Meet the 2013 SXSW Filmmakers #7: ‘The Rambler’ Uncovers a Bizarre and Wicked America
“The Rambler,” the second feature from director and actor Calvin Reeder whom you may recognize from “V/H/S,” follows a former prison inmate in a mysterious journey to reconnect with his brother. Based on Reeder’s short film of the same name, “The Rambler” is inspired by the likes of “The Cincinnati Kid” and “Hard Times” and stars Dermot Mulroney as The Rambler.
What it’s about: A man gets out of prison and enters the unknown. It’s difficult to categorize by design, my hope is that this a movie people will remember.
What else do you want audiences to know about your film? It premiered in the midnight section at Sundance this year. It was fantastic, most audience enthusiasm I’ve experienced so far. The short version of the film Played Cinevagas, Sundance and SXSW back in 2008. Very excited to bring this thing to Texas.
What’s been your path to filmmaking? Been making films since the early 2000’s while working construction, my short films started playing bigger fests like SXSW and Sundance back in 2007. Made a feature in 2011 called The Oregonian now I’m back with The Rambler.
What was your biggest challenge in bringing “The Rambler” to the big screen? It’s a very different film and will not squarely fit in any genre, I hate that word. That makes it a difficult sell thus difficult to find funding. But the short and the script existed as road map that eventually got us there. It took almost 5 years to lock in the funding. Once Dermot Mulroney agreed to be “The Rambler” things started to become possible.
What’s the film that most inspired you? Many films. “Cincinnati Kid,” “The Shooting,” “Hard Times,” “Zacharia,” “Repo Man,” “El Topo,” “Third Part of The Night,” “Porcile,” “Cock Fighter,” “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garicia” and many more all have an imprint on my psyche and helped me shape “The Rambler.”
What would you like SXSW audiences to come away with after seeing your film? Hopefully a set of images that they won’t soon forget. I’d definitely like the film to have its own feeling that people can remember as well.
Indiewire invited SXSW directors to tell us about their films, including what inspired them, the challenges they faced and what they’re doing next. We’ll be publishing their responses leading up to the 2013 festival.
Keep checking HERE every day up to the launch of the festival on March 8 for the latest profiles.
