“…I’m
no Hunter S. Thompson. He was a master of his art. I am but a humble student.”
–
Wayne Darwen
Legendary television producer Wayne
Darwen, was kind enough to spend some time answering my questions about
his documentary film ‘High There'.
Wayne began his career as a newspaper
journalist back in his native Australia before moving to the United States to
work in American television. He became famous within the industry for producing
shows such as, A Current Affair, Hard Copy and Inside Edition. Robert Downey Jr’s
character Wayne Gale, in Oliver Stone’s
‘Natural Born
Killers‘ is said to have been based on Wayne.
I asked him some questions about his
latest venture, ‘High There.’
Documentary Dude Why choose an alter ego?
Wayne Darwen I didn’t. The alter ego chose me.
It was like spontaneous combustion. The name ‘Dave High’ just popped out of my
mouth as I was trying to sell Henry (aka Roland) on a sketchy idea I had for
‘High There.’ I was just making it up as I went along, and ‘Dave High’ was what
I called the host of my still imaginary comic TV travelogue for stoners.
DD It looks like you just went to Hawaii
for a lark and somehow the film came out of it. How much of the film was
planned?
WD We went there for the one purpose of
making ‘High There’. We had the basic premise – a TV show that travels the
world in search of the best places to get stoned – but in the course of
experimenting with what worked and what didn’t we just started improvising as
real-life bad stuff started happening and wouldn’t stop. And what was going to
be a TV show evolved into a flick about the making of a TV show that never gets
made.
DD I’m not privy to the intricacies of
filmmaking but I would assume you need to get waivers from people to allow you
to use footage of them. How do you get around making fun of them but still
obtaining their permission to use footage?
WD I make fun of myself. And, in the case
of ‘High There’, it got contagious. Most people we met laughed at the premise
of the film and were actually very keen to be in it after they figured out we
weren’t DEA agents.
DD How long did the film take to make?
WD About three months to shoot in Hawaii.
Could have been done in three weeks though if I hadn’t assimilated into the
community so well. Then I wrote it over about a month when we got back to LA.
And we edited in about another six months I guess. So what’s that? Ten months
on cruise control.
DD Were there any problems peculiar to this
film that you faced during filming?
WD Well, certainly a problem I often have
when on the road working, is getting pot. And I, at least, didn’t have that one
this time. So every bad thing that happened didn’t seem quite that bad. And
once we figured out that bad stuff was good for the film, we actually
welcomed it.
DD Is there anything you would do
differently if you were to do it again?
WD No. But that’s not to say we couldn’t
have done it better. It’s to say I think if ‘High There’ was better it wouldn’t
be ‘High There’.
DD I don’t want to give too much away to
my readers but one of the things that confused me was that, at times when your
faithful cameraman Roland Jointz wasn’t with you someone was still filming you.
How?
WD I got the people I was shooting
to take the camera and shoot me for a bit, and I’d kind of direct them. And at
one point in the film, I say I’ve given someone the camera to audition him for
Roland’s job after the bastard walked out on me.
DD The style of this film has been
compared to the work of Hunter S.Thompson
and I can see the similarities. How do you feel about these comparisons?
WD I love the comparison, but I’m no
Hunter S. Thompson. He was a master of his art. I am but a humble student. I
didn’t try to be Hunter either. It only occurred to me it was kinda like a Hunter
S. Thompson story as it began to unfold as we shot it. Then I began to see Dave
High more as a character Hunter might have created than I saw myself as Hunter.
DD Was this a conscious decision on your
part and how much of an influence has he been on your work? I’ve seen mentioned
elsewhere that he was a colleague of yours?
WD When we saw what a Hunter S. Thompson
kinda story it was, I felt obliged to try to write it with a touch of Hunter,
as a kind of homage. I love the way he wrote, but trying to get to those lofty
heights is one of them there impossible dream thangs.
DD Given the topic of the film and the
many scenes of apparent drug use, have you had any trouble with the authorities
during the production and subsequent distribution of the film?
WD Not apart from the apparent brush with
the DEA that’s
in the film, fortunately. I am actually friends with a few of those law
enforcement types, and, surprisingly, they loved the film. I think the stuff in
it is way too small time for the DEA to concern itself with.
DD How has the film been received by the
movie going public?
WD We are still waiting on the first sales
figures, but regardless of that, we are thrilled with the reception we have
gotten from independent film reviewers like yourself. And others that have seen
the film have written some very nice viewer reviews.
DD A question I ask a lot of my
documentary directors/producers but this one is a little different because of
your career. What advice would you give someone starting out now as a
television journalist?
WD Get a job at the post office. It’s a
tough business in which to survive, and even harder to thrive.
DD What are your favourite documentaries?
DD What’s your favourite hangover remedy?
WD The only one that works. Another drink.
DD What next for Dave High and Roland
Jointz?
WD We have a ‘High There‘
sequel ready to go, and we are looking to start shooting that towards the end
of the year. It’s called ‘Area 420.’ And I can’t wait to get at it. I can’t really discuss what it's about, but I think you get a rough idea from the title.
