Interviewing filmmaker Ethan Webber



1. What first inspired you to become a filmmaker, and when did you realize that cinema was your true passion?

 As a kid, I always said I wanted to be a “movie director” because they were the people that made movies. I told stories but I had no idea what directing entailed. It wasn’t until I was in 7th grade, when I watched Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese for the first time. Spoiler alert, but the moment Joe Pesci’s character was killed, I knew I was going to make movies. I decided to turn those stories into scripts. 
 
2. How would you describe your personal vision and style as a filmmaker?

In terms of vision, I love movies that bring audiences back down to earth. I want to make people connect with themselves on the screen. For me, in order to get that connection, I just tell stories from my life. When it comes to style, I like to think I’m a run-and-gun Director. I love making something magical happen with not a lot of recourses. I don’t need 100 people on set, I just need a good camera, some actors, and people I believe in and a movie will be made. 
 
3. What stories are you most drawn to telling, and why?

 Honestly, my life provides the stories I want to tell. All of my films started from me simply just trying to process something that I experienced. I think the stories that are most personal to me, can be personal to audiences. If I am in love, I’m writing a romance. If I’m heartbroken, I’m writing a drama. If something makes me really laugh, it’s going down as a joke in a comedy. But if I had to narrow it down to one thing, I’d say romance is a part of any story I tell. 
 
4. When you begin developing a new project, what usually comes first: the story, a character, an image, or an idea?

For me, it’s a personal experience and music. A song can help me visualize ideas that have been stored in my brain for years. A song can dig up an old premise or memory, and provide me with the aesthetic and the meaning. For example, my recent film, STRANGERS, is a story about a young woman trying to prevent her past self from meeting her ex on the night they met each other. This idea was inspired by a recent breakup and the song, “The Night We Met”. 
 
5. How important is it for you to create an emotional connection between your films and the audience?

 It’s the foundation of my work. If audiences can’t connect with my story, then I should not attempt to make it. I have to ensure it can connect with others or else I have no interest in making it. Why make a movie just for eyes to see it? I make movies for the hearts and minds of audiences. Not their eyes. 
 
6. What has been the biggest challenge you have faced during your career, and what did it teach you?

 I think for me, it has been trying to tell stories in a short period of time. Any indie filmmaker knows, if you can tell a strong story in 5-12 minutes, you’ll be just fine. I often found myself cutting my films to 15-25 minutes, being afraid of cutting them down. It took years of trying different things before realizing audiences want to go on a journey with us, not be told what happened.
 
7. How do you work with actors to help them bring their characters to life?

 I want to be close with my actors. I want them to trust me, as I want to trust them. I cannot make a movie without an actor. I need them. They aren’t working for me, they are working with me. Together we create a story. So for me, it all starts with getting to know my actors as a human being. I share personal experiences from my life, with hope they feel they can do the same. Build respect, build a safe space because if you do, you’ll be able to explore so many avenues of the actor and the character. Once I know my actors, then we can talk about the characters. 
 
8. Is there a particular filmmaker or film that has had a profound influence on your work?

I can go on and on about how certain directors taught me different things. But I like to break it down to three directors. Martin Scorsese taught me how to trust my actors and let them take the character places I could never go. Because my actors will know my characters better than me. Why? Because they have to love them more than I do. Damien Chazelle taught me that music is a key foundation layer to a successful story experience. From La La Land to Babylon, his use of music is a prime example as how audiences ears can be a key to the heart. 
 
9. What is the most rewarding moment for you when you are on a film set?

 When something unplanned and beautiful happens. I’m not responsible for every awesome thing in a movie. No way. Yes, I’m the director, but my actor could improv a line better than I wrote it. My cinematographer could push-in on an actor without telling me and it makes the take ten times better. My Assistant Director rushing the set could make an actor anxious, giving them their best take because they used it the energy. Whether it’s improv, a new idea, or a split-second decision, magic can happen. It’s just beautiful. 
 
10. How do you balance your original artistic vision with the practical realities of filmmaking?

 It all comes from me working with my department heads. I don’t need to know all the answer, I just need to listen and be open to my team and together, we can create something awesome. 
 
11. Has your approach to cinema changed as you have gained more experience?

Yes. 100%. Absolutely. For example, I used to write so much dialogue. My first film was 15 minutes of dialogue. Yikes. Then my second film barely had any dialogue. My third film was no dialogue at all. So, by the time I was making STRANGERS, I knew when a moment needed silence or a conversation. 
 
12. If you could have been present on the set of any film in cinema history, which one would you choose and why?

Obsession, by Curry Barker. I wish I could see how him and his team made the film that began the shift in the film industry. He’s the man. I have so much respect for him, and I hope to work with him one day. 
 
13. What would you say to young filmmakers who are trying to find their own voice in the industry?

I’m not the first to say it, and I won’t be the last to say: Just go make a movie. 

14. Finally, what is the dream project you would still love to make, and what would it mean to you to bring that story to the screen?

 I would love to make a sitcom about my family. I wrote a pilot for the show, and over the years my family has given me so many crazy, and real, experiences that I can’t make up. My family is hilarious, loving, and just unlike any other family. Making “The Webbers” would make me feel like I completed my childhood dream.

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