J.B. Ghuman Jr is a writer/director from Miami Beach, Florida and his directorial debutĀ SporkĀ has just been released on DVD here in the UK.
The 31-year-old has been slowly making his mark in the movie industry starting off as an actor before moving behind-the-camera to explore directing and writing.
We caught up with J.B. to find out more aboutĀ Spork, talk about the inspiration behind the movie and discover what else he has coming up. J.B. has his own unique writing style so we’ve edited the following as little as possible.
How are you today? Where does this Q&A find you?
Well Iām sitting here at 2am, just finishing up from reading the review you guys gave maālil worldĀ Sporkā¦kinda made me smile. So Iād say Iām in a pretty good head space. Thank you for that, ox
āSporkā has just been released on DVD here in the UK. Tell us about the movie.
WellĀ SporkĀ is basically your every day ācoming of age story of the local outcastā with some random anglesā¦like a chicā with a dick who scores some inner-strength via doing headspins on a Twister pad kinda angle. Jus sayinā¦
Where did the inspiration for the movie come from?
Well like most writers I simply pull from what I know. My life. And though I am not inner sexed, I did, like most of us, grow up a bit out of sorts with myself. I was a closeted, breakdancing, gold tooth wearing street kid in Miami, Fl. whoād go home and blast some enigma while jerkinā off to K-Mart underwear ads. Iād say fitting in was easy and impossible all at the same time for me. So when I wrote the shortĀ Wheeler, a story about a girl in a wheel chair who books it down the hallways in anger, etc, I thought Iād re-envision the central character and try to come up with a protagonist that is uber left of centre while entirely relatable to us all. Sporkā¦notāa spoonā¦notāa fork. So from there I simply went down memory lane and had fun with my realities mixed in with some booty poppinā kids along side witty, bitchy white girls. In the endā¦you got me shoving twizzlers down my throat in a giant movie theatre hoping people get my art.
Your young cast do a fantastic job in the movie. Tell us about the casting process for the movie.
Jeremy Gordon was my casting director. He did a wonderful job, ferāsure! Each kid you see on screen pretty much came in and brought their A game. I mean a lot of kids did, really. But just for the sake of the role and the energy being matched upā¦I kinda new on the spot when they walked in. Though Tootsie Roll, played by Syd Park, threw me at first. I honestly said ānoā cause she looked like friggin āChilliā from TLC and I specifically said I wanted a ghetto, black girl from the streets. She came back and braided all her hair and basically pulled the character out of my script word for wordā¦an..well..obviously it worked. She did amazing.
Tootsie Roll is our favourite character in the movie. Give us some background on how that character came to be and where you found the inspiration for her hilarious dialogue.
Aw, well first off, thank you! She was based on my first kiss, actually. Like I said, I grew up in Miami and in a bit of a humbled neighbourhoodā¦with that said, I was one of the only white kids an soā¦ya know. Though itād be funny as hell if she could see me nowā¦I meanā¦Iām gayer than Christmas for peteās sake, lol! But yeaā¦she was this kind of loud mouth girl who was always charged, etc. Sheād make me laugh so much…that I was able to shove aside my love of cock and simply be her boyfriend. And though I didnāt end up coming out to myself till I was already 20, she left a lasting impression. The dialogue is kinda from all over. I loveā¦love loveā¦the strength in African American women. Or, if I can suspend PC talk, black girls! They have such a sense of power about them and it still, to this day, just inspires me at how funny and silly they can be with lives that most other women would be miserable in. Speaking of course of the street side of things. Iām well aware that the colour of your skin makes no difference with how you react to lifeās ups and downs, so I get it. But itās more of a cultural thing really. From tight knit families to funny jokes in the middle of dark timesā¦they seem to just alwaysā¦glow with self confidence. All in allā¦if and when I come back to this planet..Iād like to be a dark, beautiful black women. (insert snap over my head with a smack of my lips) shoooot! (insert Oprah sitting across of me, looking horrified at my impression) omgā¦calm down, Oprahā¦you know what I mean!!
Whatās your favourite memory from shooting the movie?
Hands down the kissing scene with Charlie and Spork. I had grown up being a HUMOUNGUS fan ofĀ The Never Ending StoryĀ and at the very end, when the child like empress has only one wish left of her beloved worldā¦she sits across from Sebastian and hands him this tiny, little..spec of glitter. They both sit in utter darkness and it has always been burned into my mind as sucha powerful moment. So, I wanted to pay homage to the film maker and bring that same energy, only my twist, intoĀ Spork. Cut to me literally on the fucking floor with my feet on the dolly, both hands on both actors backs to push lean them towards each other as I have a walkie-talkie up my ass so I can quietly whisper to my outside lighting rigs to dim and come up with lights at the same time, each movement, from the kids to the pull in to the lighting changeā¦in sync. I felt like the gay Shiva of directors! Though if you want something this precise and your working with an indie filmā¦it clearly takes each limb and I was more than willing. Especially as I was so excited when we landed the shotā¦after 5 sweaty takes of course!
Were you nervous about āSporkā as this is your feature film debut?
Ah, dudeā¦Was I ever! I moved to NYC after HS to be an installation artistā¦.but money kept coming my way via acting gigs and all the while all I wanted to do was create my own worlds vs. be placed into them. So after making countless of installation art videos, pushing my handmade music videos and such, I was almost distraught when I found out I had a shot at showing the world my take on things, especially visually and on the scale of a feature film.
