Comedy is king on this week’s episode of BEHIND THE LENS as we take a look at two very different types of comedy through the lenses of their creators. FREE LUNCH EXPRESS is a balls-to-the wall political satiric farce from LENNY BRITTON and SAM BRITTAN about Bernie Sanders while brothers and co-writers/directors IAN and ESHOM NELMS deliver a deliciously dark comedic look at Santa Claus with FATMAN.
First up, take a listen to our prerecorded exclusive interview with IAN and ESHOM NELMS as we unwrap the secrets, and the heart, behind FATMAN. A rich dark comedic gem glittering in the twinkling holiday cinematic light, FATMAN dleivers the real deal Santa; the guy who has the potential to be jolly but centuries of greedy and grousing kids (and adults) has just taken its toll on him, so much so that Santa’s packin’ (and we’re not talking just presents) when he takes off in his sleigh on Christmas Eve. But before he even gets to next Christmas, Santa’s got to deal with cash flow issues thanks to toy company outsourcing to China and India with sweatshop labor and cheaper manufacturing costs. Companies just aren’t buying from Santa’s Workshop any longer. And then there are the non-believers. Kids aren’t even writing “letters to Santa” as much as they did in days gone by. But the topper on the Christmas grumps is the angry lump-of-coal group who hate Santa for the crummy gift they just received. Unfortunately, Santa’s sleigh is against the wall and if there are to be anymore Christmases, he has to make a deal with the devil aka the US military who love his elf-driven production line. And as if this isn’t enough stress, who should show up at Santa’s home and factory but a hitman who hates Santa and who is working for a wealthy bratty rich kid who hates Santa even more after just getting a lump of coal. It’s madness! And madness like this leads to delicious dark comedy.
Ian and Eshom dig into the plentiful cinematic gifts of FATMAN starting with the story and its very personal roots, and then move into the rich triptych tonal visual design and the beautiful and expressive work of cinematographer Johnny Derango, the fabulous scoring of the Mondo Boys, challenges of finding the “perfect” location, production design, dealing with the weather, and of course, casting, starting with Mel Gibson as the FATMAN himself along with Walton Goggins as our Santa-hating Hitman, Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Mrs. Cringle, and Chance Hurstfield as a revenge-driven coal recipient. And as comes as no surprise, the brothers have some fun and thoughtful Mel Gibson anecdotes for you!
Then get ready for the comedy stylings of writer/director LENNY BRITTON and producer/actor SAM BRITTAN as they find the funny in FREE LUNCH EXPRESS. Laugh-out-loud hilarity from beginning to end in this political satire as you find out “everything you thought you knew but really didn’t” about Bernie Sanders as the boys take us back in time to the child Bernie in Brooklyn and his admiration of Stalin on up through his middle years with commune living, freeloading, pot-smoking with ice cream icons Ben & Jerry, perpetual unemployment until age 40, and then into the iconic public persona we have come to know over the past decade-plus as he tangles with the Clintons, gets some worldly wisdom from Maxine Waters (not to mention otherworldly insight from Joseph Stalin), has drinks with AOC, and so much more. Brittan plays Bernie in his middle years, picking up the mantle from Jonah Britton as young Bernie and then passing the torch to Charles Hutchins as the present day Bernie. Joining in the comedic hijinks are Don Frankel as Bill Clinton, Robert William Campbell as Stalin, and Elaine Ballace as Bernie’s second and current wife, Jane. Structured as a fireside storytime as told by Malcolm McDowell, one of the most interesting aspects about the making of FREE LUNCH EXPRESS that we talk about is the research Lenny did into the actual milestones and influences on Sanders life and then exaggerating that to create the farcical tone of the film. It’s a fine line that not only Lenny walks, but that the cast walks, most notably Sam, given the real-life figures portrayed. Lenny and Sam explore the challenges of post-production in a pandemic world (they wrapped shooting just before lockdowns), needle drop musical selections, the extreme benefit of having the talented Jon Vasquez as cinematographer and editor as well as composer, and casting, including the joy of having Malcolm McDowell as the narrator. Some fun anecdotes here folks!
