🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 76 (from laksa004)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa076.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover","crawl_time":1773721426,"first_indexed_time":0,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,substack!nothingbogus,\/p\/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover s443","src_root_hash":"14862242593741677076","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"How Grace Glowicki Brought 'Dead Lover' to Life","meta_descriptions":["Save the Cat, imaginative studio sets, shooting on film, and, yes, stink-o-vision..."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"When bigger, more widely seen movies compete for the top prizes at the Oscars, the ceremony may gain viewers. But it doesn’t become any less boring. All love to everyone who won, was nominated, presented an award, or just wore a sick fit to the event, but that felt like the Nicole Kidman AMC ad stretched to three hours and forty five minutes, with tons of commercials, a lot of bad bits, and none of the camp. Still, when PTA won Best Director and kept looking down at the statue like he couldn’t believe it, it made me a little emotional. So I guess that’s what it’s all about!\nIf you were following\nPete’s picks\n, you had an\nalright\nnight. He picked right on Best Actor, International Feature, Production Design, Hair & Makeup, Costumes, Animated Feature, Sound, Score, and Original Song. And he missed on Cinematography, Supporting Actress, VFX, and Documentary Feature. Pete tells me he came out up $20 on his own bets. Remember, if you won money based off his picks you’re legally obligated to invest in a paid subscription to Nothing Bogus. It’s the law.\nHere’s what’s happening this week:\nIf you’re reading this newsletter, you probably like movies. But do you also like bicycling??? If you do, and if you live in NYC, join Nothing Bogus and Daniel Varghese’s cycling newsletter\nLeg Day\non\nMarch 24 for a ride from Grand Army Plaza to Anjelica Village East\nto see\nKiki’s Delivery Service\n. Ride starts at 6:15 PM, movie starts at 7:00.\nTickets\nare half price on Tuesdays! Drinks at Threes Brewing afterwards. It’ll be fun!\nKabir Chibber is hosting a\nfilm club meetup\nin a space called Verci, next to Union Square, for filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers.\nThursday March 19\n, 7:00 PM. RSVP\nhere\n.\nAfter SXSW, Boots Riley is taking his new film,\nI Love Boosters\n,\non a\ncollege tour\n,\nwhich will be followed by a May 22 release. Seems like a good way to build word of mouth from festival to release. Anyone have experience doing the same they want to share?\nLA Festival of Movies\nand\nNew Directors New Films\nboth released their\nlineups\nthis past week.\nVideo Store.Age\nhas new\nlive events\nin LA on\nMarch 18\nand\n19\n.\nSabrina Greco is looking to borrow a\ncomtek\nMarch 21 - April 5. DM @sabgrex on IG.\nLily Cunningham Perini is looking for\nVFX artist recs\n. DM @chilicunningham on IG.\nSURVEY\n:\nIf you ran a studio and could offer one up-and-coming filmmaker (someone mostly unknown) a blank check, who would you give it to? (You are NOT allowed to say yourself!)\nRespond\nhere\n.\nSome\nspring grants, contests, and awards\nto apply for\nhere\n.\nI’m hoping more people will fill out this\nform\nand\nbe part of a future Nothing Bogus article\nabout the state of different cities’\nfilm scenes\n.\nIf you would like to list in a future issue, either A) post in the Nothing Bogus\nchat\nthread, or B) email\nnothingbogus1@gmail.com\nwith the subject “Listing.” (It’s FREE!) Include your email and all relevant details (price, dates, etc.)\nIMPOSSIBLE QUESTIONS\nYou can’t reverse engineer a hit. But what can we learn from some recent original films that have broken through in a big way?\nFor a while, I’ve been thinking about what audiences are responding to, both in terms of films themselves and their marketing. And last week, a series of interviews on the subject (with\nSev Ohanian\n,\nCeline Song\n, and\nAdam Faze\n) — plus a\nbigger piece\nwhere I attempted to synthesize everything I was hearing and observing — went live on Esquire.com. The TLDR is, to quote William Goldman, “nobody knows anything.” But there are a lot of interesting tidbits in each piece. I think the Adam Faze interview will be of particular interest to readers of this newsletter — you may get some ideas for how to reach lots of people online with a small marketing budget.\nLeave a comment\nTHE FEATURE PRESENTATION\nA conversation between Glowicki and filmmaker Marissa Goldman touches on Save the Cat, imaginative studio sets, shooting on film, and, yes, stink-o-vision...\nIn\nDead Lover\n, Grace Glowicki plays a lonely gravedigger who becomes determined to resurrect her dream lover after he drowns at sea. If the film’s premise is reminiscent of\nFrankenstein\n, its experimental-theater-meets-DIY-horror aesthetics make it a creation thoroughly its own. Glowicki, who directed the film, worked with a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown to develop the material, but also snagged some techniques from the most conventional of sources (more on that below). Friend of the newsletter Becca Brooks Morrin, who was the film’s production designer, went wild, creating expressive handmade sets that bring the whole macabre saga to vivid life. The film is at once wacky, tactile, and sincere, with inventive form, strong world building, and audacity to pursue something singular. All of which was what drew fellow filmmaker Marissa Goldman to the film when she saw it at SXSW last year. Goldman was there with her own short film,\nMax Distance\n. Recently, the two chatted about how a conventional structure can enable risk taking, their feelings about gothic literature, and\nDead Lover\n’s use of stink-o-vision during select screenings.\nDead Lover\nhits select theaters — including every US Alamo Drafthouse — on Wednesday.\nMarissa Goldman\n: The film is so unique and inspiring. It reminds me that a film can be anything.\nGrace Glowicki\n:\nIt’s nice you say that because the 1966 Czech film\nDaisies\nis a big inspiration, and that poster hangs above my desk, and every time I look at that poster it reminds me that a movie can be anything. I pushed myself to remember that. You can get so lost in thinking you need to make a conventional movie. And it’s interesting, there’s a lot of experimental stuff in\nDead Lover,\nbut we also used Save the Cat as a way to write the screenplay. I sometimes say it’s an “arthouse trojan horse.” The structure and accessibility of the story is actually pretty stupid and dulled down, ‘screenplays for dummies’ vibes. Which I kind of love, because it’s so simple and rudimentary that you know it can work. And within that you can be fearless and experimental and make some wacky decisions. So I think I’m a balance of\nyour film can be anything\nand Save the Cat.\nI think it’s important when you’re experimenting a lot to hold the audience’s hand in some way. But tell me more about how Save the Cat influenced the screenplay.\nWe used the whole structure of the book. And right now,\nMary Dauterman\nand Jenny Donheiser and I are writing another movie together and we’re using it, too. Basically, Save the Cat is a moment in this kind of story structure, but the book\nSave the Cat\nalso gives you a full four-act structure. It’s super basic stuff. But it outlines how to tell a perfectly symmetrical, predictable, conventional story in a way that audiences expect.\nOne thing that’s bothered me with indie films is that on Letterboxd the criticism will be “nothing happened in this movie” or “this should’ve been a short film.” For my film\nTito\n, I didn’t follow any kind of story structure and all the criticisms of the movie were that “nothing happened.” I heard that so many times. So I was like, “Maybe I don’t know story structure yet and I’m being kind of cocky and trying to break it before I know it.” So I was interested in proving to myself that I could tell a story that made sense and was accessible and entertaining. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll try and subvert it more.\nIt’s nice that the story’s still fun. But it doesn’t feel conventional. It felt very form-forward. Did the form — the black box theater — come before the story, or vice versa?\nI think the story came first. I was just talking to friends over the course of two years, spitballing and world-building characters, doing an oral storytelling, world-building thing. So the story of a grave digger who’s really lonely and trying to re-animate her dead lover with only his finger came from those conversations. And then I just tried to pair each step of the development with, if I was being brutally honest with myself, what did I actually like? And I really like rehearsal and being in a studio, I really like theater people, I like clowning. So I took that oral story to a group of a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown in a rehearsal studio in Toronto, and we just dicked around and spitballed on our feet.\nWe developed the next phase of the story physically, just by improving together and exploring movement. And I think because I was in the studio space with these theater people, that’s when the aesthetics of the film started to formalize in my head. So the aesthetics came after. And for some reason, when I’m writing I do little collages on photoshop of characters as a way to communicate to department heads and also inspire myself. And a lot of those collages were photos of Iggy Pop in the ‘70s when he’s onstage in a spotlight with like one silver glove. These really expressive photos of him in spotlight. Because of the nature of a stage it falls to black around him. So because of my love of theater and these Iggy Pop photos, I leaned into minimalism visually. And I wanted to shoot on film, so I knew I’d have to pare it back so much to accomplish such a long film, so that encouraged the minimalism as well.\nIggy Pop.\nAlso, I love\nBecca Brooks Morrin\n, the production designer. What was the process like in building the world?\nI worked with Becca on\nStrawberry Mansion\nand watched her create these fantasy worlds out of cardboard and garbage and all this shit. And I worked with her on\nBooger\nas well, where she was making shit out of garbage bags and hair extensions. Knowing Becca, I figured that she’d be able to do this with whatever I’m able to give her. And of course, she nailed it.\nIt feels like it had to be in that style.\nTotally. And it really had to be on film. For a while we thought we couldn’t afford it. And then I was like, “Guys, I don’t think this movie works if it’s not on film.” There’s not a lot going on in the backgrounds, so it needed to be this tactile, analog thing in order for it to work visually.\nAnd you made this with friends, right?\nYeah. Ben Petrie is my husband. And then Lowen Morrow I didn’t know before. I’d just seen them in theater shows in Toronto and was obsessed with them. And Leah Doz and I were friends but didn’t know each other that well. I knew some department heads before, but it was in the spirit of friendship — we picked people we wanted to be friends with.\nAre you a gothic literature fan?\nI’m probably severely under-read. But I’m a fan of that era. I haven’t seen\nWuthering Heights\nyet. What did you think?\nI’m probably one of the only people who liked it. They shouldn’t have cast Heathcliff as white. But the film was an interesting homage to gothic literature in its style. I think a lot of people are saying it didn’t stick to the plot or themes. But I really enjoyed it.\nDo you feel like there’s a resurgence of romantic movies?\nWhat else?\nMaterialists\n,\nThe Drama\n, this one... I feel like people want the escapist romance right now.\nAnother theory I have is that we’re very much in the age of irony and I wonder if we’re coming to the end of that, and romance is hard to do ironically.\nIt’s true. You need to be lame.\nI love lame. I love sincerity. I like vulnerability in art, personally. Even though\nDead Lover\nis very goofy, there’s a lot of love behind it that made it feel sincere.\nI like trying to ground all the comedy in actual emotions, in longing. I’m kind of obsessed with lonely characters who feel ostracized who just want love and are in their own way. That’s so human and relatable. So hopefully some of the big comedy swings in the movie don’t just feel absurd for absurdity’s sake, but are coming from a true emotional core of exploring something somewhat emotionally relatable.\nWhat was the accent?\nIn rehearsal one day, someone was like “What about a Cockney accent?” I don’t know how to do any accent properly, but I just started trying to do it. And we were all laughing, but they were like “There’s no way.” And I was like “No, I think we’re going to do this.” And I just dug my heels in. I intentionally didn’t want to study an accent or be consistent because it’s true to the spirit of the piece — that there are a lot of cracks and imperfections in it. It’s more about performance and character than the illusion of realism. The other day, Ben was watching\nMy Fair Lady\n, with Eliza Doolittle, and he was like, “Oh my god, this is Gravedigger.” And I grew up on that movie, so maybe a part of it was from that. I love a bad accent. I love a bad singing voice.\nDo you want to explore this style more?\nPeople say you make the same movie again and again, and unfortunately that’s sort of what happens to me when I go to write. Exploring lonely characters looking for connection. So it’ll probably be another movie around that theme. But I think I’m going to try to make something that looks a little more conventional but lean into prosthetics and genre more. I fell in love with comedy making\nDead Lover\nand I’m pretty much over drama completely. So I think I’m going to try to make a comedy horror again, but maybe not the aesthetic form. And I want to shoot with film again.\nDo you think there will be more scares?\nI’m not so much interested in the classical horror stuff of scaring people. I’m more interested in the grotesque humor of being a person. That’s why I like the midnight space of programming.\nDo you have some favorite comedy horrors?\nYoung Frankenstein\nis obviously a big one.\nRocky Horror\n, of course. There’s one on my shelf called\nDead Alive\n.\nFrankenhooker\nis amazing. And the Crispin Glover film,\nWillard\n.\nWhat’s been inspiring you for the next one?