John Rodriguez and his friends, brothers Gilberto and Fernando Gomez, are the Miami-based, indie production company, Full Moon Productions. They're currently raising funds to get their absurdist comedy film, Unemployed Wolfman, produced via the community funding site Indie GoGo. Rodriguez and Gilberto have worked as production assistants on Man v. Food Nation, the spin-off of the Travel Channel's popular series Man v. Food.
When three people are involved in a project (even when two of them are related), you're always privy to different perspectives, so we spoke to the three gentlemen about this wolfman looking for a job.
New Times: Tell us about Unemployed Wolfman.
John Rodriguez: As the story goes, Jared is THE Wolfman. Being the only Wolfman he's had a veritable monopoly on the role for the last century. Along the way he realized this and he became a complete narcissistic drunk. He alienated anybody that ever cared for him and was left with three "good friends" in Martin (Dracula), Glenn (Frankenstein), and Maskini (The Mummy.) Though they are his "good friends," the closest person to Jared is Ronald, his agent.
Gilberto Gomez: The growing world of computer animation has put Jared out of work, rendering him a has-been drunk. The web series follows his dealing with this in a dark and comedic way.
Fernando Gomez: Unemployed Wolfman started out as a screenwriting project for John. I read it and I was very impressed. It's a dark comedy that follows the Wolfman's career and life which are in a downward spiral, especially after [the] failure of the last Wolfman movie. It's a very ambitious project that we're trying to pull off as professionally as possible.
What was it like working on MvFN?
John: I was quite nervous, but the crew was fantastic and so welcoming. As a production assistant, you're basically there to do paperwork and move equipment around, but there are tons to learn and the crew was willing to teach. Adam Richman (the host) is an interesting dude. He's a big Kanye West fan (laughs).
Who would you jump at the chance to work with if given the chance?
John: At the moment, I'd say Robert Downey, Jr. (He) is notorious for making mediocre movies watchable, and I respect that so much. Imagine when he's in a phenomenal movie! Have you seen Kiss Kiss Bang Bang? So good.
Gilberto: An actor that really blows me away is Ryan Gosling. Ever since I saw Half Nelson I've become a huge admirer of his. I would take any opportunity to work with him in a heartbeat!
Fernando: Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I think the man is an incredible actor and I enjoy all his movies. He does great work in comedy but I enjoy his darker roles the most.
What would you say is the worst movie you've ever seen?
Fernando: That's actually a very tough question. Unfortunately there are too many too count. If I had to pick, the worst one would be The Room. Everything about that movie is just awful. I feel like anyone else with absolutely no film knowledge could do a better job. It's so bad that it's actually funny, and has actually become a cult hit. It's definitely my favorite of the worst I've ever seen.
John: Lady in the Water -- hands down. That movie had no redeemable qualities and was just pure boredom. M. Night is a hack. It's not an easy job to make movies, but even a decent crop of bad movies have some good acting or some enjoyable scenes to cleanse the palate. M. Night has lost his way, although, watching his older movies, I'm not sure he was ever on the right track.
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