This year's Sundance Festival came and went, and we won't lie––the film that topped our list was Milkshake. Directed, edited, written, and produced by David Andalman and friend of OC Mariko Munro, the film stars Tyler Ross, Shareeka Epps, Georgia Ford, Eshan Bay, Leo Fitzpatrick (another dear friend), and Danny Burstein. The film takes place in suburban Washington, D.C., circa 1995 and is centered around the sex life of the main character, Jolie Jolson, a teenager and wannabe thug. We caught up with Mariko for the full lowdown.
Opening Ceremony: How did you become involved in Milkshake? (How far back do you and David go, and what drew you to the project?)
Mariko Munro: Dave and I met through my sisters years ago, they helped with his short film Takoma Park. I knew he wanted to make a feature version and it just worked out!
OC: As David has stated, his personal history of growing up white and Jewish yet relating to Tupac, Biggie, Mike Tyson, and his minority friends informed Jolie's character. How do you relate to Jolie?
MM: I think we all knew that guy in high school. At least for my generation, Jolie is a pretty universal archetype–– the middle class white kid who idolized Tupac and Biggie, and wanted so badly to identify with their story. The movie takes place when it does because it was the moment just before the end of the Thug Life era, when rap music was seeping into the suburbs, and kids were watching MTV raps and idolizing the hip-hop artists of the time for coming up from nothing. They were watching Michael Jordan dazzle the world of basketball. They saw Maya Angelou read President Bill Clinton's inaugural poem.
OC: It seems like so many culturally powerful and seminal films, from those of John Hughes to Larry Clark's––and now Milkshake––focus on teenagers. Why?
MM: Good question, I guess because teenagers are fascinating and frightening creatures.
OC: Where did you grow up as a teen, and what were you into?
MM: I went to boarding school in northern Michigan, Interlochen Arts Academy, where I studied classical voice but dabbled in writing and art too. I listened to Nick Cave and watched lots of John Waters––Serial Mom and Pecker are favorites––though at the time I may have been more into all the Divine ones (Female Trouble, Pink Flamingos, Polyester, etc.); David Lynch's Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks; Hal Hartley's Amateur and Flirt... Typical art school stuff.
OC: This was your first feature film, congrats! What did you least expect from working on your first extended film?
MM: I don't think I had any expectations going in. I really just wanted to do it, and there were plenty of challenges along the way, from financing to casting, to finding housing in Maryland. But what was the most rewarding was at our premiere in Sundance, when people were actually laughing at funny moments during the screening. A bonus was speaking with people who got that the film is a satire addressing class and race. Because our main character kinda gets away with everything, there's a bit of resentment towards him, and by extension towards us, but I'm cool with that.
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Opening Ceremony: How did you become involved in Milkshake? (How far back do you and David go, and what drew you to the project?)
Mariko Munro: Dave and I met through my sisters years ago, they helped with his short film Takoma Park. I knew he wanted to make a feature version and it just worked out!
OC: As David has stated, his personal history of growing up white and Jewish yet relating to Tupac, Biggie, Mike Tyson, and his minority friends informed Jolie's character. How do you relate to Jolie?
MM: I think we all knew that guy in high school. At least for my generation, Jolie is a pretty universal archetype–– the middle class white kid who idolized Tupac and Biggie, and wanted so badly to identify with their story. The movie takes place when it does because it was the moment just before the end of the Thug Life era, when rap music was seeping into the suburbs, and kids were watching MTV raps and idolizing the hip-hop artists of the time for coming up from nothing. They were watching Michael Jordan dazzle the world of basketball. They saw Maya Angelou read President Bill Clinton's inaugural poem.
OC: It seems like so many culturally powerful and seminal films, from those of John Hughes to Larry Clark's––and now Milkshake––focus on teenagers. Why?
MM: Good question, I guess because teenagers are fascinating and frightening creatures.
OC: Where did you grow up as a teen, and what were you into?
MM: I went to boarding school in northern Michigan, Interlochen Arts Academy, where I studied classical voice but dabbled in writing and art too. I listened to Nick Cave and watched lots of John Waters––Serial Mom and Pecker are favorites––though at the time I may have been more into all the Divine ones (Female Trouble, Pink Flamingos, Polyester, etc.); David Lynch's Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks; Hal Hartley's Amateur and Flirt... Typical art school stuff.
OC: This was your first feature film, congrats! What did you least expect from working on your first extended film?
MM: I don't think I had any expectations going in. I really just wanted to do it, and there were plenty of challenges along the way, from financing to casting, to finding housing in Maryland. But what was the most rewarding was at our premiere in Sundance, when people were actually laughing at funny moments during the screening. A bonus was speaking with people who got that the film is a satire addressing class and race. Because our main character kinda gets away with everything, there's a bit of resentment towards him, and by extension towards us, but I'm cool with that.
Like <