\nThe people I’ve been writing with and I have been reading Sam Sheppard plays. I’ve been watching Lina Wertmüller movies. She’s great for heightened comedic characters, but it’s all grounded in emotion. And the Coen brothers are great at going theatrical, with big characters, not following classic plot structure, and doing elements of genre, and being funny and emotionally grounded. They’re the kings of the kind of stuff I’d like to do. What’s been inspiring you?\nBehind the scenes making 'Dead Lover.'\nNirvanna the Band the Show\n, which Ben was in. That was so good. The way they did VFX was inspiring.\nWe worked with their VFX people on\nDead Lover\n.\nYou guys have been doing screenings with stink-o-vision. I feel like having the film feel more like an event is the key to bringing movies back.\nOne of the guys who’s working with\nCartuna\n-\nDweck\nis Kurt Ravenwood, one of the producers of\nHundreds of Beavers\n. That movie did so well theatrically because A) the movie rocks, and B) they had this live performance element to the screenings. People would take pictures and they’d circulate online and the screenings would sell out. And it remains this theatrical indie film phenomenon that’s still playing theaters years later, with this live component. Learning from him has been cool.\nPeople just want to have a tactile, communal experience. And they want to participate. I feel like audiences want to be acknowledged. It’s cool that that desire is making itself known. It’s challenging as indie filmmakers to almost think more punk rock about distributing our films. It’s breaking the hierarchy between the screen and the audience. It’s hard to think of good eventized things that don’t just feel gimmicky though.\nMarissa Goldman is an LA\/NY based filmmaker.  Her work has played at SXSW Aspen Shortsfest, Palm Springs Shortsfest and more. She has made work for Adult Swim, Vice, Complex, and more.\nShare\nNo posts","attrs_markdown":"[![Nothing Bogus](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!W1fb!,w_40,h_40,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2c0178f-85f7-4b66-9c6e-51fb1cd08b21_256x256.png)](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/)\n\n# [![Nothing Bogus](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!mgj0!,e_trim:10:white\/e_trim:10:transparent\/h_72,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6f16266d-cd46-48d0-b791-e4ea95f5f674_1344x256.png)](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/)\nSubscribe\n\nSign in\n\n# How Grace Glowicki Brought 'Dead Lover' to Life\n### Save the Cat, imaginative studio sets, shooting on film, and, yes, stink-o-vision...\n[![Max Cea's avatar](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!H0k7!,w_36,h_36,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2d7eec00-5051-42de-8bd6-135270404830_402x402.png)](https:\/\/substack.com\/@nothingbogus)\n\n[Max Cea](https:\/\/substack.com\/@nothingbogus)\n\nMar 16, 2026\n\n5\n\n3\n\nShare\n\nWhen bigger, more widely seen movies compete for the top prizes at the Oscars, the ceremony may gain viewers. But it doesn’t become any less boring. All love to everyone who won, was nominated, presented an award, or just wore a sick fit to the event, but that felt like the Nicole Kidman AMC ad stretched to three hours and forty five minutes, with tons of commercials, a lot of bad bits, and none of the camp. Still, when PTA won Best Director and kept looking down at the statue like he couldn’t believe it, it made me a little emotional. So I guess that’s what it’s all about\\!\n\nIf you were following [Pete’s picks](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/petes-picks-the-best-bets-of-oscars), you had an *alright* night. He picked right on Best Actor, International Feature, Production Design, Hair & Makeup, Costumes, Animated Feature, Sound, Score, and Original Song. And he missed on Cinematography, Supporting Actress, VFX, and Documentary Feature. Pete tells me he came out up \\$20 on his own bets. Remember, if you won money based off his picks you’re legally obligated to invest in a paid subscription to Nothing Bogus. It’s the law.\n\n**Here’s what’s happening this week:**\n\n- If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably like movies. But do you also like bicycling??? If you do, and if you live in NYC, join Nothing Bogus and Daniel Varghese’s cycling newsletter [Leg Day](https:\/\/open.substack.com\/pub\/legday) on **March 24 for a ride from Grand Army Plaza to Anjelica Village East** to see ***Kiki’s Delivery Service***. Ride starts at 6:15 PM, movie starts at 7:00. [Tickets](https:\/\/angelikafilmcenter.com\/villageeast\/sessions\/75524\/HO00008105) are half price on Tuesdays! Drinks at Threes Brewing afterwards. It’ll be fun\\!\n\n- Kabir Chibber is hosting a **film club meetup** in a space called Verci, next to Union Square, for filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers. **Thursday March 19**, 7:00 PM. RSVP [here](https:\/\/partiful.com\/e\/x12D9yqbC6uZ8jyo9uQD).\n- After SXSW, Boots Riley is taking his new film, *I Love Boosters*,on a **[college tour](https:\/\/www.indiewire.com\/news\/breaking-news\/boots-riley-i-love-boosters-college-tour-1235183315\/),** which will be followed by a May 22 release. Seems like a good way to build word of mouth from festival to release. Anyone have experience doing the same they want to share?\n- [LA Festival of Movies](https:\/\/lafestivalofmovies.org\/home) and [New Directors New Films](https:\/\/www.filmlinc.org\/new-directors-new-films\/) both released their **lineups** this past week.\n- [Video Store.Age](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/distribution-is-broken-video-storeage) has new **live events** in LA on [March 18](https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/video-storeage-presents-the-valencia-launch-tickets-1982386174412?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl) and [19](https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/video-storeage-presents-the-the-peoples-joker-launch-tickets-1982387510408?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl).\n- Sabrina Greco is looking to borrow a **comtek** March 21 - April 5. DM @sabgrex on IG.\n- Lily Cunningham Perini is looking for **VFX artist recs**. DM @chilicunningham on IG.\n- **SURVEY**: [If you ran a studio and could offer one up-and-coming filmmaker (someone mostly unknown) a blank check, who would you give it to? (You are NOT allowed to say yourself!)](https:\/\/substack.com\/chat\/2040845\/post\/6e39f8fa-8c42-4ff3-b377-86bb28af3432) **Respond [here](https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLScOOBHejeNcUFTaGyE_XU6z_wg_6U2FxZjsjeM6ESwRiE1Psw\/viewform).**\n- Some **spring grants, contests, and awards** to apply for [here](https:\/\/nofilmschool.com\/a-massive-list-of-spring-grants-labs-fellowships-2026).\n- I’m hoping more people will fill out this [form](https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/1-LF9D99h_pAD9LC_0b77DzzlmE1rVnf3krYfMSrZKcI\/edit?urp=gmail_link) and **be part of a future Nothing Bogus article** about the state of different cities’ [film scenes](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/should-filmmakers-move-to-baltimore).\n- *If you would like to list in a future issue, either A) post in the Nothing Bogus [chat](https:\/\/substack.com\/chat\/2040845) thread, or B) email **nothingbogus1@gmail.com** with the subject “Listing.” (It’s FREE!) Include your email and all relevant details (price, dates, etc.)*\n***\n###### IMPOSSIBLE QUESTIONS\n#### What Makes a Cinematic Sensation?\n*You can’t reverse engineer a hit. But what can we learn from some recent original films that have broken through in a big way?*\n\n[![Why Timothée Chalamet's Marty Supreme' Press Tour Is So Wild](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!VdUJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ba0829f-5b4c-4bd3-914b-34def09a3b75_1500x1000.jpeg)](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!VdUJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ba0829f-5b4c-4bd3-914b-34def09a3b75_1500x1000.jpeg)\n\nFor a while, I’ve been thinking about what audiences are responding to, both in terms of films themselves and their marketing. And last week, a series of interviews on the subject (with [Sev Ohanian](https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/movies\/a70713211\/movies-online-attention-wars-adam-faze\/), [Celine Song](https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/movies\/a70700837\/celine-song-materialists-interview-2026\/), and [Adam Faze](https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/movies\/a70713211\/movies-online-attention-wars-adam-faze\/)) — plus a [bigger piece](https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/movies\/a70610519\/can-original-movies-still-succeed\/) where I attempted to synthesize everything I was hearing and observing — went live on Esquire.com. The TLDR is, to quote William Goldman, “nobody knows anything.” But there are a lot of interesting tidbits in each piece. I think the Adam Faze interview will be of particular interest to readers of this newsletter — you may get some ideas for how to reach lots of people online with a small marketing budget.\n\n[Leave a comment](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover\/comments)\n***\n###### THE FEATURE PRESENTATION\n#### How Grace Glowicki Brought *Dead Lover* to Life\n*A conversation between Glowicki and filmmaker Marissa Goldman touches on Save the Cat, imaginative studio sets, shooting on film, and, yes, stink-o-vision...*\n\n[![Dead Lover' Review: A Macabre Attempt to Keep Lost Romance Alive](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!VyPy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb0b9e90-8c1b-4b43-b310-ade65bd7c738_1423x800.jpeg)](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!VyPy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb0b9e90-8c1b-4b43-b310-ade65bd7c738_1423x800.jpeg)\n\nIn *Dead Lover*, Grace Glowicki plays a lonely gravedigger who becomes determined to resurrect her dream lover after he drowns at sea. If the film’s premise is reminiscent of *Frankenstein*, its experimental-theater-meets-DIY-horror aesthetics make it a creation thoroughly its own. Glowicki, who directed the film, worked with a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown to develop the material, but also snagged some techniques from the most conventional of sources (more on that below). Friend of the newsletter Becca Brooks Morrin, who was the film’s production designer, went wild, creating expressive handmade sets that bring the whole macabre saga to vivid life. The film is at once wacky, tactile, and sincere, with inventive form, strong world building, and audacity to pursue something singular. All of which was what drew fellow filmmaker Marissa Goldman to the film when she saw it at SXSW last year. Goldman was there with her own short film, *Max Distance*. Recently, the two chatted about how a conventional structure can enable risk taking, their feelings about gothic literature, and *Dead Lover*’s use of stink-o-vision during select screenings. *Dead Lover* hits select theaters — including every US Alamo Drafthouse — on Wednesday.\n\n***Marissa Goldman*****: The film is so unique and inspiring. It reminds me that a film can be anything.**\n\n***Grace Glowicki*****:** It’s nice you say that because the 1966 Czech film *Daisies* is a big inspiration, and that poster hangs above my desk, and every time I look at that poster it reminds me that a movie can be anything. I pushed myself to remember that. You can get so lost in thinking you need to make a conventional movie. And it’s interesting, there’s a lot of experimental stuff in *Dead Lover,* but we also used Save the Cat as a way to write the screenplay. I sometimes say it’s an “arthouse trojan horse.” The structure and accessibility of the story is actually pretty stupid and dulled down, ‘screenplays for dummies’ vibes. Which I kind of love, because it’s so simple and rudimentary that you know it can work. And within that you can be fearless and experimental and make some wacky decisions. So I think I’m a balance of *your film can be anything* and Save the Cat.\n\n**I think it’s important when you’re experimenting a lot to hold the audience’s hand in some way. But tell me more about how Save the Cat influenced the screenplay.**\n\nWe used the whole structure of the book. And right now, [Mary Dauterman](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/in-booger-a-surreal-portrait-of-grief) and Jenny Donheiser and I are writing another movie together and we’re using it, too. Basically, Save the Cat is a moment in this kind of story structure, but the book *Save the Cat* also gives you a full four-act structure. It’s super basic stuff. But it outlines how to tell a perfectly symmetrical, predictable, conventional story in a way that audiences expect.\n\nOne thing that’s bothered me with indie films is that on Letterboxd the criticism will be “nothing happened in this movie” or “this should’ve been a short film.” For my film *Tito*, I didn’t follow any kind of story structure and all the criticisms of the movie were that “nothing happened.” I heard that so many times. So I was like, “Maybe I don’t know story structure yet and I’m being kind of cocky and trying to break it before I know it.” So I was interested in proving to myself that I could tell a story that made sense and was accessible and entertaining. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll try and subvert it more.\n\n**It’s nice that the story’s still fun. But it doesn’t feel conventional. It felt very form-forward. Did the form — the black box theater — come before the story, or vice versa?**\n\nI think the story came first. I was just talking to friends over the course of two years, spitballing and world-building characters, doing an oral storytelling, world-building thing. So the story of a grave digger who’s really lonely and trying to re-animate her dead lover with only his finger came from those conversations. And then I just tried to pair each step of the development with, if I was being brutally honest with myself, what did I actually like? And I really like rehearsal and being in a studio, I really like theater people, I like clowning. So I took that oral story to a group of a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown in a rehearsal studio in Toronto, and we just dicked around and spitballed on our feet.