To be honest, I was uber insecure at first and a bit nervous to really shine on set with all these veterans of a crew around me, most older than myself as well as producers whoāve worked with previous more seasoned directorsā¦though as the days went by and I saw that if I didnāt grow some ballsā¦pun intendedā¦I was going to piss away my first and maybe only shot at seeing just what my gut could create. So I remember having this one on one moment with my reflection in the bathroom on a day where my takes kept taking too long and people kept treating me like I was this wacko-artist who didnāt know anything. Told myself in the mirror that if this fails and looks like shitā¦itās your bad, bud. So either call it or make it shine!ā (what..Iām an artist..I like to be dramaticā¦so what!) I walked out and with a giant smile said ākā¦break it all down..I wanna move everything to the far left wall and make this a bit more fun lookingā¦) picked up the equipment and started to jusā¦I dunnoā¦go for it. Whatās even radāerā¦3 days laterā¦my DP came up to me, whoās now one of my close buds, and said the crew is uber excited with what there doingā¦weāre with you, manā¦so just keep it up! I got teary eyed the next talk I had with myselfā¦very, very cool! Note to selfā¦never be insecure with your heartā¦or your art!
Itās refreshing to see a coming-of-age movie that feels truly original. Are you happy with the reception the movie has received?
Sighā¦I dunno if āhappyā is really the right word for meā¦to be honestā¦Iād say the word for me..is humbled! I know itās a bit deep and a lilādebby-downer style, but duringĀ Spork, my father had transformed into star dust. Whatās worse is he made the choice to do soā¦soā¦.obviously it rocked my family off itās feet and of course will always change usā¦but before that I had also come out to my birth father who reacted uber cruel and though he wasnāt a big part of my life, it did something weird to my egoā¦blah blah blahā¦.me me meā¦so sad, I knowā¦.so long story shortā¦SporkĀ comes and here I am now flinging my hands in the air, making shit happen on set and just doing what my heart tells me as I have all these terrible self-pity breakdowns an shit through-out my daysā¦and then all of a sudden Iām in the middle of Brazil of all places screening my film. At the end, they let a line form for hand shakes and questionsā¦unlike in the States, they allow films to screen for free, which is amazing, so there was an plethora of people there. At the end, this homeless man is left and he keeps trying to get to me to ask his question, they start to force him out and I just asked why, and to please let him simply approach and say what he wantsā¦once he did, he kept moving his hands in the air, trying to explain something and kept pointing at his chest. He got a bit teary eyed and then hugged me. I didnāt know what to make of it so as he held on to me, I asked my translator what the fuck this cat was saying to me and if I should punch him in the stomach and push him off of me?
He said what he is saying is that āmy film is like medicine, medicine for the heart.ā My eyes instantly swelled up with tears and I grabbed him back and we both had our lilāmomentā From there on I saw first-hand just what it means to push past the shadow and create from a place that shines in each of us. I saw first hand that even a shade like myself can somehow inspire someone to this level with a simple dark comedy of misfits on an indie-level scale. I knew right then I was not only going to be okay but that we all were. And Iād spend the rest of my life jumping more hurdles if it means Iād be able to give back what power the universe is giving me.Ā SporkĀ in the end wasnāt and isnāt just a movie to me and my creative life but a giant, neon bolt of lighting. And I intend to seek out even more of these jolts and share them with anyone who will listen each time.
As well as writing and directing you act too. If you could only choose one of those three jobs which would you pick and why?
Oh myā¦well Iāve hung up my acting shoes for some years now. Ya know I used to love acting but it was mostly because I really wanted to be told how pretty I was and talented. Making people laugh was so beyond important to me and as I started the journey to really become a more self-assured and evolved man, I started more and more to no longer have the itch or even the like to be on set unless it was to create a world of my own that would carry with it things that Iād hope do some good here and there. I know there are actors out there who arenāt just insecure humans starved for attentionā¦I meanā¦letās face it a lot of them are and any actor who says otherwise is lying. But out of respect to those that are not, of which there are also many, I have no place among them. Itās my belief that art should come from a place of confidence and truth. And as I constantly hide from crowds and sit on the ocean side figuring out what the hell Iām gonna do to get these days dreams off the ground and out to the masses, acting just doesnāt seem to be a part of that. So yeaā¦the short of itā¦directingā¦.(and writingā¦though I am obsessed with music videos so I guess Iāll just say directingā¦.holy shit I ramble a lot!)
What else do you have coming up in 2012?
Wellā¦afterĀ SporkĀ I wrote a film titledĀ Rhino!Ā Itās another dark comedy that has a giant back bone of a message running through it only this time a different world and style. I donāt want to say too much as ideas these days are as common as the Nike swoosh and equally as replicated but what I will say is this. If your into humans who like to fling there hair in dirty mop water while jamming vintage prince music and wearing way to much make-upā¦then give me about 1-3million bucks and Iāll show you the ride of your life! Other than that, just finished the soundtrack toĀ Sporkthatās about to be released, as well as directed a music video for Lady Tigra who did all my original music so more will be to come. Iām putting together a cartoon, graphic novel, feature doc on some weird dudes who paint their faces and help the poor, a docu-series on the 90ās group SWV (Sistas With Voices), watching porn, working out, surfing, breakdancing on maāroof, throwing glitter into the ocean, ya knowā¦.crazy gay artist shit. You can always keep up with me viaĀ JBGhumanJr.comĀ cheesy, I know but whatevezā¦Iām a freak out there in the creative worldā¦gotta push my own path with all these suits who only see dollar signs, kidz. All I ask is for you to do the same. Shizzam! Ox jb jr.
āSporkā is available now on DVD through TLA Releasing.