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What could be more beautiful than a young couple who loves each other to celebrate with a big, beautiful wedding bash? Especially when there are plenty of family members to assist. It's the ultimate day. However, not every couple wants an enormous wedding, as you will see in the fun indie film "Fathers of the Bride: A Yuletide Wedding Comedy" from director Paul A. Hart. On a serene, September evening, there was a private screening for "Fathers of the Bride. " The screening took place in the gorgeous garden at the Garland Hotel in North Hollywood, CA. Gemma Magazine was thrilled to attend and meet the cast and crew, who put their heart and soul into this fun-filled indie film.
THE DIRECTOR Paul Hart has been in the film business for over twenty–five years and has worked on both large studio films and small indie projects. He is accostumed to wearing many hats in the industry. He also holds directing credits for two indie films, "Homewrecker" and "Breaking the Rules," both of which are doing well on streaming platforms. He is also a skilled film editor. "I was one of the assistant editors on the three Sam Raimi-directed “Spider-Man” films, which was a great experience," said Paul. More recently, he was part of the VFX (visual effects) editing crew on “Fast X”, the latest “Fast and Furious” film. With "Fathers of the Bride," he co-wrote, directed, and co-produced the indie film.
So, how did "Fathers of the Bride" come about? During the pandemic, Paul and his brother, Bruce L. Hart (an actor who also stars in the film), wrote the screenplay for "Fathers of the Bride." Paul and Bruce work together frequently and even formed a production company called Hart Brothers Films. Actually, they wrote quite a few screenplays during lockdown but felt ready to put their energy into releasing the romantic comedy. The talented Bruce Hart plays Rich in the film and is one of the dads ready for a big, beautiful wedding!
"Fathers of the Bride" is the story of a young woman, Michelle, with two dads. She's planning to get married to the love of her life, Marc, but they don't want a wedding ceremony. They are both hardworking and quite practical. Therefore, they plan to fly to Vegas for a quick wedding and a fun weekend. However, her dads have other plans. The two dads never had the wedding that they wanted, so they want their daughter to have a big wedding. Drama comes into play when you factor in an overbearing sister who wants to take over with the wedding planning. In addition, it's almost Christmas and the dads are planning their annual holiday bash.
THE CAST: The cast is fantastic and we enjoyed speaking to the talented actors. For the bride and groom, (Michelle and Marc), Brooke Riley St. Johns and Darren Deng play the young couple. For Michelle's dads (Leo and Rich), Bruce L Hart and Peter Szeliga play the dads. Raphaella Dreyer is playing the sister of Peter's character (Angela). There is also a special guest appearance by Bob Pranga, who is also known as Dr. Christmas, the holiday decorator to the stars.
Brooke Riley St. Johns (Michelle) said she had a blast on set and felt very comfortable.
She also felt that she brought alot of herself to the character. She was allowed to make specific and creative choices regarding her character and channeled a great amount of her energy into Michelle from the love that she has for her parents. She is close with her parents and they fully support her artistic drive. Brooke also mentioned that she has always wanted to get married on screen. She definitely received that wish. In real life, Brooke wants something intimate, but beautiful.
Darren Deng (who plays Marc) said he took his first acting class in college and was hooked. He truly fell in love with the art. Darren mentioned that Marc is the neutral third party watching the rest of the characters get caught up in their family shenanigans. He said, "It's a really fun place to be in, seeing the chaos brew from a distance...well, until you get sucked into it yourself." "Marc's similar to me in a lot of ways: on the surface he works in STEM, leans more to the simpler wants in life. But on top of that, he's a really caring person who leads with love," said Darren. Darren noted that the cast got along great and it was a true and authentic collaborative process. He also emphasized how he and Brooke clicked as soon as they met each other. So how does Darren get into character? He starts with the core of the character: what does the character represent in the story, narrative-wise? How does he affect the people around him, and similar questions. He then answers as many as he can. Finally, on the day of set, he pushes all that aside and just tells himself to be human. For Darren, being human is the most important thing for an actor to show.
Gemma Magazine also had the opportunity to speak with the director of the film, Paul Hart. We spoke about his background in film, the inspiration to make "Fathers," as well as the impressive teamwork of the cast in order to produce a romantic comedy.
What inspired you to make "Fathers of the Bride?"