\n\nWe developed the next phase of the story physically, just by improving together and exploring movement. And I think because I was in the studio space with these theater people, that’s when the aesthetics of the film started to formalize in my head. So the aesthetics came after. And for some reason, when I’m writing I do little collages on photoshop of characters as a way to communicate to department heads and also inspire myself. And a lot of those collages were photos of Iggy Pop in the ‘70s when he’s onstage in a spotlight with like one silver glove. These really expressive photos of him in spotlight. Because of the nature of a stage it falls to black around him. So because of my love of theater and these Iggy Pop photos, I leaned into minimalism visually. And I wanted to shoot on film, so I knew I’d have to pare it back so much to accomplish such a long film, so that encouraged the minimalism as well.\n\n[![Iggy Pop: 20 Wildest Moments From Infamous Stooge](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!kne2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8403b8b4-43b1-49b1-9cba-e0f098e212fa_800x530.jpeg)](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!kne2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8403b8b4-43b1-49b1-9cba-e0f098e212fa_800x530.jpeg)\n\nIggy Pop.\n\n**Also, I love [Becca Brooks Morrin](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/becca-brooks-morrin-does-a-lot-with), the production designer. What was the process like in building the world?**\n\nI worked with Becca on *Strawberry Mansion* and watched her create these fantasy worlds out of cardboard and garbage and all this shit. And I worked with her on *Booger* as well, where she was making shit out of garbage bags and hair extensions. Knowing Becca, I figured that she’d be able to do this with whatever I’m able to give her. And of course, she nailed it.\n\n**It feels like it had to be in that style.**\n\nTotally. And it really had to be on film. For a while we thought we couldn’t afford it. And then I was like, “Guys, I don’t think this movie works if it’s not on film.” There’s not a lot going on in the backgrounds, so it needed to be this tactile, analog thing in order for it to work visually.\n\n**And you made this with friends, right?**\n\nYeah. Ben Petrie is my husband. And then Lowen Morrow I didn’t know before. I’d just seen them in theater shows in Toronto and was obsessed with them. And Leah Doz and I were friends but didn’t know each other that well. I knew some department heads before, but it was in the spirit of friendship — we picked people we wanted to be friends with.\n\n**Are you a gothic literature fan?**\n\nI’m probably severely under-read. But I’m a fan of that era. I haven’t seen *Wuthering Heights* yet. What did you think?\n\n**I’m probably one of the only people who liked it. They shouldn’t have cast Heathcliff as white. But the film was an interesting homage to gothic literature in its style. I think a lot of people are saying it didn’t stick to the plot or themes. But I really enjoyed it.**\n\nDo you feel like there’s a resurgence of romantic movies?\n\n**What else?**\n\n*Materialists*, *The Drama*, this one... I feel like people want the escapist romance right now.\n\n**Another theory I have is that we’re very much in the age of irony and I wonder if we’re coming to the end of that, and romance is hard to do ironically.**\n\nIt’s true. You need to be lame.\n\n**I love lame. I love sincerity. I like vulnerability in art, personally. Even though** ***Dead Lover*** **is very goofy, there’s a lot of love behind it that made it feel sincere.**\n\nI like trying to ground all the comedy in actual emotions, in longing. I’m kind of obsessed with lonely characters who feel ostracized who just want love and are in their own way. That’s so human and relatable. So hopefully some of the big comedy swings in the movie don’t just feel absurd for absurdity’s sake, but are coming from a true emotional core of exploring something somewhat emotionally relatable.\n\n[![Dead Lover Review: Breaking the Mold of Modern Horror - IMDb](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Uzep!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe43fea3f-92e1-44ea-9c6e-bec18b318459_500x281.jpeg)](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Uzep!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe43fea3f-92e1-44ea-9c6e-bec18b318459_500x281.jpeg)\n\n**What was the accent?**\n\nIn rehearsal one day, someone was like “What about a Cockney accent?” I don’t know how to do any accent properly, but I just started trying to do it. And we were all laughing, but they were like “There’s no way.” And I was like “No, I think we’re going to do this.” And I just dug my heels in. I intentionally didn’t want to study an accent or be consistent because it’s true to the spirit of the piece — that there are a lot of cracks and imperfections in it. It’s more about performance and character than the illusion of realism. The other day, Ben was watching *My Fair Lady*, with Eliza Doolittle, and he was like, “Oh my god, this is Gravedigger.” And I grew up on that movie, so maybe a part of it was from that. I love a bad accent. I love a bad singing voice.\n\n**Do you want to explore this style more?**\n\nPeople say you make the same movie again and again, and unfortunately that’s sort of what happens to me when I go to write. Exploring lonely characters looking for connection. So it’ll probably be another movie around that theme. But I think I’m going to try to make something that looks a little more conventional but lean into prosthetics and genre more. I fell in love with comedy making *Dead Lover* and I’m pretty much over drama completely. So I think I’m going to try to make a comedy horror again, but maybe not the aesthetic form. And I want to shoot with film again.\n\n**Do you think there will be more scares?**\n\nI’m not so much interested in the classical horror stuff of scaring people. I’m more interested in the grotesque humor of being a person. That’s why I like the midnight space of programming.\n\n**Do you have some favorite comedy horrors?**\n\n*Young Frankenstein* is obviously a big one. *Rocky Horror*, of course. There’s one on my shelf called *Dead Alive*. *Frankenhooker* is amazing. And the Crispin Glover film, *Willard*.\n\n**What’s been inspiring you for the next one?**\n\nThe people I’ve been writing with and I have been reading Sam Sheppard plays. I’ve been watching Lina Wertmüller movies. She’s great for heightened comedic characters, but it’s all grounded in emotion. And the Coen brothers are great at going theatrical, with big characters, not following classic plot structure, and doing elements of genre, and being funny and emotionally grounded. They’re the kings of the kind of stuff I’d like to do. What’s been inspiring you?\n\n![](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!GDOc!,w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F62e49f41-f246-472b-96c2-64955c4a4079_484x622.png)\n\n![](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!MdiT!,w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e733733-9c1c-46fc-83ee-0c669bff5d4d_490x656.png)\n\nBehind the scenes making 'Dead Lover.'\n\n***Nirvanna the Band the Show*****, which Ben was in. That was so good. The way they did VFX was inspiring.**\n\nWe worked with their VFX people on *Dead Lover*.\n\n**You guys have been doing screenings with stink-o-vision. I feel like having the film feel more like an event is the key to bringing movies back.**\n\nOne of the guys who’s working with [Cartuna](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/cartuna-is-betting-on-the-freaks)\\-[Dweck](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/for-small-indies-dweck-aims-to-be) is Kurt Ravenwood, one of the producers of *Hundreds of Beavers*. That movie did so well theatrically because A) the movie rocks, and B) they had this live performance element to the screenings. People would take pictures and they’d circulate online and the screenings would sell out. And it remains this theatrical indie film phenomenon that’s still playing theaters years later, with this live component. Learning from him has been cool.\n\nPeople just want to have a tactile, communal experience. And they want to participate. I feel like audiences want to be acknowledged. It’s cool that that desire is making itself known. It’s challenging as indie filmmakers to almost think more punk rock about distributing our films. It’s breaking the hierarchy between the screen and the audience. It’s hard to think of good eventized things that don’t just feel gimmicky though.\n\n*Marissa Goldman is an LA\/NY based filmmaker. Her work has played at SXSW Aspen Shortsfest, Palm Springs Shortsfest and more. She has made work for Adult Swim, Vice, Complex, and more.*\n\n[Share](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share)\n\n5\n\n3\n\nShare\n\n#### Discussion about this post\nComments\n\nRestacks\n\nTop\n\nLatest\n\nDiscussions\n\nNo posts\n### Ready for more?\n\n© 2026 Max Cea · [Privacy](https:\/\/substack.com\/privacy) ∙ [Terms](https:\/\/substack.com\/tos) ∙ [Collection notice](https:\/\/substack.com\/ccpa#personal-data-collected)\n\n[Start your Substack](https:\/\/substack.com\/signup?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_content=footer)\n\n[Get the app](https:\/\/substack.com\/app\/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&utm_content=web-footer-button)\n\n[Substack](https:\/\/substack.com\/) is the home for great culture\n\nThis site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please [turn on JavaScript](https:\/\/enable-javascript.com\/) or unblock scripts","attrs_readable_markdown":"When bigger, more widely seen movies compete for the top prizes at the Oscars, the ceremony may gain viewers. But it doesn’t become any less boring. All love to everyone who won, was nominated, presented an award, or just wore a sick fit to the event, but that felt like the Nicole Kidman AMC ad stretched to three hours and forty five minutes, with tons of commercials, a lot of bad bits, and none of the camp. Still, when PTA won Best Director and kept looking down at the statue like he couldn’t believe it, it made me a little emotional. So I guess that’s what it’s all about\\!\n\nIf you were following [Pete’s picks](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/petes-picks-the-best-bets-of-oscars), you had an *alright* night. He picked right on Best Actor, International Feature, Production Design, Hair & Makeup, Costumes, Animated Feature, Sound, Score, and Original Song. And he missed on Cinematography, Supporting Actress, VFX, and Documentary Feature. Pete tells me he came out up \\$20 on his own bets. Remember, if you won money based off his picks you’re legally obligated to invest in a paid subscription to Nothing Bogus. It’s the law.\n\n**Here’s what’s happening this week:**\n\n- If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably like movies. But do you also like bicycling??? If you do, and if you live in NYC, join Nothing Bogus and Daniel Varghese’s cycling newsletter [Leg Day](https:\/\/open.substack.com\/pub\/legday) on **March 24 for a ride from Grand Army Plaza to Anjelica Village East** to see ***Kiki’s Delivery Service***. Ride starts at 6:15 PM, movie starts at 7:00. [Tickets](https:\/\/angelikafilmcenter.com\/villageeast\/sessions\/75524\/HO00008105) are half price on Tuesdays! Drinks at Threes Brewing afterwards. It’ll be fun\\!\n\n- Kabir Chibber is hosting a **film club meetup** in a space called Verci, next to Union Square, for filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers. **Thursday March 19**, 7:00 PM. RSVP [here](https:\/\/partiful.com\/e\/x12D9yqbC6uZ8jyo9uQD).\n- After SXSW, Boots Riley is taking his new film, *I Love Boosters*,on a **[college tour](https:\/\/www.indiewire.com\/news\/breaking-news\/boots-riley-i-love-boosters-college-tour-1235183315\/),** which will be followed by a May 22 release. Seems like a good way to build word of mouth from festival to release. Anyone have experience doing the same they want to share?\n- [LA Festival of Movies](https:\/\/lafestivalofmovies.org\/home) and [New Directors New Films](https:\/\/www.filmlinc.org\/new-directors-new-films\/) both released their **lineups** this past week.\n- [Video Store.Age](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/distribution-is-broken-video-storeage) has new **live events** in LA on [March 18](https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/video-storeage-presents-the-valencia-launch-tickets-1982386174412?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl) and [19](https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/video-storeage-presents-the-the-peoples-joker-launch-tickets-1982387510408?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl).\n- Sabrina Greco is looking to borrow a **comtek** March 21 - April 5. DM @sabgrex on IG.\n- Lily Cunningham Perini is looking for **VFX artist recs**. DM @chilicunningham on IG.\n- **SURVEY**: [If you ran a studio and could offer one up-and-coming filmmaker (someone mostly unknown) a blank check, who would you give it to? (You are NOT allowed to say yourself!)](https:\/\/substack.com\/chat\/2040845\/post\/6e39f8fa-8c42-4ff3-b377-86bb28af3432) **Respond [here](https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLScOOBHejeNcUFTaGyE_XU6z_wg_6U2FxZjsjeM6ESwRiE1Psw\/viewform).**\n- Some **spring grants, contests, and awards** to apply for [here](https:\/\/nofilmschool.com\/a-massive-list-of-spring-grants-labs-fellowships-2026).\n- I’m hoping more people will fill out this [form](https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/1-LF9D99h_pAD9LC_0b77DzzlmE1rVnf3krYfMSrZKcI\/edit?urp=gmail_link) and **be part of a future Nothing Bogus article** about the state of different cities’ [film scenes](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/should-filmmakers-move-to-baltimore).\n- *If you would like to list in a future issue, either A) post in the Nothing Bogus [chat](https:\/\/substack.com\/chat\/2040845) thread, or B) email **nothingbogus1@gmail.com** with the subject “Listing.” (It’s FREE!) Include your email and all relevant details (price, dates, etc.)*\n###### IMPOSSIBLE QUESTIONS\n*You can’t reverse engineer a hit. But what can we learn from some recent original films that have broken through in a big way?