Seth Gordon
Photo by Bootsy Holler

Seth Gordon: “Film is a living organism”

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Short Profile

Name: Seth Lewis Gordon
DOB: 15 July 1976
Place of birth: Evanston, Illinois, United States
Occupation: Film director

Seth Gordon's new film Back in Action will be released globally on Netflix on 17 January 2025.

Mr. Gordon, as a filmmaker, what would you say makes a movie rewatchable?

For re-watching a film, it’s about how it makes you feel. When I was a little kid, re-watching Die Hard was like comfort food, it was just a ritual. I just loved that movie, it’s just a beautifully made big popcorn movie that took you on an emotional ride every time. I wanted that feeling, and so every time it would be on TV or I'd stumble upon it, I would just find myself drawn in and watching it all the way through. And that's not true of the others in that franchise, right? It's something special about that one…

There’s something about those popcorn films and comedies that are so inherently rewatchable, much more so than dramas.

Yeah, I mean, at the end of a difficult day or after scrolling through so many apps… I don't want to watch a heavy thing about the lady in Italy that got murdered, you know? I want to just watch something fun. I think that really deserves a place in our culture too. It would be amazing to be so lucky to make something that has that kind of effect, that does that kind of thing for families or viewers, that provides that respite or escape. I hear that about Horrible Bosses sometimes; or even Four Christmases, I’ve heard families do that every year at the holidays, they get together and watch it. That’s what it’s all about.

“Is this a day where it’s about precision? Or is it a day that is a little looser and more comfortable?”

I think the casting in those films is really essential to the joy of watching them.

Absolutely. I’m hoping that simply the joy that is apparent in us making it will be reason enough to come back, to just be with those people again. That’s often what’s guiding us, for example with my latest film Back in Action, we had Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, and their chemistry was so fantastic. I realized as I was shooting it that I needed to create as many  opportunities as possible where they can riff, where we weren’t bogged down by getting the action shots. We wanted to find areas where they can play and not worry about the other stuff.

That opportunity for play is something you sought during the filming of Horrible Bosses as well, no?

Yeah, for sure, and that comes down to a handful of things: making sure to schedule the day in a way that there's room to play, so that you're not up against it the whole time. I think that does a disservice to everybody. It’s also about a general attitude about what we're doing here: Is this a day where it's about precision? Or is it a day that is a little looser and a little more comfortable? So we try to approach the situation together with good intentions and see what happens — and I think, when it's comedic, that approach tends to lead to more gold.

But I guess you also can’t force improvisation and riffing to come out if it isn’t happening. It seems like a fine balance.

You’re totally right, and that's completely intuitive. You have to read what someone's actually bringing on that day for whatever reason, and then adjust your plan to make the best out of what's there. Because filmmaking is a long process. It's a marathon. People have good days and bad days, it's complicated making a movie.

And surely actors and comedians also have days when they’re not feeling funny.

For sure, or they didn't get a good night's sleep, or their kid kept them up all night, you never know what the baggage is. Directing is really about listening deeply to what your actors are feeling on the day and in the moment, what's clicking for them, what isn't clicking, and making those adjustments so we can get the best film possible.

What about for you as a director? Do all your days have to be good days because you can’t really afford to have a bad one?

Well, I battled some physical illness during the filming of Back in Action. I got Covid and that led me to actually getting emergency surgery. And that was certainly a challenge for me on this movie: how do you keep the ship moving in the right direction, even if you are in serious pain? And I think that actually made me more decisive, I was a bit quicker, you can’t really fiddle around with this too much because we have to get where we’re going sooner. You have to come to those conclusions more quickly. But that’s the thing about filmmaking, it's alive. It’s a living organism. We have to adapt, everyone does their part, we listen to each other, we are present in the environment… And if everything is rooted in that, in wanting to make the best thing possible, it becomes a really fun and special experience.

“There are a lot of us who are itching for comedy to come back. I certainly want to support that because I think the world needs it right now.”

It seems like the filmmaking itself is the joyful part, and all the rest — finding financing, reading reviews, marketing, whatever else — is just what you have to go through in order to do the joyful part.

That's certainly how I feel, especially when you get to work with such incredible actors and a great crew too. The crew is an enormous part of building that spirit on set. Filmmaking is the fun part, as far as I'm concerned, because when I'm dealing with people who are, for example, squeezing the finances, I start feeling like… Do you want to make the movie or not? Luckily the guy I work with, Beau Bauman, is better at finding the fun in that part of the job, because I get frustrated quickly! It can feel like their job is to oppose and shut down this thing that we’re doing, and I find that really dispiriting. I feel like the film business has changed so much in the last 10 years.

In what ways?

Well, it’s almost like the whole business has gone away from comedy. I'm hoping that the business swings back, but right now, very few comedies are getting green lit and getting made. I think there’s a lot of fear driving the business right now and that really affects the ones that studios are willing to take risks on. I think that the only comedy we really get right now is stand-up!

Are you nostalgic for the days of the boundary pushing comedy film, like The Hangover, or Bridesmaids?

Absolutely! I also think comedy is a great way for young voices to emerge, and I think that’s because comedy is generational. It's cultural. It's super important to to have this area for young voices to break in, I mean, that’s how I got my start as well after my first documentary. It’s a great way to cut one’s teeth in the business. I don’t mean to lay it all at the feet of the executives, because it's not that simple… But the premise of a comedy film is that it doesn’t cost much, so we should be able to take more risks. So, there are a lot of us who really are itching for comedy to come back. I certainly want to support that because I think the world needs it right now.