Q&A with Matt Porter
“Damage,” by director matt Porter, is an ingeniously conceived comedy about a break-up that gets interrupted by a man trying to buy an amp. We asked Porter where the idea came from, his writing process, and working with his actors…
1) Can you talk a bit about your background and how you first got interested in movies?
I first got interested in film around the age of 13 while I was volunteering at the cable access TV station in my town, RyeTV. A friend of mine had asked me to help him make a comedy show for them (cable access will pretty much put anything on the air), and I quickly went from one of a handful of helpers to shooting, directing, and editing every episode. This led to years of making short films with friends, and ultimately, to going to NYU for film. After graduation, I’ve now spent about ten years creating sketch comedy for YouTube under the name “Good Cop Great Cop,” making a web series for Comedy Central called “New Timers,” pitching TV projects, writing pilots, and making a feature called “5 Doctors.”
2) How about this project? What was the spark? And the compulsion to tell this story?
In August of last year, I had just finished a year as the Field Director for the extremely funny The Chris Gethard Show on TruTV (which ironically also started out in cable access), and I suddenly found myself with a lot of free time and the itch to make something new. I have always been fascinated with pairing “higher” concepts with a more grounded, emotionally honest execution, so I knew I wanted to do something in that tone. The idea itself had been floating around in my head for a few months, partially inspired by living in a city like New York, where we are all constantly moving in and out of other people’s lives — it is so easy to step into someone else’s emotional world entirely unaware of where they’re at, and you never know how that intrusion will alter their experience or yours. So, with that in mind, I sat down and wrote this short.
3) It’s beautifully written. Can you talk about your writing process. How quickly do you write / how many drafts / do you get feedback from people at the script stage?
Thank you! I write relatively quickly, I’m a strong believer in what I think has been called a “muscle draft” — getting something on the page, even if it’s awful, and then you at least have something to refine. A piece of clay to mold is better than no clay at all. For something as short and relatively simple as this, the difference between my first draft and the version you see on the screen was relatively minimal. I do tend to get feedback from people to help refine, but I try to trust my own instinct on whether the idea fundamentally “works” and stay attached to that. If someone really doesn’t like it, I try not to let that kill my own instinctual sense that it appeals to me. So while I definitely reach out to friends and collaborators for notes and always hear them out, I try not to lose sight of the spark that got me excited enough about the idea to write it, that feeling that there’s something there that’s worth exploring.
4) It’s also got amazing performances. How did you find your cast, and how did you work with them? Did you discuss the characters with them at length beforehand? Do you rehearse? Also, not a question, but I get goosebumps every time I watch that last monologue from Kate. Wow, what a performance.
I’ve worked with Kate Eastman a handful of times over the years, and she continues to be one the most talented actors I’ve ever known. I knew Ryan Creamer and Patrick Noth indirectly through the comedy community, friends of friends, and I was a huge fan of both of them, but we had never worked together on anything before. We all met up to rehearse once, but it quickly became clear that none of us wanted to pound the script to death running it before everyone was off-book and before the camera was rolling. So, we ended up talking more about relationships in general and the emotional complexities of breakups on that day rather than actual rehearsing, but I think that let us come into the shoot day in the right emotional headspace.
5) What else are you working on at the moment?
I’m finishing up another short film that my extremely wonderful former boss Chris Gethard acted in, which should be done in the next few months. Beyond that, I’m gigging as a director, doing commercials, branded work, and such, as well as writing a feature.
Contact Info:
Website: mrmattporter.com
Twitter: @I_am_MattPorter
Instagram: @mrmattporter