*\n\n[![Why Timothée Chalamet's Marty Supreme' Press Tour Is So Wild](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!VdUJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ba0829f-5b4c-4bd3-914b-34def09a3b75_1500x1000.jpeg)](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!VdUJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ba0829f-5b4c-4bd3-914b-34def09a3b75_1500x1000.jpeg)\n\nFor a while, I’ve been thinking about what audiences are responding to, both in terms of films themselves and their marketing. And last week, a series of interviews on the subject (with [Sev Ohanian](https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/movies\/a70713211\/movies-online-attention-wars-adam-faze\/), [Celine Song](https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/movies\/a70700837\/celine-song-materialists-interview-2026\/), and [Adam Faze](https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/movies\/a70713211\/movies-online-attention-wars-adam-faze\/)) — plus a [bigger piece](https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/movies\/a70610519\/can-original-movies-still-succeed\/) where I attempted to synthesize everything I was hearing and observing — went live on Esquire.com. The TLDR is, to quote William Goldman, “nobody knows anything.” But there are a lot of interesting tidbits in each piece. I think the Adam Faze interview will be of particular interest to readers of this newsletter — you may get some ideas for how to reach lots of people online with a small marketing budget.\n\n[Leave a comment](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover\/comments)\n\n###### THE FEATURE PRESENTATION\n*A conversation between Glowicki and filmmaker Marissa Goldman touches on Save the Cat, imaginative studio sets, shooting on film, and, yes, stink-o-vision...*\n\n[![Dead Lover' Review: A Macabre Attempt to Keep Lost Romance Alive](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!VyPy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb0b9e90-8c1b-4b43-b310-ade65bd7c738_1423x800.jpeg)](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!VyPy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb0b9e90-8c1b-4b43-b310-ade65bd7c738_1423x800.jpeg)\n\nIn *Dead Lover*, Grace Glowicki plays a lonely gravedigger who becomes determined to resurrect her dream lover after he drowns at sea. If the film’s premise is reminiscent of *Frankenstein*, its experimental-theater-meets-DIY-horror aesthetics make it a creation thoroughly its own. Glowicki, who directed the film, worked with a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown to develop the material, but also snagged some techniques from the most conventional of sources (more on that below). Friend of the newsletter Becca Brooks Morrin, who was the film’s production designer, went wild, creating expressive handmade sets that bring the whole macabre saga to vivid life. The film is at once wacky, tactile, and sincere, with inventive form, strong world building, and audacity to pursue something singular. All of which was what drew fellow filmmaker Marissa Goldman to the film when she saw it at SXSW last year. Goldman was there with her own short film, *Max Distance*. Recently, the two chatted about how a conventional structure can enable risk taking, their feelings about gothic literature, and *Dead Lover*’s use of stink-o-vision during select screenings. *Dead Lover* hits select theaters — including every US Alamo Drafthouse — on Wednesday.\n\n***Marissa Goldman*****: The film is so unique and inspiring. It reminds me that a film can be anything.**\n\n***Grace Glowicki*****:** It’s nice you say that because the 1966 Czech film *Daisies* is a big inspiration, and that poster hangs above my desk, and every time I look at that poster it reminds me that a movie can be anything. I pushed myself to remember that. You can get so lost in thinking you need to make a conventional movie. And it’s interesting, there’s a lot of experimental stuff in *Dead Lover,* but we also used Save the Cat as a way to write the screenplay. I sometimes say it’s an “arthouse trojan horse.” The structure and accessibility of the story is actually pretty stupid and dulled down, ‘screenplays for dummies’ vibes. Which I kind of love, because it’s so simple and rudimentary that you know it can work. And within that you can be fearless and experimental and make some wacky decisions. So I think I’m a balance of *your film can be anything* and Save the Cat.\n\n**I think it’s important when you’re experimenting a lot to hold the audience’s hand in some way. But tell me more about how Save the Cat influenced the screenplay.**\n\nWe used the whole structure of the book. And right now, [Mary Dauterman](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/in-booger-a-surreal-portrait-of-grief) and Jenny Donheiser and I are writing another movie together and we’re using it, too. Basically, Save the Cat is a moment in this kind of story structure, but the book *Save the Cat* also gives you a full four-act structure. It’s super basic stuff. But it outlines how to tell a perfectly symmetrical, predictable, conventional story in a way that audiences expect.\n\nOne thing that’s bothered me with indie films is that on Letterboxd the criticism will be “nothing happened in this movie” or “this should’ve been a short film.” For my film *Tito*, I didn’t follow any kind of story structure and all the criticisms of the movie were that “nothing happened.” I heard that so many times. So I was like, “Maybe I don’t know story structure yet and I’m being kind of cocky and trying to break it before I know it.” So I was interested in proving to myself that I could tell a story that made sense and was accessible and entertaining. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll try and subvert it more.\n\n**It’s nice that the story’s still fun. But it doesn’t feel conventional. It felt very form-forward. Did the form — the black box theater — come before the story, or vice versa?**\n\nI think the story came first. I was just talking to friends over the course of two years, spitballing and world-building characters, doing an oral storytelling, world-building thing. So the story of a grave digger who’s really lonely and trying to re-animate her dead lover with only his finger came from those conversations. And then I just tried to pair each step of the development with, if I was being brutally honest with myself, what did I actually like? And I really like rehearsal and being in a studio, I really like theater people, I like clowning. So I took that oral story to a group of a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown in a rehearsal studio in Toronto, and we just dicked around and spitballed on our feet.\n\nWe developed the next phase of the story physically, just by improving together and exploring movement. And I think because I was in the studio space with these theater people, that’s when the aesthetics of the film started to formalize in my head. So the aesthetics came after. And for some reason, when I’m writing I do little collages on photoshop of characters as a way to communicate to department heads and also inspire myself. And a lot of those collages were photos of Iggy Pop in the ‘70s when he’s onstage in a spotlight with like one silver glove. These really expressive photos of him in spotlight. Because of the nature of a stage it falls to black around him. So because of my love of theater and these Iggy Pop photos, I leaned into minimalism visually. And I wanted to shoot on film, so I knew I’d have to pare it back so much to accomplish such a long film, so that encouraged the minimalism as well.\n\n[![Iggy Pop: 20 Wildest Moments From Infamous Stooge](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!kne2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8403b8b4-43b1-49b1-9cba-e0f098e212fa_800x530.jpeg)](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!kne2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8403b8b4-43b1-49b1-9cba-e0f098e212fa_800x530.jpeg)\n\nIggy Pop.\n\n**Also, I love [Becca Brooks Morrin](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/becca-brooks-morrin-does-a-lot-with), the production designer. What was the process like in building the world?**\n\nI worked with Becca on *Strawberry Mansion* and watched her create these fantasy worlds out of cardboard and garbage and all this shit. And I worked with her on *Booger* as well, where she was making shit out of garbage bags and hair extensions. Knowing Becca, I figured that she’d be able to do this with whatever I’m able to give her. And of course, she nailed it.\n\n**It feels like it had to be in that style.**\n\nTotally. And it really had to be on film. For a while we thought we couldn’t afford it. And then I was like, “Guys, I don’t think this movie works if it’s not on film.” There’s not a lot going on in the backgrounds, so it needed to be this tactile, analog thing in order for it to work visually.\n\n**And you made this with friends, right?**\n\nYeah. Ben Petrie is my husband. And then Lowen Morrow I didn’t know before. I’d just seen them in theater shows in Toronto and was obsessed with them. And Leah Doz and I were friends but didn’t know each other that well. I knew some department heads before, but it was in the spirit of friendship — we picked people we wanted to be friends with.\n\n**Are you a gothic literature fan?**\n\nI’m probably severely under-read. But I’m a fan of that era. I haven’t seen *Wuthering Heights* yet. What did you think?\n\n**I’m probably one of the only people who liked it. They shouldn’t have cast Heathcliff as white. But the film was an interesting homage to gothic literature in its style. I think a lot of people are saying it didn’t stick to the plot or themes. But I really enjoyed it.**\n\nDo you feel like there’s a resurgence of romantic movies?\n\n**What else?**\n\n*Materialists*, *The Drama*, this one... I feel like people want the escapist romance right now.\n\n**Another theory I have is that we’re very much in the age of irony and I wonder if we’re coming to the end of that, and romance is hard to do ironically.**\n\nIt’s true. You need to be lame.\n\n**I love lame. I love sincerity. I like vulnerability in art, personally. Even though** ***Dead Lover*** **is very goofy, there’s a lot of love behind it that made it feel sincere.**\n\nI like trying to ground all the comedy in actual emotions, in longing. I’m kind of obsessed with lonely characters who feel ostracized who just want love and are in their own way. That’s so human and relatable. So hopefully some of the big comedy swings in the movie don’t just feel absurd for absurdity’s sake, but are coming from a true emotional core of exploring something somewhat emotionally relatable.\n\n[![Dead Lover Review: Breaking the Mold of Modern Horror - IMDb](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Uzep!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe43fea3f-92e1-44ea-9c6e-bec18b318459_500x281.jpeg)](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Uzep!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe43fea3f-92e1-44ea-9c6e-bec18b318459_500x281.jpeg)\n\n**What was the accent?**\n\nIn rehearsal one day, someone was like “What about a Cockney accent?” I don’t know how to do any accent properly, but I just started trying to do it. And we were all laughing, but they were like “There’s no way.” And I was like “No, I think we’re going to do this.” And I just dug my heels in. I intentionally didn’t want to study an accent or be consistent because it’s true to the spirit of the piece — that there are a lot of cracks and imperfections in it. It’s more about performance and character than the illusion of realism. The other day, Ben was watching *My Fair Lady*, with Eliza Doolittle, and he was like, “Oh my god, this is Gravedigger.” And I grew up on that movie, so maybe a part of it was from that. I love a bad accent. I love a bad singing voice.\n\n**Do you want to explore this style more?**\n\nPeople say you make the same movie again and again, and unfortunately that’s sort of what happens to me when I go to write. Exploring lonely characters looking for connection. So it’ll probably be another movie around that theme. But I think I’m going to try to make something that looks a little more conventional but lean into prosthetics and genre more. I fell in love with comedy making *Dead Lover* and I’m pretty much over drama completely. So I think I’m going to try to make a comedy horror again, but maybe not the aesthetic form. And I want to shoot with film again.\n\n**Do you think there will be more scares?**\n\nI’m not so much interested in the classical horror stuff of scaring people. I’m more interested in the grotesque humor of being a person. That’s why I like the midnight space of programming.\n\n**Do you have some favorite comedy horrors?**\n\n*Young Frankenstein* is obviously a big one. *Rocky Horror*, of course. There’s one on my shelf called *Dead Alive*. *Frankenhooker* is amazing. And the Crispin Glover film, *Willard*.\n\n**What’s been inspiring you for the next one?**\n\nThe people I’ve been writing with and I have been reading Sam Sheppard plays. I’ve been watching Lina Wertmüller movies. She’s great for heightened comedic characters, but it’s all grounded in emotion. And the Coen brothers are great at going theatrical, with big characters, not following classic plot structure, and doing elements of genre, and being funny and emotionally grounded. They’re the kings of the kind of stuff I’d like to do. What’s been inspiring you?\n\n![](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!GDOc!,w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F62e49f41-f246-472b-96c2-64955c4a4079_484x622.png)\n\n![](https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!MdiT!,w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e733733-9c1c-46fc-83ee-0c669bff5d4d_490x656.png)\n\nBehind the scenes making 'Dead Lover.'\n\n***Nirvanna the Band the Show*****, which Ben was in. That was so good. The way they did VFX was inspiring.**\n\nWe worked with their VFX people on *Dead Lover*.\n\n**You guys have been doing screenings with stink-o-vision. I feel like having the film feel more like an event is the key to bringing movies back.**\n\nOne of the guys who’s working with [Cartuna](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/cartuna-is-betting-on-the-freaks)\\-[Dweck](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/for-small-indies-dweck-aims-to-be) is Kurt Ravenwood, one of the producers of *Hundreds of Beavers*. That movie did so well theatrically because A) the movie rocks, and B) they had this live performance element to the screenings. People would take pictures and they’d circulate online and the screenings would sell out. And it remains this theatrical indie film phenomenon that’s still playing theaters years later, with this live component. Learning from him has been cool.\n\nPeople just want to have a tactile, communal experience. And they want to participate. I feel like audiences want to be acknowledged. It’s cool that that desire is making itself known. It’s challenging as indie filmmakers to almost think more punk rock about distributing our films. It’s breaking the hierarchy between the screen and the audience. It’s hard to think of good eventized things that don’t just feel gimmicky though.\n\n*Marissa Goldman is an LA\/NY based filmmaker. Her work has played at SXSW Aspen Shortsfest, Palm Springs Shortsfest and more. She has made work for Adult Swim, Vice, Complex, and more.*\n\n[Share](https:\/\/nothingbogus.substack.com\/p\/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share)\n\nNo posts","meta_canonical":null}

