Welcome And Guest Introduction

Greg Staffa 0:00

You're listening to the Staffa Corner Podcast, a Staffatarian look at entertainment and life with your host, Greg Staffa. My guest this episode is award-winning director, writer, actor, choreographer. She has her feature debut film coming up called Rhythm and Smooth. Bretton Tanner Bryan, thank you for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Hi, Greg. How's it going? Thanks for having me on today.

Greg Staffa 0:42

So

Growing Up In Ballet And Theater

Greg Staffa 0:43

you got your start really in dance. Is that what your upbringing was based on?

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Yeah, absolutely. Um, I mean, I played a lot of sports as a kid, but I, you know, I was in dance classes like by age four and begging for serious like dance instruction, and then sort of got it by age eight. Um, so I grew up in the ballet world classically trained, and you know, I grew up performing in like opera houses since I was very young and just got to experience like the lavishness of that world and full symphonies, full three-act ballets. And but my dad was taking me to theater, I would say, from like a very young age as well.

From Photography To Moving Image

Greg Staffa 1:17

What got you interested in transitioning into film?

SPEAKER_01 1:21

I think it's always been there, and I kind of had to arrive at the understanding that, you know, I worked as a photographer for many years and that I was sort of ready to put those two pieces together really into moving image. But it started out making promotional materials for a live production for my dance company that I created about like a decade ago. And I made these trailers just to kind of sell tickets and get people's awareness about the production just to show them what it was. This was kind of like before YouTube had exploded or Instagram was like as, you know, amazing as it is right now in terms of connecting with people and seeing what's out there. And then I kind of got hooked from there. And we started making short films from the characters and the choreography and narratives from those live productions. And that sort of turned into finding new sets and new locations and just pushing the envelope, I think, into that medium. But it really stems, I think, from my my background in photography.

Greg Staffa 2:13

You've

Shorts To Features And Owning IP

Greg Staffa 2:14

done a lot of different shorts and stuff like that. One of the things that I've wondered is you're an up-and-coming female director. This is your first feature film, The Rhythm and Smooth, but you've done a lot of shorts. I've done, I think, six or seven like South by Southwest, and we see a lot of women filmmakers doing a lot of shorts, getting a lot of awards and stuff like that. But the transition from those award-winning shorts to seeing them now do feature films seems few and far between. What was that like for you doing the shorts and now doing your feature structural debut? Did you see that there was kind of like a feeling that you had to break through? Is that why is that transition where there's so many, you know, of these award-winning filmmakers doing, you know, things like South by Southwest, but we're not seeing it translate into more feature films?

SPEAKER_01 3:08

That's a great question. I I really appreciate it. I mean, I think for everybody it's different, the trajectory is different, but I appreciate like the trends that you're kind of speaking on. For me personally, I wasn't looking for the journey where I would pitch a short and then go back and do it as a feature. I the features that I'm on, the feature that I created, like they they were sort of new projects, I think that that sort of for whatever reason allowed me to blossom and bloom beyond the shorts that I'd done. Not to say that the shorts weren't incredibly valuable. That being said, I know other people that have very much done the short and then developed that into a feature. I could just feel on intuition that wasn't quite my path. Also, like my appetite and interest in working with like a variety of actors. Rhythm or Smooth definitely allows that. We have a large ensemble cast. And so I think I was looking for a framework that could support that. And I think, you know, it's you're looking for the right timing and the right person to sort of give you the trust and permission to do it. I was originally, you know, working as a director, and I think also working as a writer has allowed me to I think expand in terms of whether I'm collaborating with a producer or creative team as a writer and adapting something, or I'm the owner of the IP. And I think I, you know, for anyone who's like female or female presenting or aspiring to do this, I think it's there's a great power in owning the IP you created to then share that.

