What to watch: Cutaways

Written and directed by Mark Schwab, Cutaways gives us the story of a talented filmmaker willing to compromise everything in order to keep making movies.

The cast includes Silas Kade, James Duval, Fernando, Jason Caceres, and Diogo Hausen.

For our podcast, How To Date Men, we caught up with Mark Schwab for a behind-the-scenes look at the film.

In the conversation, we talk casting, compromises, and his respect for the world of adult entertainment.

Listen to the episode

The story of Cutaways centres on a film director who's willing to compromise everything in order to keep making films. Were you drawing on your own existential struggles for inspiration for this character?

Every independent filmmaker finds themselves at one time or another really struggling and really wondering - am I going to be able to make another film ever again? It's inherently unstable, especially today.

In my own way, I've definitely thought - how far am I willing to go? What am I willing to compromise to keep creating films?

For Evan, it happens to be directing porn - that's not necessarily what I would do, it might be something else. But for Evan, this is where he's at.

In the PR notes for the film, you're quoted as saying that you saw making porn as the "lowest rung on the entertainment ladder". What is your relationship with the adult entertainment industry?

I want to clarify that quote. When I read it now, it sounds like I'm judging it or I'm knocking it. What I meant was that this is how society views it - as the lowest rung on the ladder.

People in the adult film industry are hardworking artists and they deserve respect. I respect them. I respect that kind of work, even though I don't engage with it directly professionally.

Cutaways isn't about judging porn or making it seem bad, it's not about that. It's an arena in which these characters' issues and conflicts can play out.

Your protagonist in this film, Evan, is bringing his indie filmmaking sensibility to the project of making a gay porn film. Is the film that Evan was trying to make the kind of porn that you'd want to watch?

I would be interested in watching anything that was made with craft and genuine respect for the performers.

A good example of something that is technically pornographic but well-made would be a film like Shortbus by John Cameron Mitchell. I find that a wonderful film. I love that film. I find aspects of that film very erotic, an absolute turn-on.

What was your casting process for this film?

The only person I had from the get-go was Silas, who plays Evan. I wrote the part for him. He's an exceptionally talented actor.

In regards to the other parts, I knew I wanted Fernando in the movie. I'd worked with Fernando on two previous films - I love working with him. I gave him the script and I said, tell me which part interests you - he wanted to play Andy and he wanted to dye his hair blue.

Diogo I had worked with on my previous film. I had looked at three or four other actors for the character of Ryan, but I was leaning towards Diogo the whole time because I knew what Diogo could bring to it.

We put out an open casting call for the role of Trace. Jason Caceres applied through that. I'd previously met Jason and seen him in a lot of work. After talking with him, he understood the part and he's also very uninhibited - he uses his body well.

Finally, James Duval is someone I've been a fan of since the Gregg Araki films. I approached his manager with the project and then met with him to talk about it. He understood what I was trying to do and he wanted to do it. It was a dream come true.

The action in Cutaways unfolds almost like a stage play. Is there any chance we could see an off-Broadway production of Cutaways: The Musical?

I'd have to leave that to Lin-Manuel Miranda, but I could see it in that it does take place in an intimate space. It does unfold pretty much in real time. It is about these characters.

Beyond Cutaways, what next for Mark Schwab?

I'm like most independent filmmakers in that I've got three or four very varied projects on the go.

There's a very interesting web series that Fernando is writing. I've got a political thriller that is written that could be ready to go. I also have another series that I wrote called Trophy Boys, which I think is a really juicy kind of mystery procedural. I've also got a horror film that's different than the horror films that are made today. As Cutaways was inspired by Gregg Araki and Bruce LaBruce and John Waters, this film I'm working on now is inspired by John Carpenter.

I've got something for everyone.

What do you hope that people feel when they're watching Cutaways?

Queer cinema is still alive - it's not being sanitised across the board. Not that there's anything wrong with rainbows and coming-out stories, but let's take some chances. That's how queer cinema used to be - we used to take risks, for better or worse.

My films aren't political - they don't pound a message or anything like that - they're stories. But I do want people to feel something,

Maybe I'd like them to feel that they can empathise a little bit with Evan, and ask themself - what would I be willing to compromise?

Cutaways releases onto Amazon Prime and video-on-demand on 3 February.

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