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Boilerpipe Text	When bigger, more widely seen movies compete for the top prizes at the Oscars, the ceremony may gain viewers. But it doesn’t become any less boring. All love to everyone who won, was nominated, presented an award, or just wore a sick fit to the event, but that felt like the Nicole Kidman AMC ad stretched to three hours and forty five minutes, with tons of commercials, a lot of bad bits, and none of the camp. Still, when PTA won Best Director and kept looking down at the statue like he couldn’t believe it, it made me a little emotional. So I guess that’s what it’s all about! If you were following Pete’s picks , you had an alright night. He picked right on Best Actor, International Feature, Production Design, Hair & Makeup, Costumes, Animated Feature, Sound, Score, and Original Song. And he missed on Cinematography, Supporting Actress, VFX, and Documentary Feature. Pete tells me he came out up $20 on his own bets. Remember, if you won money based off his picks you’re legally obligated to invest in a paid subscription to Nothing Bogus. It’s the law. Here’s what’s happening this week: If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably like movies. But do you also like bicycling??? If you do, and if you live in NYC, join Nothing Bogus and Daniel Varghese’s cycling newsletter Leg Day on March 24 for a ride from Grand Army Plaza to Anjelica Village East to see Kiki’s Delivery Service . Ride starts at 6:15 PM, movie starts at 7:00. Tickets are half price on Tuesdays! Drinks at Threes Brewing afterwards. It’ll be fun! Kabir Chibber is hosting a film club meetup in a space called Verci, next to Union Square, for filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers. Thursday March 19 , 7:00 PM. RSVP here . After SXSW, Boots Riley is taking his new film, I Love Boosters , on a college tour , which will be followed by a May 22 release. Seems like a good way to build word of mouth from festival to release. Anyone have experience doing the same they want to share? LA Festival of Movies and New Directors New Films both released their lineups this past week. Video Store.Age has new live events in LA on March 18 and 19 . Sabrina Greco is looking to borrow a comtek March 21 - April 5. DM @sabgrex on IG. Lily Cunningham Perini is looking for VFX artist recs . DM @chilicunningham on IG. SURVEY : If you ran a studio and could offer one up-and-coming filmmaker (someone mostly unknown) a blank check, who would you give it to? (You are NOT allowed to say yourself!) Respond here . Some spring grants, contests, and awards to apply for here . I’m hoping more people will fill out this form and be part of a future Nothing Bogus article about the state of different cities’ film scenes . If you would like to list in a future issue, either A) post in the Nothing Bogus chat thread, or B) email nothingbogus1@gmail.com with the subject “Listing.” (It’s FREE!) Include your email and all relevant details (price, dates, etc.) IMPOSSIBLE QUESTIONS You can’t reverse engineer a hit. But what can we learn from some recent original films that have broken through in a big way? For a while, I’ve been thinking about what audiences are responding to, both in terms of films themselves and their marketing. And last week, a series of interviews on the subject (with Sev Ohanian , Celine Song , and Adam Faze ) — plus a bigger piece where I attempted to synthesize everything I was hearing and observing — went live on Esquire.com. The TLDR is, to quote William Goldman, “nobody knows anything.” But there are a lot of interesting tidbits in each piece. I think the Adam Faze interview will be of particular interest to readers of this newsletter — you may get some ideas for how to reach lots of people online with a small marketing budget. Leave a comment THE FEATURE PRESENTATION A conversation between Glowicki and filmmaker Marissa Goldman touches on Save the Cat, imaginative studio sets, shooting on film, and, yes, stink-o-vision... In Dead Lover , Grace Glowicki plays a lonely gravedigger who becomes determined to resurrect her dream lover after he drowns at sea. If the film’s premise is reminiscent of Frankenstein , its experimental-theater-meets-DIY-horror aesthetics make it a creation thoroughly its own. Glowicki, who directed the film, worked with a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown to develop the material, but also snagged some techniques from the most conventional of sources (more on that below). Friend of the newsletter Becca Brooks Morrin, who was the film’s production designer, went wild, creating expressive handmade sets that bring the whole macabre saga to vivid life. The film is at once wacky, tactile, and sincere, with inventive form, strong world building, and audacity to pursue something singular. All of which was what drew fellow filmmaker Marissa Goldman to the film when she saw it at SXSW last year. Goldman was there with her own short film, Max Distance . Recently, the two chatted about how a conventional structure can enable risk taking, their feelings about gothic literature, and Dead Lover ’s use of stink-o-vision during select screenings. Dead Lover hits select theaters — including every US Alamo Drafthouse — on Wednesday. Marissa Goldman : The film is so unique and inspiring. It reminds me that a film can be anything. Grace Glowicki : It’s nice you say that because the 1966 Czech film Daisies is a big inspiration, and that poster hangs above my desk, and every time I look at that poster it reminds me that a movie can be anything. I pushed myself to remember that. You can get so lost in thinking you need to make a conventional movie. And it’s interesting, there’s a lot of experimental stuff in Dead Lover, but we also used Save the Cat as a way to write the screenplay. I sometimes say it’s an “arthouse trojan horse.” The structure and accessibility of the story is actually pretty stupid and dulled down, ‘screenplays for dummies’ vibes. Which I kind of love, because it’s so simple and rudimentary that you know it can work. And within that you can be fearless and experimental and make some wacky decisions. So I think I’m a balance of your film can be anything and Save the Cat. I think it’s important when you’re experimenting a lot to hold the audience’s hand in some way. But tell me more about how Save the Cat influenced the screenplay. We used the whole structure of the book. And right now, Mary Dauterman and Jenny Donheiser and I are writing another movie together and we’re using it, too. Basically, Save the Cat is a moment in this kind of story structure, but the book Save the Cat also gives you a full four-act structure. It’s super basic stuff. But it outlines how to tell a perfectly symmetrical, predictable, conventional story in a way that audiences expect. One thing that’s bothered me with indie films is that on Letterboxd the criticism will be “nothing happened in this movie” or “this should’ve been a short film.” For my film Tito , I didn’t follow any kind of story structure and all the criticisms of the movie were that “nothing happened.” I heard that so many times. So I was like, “Maybe I don’t know story structure yet and I’m being kind of cocky and trying to break it before I know it.” So I was interested in proving to myself that I could tell a story that made sense and was accessible and entertaining. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll try and subvert it more. It’s nice that the story’s still fun. But it doesn’t feel conventional. It felt very form-forward. Did the form — the black box theater — come before the story, or vice versa? I think the story came first. I was just talking to friends over the course of two years, spitballing and world-building characters, doing an oral storytelling, world-building thing. So the story of a grave digger who’s really lonely and trying to re-animate her dead lover with only his finger came from those conversations. And then I just tried to pair each step of the development with, if I was being brutally honest with myself, what did I actually like? And I really like rehearsal and being in a studio, I really like theater people, I like clowning. So I took that oral story to a group of a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown in a rehearsal studio in Toronto, and we just dicked around and spitballed on our feet. We developed the next phase of the story physically, just by improving together and exploring movement. And I think because I was in the studio space with these theater people, that’s when the aesthetics of the film started to formalize in my head. So the aesthetics came after. And for some reason, when I’m writing I do little collages on photoshop of characters as a way to communicate to department heads and also inspire myself. And a lot of those collages were photos of Iggy Pop in the ‘70s when he’s onstage in a spotlight with like one silver glove. These really expressive photos of him in spotlight. Because of the nature of a stage it falls to black around him. So because of my love of theater and these Iggy Pop photos, I leaned into minimalism visually. And I wanted to shoot on film, so I knew I’d have to pare it back so much to accomplish such a long film, so that encouraged the minimalism as well. Iggy Pop. Also, I love Becca Brooks Morrin , the production designer. What was the process like in building the world? I worked with Becca on Strawberry Mansion and watched her create these fantasy worlds out of cardboard and garbage and all this shit. And I worked with her on Booger as well, where she was making shit out of garbage bags and hair extensions. Knowing Becca, I figured that she’d be able to do this with whatever I’m able to give her. And of course, she nailed it. It feels like it had to be in that style. Totally. And it really had to be on film. For a while we thought we couldn’t afford it. And then I was like, “Guys, I don’t think this movie works if it’s not on film.” There’s not a lot going on in the backgrounds, so it needed to be this tactile, analog thing in order for it to work visually. And you made this with friends, right? Yeah. Ben Petrie is my husband. And then Lowen Morrow I didn’t know before. I’d just seen them in theater shows in Toronto and was obsessed with them. And Leah Doz and I were friends but didn’t know each other that well. I knew some department heads before, but it was in the spirit of friendship — we picked people we wanted to be friends with. Are you a gothic literature fan? I’m probably severely under-read. But I’m a fan of that era. I haven’t seen Wuthering Heights yet. What did you think? I’m probably one of the only people who liked it. They shouldn’t have cast Heathcliff as white. But the film was an interesting homage to gothic literature in its style. I think a lot of people are saying it didn’t stick to the plot or themes. But I really enjoyed it. Do you feel like there’s a resurgence of romantic movies? What else? Materialists , The Drama , this one... I feel like people want the escapist romance right now. Another theory I have is that we’re very much in the age of irony and I wonder if we’re coming to the end of that, and romance is hard to do ironically. It’s true. You need to be lame. I love lame. I love sincerity. I like vulnerability in art, personally. Even though Dead Lover is very goofy, there’s a lot of love behind it that made it feel sincere. I like trying to ground all the comedy in actual emotions, in longing. I’m kind of obsessed with lonely characters who feel ostracized who just want love and are in their own way. That’s so human and relatable. So hopefully some of the big comedy swings in the movie don’t just feel absurd for absurdity’s sake, but are coming from a true emotional core of exploring something somewhat emotionally relatable. What was the accent? In rehearsal one day, someone was like “What about a Cockney accent?” I don’t know how to do any accent properly, but I just started trying to do it. And we were all laughing, but they were like “There’s no way.” And I was like “No, I think we’re going to do this.” And I just dug my heels in. I intentionally didn’t want to study an accent or be consistent because it’s true to the spirit of the piece — that there are a lot of cracks and imperfections in it. It’s more about performance and character than the illusion of realism. The other day, Ben was watching My Fair Lady , with Eliza Doolittle, and he was like, “Oh my god, this is Gravedigger.” And I grew up on that movie, so maybe a part of it was from that. I love a bad accent. I love a bad singing voice. Do you want to explore this style more? People say you make the same movie again and again, and unfortunately that’s sort of what happens to me when I go to write. Exploring lonely characters looking for connection. So it’ll probably be another movie around that theme. But I think I’m going to try to make something that looks a little more conventional but lean into prosthetics and genre more. I fell in love with comedy making Dead Lover and I’m pretty much over drama completely. So I think I’m going to try to make a comedy horror again, but maybe not the aesthetic form. And I want to shoot with film again. Do you think there will be more scares? I’m not so much interested in the classical horror stuff of scaring people. I’m more interested in the grotesque humor of being a person. That’s why I like the midnight space of programming. Do you have some favorite comedy horrors? Young Frankenstein is obviously a big one. Rocky Horror , of course. There’s one on my shelf called Dead Alive . Frankenhooker is amazing. And the Crispin Glover film, Willard . What’s been inspiring you for the next one? The people I’ve been writing with and I have been reading Sam Sheppard plays. I’ve been watching Lina Wertmüller movies. She’s great for heightened comedic characters, but it’s all grounded in emotion. And the Coen brothers are great at going theatrical, with big characters, not following classic plot structure, and doing elements of genre, and being funny and emotionally grounded. They’re the kings of the kind of stuff I’d like to do. What’s been inspiring you? Behind the scenes making 'Dead Lover.' Nirvanna the Band the Show , which Ben was in. That was so good. The way they did VFX was inspiring. We worked with their VFX people on Dead Lover . You guys have been doing screenings with stink-o-vision. I feel like having the film feel more like an event is the key to bringing movies back. One of the guys who’s working with Cartuna - Dweck is Kurt Ravenwood, one of the producers of Hundreds of Beavers . That movie did so well theatrically because A) the movie rocks, and B) they had this live performance element to the screenings. People would take pictures and they’d circulate online and the screenings would sell out. And it remains this theatrical indie film phenomenon that’s still playing theaters years later, with this live component. Learning from him has been cool. People just want to have a tactile, communal experience. And they want to participate. I feel like audiences want to be acknowledged. It’s cool that that desire is making itself known. It’s challenging as indie filmmakers to almost think more punk rock about distributing our films. It’s breaking the hierarchy between the screen and the audience. It’s hard to think of good eventized things that don’t just feel gimmicky though. Marissa Goldman is an LA/NY based filmmaker. Her work has played at SXSW Aspen Shortsfest, Palm Springs Shortsfest and more. She has made work for Adult Swim, Vice, Complex, and more. Share No posts