The Responsibility Of Filming Dance

Greg Staffa 4:34

Now, this film that you're finished just wrapped in New York, it is a love letter to to dance, which is your upbringing. Was there kind of an additional safety net in place for you to have your first direct trial debut be something that's so close to your heart? Was that something that you kind of appreciated knowing that there was an additional kind of familiarity that you were able to kind of convey your own history of dance through this? Or was this just an equally challenging film to make? I I wish you'd been on set, Greg, to say that to me at the time.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

It would have been like a good ego boost, I think, to go like, hey, this is your wheelhouse. I think, you know, what what really resonates for me is that is the feeling of responsibility, honestly, to to deliver dance like to the public in this medium at the absolute highest level. And I'm, you know, I'm I'm I really am fanatical about that. I probably push myself too hard on that. But I just I feel that responsibility because I I know the hit or miss it is for dance, and I know how much dance needs that positive visibility. So I probably take it too seriously if I'm being honest. But that being said, like if I look back, I was very much primed to do this. Although there's moments on set where you realize like there's a few select people, and possibly I was the most senior who understand dance in a way no one else does. And that's again, that's like a huge responsibility to deliver dance at the highest level, especially because I grew up in that world. So I know, I know that that world needs it just needs all the support and visibility and understanding of like, you know, the time it takes to create amazing dance, amazing dancers, and how we can keep that ecosystem supported. The other piece that that you might find, I don't know, entertaining is that I swore I wasn't gonna do a dance film when I wasn't gonna do a film about New York. And then that's, you know, what I sort of ended up getting hired to do. But that being said, like it's a huge blessing and it's definitely a project that was well suited for me. I'd also done a short previously that I didn't write, but that I directed for a team that's also about ballroom dance. And so I think, you know, the universe kind of keeps speaking at me in terms of like what the best use of my talents are, and and but again, like that responsibility, like it's kind of heavy for me. I feel it. And I I it's like a love affair, you know, it's like you only get upset about the things you really care about. And so that one I I I feel deeply to to sort of carry dance to its highest with this project.

Greg Staffa 7:03

When you're

Making Dance Feel Universal

Greg Staffa 7:04

working on a project and dance is popular to a lot of people, but not everyone. It's it doesn't have the draw of like a Marvel film does. When you're creating a film like that, do you think about how do I make this film more approachable to other audiences? How do I draw in people to to something that's passionate to me? Because this is this is a love letter to almost in a sum way, it's a love letter to yourself because you appreciate this. It's like making a meal. You're not gonna cook a meal that you don't enjoy, you're gonna cook a meal that you love. And so when you're cooking this, does the the idea of like how do I get other people to discover my love? Or do you just say this is something for the people that love dance, they're gonna love this. And that's the love letter that I'm making this to.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

That's like an incredible analogy. That might be like my favorite question I've ever heard. So thank you for that. It's incredibly nuanced and beautiful. I mean, I'm I'm definitely I love that you equate it with like you're gonna make something you want to eat, you want to share, you want to celebrate. I do think that is like the compass for everybody is like make the thing that you love and the the universe will hear that and feel that. Um, but 100% that's that's been on my mind from the get-go. And I again I feel that with like the responsibility of dance is like if you look at it in like the history of dance and culture, it's completely universal. It's a it's a mode of communication, it's a way to entertain one another, it's a way to to sort of like be connected with other people. It's it's it's such a core value that it's sort of it's strange to for to me that it's sort of divorced from that in many ways right now in our culture and our society. And then yet, of course, I've somehow had the privilege and opportunity to be in that world at a very high level, very technical level, and and just be exposed to to training for people that aren't here anymore. But but I I sort of circle back to say, yeah, I want it to be a film that everybody can watch and see themselves in. And that's what I intended to make. And I really think comedy is and and and the New York sort of list of characters in it is the currency to share that with everyone else. So that's like 100% been on my mind from the get-go is I this to me, this is not a dance film. This is not for just the dance community. This needs to be for anybody. And I think, you know, the film like Mighty Ducks always has come to mind when making this. Like you could think it's niche, it's a certain group of people, a certain type here in the 90s, it's hockey. But that film has such a feel-good aesthetic to it that so many people enjoyed. So that was always something that was sort of on my mind is like, what is the mechanism of that film that makes people want to watch it? And I think it's it's the humor, and you're just watching watching like the underdog win and you're watching people from different age groups and different walks of life be a part of that ecosystem. So, so again, thanks. It's such an amazing question. Yeah, it's 100% on my mind, like that. I'm I'm not trying to do something that's niche. I'm I'm actually trying to do something that's comedic and universal.

What Surprised Her On Set

Greg Staffa 9:57

And I appreciate the Mighty Duck shout out filmed here in Minnesota. So that's one of our beloved little movies that we we cling to here in Minnesota. Now, you have an extensive history with dance. I'm sure despite your knowledge, there had to be a lot of research going into rhythm and smooth. Was there anything that you discovered about dance or about the history of dance that surprised even you while filming this?

