Did You Hear the One About the Director of Urbania?
by Steve Pride
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Jon Shear
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Heard any good stories lately? I've got one and it really happened. I
swear. It was a Saturday morning in Studio City, CA. I had stopped by
the radio station to interview Jon Shear, director of the critically
acclaimed film Urbania.
Suddenly, and without warning, there was a strange scratching sound on
the studio door. ...
OK, so it was more of a knocking sound and it was just Jon arriving for
his interview. But I could tell you a similar story that happened to a
friend of a friend. A story that would curl your hair, unless of course
it's already curly and then it would stay exactly the same. Creepy!
PlanetOut: So Jon, tell me about your fabulous film Urbania.
Jon Shear: It's one of those puzzle movies that are actually sort of
hard to sum up in one sentence, but I'll do my best.
Urbania is a fantasia of city life. We meet a young man who's in
an emotional freefall. Then he spots a couple on the street that rouses
him to action. He spends the next hour and a half trying to find one of
them -- we're not sure which -- and with each round of action we
discover more about who he's actually looking for and what he actually
wants. As he gets closer to this person, all the urban myths you've
heard -- the dog in the microwave, the stolen kidney -- come to life
around him.
PlanetOut: Some of the urban legends were so subtle. It was almost like
playing "Where's Waldo".
JS: Well, that's one of the exciting things for the audience.
Sometimes at someone's third screening of the film they'll say, "Now
that image there, is that from the folktale where ... " yada, yada,
yada. And sometimes they are right and sometimes I wish I could pretend
that they are right because they have a cool answer and the truth might
be, "No, it's just someone who ran through the frame by mistake and our
budget wouldn't allow a retake."
So, there are different layers to the film. Some are just urban lore as
opposed to urban folk tales. Some things are just from my life growing
up in a city. I mean, my dad's kidney really was stolen. And there is
one scene in which Charlie, played by Dan Futterman, is standing under
an awning when a homeless man comes up and urinates against one side of
the building. So Charlie moves to get away from that and a well-dressed
man urinates against the other side of the building. That actually
happened to me and it was the exact moment I decided to move out of
Chelsea and to Los Angeles.
PlanetOut: I don't think I can move on until you explain "my dad's kidney
was stolen".
JS: He went into the hospital for an exploratory maneuver and woke
up with one less kidney. They had the wrong chart on his bed and took it
out by accident.
PlanetOut: Do you get a refund when that happens?
JS: He may have, but at the time I had just paid my dad back for
raising me and he'd gone off on his own. The surgery happened while he
was away so I'm not sure.
PlanetOut: Talking to you is very much like watching Urbania
because so many of the side roads look interesting. Please explain the
part about paying your dad back for raising you.
JS: When I was a kid my dad said, "If you want to have your say in
the way this household is run, you need to pay your way. He who has the
gold rules." I looked around and found there wasn't a lot of work for
kids except for the ones I saw on TV. So I went into commercials and did
really well. I did one for AT&T that ran for years. It paid for college,
and before I left for school I was able to pay my dad the cost of
raising me. When I gave him the check I said, "You're past fifty and
you've earned it. You are free, so go off if you want and have a nice
life."
PlanetOut: I think we've lost the linear thread of "tell me about your
movie."
JS: Good, because it's not a linear movie.
PlanetOut: How did you get from child actor to directing your first
feature film?
JS: As an actor I was fortunate enough to work with a number of
fabulous directors. But I was also the kind of actor that was really
concerned about the whole project. I was always there, whether it was my
scene or not, to see how the energy flowed from scene to scene. I always
wanted to be part of that wellspring of energy and that's the job of the
film director.
PlanetOut: You look familiar and I'm not sure if it's because I saw you in
commercials, or the films you've been in -- Heathers, Independence
Day -- or. ...
JS: I had a brief scene in Urbania. Remember when the kidney
thief is coming onto Charlie and a jerk walks up to her and says, "I got
eight inches and it's all for you"? That was me!
PlanetOut: I won't ask the question that popped into my head. Let's talk
instead about the amazing cast: Josh Hamilton, Alan Cumming from
Cabaret, Lothaire Bluteau who was so brilliant in Bent,
Matt Keeslar from The
Birdcage and that TV show about the judge with great hair. ...
JS: Judging Amy. And Dan has nice hair too.
We were really lucky. This whole project has been about going for what
you dream about -- rather than what people say you should expect.
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Dan Futterman in
Urbania
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PlanetOut: Lest anyone think Urbania is only a dry cerebral
journey, let's talk about sex. Love scenes have become so common, no one
blinks, even when they are at their most graphic. But the norm is two
people in the bed. So do you think it's sexually groundbreaking when Dan
Futterman strips down to his underwear and ... pleasures himself?
JS: Probably, but it isn't gratuitous and I think it says a lot
about the character at that moment. And judging from audience reaction,
he brings pleasure to more people than just himself.
PlanetOut: We could joke about this for the next five minutes, but I want
it to be clear that Dan Futterman is not just eye-candy. He is brilliant
in Urbania.
JS: And Charlie is an incredibly expansive character. In every
scene you find out a different layer and you cannot feel like you are
being manipulated. You need to feel you are just discovering another
layer in this guy, as opposed to him hiding things about himself. So I
needed somebody who is incredibly fluid in his energy in terms of
masculine and feminine, in terms of sexuality, in terms of power. Could
he be manipulated? Could he be a manipulator? In every scene Charlie
shows another color. And Dan Futterman as a person is smart and sexy in
a very average way -- depending on the angle he is shot. People make
assumptions about power based on looks. And Danny is either average or
beautiful depending on the light in which you see him.
I think because I had been an actor the cast really trusted that they
wouldn't be exploited. I am sure that in his life Danny has had that
torrid scene by himself before, so rehearsal wasn't required. But in
Urbania he also has torrid scenes with other characters. And
during a lot of the scenes an actor would be very honest and say, "I've
never done this before, but let's go for it," and it was their trust
that was the most exciting thing for me.
* Read the PopcornQ review of Urbania
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