REPAIR THE CARROWS by Johnny Cruz
TAKEO HORI interviews JOHNNY CRUZ about his drama feature REPAIR THE CARROWS.
REPAIR THE CARROWS is about an aging man living in the Alaskan wilderness who, after his wife falls ill, has to re-enter the world and round up his estranged children so they can see their mother before she passes.
Takeo Hori: What do you consider the themes of this script?
Johnny Cruz: It's about catching up with the times, healing up old wounds, and dealing with generational conflict during times of great political, social, and familial division, things our protagonist Walker Carrow, must learn to do if he wants to bring his children together to see their mother.
TH: Why is it important for you to tell this story? What inspired you to write this script?
JC: I have a family, most people have a family, and if you're going to write a story about family, you're bound to put your own in there somehow or another. My family isn't depicted in the script literally, but they influenced the characters in the script more abstractly. As for what inspired me to write the script, I remember when I was little, my dad used to show my family and me a DVD documentary about this guy who lived in a self-constructed log cabin in Alaska. So I started writing around that idea, and since that idea lives close with my family, especially my dad, the script became about family. There's a lot of my dad in Walker, just like there are aspects of my mom and my siblings in the other main characters.
TH: Why did you choose to set it in 1969?
JC: I mentioned earlier that it's about dealing with generational conflict during times of great political, social, and familial division, times in which we find ourselves in today for sure. But I always thought an audience was better suited to be influenced by a story that took place in a past time similar to the times they find themselves presently caught up in. Today and 1969 are two comparable times, and setting it in that past may allow people to interpret the movie more objectively.
TH: What is your favorite moment in the script?
JC: There's a scene in the third act where the old family dog, Jackson, overcomes a fear he has to help wrap the story up. I like it because pets can be overlooked as actual characters in family dramas, and I like that Jackson gets his own little character arc in this one.
TH: What was the hardest thing for you in telling this story? What surprised you most about writing this script?
JC: The premise of getting the children together before their mother passes creates a ticking clock of sorts and a sense of urgency. It was very difficult to maintain that without making the plot and character beats feel rushed. Also, this was the first script I completed, so what surprised me was how quickly the characters wanted to abandon the predetermine scene list and just do what they wanted to do. And following the characters in the moment, rather than a predetermined scene, usually brought the story to a better place.
TH: Which character is your favorite and why?
JC: I'd say Walker, just because he ended up being a lot like my dad. I think the idea of Walker being "the man who can fix anything" and other traits of my dad's that snowballed into Walker along the way made for a good character.
TH: Any of the characters based on yourself?
JC: Definitely, none are based on myself, but probably the character that's closest to me is the son, Ryder, because he's one of the younger siblings, he doesn't have much life experience yet, and he's kind of naïve.
TH: What audience do you hope to activate with your script?
JC: I hope it would appeal to a broad audience in the sense most people have families, and the movie is about generational conflict, so I think there's something all people of all generations can relate to. Also, it's a family drama that turns into a kind of fun road trip movie in the middle.
TH: What are your biggest hang-ups when it comes to turning your script into a movie?
JC: Well, for now, I just hope to run into more people who like the script as much as I do, and if one of those people happens to have an extra couple million dollars in their pocket, they're welcome to make the script.
TH: What was your experience being a part of the Casino Theatre?
JC: I thought it was awesome cause I'd never been to Los Angeles before and it was a really good first exposure to all the people there. I was very nervous when I got there but everyone ended up being very nice and easy to talk to. It was fantastic to see the scenes I wrote performed live. All the actors and actresses did great. I'm glad it went as well as it did.