Markdown	[![Nothing Bogus](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W1fb!,w_40,h_40,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa2c0178f-85f7-4b66-9c6e-51fb1cd08b21_256x256.png)](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/) # [![Nothing Bogus](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mgj0!,e_trim:10:white/e_trim:10:transparent/h_72,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6f16266d-cd46-48d0-b791-e4ea95f5f674_1344x256.png)](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/) Subscribe Sign in # How Grace Glowicki Brought 'Dead Lover' to Life ### Save the Cat, imaginative studio sets, shooting on film, and, yes, stink-o-vision... [![Max Cea's avatar](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0k7!,w_36,h_36,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2d7eec00-5051-42de-8bd6-135270404830_402x402.png)](https://substack.com/@nothingbogus) [Max Cea](https://substack.com/@nothingbogus) Mar 16, 2026 5 3 Share When bigger, more widely seen movies compete for the top prizes at the Oscars, the ceremony may gain viewers. But it doesn’t become any less boring. All love to everyone who won, was nominated, presented an award, or just wore a sick fit to the event, but that felt like the Nicole Kidman AMC ad stretched to three hours and forty five minutes, with tons of commercials, a lot of bad bits, and none of the camp. Still, when PTA won Best Director and kept looking down at the statue like he couldn’t believe it, it made me a little emotional. So I guess that’s what it’s all about\! If you were following [Pete’s picks](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/petes-picks-the-best-bets-of-oscars), you had an alright night. He picked right on Best Actor, International Feature, Production Design, Hair & Makeup, Costumes, Animated Feature, Sound, Score, and Original Song. And he missed on Cinematography, Supporting Actress, VFX, and Documentary Feature. Pete tells me he came out up \$20 on his own bets. Remember, if you won money based off his picks you’re legally obligated to invest in a paid subscription to Nothing Bogus. It’s the law. Here’s what’s happening this week: - If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably like movies. But do you also like bicycling??? If you do, and if you live in NYC, join Nothing Bogus and Daniel Varghese’s cycling newsletter [Leg Day](https://open.substack.com/pub/legday) on March 24 for a ride from Grand Army Plaza to Anjelica Village East to see *Kiki’s Delivery Service. Ride starts at 6:15 PM, movie starts at 7:00. [Tickets](https://angelikafilmcenter.com/villageeast/sessions/75524/HO00008105) are half price on Tuesdays! Drinks at Threes Brewing afterwards. It’ll be fun\! - Kabir Chibber is hosting a film club meetup* in a space called Verci, next to Union Square, for filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers. Thursday March 19, 7:00 PM. RSVP [here](https://partiful.com/e/x12D9yqbC6uZ8jyo9uQD). - After SXSW, Boots Riley is taking his new film, I Love Boosters,on a [college tour](https://www.indiewire.com/news/breaking-news/boots-riley-i-love-boosters-college-tour-1235183315/), which will be followed by a May 22 release. Seems like a good way to build word of mouth from festival to release. Anyone have experience doing the same they want to share? - [LA Festival of Movies](https://lafestivalofmovies.org/home) and [New Directors New Films](https://www.filmlinc.org/new-directors-new-films/) both released their lineups this past week. - [Video Store.Age](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/distribution-is-broken-video-storeage) has new live events in LA on [March 18](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/video-storeage-presents-the-valencia-launch-tickets-1982386174412?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl) and [19](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/video-storeage-presents-the-the-peoples-joker-launch-tickets-1982387510408?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl). - Sabrina Greco is looking to borrow a comtek March 21 - April 5. DM @sabgrex on IG. - Lily Cunningham Perini is looking for VFX artist recs. DM @chilicunningham on IG. - SURVEY: [If you ran a studio and could offer one up-and-coming filmmaker (someone mostly unknown) a blank check, who would you give it to? (You are NOT allowed to say yourself!)](https://substack.com/chat/2040845/post/6e39f8fa-8c42-4ff3-b377-86bb28af3432) Respond [here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScOOBHejeNcUFTaGyE_XU6z_wg_6U2FxZjsjeM6ESwRiE1Psw/viewform). - Some spring grants, contests, and awards to apply for [here](https://nofilmschool.com/a-massive-list-of-spring-grants-labs-fellowships-2026). - I’m hoping more people will fill out this [form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-LF9D99h_pAD9LC_0b77DzzlmE1rVnf3krYfMSrZKcI/edit?urp=gmail_link) and be part of a future Nothing Bogus article about the state of different cities’ [film scenes](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/should-filmmakers-move-to-baltimore). - If you would like to list in a future issue, either A) post in the Nothing Bogus [chat](https://substack.com/chat/2040845) thread, or B) email nothingbogus1@gmail.com* with the subject “Listing.” (It’s FREE!) Include your email and all relevant details (price, dates, etc.)* *** ###### IMPOSSIBLE QUESTIONS #### What Makes a Cinematic Sensation? You can’t reverse engineer a hit. But what can we learn from some recent original films that have broken through in a big way? [![Why Timothée Chalamet's Marty Supreme' Press Tour Is So Wild](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VdUJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ba0829f-5b4c-4bd3-914b-34def09a3b75_1500x1000.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VdUJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ba0829f-5b4c-4bd3-914b-34def09a3b75_1500x1000.jpeg) For a while, I’ve been thinking about what audiences are responding to, both in terms of films themselves and their marketing. And last week, a series of interviews on the subject (with [Sev Ohanian](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a70713211/movies-online-attention-wars-adam-faze/), [Celine Song](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a70700837/celine-song-materialists-interview-2026/), and [Adam Faze](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a70713211/movies-online-attention-wars-adam-faze/)) — plus a [bigger piece](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a70610519/can-original-movies-still-succeed/) where I attempted to synthesize everything I was hearing and observing — went live on Esquire.com. The TLDR is, to quote William Goldman, “nobody knows anything.” But there are a lot of interesting tidbits in each piece. I think the Adam Faze interview will be of particular interest to readers of this newsletter — you may get some ideas for how to reach lots of people online with a small marketing budget. [Leave a comment](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover/comments) *** ###### THE FEATURE PRESENTATION #### How Grace Glowicki Brought Dead Lover to Life A conversation between Glowicki and filmmaker Marissa Goldman touches on Save the Cat, imaginative studio sets, shooting on film, and, yes, stink-o-vision... [![Dead Lover' Review: A Macabre Attempt to Keep Lost Romance Alive](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VyPy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb0b9e90-8c1b-4b43-b310-ade65bd7c738_1423x800.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VyPy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb0b9e90-8c1b-4b43-b310-ade65bd7c738_1423x800.jpeg) In Dead Lover, Grace Glowicki plays a lonely gravedigger who becomes determined to resurrect her dream lover after he drowns at sea. If the film’s premise is reminiscent of Frankenstein, its experimental-theater-meets-DIY-horror aesthetics make it a creation thoroughly its own. Glowicki, who directed the film, worked with a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown to develop the material, but also snagged some techniques from the most conventional of sources (more on that below). Friend of the newsletter Becca Brooks Morrin, who was the film’s production designer, went wild, creating expressive handmade sets that bring the whole macabre saga to vivid life. The film is at once wacky, tactile, and sincere, with inventive form, strong world building, and audacity to pursue something singular. All of which was what drew fellow filmmaker Marissa Goldman to the film when she saw it at SXSW last year. Goldman was there with her own short film, Max Distance. Recently, the two chatted about how a conventional structure can enable risk taking, their feelings about gothic literature, and Dead Lover’s use of stink-o-vision during select screenings. Dead Lover hits select theaters — including every US Alamo Drafthouse — on Wednesday. *Marissa Goldman*: The film is so unique and inspiring. It reminds me that a film can be anything. *Grace Glowicki*: It’s nice you say that because the 1966 Czech film Daisies is a big inspiration, and that poster hangs above my desk, and every time I look at that poster it reminds me that a movie can be anything. I pushed myself to remember that. You can get so lost in thinking you need to make a conventional movie. And it’s interesting, there’s a lot of experimental stuff in Dead Lover, but we also used Save the Cat as a way to write the screenplay. I sometimes say it’s an “arthouse trojan horse.” The structure and accessibility of the story is actually pretty stupid and dulled down, ‘screenplays for dummies’ vibes. Which I kind of love, because it’s so simple and rudimentary that you know it can work. And within that you can be fearless and experimental and make some wacky decisions. So I think I’m a balance of your film can be anything and Save the Cat. I think it’s important when you’re experimenting a lot to hold the audience’s hand in some way. But tell me more about how Save the Cat influenced the screenplay. We used the whole structure of the book. And right now, [Mary Dauterman](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/in-booger-a-surreal-portrait-of-grief) and Jenny Donheiser and I are writing another movie together and we’re using it, too. Basically, Save the Cat is a moment in this kind of story structure, but the book Save the Cat also gives you a full four-act structure. It’s super basic stuff. But it outlines how to tell a perfectly symmetrical, predictable, conventional story in a way that audiences expect. One thing that’s bothered me with indie films is that on Letterboxd the criticism will be “nothing happened in this movie” or “this should’ve been a short film.” For my film Tito, I didn’t follow any kind of story structure and all the criticisms of the movie were that “nothing happened.” I heard that so many times. So I was like, “Maybe I don’t know story structure yet and I’m being kind of cocky and trying to break it before I know it.” So I was interested in proving to myself that I could tell a story that made sense and was accessible and entertaining. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll try and subvert it more. It’s nice that the story’s still fun. But it doesn’t feel conventional. It felt very form-forward. Did the form — the black box theater — come before the story, or vice versa? I think the story came first. I was just talking to friends over the course of two years, spitballing and world-building characters, doing an oral storytelling, world-building thing. So the story of a grave digger who’s really lonely and trying to re-animate her dead lover with only his finger came from those conversations. And then I just tried to pair each step of the development with, if I was being brutally honest with myself, what did I actually like? And I really like rehearsal and being in a studio, I really like theater people, I like clowning. So I took that oral story to a group of a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown in a rehearsal studio in Toronto, and we just dicked around and spitballed on our feet. We developed the next phase of the story physically, just by improving together and exploring movement. And I think because I was in the studio space with these theater people, that’s when the aesthetics of the film started to formalize in my head. So the aesthetics came after. And for some reason, when I’m writing I do little collages on photoshop of characters as a way to communicate to department heads and also inspire myself. And a lot of those collages were photos of Iggy Pop in the ‘70s when he’s onstage in a spotlight with like one silver glove. These really expressive photos of him in spotlight. Because of the nature of a stage it falls to black around him. So because of my love of theater and these Iggy Pop photos, I leaned into minimalism visually. And I wanted to shoot on film, so I knew I’d have to pare it back so much to accomplish such a long film, so that encouraged the minimalism as well. [![Iggy Pop: 20 Wildest Moments From Infamous Stooge](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kne2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8403b8b4-43b1-49b1-9cba-e0f098e212fa_800x530.