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Oh, I have I actually have chills when you ask me this question. And thank you again. It's just such a heartfelt question. I'm like reminded how lucky I am to be a dancer. You know, it's it's a career with lots of great highs and lots of physical pain that we don't always like talk about or we're not really in touch with. Um, we're sort of used to it in many ways. And being on set, directing this film, you know, I cast this film completely from end to end. I wrote it for for many of my favorite actors. And, you know, luckily they said yes. There's incredible world champions. We have like eight different couples that are world champions that are in this film, along with other people that are, you know, that are legends from the ballroom dance community. And in those moments on set, we are completely synced up because we're dancers and we speak the same language and not a single word has been uttered. So there's this like this speed and this joy that's in our training that's that's not a verbal expression, and it allows for so much joy. And you realize like it's a lifetime built on studying the energy of a room, which is really what we're trained to do as dancers, is to understand the energy. And it's a shorthand. It's it's a shorthand. And you know, I've been on many sets where I'm not with dancers, and and then when you get to have that moment, you're like, oh, I just I get to hang out at home for just a moment and they get to be at home. And and that's what's great about dances, like whether you're in a studio or stage or on the street, with other dancers, you feel that vibration and that recognition of one another. And it's there's a you know, there's um there's a family feeling in it, regardless of like age or wherever you've been. It's kind of like musicians who show up and can just jam. Dancers have that that connectivity too.

Greg Staffa 12:01

Now,

The Feature Filmmaking Learning Curve

Greg Staffa 12:02

you've done, I mean, you're an award-winning director, writer, actor, choreographer, but this is your first feature film. Was this transition a relatively smooth one? Was there a huge learning curve? Was there like, why didn't I just make this a short? What am I doing? What was your approach? And how did you at what point was there a realization like this is something I can do?

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Um, again, just like such an amazing question. Thank you. I mean, I've been hungry to do features for a while, and you know, through pandemic, I've been on projects that were stalled or didn't go. So I felt very much ready to direct in the feature and episodic space for a long time. It's a, you know, it's an artistic meal and volume that I very much need. And I like the the vision and vista required to see it through. And I also like the amount of people it feeds artistically. I love working with a large ensemble cast and team. I just I can't get enough of that volume. I, you know, it's there's scenes in this film that have like a hundred people in them. And you realize, like having grown up in theater and and the ballet world where you're in these spaces with large groups of people, whether it's symphony or crew or dancers and musicians, like um, I'm very comfortable with that, that sort of volume of a level of team. That being said, I also love to work with a lean team because you can really cherry pick who you're working with and work quickly. But I I'm attached, I at the before this film went, I was attached to like a number of other features as well. And I think it was just a matter of like what was going to go first, you know, in terms of season and funding and location in the world. Um, but I sort of made a commitment to really focus on features and episodic as a director and writer to I think it's just sort of like a home base. It's it's it's it's extremely satisfying for me.

Greg Staffa 13:44

And

I Dream Of Hazel And Release Timelines

Greg Staffa 13:45

you mentioned episodic. Right now, you're currently developing a television series. I dream of Hazel. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Sure. I love Hazel. She's um, she's she's, you know, actually a riff on a character that I used to play um in a cowboy show that I created downtown on Houston Street. So it's funny that she kind of has lived from this live experience and into this television show I created, but she is specifically about a psychic detective that travels through time-solving crimes in New York City. It's a sci-fi thriller episodic series. It's also being adapted into five novels as well as um five seasons. And it's a much darker series, and I think it sort of speaks to my time beginning writing it in pandemic. And again, it's there's lots of New York elements about it, even though it traverses many other time periods and and countries and cultures. But I love Hazel because she's the heroine of her story, and I think that's really important for female protagonists to sort of be the superhero, and that that vehicle very much allows for that. And it also allows for, you know, the people that are attached to just like take this really amazing journey together. So we're talking about like, you know, feature space to episodic. To me, episodic feels like even a bigger meal, which I love, not only for the for the cast and creative team, but also for an audience, you know, that they can really resonate with that culturally, and it's something they can tune into and and that becomes part of their daily lives. And I I sort of love that because I think there's a I think that can bring a comfort to the world that you have like storytelling you get to engage with, you know, over years, but also in different mediums.

Greg Staffa 15:21

Is it too early for both things that you're working on, rhythm and smooth and I dream with Hazel? Is it still too early to have uh a timeline laid out when you expect things to start showing up? What's your timeline look like?

