When we talked about the film at the ceremony, you said you shot in Vegas, but you’re shooting for LA.
Wong: Yes.
Okay, so let me ask you this. You did not shoot in LA for the obvious reasons? What were the advantages of shooting in Las Vegas? Is this something you would encourage other people to consider?
Johnson: I would. Shooting in Las Vegas, I think it was easier in every way, to be completely honest. It was a challenge to try and find parts of Las Vegas that felt like LA, but I had the time to do so. I used to live in Koreatown. One thing I felt like I never had was time. I couldn’t even park anywhere without thinking about how much time I was parking there, let alone the time to drive around aimlessly in LA, trying to find what I’m looking for.
And then there’s the idea of like how much would it have cost for us to find an empty restaurant that was fully furnished in LA and be able to shoot in it for weeks on end. And then we’ve got to crew the film, and in LA, it’s not that people were more expensive because they’re arrogant, or bad or anything, it’s the city demands that they pay their bills. So if you’re going to occupy their time, you have to make sure they can sustain themselves. And by way of Las Vegas being cheaper living expenses, you could get talent, maybe not as high, on paper, not as high as the quality of talent behind the camera. Still, you could get people who are hungry and dedicated and that believe in you and your project.
“…there’s a sense of ease working with people in Vegas instead of LA because they’re not as on the clock.”
Also, there’s a sense of ease working with people in Vegas instead of LA because they’re not as on the clock. They’re not worried about where they’re going to park their cars. They’re not worried about paying rent because it’s reasonable. Everybody can be present. So again, it afforded me the time to think. You know that that adage, you can be fast, good, or cheap, pick two. Well, I picked cheap, and I picked good, but I took a really, really long time figuring out everything. And to be honest, it was an enriching experience. It wasn’t something that taxed me. It was something that made me better as an artist and made the film better every day.
Yeah. Let me ask this of Hedy. You wrote your first script. You got it produced, you started… It’s all done and everything. What is the biggest piece of advice you’d give to someone in the same position who wants to be a writer? And what’s the biggest piece of advice you would give them, specific to making this film?
Wong: To always invest in your own business, which is your art. I think it’s very natural for us always to seek alliances, apply for workshops, audition for roles. Hopefully, the studio will give us a job, et cetera. Outside of that, you always have to invest in your own business. And that’s really how Take Out Girl happened because I saw my musician friends investing in themselves, pouring a lot of money into themselves. And we need to have this artist life as an entrepreneur life. You have to be ready to be an entrepreneur when you go into this lifestyle. To make your own movement.
