that actually enable creativityand art-making. We’ve shown the film to kids, and it’s funny because itspeaks to them, but they don’t know the way it’s speaking to them. They’relike, “Wow, this is questioning me, and it’s confronting me, but it’s okay.It’s not making me uncomfortable. It’s thought-provoking.”

PATTERSON: It sounds really cheesy, but I remember I would always say,“What we want to do is make them the most appetizing, best meal ever, butwe don’t want to chew their food for them.” We just wanted to put it infront of them, give them all the necessary ingredients, then the ball is intheir court and they’re going to figure out all the parts that meansomething to them.

BURGER: Have you ever been to Venice before?

PATTERSON: Olmo has, I have not been.

SCHNABEL: I’ve been several times with my father. My dad has shownsome of his films there. It’s funny–a year ago, when we were speakingabout the movie, when we finished the production, Grear was like, “Whatare we going to do?” And I was like, “A year from now, we’re going toVenice with the movie.”

BURGER: You spoke it into existence.

SCHNABEL: It was nice to do it our way, and I think that’s somethingpeople should know. There’s not one way to do something. We feel blessedto be able to have this stage to show to the world and also to go out and do

something with all your friends. Everyone knew each other and there was alevel a trust. Everyone went there to make this film, not for their own self–I don’t think anyone went there with any type of selfish motivation. It takesa village. We’re just trying to put young people together and trying to goforward, and to see if it works. We’re ready.