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kne2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8403b8b4-43b1-49b1-9cba-e0f098e212fa_800x530.jpeg) Iggy Pop. Also, I love [Becca Brooks Morrin](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/becca-brooks-morrin-does-a-lot-with), the production designer. What was the process like in building the world? I worked with Becca on Strawberry Mansion and watched her create these fantasy worlds out of cardboard and garbage and all this shit. And I worked with her on Booger as well, where she was making shit out of garbage bags and hair extensions. Knowing Becca, I figured that she’d be able to do this with whatever I’m able to give her. And of course, she nailed it. It feels like it had to be in that style. Totally. And it really had to be on film. For a while we thought we couldn’t afford it. And then I was like, “Guys, I don’t think this movie works if it’s not on film.” There’s not a lot going on in the backgrounds, so it needed to be this tactile, analog thing in order for it to work visually. And you made this with friends, right? Yeah. Ben Petrie is my husband. And then Lowen Morrow I didn’t know before. I’d just seen them in theater shows in Toronto and was obsessed with them. And Leah Doz and I were friends but didn’t know each other that well. I knew some department heads before, but it was in the spirit of friendship — we picked people we wanted to be friends with. Are you a gothic literature fan? I’m probably severely under-read. But I’m a fan of that era. I haven’t seen Wuthering Heights yet. What did you think? I’m probably one of the only people who liked it. They shouldn’t have cast Heathcliff as white. But the film was an interesting homage to gothic literature in its style. I think a lot of people are saying it didn’t stick to the plot or themes. But I really enjoyed it. Do you feel like there’s a resurgence of romantic movies? What else? Materialists, The Drama, this one... I feel like people want the escapist romance right now. Another theory I have is that we’re very much in the age of irony and I wonder if we’re coming to the end of that, and romance is hard to do ironically. It’s true. You need to be lame. I love lame. I love sincerity. I like vulnerability in art, personally. Even though *Dead Lover* is very goofy, there’s a lot of love behind it that made it feel sincere. I like trying to ground all the comedy in actual emotions, in longing. I’m kind of obsessed with lonely characters who feel ostracized who just want love and are in their own way. That’s so human and relatable. So hopefully some of the big comedy swings in the movie don’t just feel absurd for absurdity’s sake, but are coming from a true emotional core of exploring something somewhat emotionally relatable. [![Dead Lover Review: Breaking the Mold of Modern Horror - IMDb](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Uzep!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe43fea3f-92e1-44ea-9c6e-bec18b318459_500x281.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Uzep!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe43fea3f-92e1-44ea-9c6e-bec18b318459_500x281.jpeg) What was the accent? In rehearsal one day, someone was like “What about a Cockney accent?” I don’t know how to do any accent properly, but I just started trying to do it. And we were all laughing, but they were like “There’s no way.” And I was like “No, I think we’re going to do this.” And I just dug my heels in. I intentionally didn’t want to study an accent or be consistent because it’s true to the spirit of the piece — that there are a lot of cracks and imperfections in it. It’s more about performance and character than the illusion of realism. The other day, Ben was watching My Fair Lady, with Eliza Doolittle, and he was like, “Oh my god, this is Gravedigger.” And I grew up on that movie, so maybe a part of it was from that. I love a bad accent. I love a bad singing voice. Do you want to explore this style more? People say you make the same movie again and again, and unfortunately that’s sort of what happens to me when I go to write. Exploring lonely characters looking for connection. So it’ll probably be another movie around that theme. But I think I’m going to try to make something that looks a little more conventional but lean into prosthetics and genre more. I fell in love with comedy making Dead Lover and I’m pretty much over drama completely. So I think I’m going to try to make a comedy horror again, but maybe not the aesthetic form. And I want to shoot with film again. Do you think there will be more scares? I’m not so much interested in the classical horror stuff of scaring people. I’m more interested in the grotesque humor of being a person. That’s why I like the midnight space of programming. Do you have some favorite comedy horrors? Young Frankenstein is obviously a big one. Rocky Horror, of course. There’s one on my shelf called Dead Alive. Frankenhooker is amazing. And the Crispin Glover film, Willard. What’s been inspiring you for the next one? The people I’ve been writing with and I have been reading Sam Sheppard plays. I’ve been watching Lina Wertmüller movies. She’s great for heightened comedic characters, but it’s all grounded in emotion. And the Coen brothers are great at going theatrical, with big characters, not following classic plot structure, and doing elements of genre, and being funny and emotionally grounded. They’re the kings of the kind of stuff I’d like to do. What’s been inspiring you? ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GDOc!,w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F62e49f41-f246-472b-96c2-64955c4a4079_484x622.png) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MdiT!,w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e733733-9c1c-46fc-83ee-0c669bff5d4d_490x656.png) Behind the scenes making 'Dead Lover.' *Nirvanna the Band the Show*, which Ben was in. That was so good. The way they did VFX was inspiring. We worked with their VFX people on Dead Lover. You guys have been doing screenings with stink-o-vision. I feel like having the film feel more like an event is the key to bringing movies back. One of the guys who’s working with [Cartuna](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/cartuna-is-betting-on-the-freaks)\-[Dweck](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/for-small-indies-dweck-aims-to-be) is Kurt Ravenwood, one of the producers of Hundreds of Beavers. That movie did so well theatrically because A) the movie rocks, and B) they had this live performance element to the screenings. People would take pictures and they’d circulate online and the screenings would sell out. And it remains this theatrical indie film phenomenon that’s still playing theaters years later, with this live component. Learning from him has been cool. People just want to have a tactile, communal experience. And they want to participate. I feel like audiences want to be acknowledged. It’s cool that that desire is making itself known. It’s challenging as indie filmmakers to almost think more punk rock about distributing our films. It’s breaking the hierarchy between the screen and the audience. It’s hard to think of good eventized things that don’t just feel gimmicky though. Marissa Goldman is an LA/NY based filmmaker. Her work has played at SXSW Aspen Shortsfest, Palm Springs Shortsfest and more. She has made work for Adult Swim, Vice, Complex, and more. [Share](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share) 5 3 Share #### Discussion about this post Comments Restacks Top Latest Discussions No posts ### Ready for more? © 2026 Max Cea · [Privacy](https://substack.com/privacy) ∙ [Terms](https://substack.com/tos) ∙ [Collection notice](https://substack.com/ccpa#personal-data-collected) [Start your Substack](https://substack.com/signup?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_content=footer) [Get the app](https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&utm_content=web-footer-button) [Substack](https://substack.com/) is the home for great culture This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please [turn on JavaScript](https://enable-javascript.com/) or unblock scripts
Readable Markdown	When bigger, more widely seen movies compete for the top prizes at the Oscars, the ceremony may gain viewers. But it doesn’t become any less boring. All love to everyone who won, was nominated, presented an award, or just wore a sick fit to the event, but that felt like the Nicole Kidman AMC ad stretched to three hours and forty five minutes, with tons of commercials, a lot of bad bits, and none of the camp. Still, when PTA won Best Director and kept looking down at the statue like he couldn’t believe it, it made me a little emotional. So I guess that’s what it’s all about\! If you were following [Pete’s picks](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/petes-picks-the-best-bets-of-oscars), you had an alright night. He picked right on Best Actor, International Feature, Production Design, Hair & Makeup, Costumes, Animated Feature, Sound, Score, and Original Song. And he missed on Cinematography, Supporting Actress, VFX, and Documentary Feature. Pete tells me he came out up \$20 on his own bets. Remember, if you won money based off his picks you’re legally obligated to invest in a paid subscription to Nothing Bogus. It’s the law. Here’s what’s happening this week: - If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably like movies. But do you also like bicycling??? If you do, and if you live in NYC, join Nothing Bogus and Daniel Varghese’s cycling newsletter [Leg Day](https://open.substack.com/pub/legday) on March 24 for a ride from Grand Army Plaza to Anjelica Village East to see *Kiki’s Delivery Service. Ride starts at 6:15 PM, movie starts at 7:00. [Tickets](https://angelikafilmcenter.com/villageeast/sessions/75524/HO00008105) are half price on Tuesdays! Drinks at Threes Brewing afterwards. It’ll be fun\! - Kabir Chibber is hosting a film club meetup* in a space called Verci, next to Union Square, for filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers. Thursday March 19, 7:00 PM. RSVP [here](https://partiful.com/e/x12D9yqbC6uZ8jyo9uQD). - After SXSW, Boots Riley is taking his new film, I Love Boosters,on a [college tour](https://www.indiewire.com/news/breaking-news/boots-riley-i-love-boosters-college-tour-1235183315/), which will be followed by a May 22 release. Seems like a good way to build word of mouth from festival to release. Anyone have experience doing the same they want to share? - [LA Festival of Movies](https://lafestivalofmovies.org/home) and [New Directors New Films](https://www.filmlinc.org/new-directors-new-films/) both released their lineups this past week. - [Video Store.Age](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/distribution-is-broken-video-storeage) has new live events in LA on [March 18](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/video-storeage-presents-the-valencia-launch-tickets-1982386174412?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl) and [19](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/video-storeage-presents-the-the-peoples-joker-launch-tickets-1982387510408?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl). - Sabrina Greco is looking to borrow a comtek March 21 - April 5. DM @sabgrex on IG. - Lily Cunningham Perini is looking for VFX artist recs. DM @chilicunningham on IG. - SURVEY: [If you ran a studio and could offer one up-and-coming filmmaker (someone mostly unknown) a blank check, who would you give it to? (You are NOT allowed to say yourself!)](https://substack.com/chat/2040845/post/6e39f8fa-8c42-4ff3-b377-86bb28af3432) Respond [here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScOOBHejeNcUFTaGyE_XU6z_wg_6U2FxZjsjeM6ESwRiE1Psw/viewform). - Some spring grants, contests, and awards to apply for [here](https://nofilmschool.com/a-massive-list-of-spring-grants-labs-fellowships-2026). - I’m hoping more people will fill out this [form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-LF9D99h_pAD9LC_0b77DzzlmE1rVnf3krYfMSrZKcI/edit?urp=gmail_link) and be part of a future Nothing Bogus article about the state of different cities’ [film scenes](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/should-filmmakers-move-to-baltimore). - If you would like to list in a future issue, either A) post in the Nothing Bogus [chat](https://substack.com/chat/2040845) thread, or B) email nothingbogus1@gmail.com* with the subject “Listing.” (It’s FREE!) Include your email and all relevant details (price, dates, etc.)* ###### IMPOSSIBLE QUESTIONS You can’t reverse engineer a hit. But what can we learn from some recent original films that have broken through in a big way? [![Why Timothée Chalamet's Marty Supreme' Press Tour Is So Wild](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VdUJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ba0829f-5b4c-4bd3-914b-34def09a3b75_1500x1000.