Courageous people are often curious to find their next intriguing and daring adventure, especially when they witness other people taking bold risks. When those thrill-seekers do ultimately engage in the life-altering experiences they have so longingly desired, the event often changes their perspective on life, and particularly makes them appreciate everything they have. That’s certainly the case with the new comedy-drama, ‘Welcome to Happiness,’ which FilmBuff is set to release in theaters and On Demand on Friday.
The fantasy movie marks the feature film writing and directorial debuts of Oliver Thompson, who made the risky decision to shoot the ambitious story on an independent budget. But his visionary choice to chronicle the spiritual obstacles a young man must overcome, in order to truly accept himself, was the right one. He creatively shaped a relatable protagonist who most learn to truly accept himself in a world that’s seemingly rewarding others before him.
‘Welcome to Happiness’ follows the seemingly happy children’s book author, Woody Ward (Kyle Gallner), as he fulfills the unusual clause in his apartment rental agreement that he made with his landlord, Moses (Nick Offerman). At the back of his bedroom closet is a mysterious door leads to an oasis that offers healing and redemption to predetermined and distraught individuals who are hoping to make up for their past mistakes. The writer knows when his visitors are about to arrive at the apartment when a printer sends him specific questions that are tailored to each applicant.
While Woody has always been content with helping the strangers who arrive at his door on their journey to receive their second chances, he begins to resent his duties when he develops writer’s block. His problems increase when his literary struggles lead him to argue with his impatient agent, Priscilla (Paget Brewster). Woody also hopes to bring his growing romance with his neighbor, Trudy (Olivia Thirlby), to the next level, but his duties to aiding those in need also hampers his new bond.
As Woody’s surprising connections to a despondent painter, Nyles (Brendan Sexton III), and lonely collector, Ripley (Josh Brener), are also revealed, the author discovers this his live is destined to change, even if it’s not in the way he had envisioned. Along with the help of a generous, yet somewhat eccentric, benefactor, Proctor (Keegan-Michael Key), and his nurturing assistant, Lillian (Molly C. Quinn), Woody begins to realize all the joy he really does have in his life.
Thompson generously took the time recently to talk about writing, directing and producing ‘Welcome to Happiness’ during an exclusive interview over the phone. Among other things, the scribe, helmer and producer discussed how he was influenced to make the fantasy comedy-drama in part because of his desire to study the metaphysical nature of relatable characters who experience spiritual awakenings in seemingly normal situations and environments. The filmmaker also mentioned how he was friends with Gallner while he was formulating the idea for the plot, and the performer expressed interested in portraying the protagonist even before the script was written.
The first-time filmmaker began the conversation by describing his inspiration in penning the script, and describing his overall writing process. “The idea for the script was influenced by the T.V. show ‘Lost,'” Thompson revealed. “I thought it would be cool to explore the metaphysical nature of the show, as well as its study of its characters and their backstories, but set the story in a smaller suburban location. I remember pitching the idea to my producer, and seeing him light up.” After that initial discussion with his producer, the scribe felt like the script was easy for him to write.
Thompson started developing the story for ‘Welcome to Happiness’ through an outline. “I tend to be a person who discusses big metaphysical issues with my friends and family for years. So it was natural for me to plan and write this type of metapysical story that was set in a really relatable and normal location,” the writer explained.
The filmmaker then discussed how in addition to penning the screenplay, making his feature film directorial debut on the comedy-drama was a “truly positive and amazing experience. I think as a writer, I was always thinking about the directing aspect as I was working on the script. I think it would be hard for me to turn that part of my brain off,” Thompson divulged.
“That process helped me be super organized and prepared for every shot of the movie. I had everything story-boarded. I would also take photographs in any location that I could,” the director explained. “So I was able to give a 120-page document to my Director of Photography (Justin Talley), as well as anyone else who wanted one. That way, they could really look through any scene of the movie. It’s also fun to retroactively do that, because we can see how we brought it to life, and how close the scene is to the storyboard.”
Thompson added that being so prepared was helpful in the fact that once the cast and crew arrived on set, they just had to focus on the execution of each day’s scenes. “It also freed me up to work with all the actors. But they were all so good that there wasn’t much work to do there,” the director admitted. “The actors of their caliber pretty much show up having everything already figured out, so we just had to work on some tweaks together. We had a pretty amazing time together on set, and I think everyone’s preparedness allowed for that.”
