The latest deadpan comedy from Graham Mason, "The Astronauts” is a space misadventure about two bantering space men drifting through the cosmos. We asked Mason how the project began, working with his cast, and a recent film he loved…

1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?

I grew up in Michigan and my dad worked as a video director, and he often brought home a VHS camera that I would use to make animations and comedy sketches with my friends. And then I studied film in college and grad school. So I have always been pretty movie-brained.

I think my interest in filmmaking came from trying to figure out how movies are put together, the handmade aspects of the process. And I think this interest still carries through, I'm not a super technically-minded person but I love the process of putting something together.

2) What’s the origin story here - what started the project, and what were some of the first steps to get it rolling?

The Astronauts started with me being a big fan of Tynan and Colin's videos and comedy, and I asked them if they wanted to collaborate. We had a few meetings to kick around ideas and eventually settled on this very minimal set-up that I could picture working in a deadpan sort of way.

We collaborated on the script and I lined up Ian McAlpin to shoot it, and then I bought several random things on Amazon to assemble the space suits - Halloween costume helmets, disposable painting coveralls, batting gloves, iphone running armbands, waterproof backpacks, and galoshes. After that we were good to go.

3) I’d love to hear about the production - how was your experience making it? How long did it take, what was the process with working with Tynan and Colin? Also, I think my favorite part is when they come back to Earth. Was that always in the plan? What did you wanna achieve with that shift?

We shot all the space stuff in one long day with Colin, Tynan, and Francesca D'Uva. They did a lot improvisations, which were exciting to watch, because I could feel the video getting funnier and better. Colin and Tynan also did an impressive job of remembering their improvs and re-doing them in each other's coverage, which was a gift in the edit.

The return to Earth was not figured out in detail when we shot the space stuff, we wrote it while we were editing. I always wanted the story to feel like an "epic journey," even though very little happens for a big chunk of the narrative, and I thought a return to NYC would be satisfying and maybe even exciting after being stuck in the void for so long.

4) What’s a film you’ve seen, new or old, in the last couple of years that has really resonated with you and why?

I recently watched "You, The Living" by Roy Andersson, and boy did I love it. The mix of the handmade, ultra-detailed sets with the really unaffected actors is so inspiring. And there's a dream scene at the end that just kills me for some reason.

5) What’s next for you?

I'm making a micro-budget feature with the comedian Ikechukwu Ufomadu, who I love to collaborate with. The vibe is Columbo meets Naked Gun meets my weird sensibilities. I can't wait!

Contact Info:

IG: @grahambomason

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grahamwilley

Twitter: https://twitter.com/grahambomason