SPEAKER_01 15:34

Yeah, that's a great question. We should have rhythm and smooth available. Uh basically, I would say um it should be out in the next couple months, so quite shortly. And then I think Hazel's gonna go to production within the year.

Greg Staffa 15:48

Okay. So relatively smooth for both.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

As an that's a good reminder, Greg, I think you should just like come come to post and come on set with me because maybe it's your Minnesota term, but you make me feel much better about these timelines. So thank you.

Greg Staffa 16:02

I'd

Fear, Distribution, And Finding Audience

Greg Staffa 16:03

be happy. That'd be a great job, just to be your personal just say you're you're on time, it's okay. You're a little cheerleader. Hell bad. So now is there a fear? I mean, you you're making that switch, you're you're doing your directorial debut. Is there a fear of where Hollywood's going right now? I mean, right now, there's so much content out there, there's so many places that it it's it's good to get things out there, but also the eyeballs aren't out there. It used to be and Matt Damon, the actor, had a a analogy where he used to be able to do small feature films and then the born movies would help pay for you know the bills and everything like that, but you'd be able to do smaller films that wouldn't do necessarily well in the box office, but then DVD sales or VHS sales would kind of give it a second life, and now we're not seeing that. You know, you you go to places like Best Buy and they're no longer really selling movies and stuff like that. So that income makes it much more harder for these independent films to to find a place and survive. Is there any fear in in what you're seeing ahead, or is it just that Hollywood needs to adjust a little bit more to make independent films more visible to audiences out there, other than the the South by Southwest and and film festivals?

SPEAKER_01 17:25

I mean, I think when it's good, it rises to the top. And that doesn't mean that it's easy. I think it's I think it's really fair to acknowledge like fear is a total mechanism in the world, and it's something we all deal with personally at times for sure. And I think if you can like manage it or quiet it, then you can get clear about like what you want to do in the pathway. And it doesn't mean you're gonna be right necessarily, but I think my experience is I make particularly very uh signature singular things that stand out that people are interested in. And you know, that wasn't people weren't always interested in working with me because of that. But I think as a writer and a director and what's becoming a creative producer, it's I'm that's actually a huge asset. So I think the best thing you can do is make the thing you love and it will find its audience. But I also think when you're when you're taking the time to craft something that's not like anything else, my experience is that's what's going to stand out this time. And I I also think, you know, audience, audience is such a good compass. Like they can feel what's good and they're really hungry for it at this point. So I think the the question is just making it accessible. You know, I I champion using multiple mediums to share what you're doing. Doesn't mean you have to have the whole product or project out there, but I think like letting people know what you're doing and and seeing bits of it. I've seen really successful marketing. And yeah, I just think like it's, you know, it's it's sort of luck as well, like getting lucky with the right team, but I also think it's choosing the right team. There's a lot of people that um have approached me on certain projects and you know, you start to understand that like you need certain pieces in place. And I'm not talking financial, there's sort of energetic pieces that need to be in place for things to go forward, regardless of the medium you're working with, and and sort of listening to having the having like the faith and self-confidence to listen to that piece. Because I feel like the fear will just break kind of everything. And yes, I do think the ecosystem is changing for sure, but I also think like if you make something great, people are gonna go find it, they're gonna want it. You know, there's a couple of projects out right now that that I think have done a great job of of sharing like, you know, what they are and then inviting people to go participate in that ecosystem, whether it's watching the show or going to like a musical version of it. So that's very much sort of been my response like to the mechanism you were talking about for Damon is like to to share the IP on different platforms because then you're generating like audience from multiple ecosystems that then might participate in all of them.

Spielberg Money And Dream Projects

Greg Staffa 19:52

Now, you you mentioned finances and stuff like that. Other than the two things that you're working on now, rhythm and smooth and I dream of hazel, which both sound like they're very close to your heart and personal. If Steven Spielberg was to say, you know, I liked your work, I've seen some of your stuff, I want to give you Steven Spielberg money to create, other than I dream of hazel and rhythm and smooth, I want to give you that Steven Spielberg money to create your next project or work with you. What would be a topic that you'd love to explore?