Following up on working with the performers in ‘Welcome to Happiness,’ the helmer explained what the casting process like for the main actors, particularly Gallner, since he portrayed the protagonist. “The movie really started with Kyle. My producer and I knew Kyle before we began filming the movie, as we were all hanging out one night,” Thompson revealed.
The idea to make the comedy-drama together came about that night while the filmmakers and actor were spending time together. “We were talking, just as friends, about this movie that I wanted to write, and how I had this idea for it. Kyle really lit up and said, ‘Let me be in that, please!’ So once that I knew that they were both excited about the idea, I thought, I better go write this, as there’s probably something here,” Thompson explained. He also noted that “There was never anyone else who I considered for the role. I always knew that Woody would be played by Kyle.”
After Thompson became set on having Gallner play the lead role for the fantasy film, the main focus of the casting came down to which actors would play the characters who Woody had relationships with throughout the story. “It became the domino effect of people knowing people. Kyle was able to bring Olivia Thirlby on board. She read the script and really liked it, so she signed on to star in the film,” the director revealed. “So everyone knew someone else that they were able to bring on board. Our casting director (Lauren Grey) was also amazing, so we were really fortunate to get the cast that we did.”
Once the actors were cast, Thompson wasn’t able to have much time to rehearse with the actors. “Since we were on a tight schedule, and everyone was trying to find time to work on this little labor of love movie, there really wasn’t rehearsal at all,” the filmmaker revealed.
But Thompson was able to have some time to collaborate with the performers on their ideas for the fantasy film. “I think I met with every actor maybe once or twice over coffee to talk about the film. But we ended up spending half of the time talking about other things. I think that was just as, if not more, useful than dissecting the characters,” the helmer admitted. “We all knew what we wanted to get out of the film. We ended up talking about music, which helped us get to know each other, and the work became easier.”
Thompson added that it was also useful to talk about the characters with the actors while they were on set, doing such tasks as trying their wardrobe. “So the only real rehearsals that we did was when we were blocking. The first time that I actually saw the actors do a take of each scene was when we started rolling, and I think that worked out really well,” the director divulged.
Not only did the filmmaker and actors work to make sure the characters had the right emotional arcs throughout the plot of ‘Welcome to Happiness,’ but the visual aesthetic to the film was also important to creating the story. One vital visual element to the movie was “The big mural in Woody’s apartment, which was painted primarily by my producer, Bay Dariz,” Thompson noted. “He’s a really fantastic artist. We spent months working on the mural before shooting began. I would help out where I could, but I’m certainly not much of a painter.”
In regards to the meaning behind what’s included in the mural, “There are a lot of symbols, ideas and storytelling. That was helpful in balancing the heightened reality in the story. I knew that we were going to be in Woody’s apartment a lot, and it’s really important to the story, so we knew that we had to make it look interesting,” Thompson explained. “So we thought that if we were going to paint this mural on every square inch of this apartment, we would also have to make it have meaning.”
Thompson then delved into the fact that besides writing and directing the comedy-drama, he also made his feature film producing debut, and Gallner also served as a producer, on the comedy-drama. “I think Kyle and I would both agree that on the first day when we started rolling camera, we took our producer hats off. Bay, who served as our main producer, really took over the producing duties at that point. He made it so that we wouldn’t have to worry anymore,” the director revealed.
The helmer then began discussing how after filming on ‘Welcome to Happiness’ was completed, the cast and crew participated in a Q&A for the comedy-drama, and an audience member asked what the biggest hurdle was in making the film. “Bay told a story about when we were shooting all of the scenes in the desert, which was actually at Joshua Tree, we brought a huge grip truck out there. It got stuck in the sand, so he had to call this extremely expensive tow truck to drive out to Joshua Tree,” Thompson revealed. “I told him, ‘What a credit to you as a producer. This is the first time that I’m hearing about this; I had absolutely no idea that that happened.’ So I have to give him credit.”
The filmmaker ended the conversation by discussing how ‘Welcome to Happiness’ is set to be released in theaters and On Demand on Friday. “I still love seeing movies in the theater, as there’s nothing like seeing films on the big screen. But more and more, people love watching movies in the privacy in their own homes, and our home systems are so good,” Thompson explained. “So watching movies On Demand is something that everyone loves to do, myself included. The idea that this film is coming out at the same time On Demand as it is in theaters is great, as it allows everyone who has access to a television and the internet to watch it at home right away. So I’m all for it, and think it’s a great idea.”
Written by: Karen Benardello