Interview: Luke Barnett

My Q&A with actor and writer of the upcoming comedy movie Faith Based.

On April 26, THR featured this article:

The faith-based film industry is getting the comedy treatment thanks to director Vincent Masciale and writer Luke Barnett.

The two — who worked regularly with Funny or Die before launching their own Lone Suspect production company — are teaming on Faith Based. Described as a satire of the Christian film industry, the movie will see Barnett and Tanner Thomason (another Funny or Die regular) play two idiot friends who realize that all faith-based films make “buckets of cash” and then set out on a mission to make one such movie of their own.

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Faith Based marks the second film from Masciale and Barnett. Their first, horror comedy Fear, Inc, starred Abigail Breslin and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Luke Barnett and I crossed social media paths several years ago, so I reached out to him for a Q&A about the project.

Scott: We first intersected back in October 31, 2014 when you emailed me this: “You’ve been a huge inspiration to me for a long time now. Both from your blog and your story as a writer. I had the opportunity to write this year’s Game of Thrones themed Halloween video for Funny or Die.”

I featured your video on my blog. Walk me through how you went from Funny or Die into screenwriting and movie producing.

Luke: My producing partner, director Vincent Masciale, had been doing a lot together at Funny or Die and knew we wanted make the jump to movies. We loved a lot of the horror movies that were coming out, mainly slow burn, creepy stuff, but we honestly missed the fun of a lot of older horror films. With our first film, Fear Inc, we set out to combine our comedic sensibilities with a genuine love of popcorn horror. We had tried to get it setup a million different ways and eventually just decided no one was going to give two guys who hadn’t done anything the green light, so we did it ourselves. Fear, Inc was made as indie as it gets. We took out credit cards, loans, borrowed from family, and had friends invest. It was a massive risk. Vince’s first kid was on the way. But it was worth it. In a way, it changed everything for us.

Scott: You and Vincent have produced several movies including Anderson Falls (starring Gary Cole and Shawn Ashmore), Painkillers (Madeline Zima, Mischa Barton), and Loitering with Intent (Sam Rockwell, Marisa Tomei). How did you wind your way into film producing?

Luke: I’ve always loved business. I got involved in opening bars originally as an outlet for my business side (again, borrowed from family, took out loans, etc). When it came to putting together Funny or Die projects, I realized producing was a great route for me to do that. I love connecting people. If I’m only good at one thing, it’s probably convincing people to be a part of an idea, for better or worse.

Scott: You wrote the screenplay for Faith Based which has this premise: Two idiot friends realize that all faith-based films make “buckets of cash,” then set out on a mission to make one such movie of their own. How did you hit on that story concept?

Luke: This story is about as personal as they come. With Fear, Inc, being a first screenplay to really have a shot at getting made, I wrote it with “what will sell” in the back of my mind. Looking back, that was wrong. I’m still very proud of Fear, Inc, but Faith Based isn’t that. It’s 100% a story I simply needed to tell. There was no “writing for the market”, and I’m hoping that’s what will set it apart. I grew up in the church, going to youth group every Wednesday. I remember seeing friends in bands have no success until they switched to being “Christian bands”, and suddenly they were making six figures touring Christian colleges and mega churches. It’s fascinating.

Look at the statistics of almost every major “faith based” film, big or small. I’m not saying they are ALL bad (I loved Blue Like Jazz, genuinely) but there are a lot of people who will go see ANYTHING Christian. That allows filmmakers to be lazy. There are “faith based” films that are horribly shot, have cheesier writing than a Hallmark movie (and even worse acting), and yet have garnered multiple sequels. Churches hire out buses and buy out theaters to see a bad movie starring Kirk Cameron just to support the industry. I wanted to tackle that with some satire.

Scott: I gather this is one of those “movies about making a movie.” Is Faith Based more in the vein of the French ‘new wave’ classic Day for Night or the Eddie Murphy — Steven Martin classic (?) Bowfinger?

Luke: Ha! The “making a movie” aspect is more of device. The movie is about two friends trying to figure out life. My character comes from a family of excellence and is, essentially, the disappointment. He longs for approval. From his dad, from his career (or lack thereof). He’s trying to figure it out. He’s a schemer, often in pyramids and get rich quick ploys, but at the end of the day, he desperately longs to “make it”. In life.

Scott: Were there actually any movies which served as inspiration for Faith Based in terms of tone and humor?

Luke: Tonally, I think we’re aiming to combine a broad comedy like Dumb & Dumber or Old School with a darker indie like The Foot Fist Way or Saved!. Our DP’s (Will Stone) biggest influences for this are Amazon’s Patriot (my current favorite show on TV) or HBO’s Barry. So it’s definitely going to have a stylized feel to it.