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VdUJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ba0829f-5b4c-4bd3-914b-34def09a3b75_1500x1000.jpeg) For a while, I’ve been thinking about what audiences are responding to, both in terms of films themselves and their marketing. And last week, a series of interviews on the subject (with [Sev Ohanian](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a70713211/movies-online-attention-wars-adam-faze/), [Celine Song](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a70700837/celine-song-materialists-interview-2026/), and [Adam Faze](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a70713211/movies-online-attention-wars-adam-faze/)) — plus a [bigger piece](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a70610519/can-original-movies-still-succeed/) where I attempted to synthesize everything I was hearing and observing — went live on Esquire.com. The TLDR is, to quote William Goldman, “nobody knows anything.” But there are a lot of interesting tidbits in each piece. I think the Adam Faze interview will be of particular interest to readers of this newsletter — you may get some ideas for how to reach lots of people online with a small marketing budget. [Leave a comment](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover/comments) ###### THE FEATURE PRESENTATION A conversation between Glowicki and filmmaker Marissa Goldman touches on Save the Cat, imaginative studio sets, shooting on film, and, yes, stink-o-vision... [![Dead Lover' Review: A Macabre Attempt to Keep Lost Romance Alive](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VyPy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb0b9e90-8c1b-4b43-b310-ade65bd7c738_1423x800.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VyPy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb0b9e90-8c1b-4b43-b310-ade65bd7c738_1423x800.jpeg) In Dead Lover, Grace Glowicki plays a lonely gravedigger who becomes determined to resurrect her dream lover after he drowns at sea. If the film’s premise is reminiscent of Frankenstein, its experimental-theater-meets-DIY-horror aesthetics make it a creation thoroughly its own. Glowicki, who directed the film, worked with a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown to develop the material, but also snagged some techniques from the most conventional of sources (more on that below). Friend of the newsletter Becca Brooks Morrin, who was the film’s production designer, went wild, creating expressive handmade sets that bring the whole macabre saga to vivid life. The film is at once wacky, tactile, and sincere, with inventive form, strong world building, and audacity to pursue something singular. All of which was what drew fellow filmmaker Marissa Goldman to the film when she saw it at SXSW last year. Goldman was there with her own short film, Max Distance. Recently, the two chatted about how a conventional structure can enable risk taking, their feelings about gothic literature, and Dead Lover’s use of stink-o-vision during select screenings. Dead Lover hits select theaters — including every US Alamo Drafthouse — on Wednesday. *Marissa Goldman*: The film is so unique and inspiring. It reminds me that a film can be anything. *Grace Glowicki*: It’s nice you say that because the 1966 Czech film Daisies is a big inspiration, and that poster hangs above my desk, and every time I look at that poster it reminds me that a movie can be anything. I pushed myself to remember that. You can get so lost in thinking you need to make a conventional movie. And it’s interesting, there’s a lot of experimental stuff in Dead Lover, but we also used Save the Cat as a way to write the screenplay. I sometimes say it’s an “arthouse trojan horse.” The structure and accessibility of the story is actually pretty stupid and dulled down, ‘screenplays for dummies’ vibes. Which I kind of love, because it’s so simple and rudimentary that you know it can work. And within that you can be fearless and experimental and make some wacky decisions. So I think I’m a balance of your film can be anything and Save the Cat. I think it’s important when you’re experimenting a lot to hold the audience’s hand in some way. But tell me more about how Save the Cat influenced the screenplay. We used the whole structure of the book. And right now, [Mary Dauterman](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/in-booger-a-surreal-portrait-of-grief) and Jenny Donheiser and I are writing another movie together and we’re using it, too. Basically, Save the Cat is a moment in this kind of story structure, but the book Save the Cat also gives you a full four-act structure. It’s super basic stuff. But it outlines how to tell a perfectly symmetrical, predictable, conventional story in a way that audiences expect. One thing that’s bothered me with indie films is that on Letterboxd the criticism will be “nothing happened in this movie” or “this should’ve been a short film.” For my film Tito, I didn’t follow any kind of story structure and all the criticisms of the movie were that “nothing happened.” I heard that so many times. So I was like, “Maybe I don’t know story structure yet and I’m being kind of cocky and trying to break it before I know it.” So I was interested in proving to myself that I could tell a story that made sense and was accessible and entertaining. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll try and subvert it more. It’s nice that the story’s still fun. But it doesn’t feel conventional. It felt very form-forward. Did the form — the black box theater — come before the story, or vice versa? I think the story came first. I was just talking to friends over the course of two years, spitballing and world-building characters, doing an oral storytelling, world-building thing. So the story of a grave digger who’s really lonely and trying to re-animate her dead lover with only his finger came from those conversations. And then I just tried to pair each step of the development with, if I was being brutally honest with myself, what did I actually like? And I really like rehearsal and being in a studio, I really like theater people, I like clowning. So I took that oral story to a group of a puppeteer, a theater maker, and a clown in a rehearsal studio in Toronto, and we just dicked around and spitballed on our feet. We developed the next phase of the story physically, just by improving together and exploring movement. And I think because I was in the studio space with these theater people, that’s when the aesthetics of the film started to formalize in my head. So the aesthetics came after. And for some reason, when I’m writing I do little collages on photoshop of characters as a way to communicate to department heads and also inspire myself. And a lot of those collages were photos of Iggy Pop in the ‘70s when he’s onstage in a spotlight with like one silver glove. These really expressive photos of him in spotlight. Because of the nature of a stage it falls to black around him. So because of my love of theater and these Iggy Pop photos, I leaned into minimalism visually. And I wanted to shoot on film, so I knew I’d have to pare it back so much to accomplish such a long film, so that encouraged the minimalism as well. [![Iggy Pop: 20 Wildest Moments From Infamous Stooge](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kne2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8403b8b4-43b1-49b1-9cba-e0f098e212fa_800x530.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kne2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8403b8b4-43b1-49b1-9cba-e0f098e212fa_800x530.jpeg) Iggy Pop. Also, I love [Becca Brooks Morrin](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/becca-brooks-morrin-does-a-lot-with), the production designer. What was the process like in building the world? I worked with Becca on Strawberry Mansion and watched her create these fantasy worlds out of cardboard and garbage and all this shit. And I worked with her on Booger as well, where she was making shit out of garbage bags and hair extensions. Knowing Becca, I figured that she’d be able to do this with whatever I’m able to give her. And of course, she nailed it. It feels like it had to be in that style. Totally. And it really had to be on film. For a while we thought we couldn’t afford it. And then I was like, “Guys, I don’t think this movie works if it’s not on film.” There’s not a lot going on in the backgrounds, so it needed to be this tactile, analog thing in order for it to work visually. And you made this with friends, right? Yeah. Ben Petrie is my husband. And then Lowen Morrow I didn’t know before. I’d just seen them in theater shows in Toronto and was obsessed with them. And Leah Doz and I were friends but didn’t know each other that well. I knew some department heads before, but it was in the spirit of friendship — we picked people we wanted to be friends with. Are you a gothic literature fan? I’m probably severely under-read. But I’m a fan of that era. I haven’t seen Wuthering Heights yet. What did you think? I’m probably one of the only people who liked it. They shouldn’t have cast Heathcliff as white. But the film was an interesting homage to gothic literature in its style. I think a lot of people are saying it didn’t stick to the plot or themes. But I really enjoyed it. Do you feel like there’s a resurgence of romantic movies? What else? Materialists, The Drama, this one... I feel like people want the escapist romance right now. Another theory I have is that we’re very much in the age of irony and I wonder if we’re coming to the end of that, and romance is hard to do ironically. It’s true. You need to be lame. I love lame. I love sincerity. I like vulnerability in art, personally. Even though *Dead Lover* is very goofy, there’s a lot of love behind it that made it feel sincere. I like trying to ground all the comedy in actual emotions, in longing. I’m kind of obsessed with lonely characters who feel ostracized who just want love and are in their own way. That’s so human and relatable. So hopefully some of the big comedy swings in the movie don’t just feel absurd for absurdity’s sake, but are coming from a true emotional core of exploring something somewhat emotionally relatable. [![Dead Lover Review: Breaking the Mold of Modern Horror - IMDb](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Uzep!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe43fea3f-92e1-44ea-9c6e-bec18b318459_500x281.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Uzep!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe43fea3f-92e1-44ea-9c6e-bec18b318459_500x281.jpeg) What was the accent? In rehearsal one day, someone was like “What about a Cockney accent?” I don’t know how to do any accent properly, but I just started trying to do it. And we were all laughing, but they were like “There’s no way.” And I was like “No, I think we’re going to do this.” And I just dug my heels in. I intentionally didn’t want to study an accent or be consistent because it’s true to the spirit of the piece — that there are a lot of cracks and imperfections in it. It’s more about performance and character than the illusion of realism. The other day, Ben was watching My Fair Lady, with Eliza Doolittle, and he was like, “Oh my god, this is Gravedigger.” And I grew up on that movie, so maybe a part of it was from that. I love a bad accent. I love a bad singing voice. Do you want to explore this style more? People say you make the same movie again and again, and unfortunately that’s sort of what happens to me when I go to write. Exploring lonely characters looking for connection. So it’ll probably be another movie around that theme. But I think I’m going to try to make something that looks a little more conventional but lean into prosthetics and genre more. I fell in love with comedy making Dead Lover and I’m pretty much over drama completely. So I think I’m going to try to make a comedy horror again, but maybe not the aesthetic form. And I want to shoot with film again. Do you think there will be more scares? I’m not so much interested in the classical horror stuff of scaring people. I’m more interested in the grotesque humor of being a person. That’s why I like the midnight space of programming. Do you have some favorite comedy horrors? Young Frankenstein is obviously a big one. Rocky Horror, of course. There’s one on my shelf called Dead Alive. Frankenhooker is amazing. And the Crispin Glover film, Willard. What’s been inspiring you for the next one? The people I’ve been writing with and I have been reading Sam Sheppard plays. I’ve been watching Lina Wertmüller movies. She’s great for heightened comedic characters, but it’s all grounded in emotion. And the Coen brothers are great at going theatrical, with big characters, not following classic plot structure, and doing elements of genre, and being funny and emotionally grounded. They’re the kings of the kind of stuff I’d like to do. What’s been inspiring you? ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GDOc!,w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F62e49f41-f246-472b-96c2-64955c4a4079_484x622.png) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MdiT!,w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e733733-9c1c-46fc-83ee-0c669bff5d4d_490x656.png) Behind the scenes making 'Dead Lover.' *Nirvanna the Band the Show*, which Ben was in. That was so good. The way they did VFX was inspiring. We worked with their VFX people on Dead Lover. You guys have been doing screenings with stink-o-vision. I feel like having the film feel more like an event is the key to bringing movies back. One of the guys who’s working with [Cartuna](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/cartuna-is-betting-on-the-freaks)\-[Dweck](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/for-small-indies-dweck-aims-to-be) is Kurt Ravenwood, one of the producers of Hundreds of Beavers. That movie did so well theatrically because A) the movie rocks, and B) they had this live performance element to the screenings. People would take pictures and they’d circulate online and the screenings would sell out. And it remains this theatrical indie film phenomenon that’s still playing theaters years later, with this live component. Learning from him has been cool. People just want to have a tactile, communal experience. And they want to participate. I feel like audiences want to be acknowledged. It’s cool that that desire is making itself known. It’s challenging as indie filmmakers to almost think more punk rock about distributing our films. It’s breaking the hierarchy between the screen and the audience. It’s hard to think of good eventized things that don’t just feel gimmicky though. Marissa Goldman is an LA/NY based filmmaker. Her work has played at SXSW Aspen Shortsfest, Palm Springs Shortsfest and more. She has made work for Adult Swim, Vice, Complex, and more. [Share](https://nothingbogus.substack.com/p/how-grace-glowicki-brought-dead-lover?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share) No posts
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