The No Film School Podcast How To Cast, Direct and Make Movies for Kids
Jake Van Wagoner is a director, producer, and actor known for his work on Impractical Jokers and the film Christmas Time. His recent film, Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out, is a family friendly sci-fi feature that premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
In today’s episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with director Jake Van Wagoner to discuss:
- Getting funding for the film from a family friend
- The unique title to the movie
- Making a film the whole family could enjoy
- Building the production team from many great connections
- How directing is like being a father
- Guiding the child actors in some challenging scenes
- Shooting a 93 page script in only 15 days
- Using children from his family to act as little aliens
- The process of attaching Will Forte to the movie
- Lessons he learned from his first feature, Christmas Time
Memorable Quotes
- “We shot a movie in 15 days which is bananas.” [12:43]
- “Will Forte is the sweetest man on earth…he’s the LAST sweetest man on earth.” [16:10]
- “That’s probably my most embarrassing moment in the movie as a director.” [19:48]
- “In the end, we are just making a movie. It’s not the end of the world.” [23:55]
Resources
Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out
Find No Film School everywhere:
On the Web
https://www.facebook.com/nofilmschool
https://twitter.com/nofilmschool
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/nofilmschool
https://www.instagram.com/nofilmschool
Send us an email with questions or feedback: podcast@nofilmschool.com!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices