Interview with the Director - Tipper Newton

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background in film making

I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and it was during high school that I really got into film. I went to Columbia College of Chicago because it wasn’t too far from home and they had a film program. I had also always been interested in acting. After I graduated Columbia I moved to LA and while I pursued acting I would also make extremely low budget DIY videos in my apartment. One day I realized that if I ever really wanted to be a filmmaker, I would need to make a big step up and really invest some time and money into making something. I knew that if I didn’t take that step then I would never forgive myself! I set up a kickstarter for my first short The Dangerous Type and was able to make that in 2018 and then after that came Wild Card.

How did Wild Card come together as a project?

After my previous short film The Dangerous Type finished playing festivals I decided I wanted to make another short starring myself and Billy Flynn (who had also been in The Dangerous Type) I had planned to make something simpler, cheaper, and overall easier to pull off. “Not so many locations” I told myself, “not as much crew” I said, but three locations and a waterbed later proved that I did the exact opposite! Because of various reasons I didn’t have time to do a crowdfunding campaign for this project so I took my own savings I’d accrued from acting jobs over the last seven years and used it to make Wild Card.

In both this film and The Dangerous Type, there's such wonderful timeless and nostalgic feel which feels almost exotic to Australian viewers. What attracts you to this particular style of 'retro' film making?

Really I’m just trying to achieve a certain feeling I get from watching some of the movies I love. For both of the films I was trying to capture different elements of highly stylized 80s/90s neo-noirs/erotic thrillers that I’m such a huge fan of. I’m also a big fan of classic noirs, so I’m always trying to channel a little of that hard-boiled stuff. I don’t like attaching a specific time period to my films. I want to be able to do whatever I want and not have to worry about any sort of authenticity when it comes to a particular year or era. Most of the time when I’m writing something I’m already thinking of the visuals and what will be exciting for me to shoot and a lot of times that can inform how the scene will play out.

The idea of a femme fatale is a classic movie favourite, and we think you absolute nailed it. Talk us through writing your character and how you wanted her to come across.

Thank you! If I could choose one type of stock character in all of film history the femme fatale would hands down be my favorite. She’s always got the most stylish clothes, the coolest attitude, and the best lines. I knew that no one would ever think of casting me for that type of role, so I knew I’d have to write the part for myself if I wanted a crack at it. I love writing dialogue so a big part of writing the character was figuring out what I would have fun saying and doing. I wanted her to be a little tough, a little mysterious, a little cold, but someone who can also turn on the charm when they need to be manipulative. I also really wanted you to be unsure about both characters by the end, Toni has a plan up her sleeve, but somethings definitely up with Daniel as well.

You've starred in some great short films (loved Crude Oil!), but you've now jumped behind the camera on Wild Card as well. How does your added responsibility as a director and editor impact on your acting?

The great thing about acting in something I’m directing is that I know exactly what I want and I don’t have to try explaining it to anyone else. At the same time, as an actor, it can feel a bit lonely. Of course you’ve got the other performers and the DP, but in the end you’re the one calling the shots, so you really have to trust your instincts. My previous short was also shot on film but there wasn’t a monitor so I couldn’t review takes at all, luckily during Wild Card we had one. One of the nice things about shooting on film is that you can’t do a million takes. I like having that limit. Editing is the most fun part of the whole process and shooting on film makes the editing process infinitely more exciting/terrifying. There’s nothing like getting the footage back and seeing it for the first time.

What projects are coming up next for you?

The entire time Wild Card played at festivals the one question I got asked at every screening was if I was going to turn it into a feature. I always said no, because it was never intended to be a feature, it was always supposed to be its own self contained short film. Well, cut to a year later and here I am working on a Wild Card feature script. The plan would be to use what I already shot, so the story really takes off after we leave Toni’s apartment.

Any message for our Melbourne fans?

Thank you so much for coming out to the festival and for watching Wild Card! I hope I can visit Melbourne someday.