Career Day

Directed by: Jason Robinson & Chris Hooper

Cast: Paul Bartholomew, Aria Perry, Abby Eiland, Julianna Robinson

Country: USA

Time: 10:00

Synopsis: A once promising 90's pop star and his aging boy band reunite for his daughter's elementary school Career Day. They go viral.

You wrote and co-directed Career Day how did the idea come to you?

I had the idea for Career Day as a short while writing a half hour comedy pilot based on the same premise. A father at a crossroads with a boy band past. I compressed thirty pages into ten and made the short. The performance in the classroom was the lynchpin.

You even wrote the song they perform?

I wrote the lyrics. The music was done by Jon Herchert. I tried to keep it bouncy, slightly cheesy but most of all, catchy. I wanted it to stick in your head. The whole crew was singing it at lunch. The extras learned the whole dance routine.

Would I be right in saying it looks like there was a lot of fun was had on the set during the making of this film? How many takes of the dancing scene where there?

It was fun. We shot it in two days. Two locations. We did a number of takes. Single camera. Long takes. We rehearsed the dance but allowed for mistakes, as it played into the story. These guys are out of practice!

I see so many attempts to create a light comedy and they usually fall flat, but you've nailed it with Career Day. What's the trick to making comedy?

The central idea has to be funny, I think. The what if. The characters need to be somewhat relatable. You can push it here or there into the absurd if the audience likes the characters. And clarity, of course. The audience has to be along for the ride to catch all the details.

Paul Bartholomew puts in a stellar performance, I can't see the film working without him. How did you come across him?

Chris, my co-director, had worked with Paul on some commercials. He was a known commodity. He responded to the script right away and we were fortunate he could do it. It was either him or Ryan Reynolds.