5 Questions with Marissa Goldman
In the absurd comedy, “Tree Girl,” directed by Marissa Goldman, a girl dressed like a tree tries to find her way home. We asked Goldman how she got into comedy, if she watches tutorial videos online, and what it’s like to talk to strangers about trees…
1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in comedy and filmmaking?
I have always been interested in art and making things which started with drawing. In middle school, my friend had a video camera and we started making silly parodies of MTV shows and talk shows. It was almost all we did when we hung out. We thought they were hilarious, and to this day I still think there are some great jokes... but probably no one else would agree. When I went to art school, I wanted to major in painting, but chose to do film as I was more likely to get a job in that, but I ended up accidentally going back to my middle school roots and making funny and possibly stupid films. I was referring to it as video art at the time, but it always had a comedic bent. In retrospect, I was kind of too scared to really label it comedy which was probably a defense mechanism. About 3 years ago I tried stand up, and became obsessed with it and the stuff I was making started to make a lot more sense in the comedy world.
2) How did this project start - what was the earliest element that came to you, and how did you go about building from that?
What's funny about this film, is I don't remember how it started. I wrote the script long before I made any part of it. I am a sucker for odd or creative transitions, for example Edgar Wright, or honestly, the Simpsons. And I have a weirdly specific fascination with any film that shows different types of media (i.e. a tutorial going to the studio it was made in) or zooms out from a TV and I am pretty sure the film started with the transition idea. I think it’s just an exciting way to sort of break the fourth wall and I always get stupidly giddy when I see it happen in films.
3) The tutorial that begins your film is perfect - so funny & odd. Do you watch a lot of tutorial videos on the net / what’s your favorite or least favorite style or topic?
Thank you! My first tutorial vids were software ones. Now I like to watch hair care and some make up tutorials. I have always been curious as to what drives people to make them. It’s a nice thing to do in a way. But it’s funny how corporations and media companies started doing it too. This one drew a lot of inspiration for the Super Deluxe makeup videos. They were maybe trying to subvert the genre? Now that I think of it the beginning of Tree Girl is kind of a parody of a parody.
4) What was your general approach to the scenes in the park? Just go up and talk to people about trees? Any notable interactions that didn’t make it into the film for whatever reason? What percentage of people said the same joke about their dog peeing on you?
At first we did a hidden camera thing. When they didn't realize it was for a film, people were not really into talking to me, since I looked insane. Then we started asking people to just have a conversation about trees with me on camera, and they were more open to talking since they understood it was for a project. I ended up cutting a lot of interactions that I thought were great but ultimately didn't add to the film. One was with this women who was a total sweetheart, she said I made a beautiful tree, and that she loved oxygen (which honestly, a good thing to love.) She had like 5 kids, and I shook all of their hands for some reason.
I think only one person made the dog joke, but it was something I was trying to prompt. There were about 4 more shots with that joke that didn't make it into the cut.
5) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
I saw Under the Silver Lake which I was super into but ultimately disappointed by. Some really amazing imagery and surreal moments. But like I want a mystery to be solved and it was kind of a cop out in the end. I am totally obsessed with the Netflix show Dark. This shows’s logic is very tight. Truly amazing story. I love sci-fi and I love a story that’s super intricate.
Bonus Question: What’s next for you?
Maybe my next film will be a parody of a parody of a parody..... But actually, I'm slowly working on a new short film and writing a TV pilot (which who knows if anything will come of it.) Also, trying to do more comedy shows in new places!
Contact Info:
Website: https://www.mediawitchmedia.com/
Instagram and Twitter: @themediawitch