“I Just Love Movies.” Interview With Justin Long, Star Of AFTER CLASS

In his newest feature, After Class, star Justin Long plays a professor dealing with a controversy at school while also struggling with the nearing death of his grandmother. It’s wonderfully dramatic, while being comfortingly humorous. I was able to chat with the star about the making of the movie, his love for film and his upcoming dream projects!

This is Kristy Strouse from Film Inquiry. It’s great to talk to you again!

What attracts you to a screenplay? And what was it about this one that stood out?

Justin Long: The first thing I notice is how the dialogue feels in my mouth, and how naturally it fits. And you usually know within a few pages if characters are doing or saying things that don’t really make sense. It’s as simple as that, does the dialogue make sense? Is it natural? Is it the way people really talk? If it is, I’ll keep reading. Then it becomes about connecting to the story and this was a story that I really connected with and wanted to be a part of telling.

I love the dialogue in this. What did you first think of your character Josh when you read him? Did you relate to him?

Justin Long: Well, you know, the thing I related to most with the story was the grandmother. I’m very close with mine, and the backstory of this film is that he is dealing with the impending death of his grandmother and trying to bring his family together. I thought that was all beautifully written. It all sounded like it came from a very personal place. And in fact it did, which I discovered once I talked to Dan, it was all related to things he had directly gone through. I thought it was an engaging story and one that was really important to tell and one that was told in a way that didn’t seem like it had a clear agenda on how it wanted the audience to feel. It was just presenting the story without a lot of editorializing. Like: who was right and who was wrong and I thought that was really compelling.

I agree. I think that it comes through too, especially that it’s from a personal place. I loved how real the family felt – did you feel a cohesion with the cast right away?

Justin Long: Oh my god, yes, that’s an understatement. I don’t know why. I don’t think I had met Fran Drescher before and we hit it off right away, but she’s a hard person not to hit it off with. She is just so likeable, and buoyant and smart, and I just love her. And Kate Berlant I had been a fan of for a long time. I loved the stuff she had done with John Early. So, I knew her work and was a fan, and we had mutual friends, but I didn’t really know her personally. But I liked her right away. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that, sometimes you just hit it off off-camera. I’ve known Michael Godere for almost 20 years now, so we had a built in brotherly fraternal connection. And Lynn Cohen I had worked with and I have always adored. Again, these are very difficult people not to like. [laughs] We got very lucky.

Well it feels natural!

Justin Long: Good, I’m happy to hear it. We got so lucky.

Was there a scene in particular that stood out to you? A highlight or something challenging?

Justin Long: Not a scene in particular, but there were many emotional scenes. One difficulty we ran into was because it was a low-budget film and we filmed on the streets we weren’t able to own the streets we were shooting on, so we were kind of in the lost and found. We couldn’t control people walking in shots, where people were going, who was making crosses. We couldn’t control the background. There were some real high stakes scenes and we didn’t have a lot of time to shoot, and they kept getting interrupted by people refusing to use the other side of the sidewalk. You know?

Sounds like New York City!

Justin Long: [laughs] Well, if you’re shooting anywhere else in the country and a sweet PA says to you, “I’m sorry, would you mind using the other side of the street?” People are usually pretty amendable to that. In NY they’re like, “Fuck you, get out of my way.” [laughs] Which I totally understand and can relate to, but those were tough, and if the scene gets interrupted it’s hard to maintain a flow. You also become much more aware of the potential falseness of what you are doing. It’s tougher to create the illusion that you are real life. And the people who are walking behind you or stopping to ask what movies you were in and how they know you… [laughs] that makes it more difficult.

I can imagine! [laughs] Luckily you don’t notice that NYC wasn’t cooperating.

Justin Long: Oh good! [laughs] No, we had a great editor and Dan. We cut around all that stuff. As an actor it was frustrating.

I’m sure it was. The movie was a terrific mix of comedy and drama, which you’ve done a lot of – what’s it like balancing that?

Justin Long: To me, I don’t make a distinction between the two when I’m acting. I don’t change what I am doing to accommodate something that has more comedic potential or dramatic. I think comedy is best when you are as invested in the scene in whatever you are doing, as much as a dramatic scene. I think they require the same amount of commitment. It’s important to be as present as you can be.

You’re character really goes through a lot.