Bruce and I wrote it during the COVID lockdown. We had time, and we ended up writing five scripts! We chose "Fathers of the Bride" because we liked that it was a comedy but also explored a bit of a deeper theme about what constitutes a "family." Ultimately, it's about how we can get past our conflicts by focusing on our underlying love for one another. Plus, it had many funny moments we couldn't wait to see brought to life by the actors.
Tell us about "Fathers of the Bride." It sounds like a fun-filled and cozy holiday film!
We love how it turned out! It's the story of two fathers, Rich and Leo, who have raised a daughter, Michelle, together. Michelle has just gotten engaged, but she and her fiancé don't want a wedding ceremony. Her dads talk her into "a straightforward wedding" partly because they regret never having had a ceremony. With the addition of Michelle's Aunt Angela, who wants a big say in planning the ceremony, things begin to spiral out of control. It's a clash of personalities, all of whom have their own agenda and feel they're doing what's best for the couple. According to Raphaella Dryer (Angela), "I loved playing the aunt, Angela. She's a little over the top, means well and just wants to be a part of the wedding planning. Since she's been married multiple times, she's definitely qualified. It was really fun filming scenes with Bruce Hart/Rich who is my rival in the film. We had great chemistry between all the actors and it felt really like a family...with all the Laughs, Love, and Drama." In addition, it's set against the backdrop of the approach of Christmas and the big Christmas party Rich and Leo plan each year. Of course, it all ends happily after a few arguments and a big car chase :)
"We've all seen fun wedding films and thought we could come up with something funny and original along those lines. When we decided to add Christmas into the mix, the film incorporated a new level of drama." (Paul Hart)
You and your brother, Bruce Hart, own a production company. What is it like to work together?
We've been doing small projects together ever since we were kids when we made Super-8 animated films together. We know each other so well that it's easy to work together because we can anticipate what each of us might think and the approach we might want to take. We've made three feature films together, and we were very much in agreement about what kind of film it was and what style and tone we aimed for. Writing together is especially enjoyable because we can bounce ideas off each other and know when something is working and when it isn't. I guess you could say we're "simpatico"!
What was the casting process like?
Peter Szeliga, who plays the father Leo in the film, was a big help with that. He's a casting director, and he put out notices for the parts we wanted to cast and sorted through the initial responses – hundreds of replies in some cases – to show us the ones he thought were best. We then all watched and discussed them until we agreed on whom to offer the parts. We're delighted with the cast, and we ended up with an ensemble of talented actors who brought their flair to each part. It's always so much fun to see the lines come to life and how the actors will find things in the parts you hadn't even thought of yourself.
How did you come up with a wedding theme?
That was Bruce's idea. He wanted to write a film about a wedding that got out of control, and we started brainstorming the plot line. We've all seen fun wedding films and thought we could come up with something funny and original along those lines. When we decided to add Christmas into the mix, the film incorporated a new level of drama.
Do you have a favorite film or TV project you have worked on?
I'll exempt my films from the discussion to avoid bias ;) One of my favorite projects I was privileged to work on was "The Other Side of the Wind," a film directed by Orson Welles in the 1970s, but which he was never able to complete for complicated reasons. It was a famous "lost film" until several producers and Netflix could disentangle the legal issues keeping the footage under wraps. My friend Bob Murawski was the editor who finally put the whole thing together and brought me on to help sort through the footage. I even ended up with an "Additional Editing" credit. I really never thought I'd end up working on an Orson Welles film in the 2000s!
You juggle a lot of roles in the industry. Is there one that you enjoy the most?
Yes, I write and direct, but editing is my favorite. There's something very satisfying about getting the raw material, looking through it, and figuring out its potential. Good editing can make a film shine, bringing out the best in both the performances and story. I like to be part of that final step before the film goes before an audience.
Where can we see "Fathers of the Bride"?
We've had interest from two distributors right now and hope to know soon what distribution route we'll be taking. Ultimately, it will be up on streaming sites for all to see. We'll keep everyone posted!
Are you currently working on your next film?
We still have four scripts we wrote during lockdown, any one of which we'd be eager to see on the screen. Once we get "Fathers" fully launched, we'll turn to those projects and see what can happen.
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To keep up with Paul Hart and "Fathers of the Bride," you can follow the film on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/fathers_of_the_bride_film_/
Website: Fathersofthebride.com
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