For Shane Carruth, it began with one idea….
The writer, director, star (and a few other things) of Primer won this year’s Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize with a movie on which he not only spent a mere $7,000, but also tackled the weighty subject matter of quantum physics–not something you’d think would hold the audience’s attention for more than 10 minutes, let alone get the top award. But boy, are we wrong.
As the story goes, two engineer entrepreneurs, Abe (David Sullivan) and Aaron (Carruth), are looking to invent the next big thing in Aaron’s garage. Through the process, they stumble upon a device–a box and superconductor–that has mysterious, time-traveling capabilities. Learning to use their powerful invention was their first challenge; dealing with the consequences is the next, as their partnership begins to crumble and mistrust sets in.
Talking one on one with Carruth, it’s easy to see where the determination and deep thinking comes from, as we discussed the mechanics, literally and figuratively, of making his feature debut.
In layman’s terms, what’s the essence of Primer?
I was more interested in what was happening with these guys thematically and how their relationship basically comes apart with the introduction of this power. The rest of the stuff, it’s definitely my job to make sure the information is in there. I was much more interested in having the audience be where Abe and Aaron are. The way they are using the machine and the repercussions of it are inherently complicated.
The fact you made it for only $7,000 is an amazing feat in itself.
Well, I had written a few short stories and a novel that I’m never going to finish when I finally decided I really like the screenplay format. That’s what I enjoy the most, to talk about only the things that you can see and then indirectly, infer the rest. Instead of inner monologues, try to describe what a person is feeling through their actions or some other way you can observe. So then, after writing it, I began to wonder if I could actually execute one of these things and spent a lot of time figuring out how I could do that. Saved the money and did it.
How was the acting process?
We rehearsed for like a month beforehand, so by the time we starting shooting, we knew it backward and forward. I mean, I couldn’t afford shooting this multiple times on film, so we basically did one take on everything.
Unbelievable. So then you finished it, what did you think would happen next?
It took almost a year to write and at the end of the process, I was pretty confident. I actually put it away for three or four weeks and when I read it again, it still interested me. I figured, even though I know everything about it and it’s still interesting, maybe there’s something here. Then we went into shooting, we shot for five weeks. About the fourth day in, I lost all hope and realized nothing is going to come from this. Huge unorganized mess. But then it took two years to edit and I guess, in that time, it slowly came back to what I imagined it to be. To be honest, I was so close to it, it was hard but I thought it had a chance. But then it got into Sundance. That was the first of several shocks that came after it was done.
Was the Sundance experience surreal?
I was so busy before the festival, blowing the film up for 16mm to 35mm, so we could show it, I didn’t have time to ponder on it. Almost to the day it screened, I was worrying on whether it was going to project properly. When it was screening, I was in the projection booth, trying to figure things and then afterward, I was worried about the Q&A. So, really, my whole week there was just filled with worry. Wasn’t until the end of the week that I mellowed out a little and realized, “Oh yeah, I’m in Park City at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival…”
“…and I just won the Grand Jury Prize.” I mean, wow, that had to be a thrilling moment.
It was very, very shocking. I mean, it was great, but shocking. I just didn’t think there’d be a chance at all.
Is there a film that inspires you?
My favorite film in the last few years is Punch-Drunk Love. I think P.T. Anderson is a genius. Punch-Drunk Love [an order of magnitude better] there’s a word or two missing here than his other films and I think he’s other films are great. It’s so thrifty, everything happens for a reason and all about subtext. At the same time, completely enjoyable.
So are you ready for the biz? Going to stick to your principals and make what you want?
Yeah, until someone writes a big enough check for me to sell out. No, seriously, I’ve got my stories to write and for me, really, it’s not about a film career as much as it’s about telling a good story.
Have you had one of those conversations with a studio development exec where you are just shaking your head?
Yes. Internally. I’m making decisions now I may regret later if things don’t turn out well.
Primer is currently playing in theaters.