Justin Long: The character is going through difficult things and situations to be in. I just tried to be as present as possible to the other actors and I tried to be as I could be. I played those scenes the same way I would play a lighter scene. It’s the same technique. If anything, when I do the scene that’s more sensitive or higher stakes… I kind of need to be by myself a little bit more between takes. I don’t do as much socializing and laughing with the crew. So, I guess my approach is a little bit different with something like that. I’ve heard some actors can be in a middle of a phone call or video game and just pause it and just go into this really emotional scene, but I can’t do that. I have to sit in that space a little bit more.

Well put! You’ve been consistently working for a long time, and have done a lot of different kinds of films. Any genres you haven’t pursued that you’re interested in? Or someone you’d like to work with in particular?

Justin Long: Oh, you know, and it’s probably cliché like everyone says this, but I’d love to do a Western. I’d love to do some kind of old cowboy Western thing. There are so many people I’d love to work with, so that list is too long. I just love movies and I love actors. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been doing this podcast with my brother, and one of the joys of doing that is that I get to talk to actors I really admire, some of whom I’ve known for years, but never had the occasion or the right form to pick their brain about their work and their lives. So, that’s been really cool. It’s sort of like a childhood fantasy to work on a western though.

Well, let’s start that petition. Get Justin Long in a western!

Justin Long: [laughs] Yes! I’ve also always wanted to work with the Muppets, and be on a Muppet movie.

Maybe a Muppet western?

Justin Long: Yeah, why not! Combine the two.

We could really have something there. So, you say you love movies… which movies do you think you’ve seen the most in your life?

Justin Long: Back to The Future. I think I’ve seen that more than any other. Maybe Annie Hall, and the Muppet movie a lot. [laughs]. What about Bob, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I’ve seen these all so many times. Like an absurd amount of times.

I hear ya, me too. I had those all on repeat.

Justin Long: Yeah! It’s the best, it’s like comfort food.

Oh, absolutely. You’ve written and directed some shorts and wrote the feature: A Case Of You. Is that something you’d like to do more of?

Justin Long: Yeah, well, it looks like it’s going to happen! It’s not like this is a big scoop but my brother and I wrote a feature that we’ve been working on for a while and it’s finally going to get made. I feel like it’s safe to say this, because I know this business, and I’m knocking on wood as I say it, but it’s looking really good and hopefully soon we’ll get to announcing the cast and all that. We could not be more excited about the prospect of doing this. I don’t want to jinx it by talking about it, but it looks like it is going to happen in January.

That’s really exciting! Congratulations. Anything else you’re working on?

Justin Long: Thanks. Ah, well my Podcast called Life is Short. And I did a Netflix show that’s coming out in January, it had been on the BBC, people seem to like it, Giri/Haji. And another movie called The Wave coming out in January, very cool, very different than this. Both of those had filmmakers who were very passionate about the stories they were telling and working with limited budgets, making the most out of it. It’s similar in that way to the film we’re talking about now. I’ve been very lucky professionally.

Speaking of directors, what’s it been like collaborating with Daniel Schechter?

Justin Long: It was easy, he and I have very similar sensibilities. We have become friends, and it sounds arrogant to say, but it’s because we think similarly. We’ve really bonded over some of the movies we were talking about. I just really trust him, and I knew after speaking to him how personal it was. I knew he was going to be very invested in telling the story properly. We were actually first introduced through a mutual friend, Doug Benson, who does a podcast called Doug Loves Movies, and I’ve known him for a while. I know him to be such a lover of movies, so I trusted him when he initially spoke about Dan. It’s been really nice to see the whole thing come full circle. We just recently, Dan and I, did Doug’s show and it’s nice now that the movie is an actual thing. And it’s so nice to see how much can change in a year and a half, going from getting a text from someone “Oh, my friend has a script” to now it’s a movie we’re talking about. I like that about movie making, that you can create this thing that now will exist, hopefully for a while. [laughs]

For forever! It’s one of the beautiful things about cinema. Thank you again, so much, for taking the time to speak with me. Congrats on the movie!

Justin Long: Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to talk about this movie. It means a lot to us. We worked hard on it, so thank you! And hopefully we’ll get to talk again about the movie I’m doing with my brother next year. So, hopefully it all works out, a year from now.

I’d love to! Been a pleasure.

Film Inquiry would like to thank Justin Long for speaking with us!