SPEAKER_01 20:23

I appreciate it. Um, and let's let's call Steven, I'm ready. There is uh a TV show and musical adaptation um set in Barcelona that I'm working on right now that I think would about a casino that I think would benefit hugely from that kind of money and also could fill out the scale of what that money can deliver. There's also a feature I'm on called There and Now by the Academy Award-winning Nichols writer Andrew Scheer, and it's about a woman in the three lives she could have lived. She's a female scientist who sort of similarly discovers, how would I say it, powerful information similar to what might be found in a company like Monsanto, and then she sees it's different different versions of her life that could have, you know, taken place. I think that would also benefit incredibly from that kind of financing. It's a it's a once-in-a-lifetime script that I'm attached to direct that that Angela wrote. I'm so lucky to be a part of it. It's not like anything I've ever read or will. It's it's an incredible project. So there's many, but those two come to mind for sure. I'm also, you know, I'm open to people going, hey, come come try this thing that you know you haven't done yet. Um very open to that. I kind of feel like there's superhero movies in my future, having lived in New York City for over a decade, and just like the way I think and and feel about the city and the possibilities like above the the skyline here.

Greg Staffa 21:40

Now, not

How Shorts Teach Budget Ingenuity

Greg Staffa 21:41

to stroke your ego even more, but you've done several short films. Did that make you a better director for Rhythm and Smooth? Given that short films often have to deal with limited, you know, finances. You know, you can't have a hundred extras in a scene, so you have to make it look like There's a hundred exodus in a scene. Did the limitations that short films kind of emplaces on directors and writers, did that help with becoming a a featured director? Because you're able to see perspectives that I don't want to say cheapen what you're doing, but kind of cut corners and make things more more visually uh in tune.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

Yeah, I mean again, it's an amazing observation and question. I would say 100%. The mix of it too is like I made most of those films in New York City. I've made some of them for like zero money. Um people have sort of asked me, like, what's the budget? And like the budget is, you know, sweat and ingenuity. And, you know, that's how I came up as a New York dancer, too, as well. Like creating shows, like we had no budget. I had to learn how to do press and do wardrobe and do costumes and make something that that I really liked and was signature without having those budgets. So I think, yes, directing those shorts um was hugely beneficial to preparing to how to manage budget because budget is completely effective. Excuse me, completely affects creative. I I don't know how anybody would divorce the two. Like it, you're you want to make the most beautiful thing you can make so that completely aligns with where you can save and where you need to spend. I think New York also very much pushed me to do that. And I just think like the more you do it, the better you get at it. So I think, you know, directing as many shorts or whatever medium you're working in, I think that's that's a wonderful experience. And you also kind of see, like, okay, what can we make if we had, you know, a larger budget? What would be the jump? How would we approach this? You know, cast is really important to me. Uh, camera is everything. And without post, you don't you don't have a movie. So I think that's heavily where I like to focus. And like you said, just being scrappy too, like, how are we gonna, you know, how can I find, you know, what I need instead of building it in terms of sets or locations, or, you know, New York is ripe with talent across the board. So I think that's also that energy is contagious. Um, and it builds like a camaraderie of people that want to make like the best thing we can make. So yeah, I think, you know, 100% that it it's completely built me into the filmmaker I am and the director I am.

Greg Staffa 24:08

Now,

Identity, Motivation, And Goodbye

Greg Staffa 24:09

wrapping things up, and again, I appreciate you coming on, rhythm and smooth. I look for that to come out hopefully in the next few months. And I dream of Hazel, which is gonna be a television series. But wrapping things up, we always address directors and and people like you. We say, you know, you're an award-winning director, writer, actor. But when you get up in the morning and you go into the bathroom, splash a little water on your face, who is it that you see?

SPEAKER_01 24:34

I mean, I think it's like the superhero waking up and there's like a child in there because I need that childlike. I'm not a morning person, so I need that childlike energy to dream beyond that that morning moment. And I think that's also like inherent to being a performer. It's like there's a process of getting over yourself and getting out the door and doing the thing that you love to do that's not you at all, that also is completely you, whether whatever role you're playing. But I'm I'm best in motion and I'm best with my team. So I know once I get there, it's gonna be sweet. Nice.

Greg Staffa 25:17

Well, I look forward to seeing uh the future, what it has in store for you. Getting rhythm and smooth. And I dream of hazel are your two upcoming projects that people can look forward to. But Britain, Tinder, Brian, thank you so much for coming on and uh see what the future has.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Thank you, Greg. It was such a pleasure chatting with you. Appreciate you having me on today. The questions are amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you.