Scott: What does your production schedule look like?

Luke: We’re shooting 17 days. We’re also going out and stealing whatever fun stuff we can on our off nights. There was a bit I wrote in the script set at the Santa Monica pier, but we’ve seen that a million times and permits are tough there. A lot of our film is set in and pays homage to the San Fernando Valley. A month or so back, I had the idea to change it to one of those janky pop up carnivals. Last week, we’re scouting locations and suddenly notice a ferris wheel being build in North Hollywood. Look it up and sure enough, it’s there three nights. We took two actors, our DP, director and myself and literally stole what would usually be a $250K day. It looks incredible. There was a moment we wanted to see a ride moving in the background and no one was getting on (mainly because it was the most insane ride at the fair) so the director asks if I’d go ride it just to get it going. I can tell you, as I was upside down, spinning and spinning, I became fairly certain that piece of equipment was not what you’d call a “well oiled machine”. This is the fun of making an independent film. I love it.

Scott: You are set to star in the movie and Vincent is going to direct, and this will be your second movie working together, your first being Fear, Inc. How did that movie come about?

Luke: We’ve done these roles a lot in our Funny or Die videos, with me writing and acting. We work great together. For this movie, we decided to make it feel like 17 Funny or Die videos. So far it’s felt very organic and real. We’re using a lot of friends, a lot of places we really do go to. It’s very natural. Hopefully that comes across on screen.

Scott: You’ve got Fear, Inc. and Faith Based. Does this mean your next movie has to start with an “F” so they can go down in history as your F Trilogy, like the Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg “Cornetto Trilogy?”

Luke: Our next film is called “Fuck FOX News”, if anyone reading wants to cut us a check, let me know. Side note: FOX News actually blasted us the minute they heard about this movie being made. I knew, at that moment, we were onto something.

Scott: Speaking of the letter “F,” some people may know you from TV series The Walking Fred. What’s the lowdown on that project?

Luke: I doubt it. The Walking Fred was a blast but short lived. It was Funny or Die’s Walking Dead recap series. I played a zombie extra named Fred who narrates the recap from the perspective of someone who only cares about the zombies on the show. I would do three hours of makeup, then we’d all watch the episode together and I’d write it as we went. We’d then film for a couple hours, edit through the night, and it would be released the next day. It was a great lesson in writing topical comedy.

Scott: You’re developing other TV projects. What else do you have on your slate?

Luke: After Fear, Inc we got a lot of meetings but didn’t really have the “next one” ready. I think we’re going into Faith Based in a much better place. There is a passion project I want t take out, a black comedy called Uncredited. We’re currently casting a movie we’re producing for Daniel Stern. It’s a great comedy called Everything’s Peachy. Have a few other things on the plate as well. A couple TV pitches, a political satire script in the vein of Vice. But right now we just want to focus on making Faith Based the best it can be.

Scott: Given all the projects you’ve been involved with and have on tap, a question for you: How do you come up with story concepts? Do they just come to you naturally or are you intentional in generating them?

Luke: I think it’s a combination. Fear, Inc I wrote somewhat thinking about what I could get made. The next three scripts I’ve written are all 100% stories I simply want to tell. All three are about things that have somehow had a big impact on my life or ideas I’m passionate about. All of them are also very satirical. I love being able to take a subject and put some sort of social commentary on it. Fear, Inc, for me, was a satire about society’s obsession with horror, Faith Based is about the Christian film industry, Uncredited tackles someone’s unrelenting desire for fame in a world where who you are online can be wildly different than who you are in real life, and The Right Angle with Jules Forrester is about a woman who spirals out of control when a job at a FOX News-esque corporation turns out to require more than she was expecting.

Scott: Finally, any advice for aspiring screenwriters and filmmakers, especially those who are working the comedy space?

Luke: I think you have to go make your own work. There are too many resources at our finger tips now. Creating your own content went from something you could do to something you need to do. I also think connecting is key. Almost every thing that’s happened for us in the last five years stems from someone I met who knew someone else. Lastly, be nice. Everyone wants to work with their friends. No one wants to work with an asshole. Being nice goes a long way in this town.

Here is a Funny or Die video featuring Luke tapping into his inner Sorkin… ironically.

It’s always gratifying to hear from Go Into The Story followers who achieve success in the film and TV business.

Congratulations, Luke! Good luck with Faith Based.

Twitter: @LukeBarnett

Instagram: @IAmLukeBarnett