Interview with David Henrie, Director of THIS IS THE YEAR

Former Disney Channel stars Selena Gomez – executive producer – and David Henrie have returned to the spotlight with Henrie’s directorial debut, the vibrant, feel-good teen comedy This is the Year.

Centered around a clique of friends at the end of high school, the story follows impressionable romantic Josh (the director’s brother, Lorenzo James Henrie) as he desperately attempts to clinch a date with his dream girl, Zoey (Alyssa Jirrels). While other bright young minds may resort to less-drastic and less-vindictive means of dating – say, something like a nice card or, confidence willing, an honest conversation – Josh and his next-door bestie, Molly (Vanessa Marano), deceive their friends with fake tickets to a real concert. The road trip will give the young buck the chance to woo Zoey, and somewhere along the trail, well…they’ll figure it out.

Film Inquiry recently spoke with Henrie about his experiences and influences directing the film, his professional relationship with Selena Gomez, and the collaborative environment he wielded on set.

Luke Parker for Film Inquiry: Something that this movie spends a great deal of time highlighting is how easy it is to become envious of the “big screen” life. Not in the sense that we want to be a part of a film ourselves, but that we wish our lives were more like the films we watch. Having worked in front of and now behind the camera, why do you think that desire is so common?

David Henrie: I think it’s common because images are the most powerful things we have in life; they make the most massive impressions on us as people. So, it makes sense to me that movies, TV, and social media would make the biggest impression on audiences because [images] are the most effective way to get into someone’s mind. Even though it’s entertainment, it’s something that is making a massive impression on your mind.

Growing up, I was a huge movie fan and so, what educates you is what you spend your time with. The longer you spend in front of something, that’s what you’re going to learn and conform to. All I did was watch movies, movies, movies, and especially coming-of-age movies and so I thought life would be just like the movies. But as I got older, the thing I realized is that your expectations don’t always become your reality. It’s an old theme…and I wanted to explore it in a teen setting.

Of course, and I’m also speaking from experience here, movies and well-told stories are especially romantic to young, impressionable kids like Josh and Molly. But on the flip side, Zoey, the main love interest, is much more grounded and in the moment. Why was it important to you and your writing team to include these varying personalities for your teenage characters?

David Henrie: I felt in a lot of ’80s movies – and even some ’90s ones – that the girl who was portrayed as the “hot girl” didn’t really have a great arc, or didn’t have a full circle and wasn’t shown as a layered character. I didn’t want to do that. We wanted to embrace the “hot girl” trope at the beginning, then flip it on its head as the film continued and kind of show authentic female friendship throughout. One of the things that our executive producer, Selena Gomez, loved about the film was that we flipped some of those tropes on their head and showed authentic female friendship in a non-competitive way.

So it was important for me to take some of those stereotypes and update them, make them a little more layered and nuanced than they were, especially in the Zoey character. She is a girl who the world tells her is one thing, but who struggles because she knows she’s more than that. So, to me, that was a solid arc.

And with Molly, it was a similar thing, but sort of inverse. She thinks she’s this weird home-schooled girl, but she just needs to get out of the house to realize she’s an awesome person who has so much to offer.

It was a nice yin and yang with the two of them. And I purposely put them in complementary color palettes to emphasize that [relationship] with the reds and greens – to show that they’re opposites, but actually complimentary.

You mentioned Selena Gomez as your executive producer and her understanding and appreciation for the characters. I take it this project wasn’t a hard sell?

David Henrie: Our friendship was always the thing that was most important to us. We’ve always been very close and anything professional has never come up outside of a friendship context. Like, we hear about each other’s lives just by hanging out but there’s never any pressure to do something professionally. We don’t even think about it.

I think that’s why we’re so close: the two of us have never wanted anything from each other than to be good friends and to be supportive.

So her coming on board was totally organic and unplanned. She had heard about the movie and was giving me friendly advice along the way. And then at some point, she finally got to see the movie, and she was like, “this message made me feel so good. I feel like we need this positivity out there. People need to feel good right now.” So [her producing] kind of happened naturally.

I did want to talk about your experience in the director’s chair because this is your feature debut and that is no small feat. At a very young age, you obviously celebrated great success on the Disney Channel and now, on your own project, you’re still working with young minds and young talent. Having once been the young talent onscreen, did you notice any similarities between the set you were running and the sets you used to be a part of?

David Henrie: I took all of my experiences as a child actor and worked very hard to [execute] the best versions of all of my experiences. I’ve learned from everybody I’ve worked with. I’ve learned what to do and also what not to do, and I tried to bring all of that knowledge to the set. All of it.

I’ve been lucky enough to have some great mentors out there and work with some great producers who gave me great advice. And my directing style was very much influenced by those who I found were the best directors, focusing on things like collaboration, “the best idea wins,” humility, and treating everyone as an artist because everyone is an artist on set. Everyone is contributing to the image.

Those types of things were really important to me to try to dictate the energy on set, and also to remind people that we are the luckiest people on the planet. Our job is a place of privilege. We’re not out there risking our lives. So take your work seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously. We’re here to be entertainers, we’re here to give people a good time.

I know that John Hughes was a big inspiration for you tonally and for the narrative. But visually, as a first-time director, did you find yourself relying on techniques you learned first-hand or techniques you’ve watched on the screen?

David Henrie: What I brought to the set from my past was not so much the technical knowledge of directing, but it was the familiarity. I was not afraid of the set. Most first-time directors, when they get their first feature film and are working with a full crew, feel anxiety about the set. What I took from my past especially, and what I told people at the first production meeting was, “look, I’m not going to lie to you. I’m a first-time director. But I grew up on sets. I’m probably more comfortable than anyone in this room right now and I’ve been doing this for 20 years…I know all the ins and outs of a set that will make it familiar.”

So I was not at all afraid of the set, and I was not at all afraid of working with actors.

In terms of technical knowledge, that came by way of study in my teen years and in my 20s. That technical approach was very much influenced by guys like Edgar Wright and even John Hughes. I very much didn’t want to do handheld, which is what a lot of first time directors do. I wanted everything polished and clean and feeling classic in a sense, but a little more frenetic, like an Edgar Wright kind of a thing: a lot of transitions, just trying to keep the story moving forward.

It’s a classic story that’s been told before. So we’re not reinventing the wheel, but hopefully, it was done in a way that feels fresh and meaningful and emotional.

Film Inquiry would like to thank David Henrie for taking the time to speak with us. 

This is the Year, a BOLD Entertainment film, is premiering on August 28. Tickets to the live event can be purchased here.

Watch This is the Year