Interview (Part 4): Mynette Louie

Scott Myers

19 Sep 2013 • 4 min read

This week, we are fortunate to have as our interview guest Mynettte Louie, a New York-based independent film producer. Her film credits include Children of Invention, California Solo and Stones in the Sun. Most recently, Louie produced Tze Chun’s crime thriller Cold Comes the Night starring Alice Eve, Logan Marshall-Green, and Bryan Cranston which will be released in the U.S. in early 2014. Mynette is the recipient of the 2013 Independent Spirit Piaget Producers Award and was named in Ted Hope’s list of “21 Brave Thinkers Of Truly Free Film”.

Mynette and I recently conducted an interview via email.

Today in Part 4, Mynette provides background on her latest movie production Cold Comes the Night and what it meant to win the Piaget Producers Award:

Scott: 2012 seems to have been a particularly busy year for you because not only was there California Solo, but four other movies were released with which you were involved as a producer, exec producer or consulting producer. What are some secrets in handling several film projects simultaneously? Is taking on multiple projects a conscious strategy on your part or is that more about a confluence of events?

Mynette: Even though those five films all came out in 2012, they weren’t all shot at the same time. Their production dates ranged from April 2009 to July 2011. So, some of them were in post longer than others. Also, as an executive or consulting producer, I’m not on set or running the day-to-day, so it’s easier to take these positions on. But I’m still pretty selective about what I commit to even as an EP because I need to be sure that I’m actually willing to carve out bandwidth for the project, and I don’t want to end up disappointing anyone. But juggling multiple projects at once is a necessary strategy for survival in indie film. If you’re not in production, you’re not getting paid. No one really pays for development anymore, not even the studios. And even when you are getting paid, your fee is piddling because the production budgets are all piddling. So it behooves you to not put all your eggs in one basket, to make films back-to-back or even simultaneously. It’s an insane way to live. No indie film producers actually sleep.

Scott: This year you have the crime-drama Cold Comes the Night, written and directed by Tze Chun with whom you teamed up again: “A struggling motel owner and her daughter are taken hostage by a nearly blind career criminal to be his eyes as he attempts to retrieve his cash package from a crooked cop.” What’s the backstory on that project?

Mynette: Tze was introduced to Osgood Perkins and Nick Simon through their manager, and they ended up writing the script together. Trevor Sagan, who had co-financed Children of Invention and produced it with me, paid for the development of the script, which was awesome since, as I just mentioned, no one does that anymore. Tze then sent me the script and I came on in late 2010 as the lead producer on the project. Stephen Vincent & Sig De Miguel came on as casting directors and helped us attach Alice Eve, Bryan Cranston, and Logan Marshall-Green, and UTA helped us get a negative pickup deal with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. And I found the actual cash to make the movie via Three Point Capital, Whitewater Films, and Cherry Sky Films, the latter two of which had financed previous films of mine. In spite of the very small budget for what this film was, we had a great time shooting it in upstate New York in late fall 2012 and delivered it to Sony in July 2013. Even though the film was produced independently and relatively autonomously, we were ultimately beholden to Sony. This being my first studio experience as a producer, and having heard so many studio horror stories from filmmaker friends, I was sort of dreading the experience. But honestly, it’s been really pleasant! Sony’s notes were really smart and thoughtful, and they liked the end result enough to want to put the film on 100 screens in the UK on September 20th! Our US release date is still TBD but will most likely be early next year.

Scott: You have an additional credit on the film: second unit director. Was this out of necessity or does this represent a desire on your part to get into directing?

Mynette: This had mostly to do with efficiency. Other than Tze, I knew the film the best, and I knew what Tze wanted best, so it just made sense for me to direct second unit. It was really just a day driving all around upstate New York with a DP and two assistants shooting landscapes that matched certain scenes of the film. I got 19 shots and had a lot of fun, and would totally direct second unit again, but stick an actor in there? No dice. I co-directed a play in college, and that was when I decided I didn’t want to direct. Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost love and respect for actors (I used to act a little myself!), but it’s just too hard to make people emote on command.

Scott: This year you were the recipient of the Piaget Producers Award from the Film Independent Spirit Awards. What does winning that award mean to you?

Mynette: It’s a milestone that I never thought I’d achieve. So many producers (true producers) whom I admire and who have mentored me have received this honor. I’m still so totally grateful for the award! I really appreciated the $25K too — support like this really enables indie producers to focus on getting projects off the ground. Otherwise, we have to juggle random gigs to make ends meet, thereby neglecting our projects. So, thanks again Piaget and Film Independent!

Tomorrow in Part 5, Mynette provides her take on VOD, Hollywood major studios’ current business model, and the lack of diversity in the film world.

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