“A woman finds herself embroiled in a Kafkaesque legal nightmare when her husband gives away the cutesy romantic coupon she made for him to a stranger, and that stranger shows up on her doorstep demanding she honor it.” This is the premise of the new short film, The Coupon, which is now available to stream on Vimeo. The Coupon was directed by Laura Seay (NCIS, Superbad, Agents of SHIELD) with a script by Micah Cohen (Shameless, Grey’s Anatomy), both of whom star in the short with Adam Harrington (Bosch, The Little Things). The film is being treated as a pilot of sorts to become a new Black Mirror-type comedy series that Seay and Cohen are currently developing for Dr. Chorizo Productions along with Ian Easton. We spoke with Laura about the making of the film, read the exclusive interview below.
Can you talk about how The Coupon came about?
I’d worked with Micah as an actor before and we know a lot of the same filmmaking people. He’d seen my directing work, and asked me to come onboard for this project. He sent me his script and I agreed immediately upon reading it. It was the funniest thing I’d seen in a long time. We went into pre-production quickly, assembled actor friends of ours for the cast, as well as a small crew we work with a lot on other projects. Of particular note, John Orphan, our hero DP. Then we shot fast and furiously for three days during the pandemic with lots of masks and sanitizer. It was wild and too much fun.
Did you already know the film’s writer, Micah Cohen, before you worked on The Coupon together? Why do you think he wanted you to direct the project?
Yes, Micah cast me in a web series he’d made with Matthew Mullen of BabyBird WorldWide Productions, called ‘New Mommies’. I can’t speak for him personally as to why he wanted me to direct The Coupon, but I know he felt a female perspective would be important for this subject matter and there was a trust already in our shared tastes, especially from having worked together before.
What prompted you to get into directing?
I wrote a short social-issue film called SPEAK several years ago. It was a very personal story, so I felt I needed to see it through as the director. Afterwards, I realized how much I loved the process of shaping a film from start to finish.
What was the most difficult part of both acting and directing in The Coupon?
To no one’s fault, our playback monitor was having some sound issues, so I couldn’t actually review my performance onset. Which was a little daunting at first. So I just made sure I was hitting enough variations in my takes for the edit later. It worked out.
The Coupon serves as somewhat of a pilot episode for a series you are hoping to develop. Can you talk more about this?
Yes! It’s the pilot episode for a longer series we’re developing now. A comedic Black Mirror essentially. Each episode serves as a stand-alone surreal and/or horrifying scenario characters are thrown into. It’ll be wild.
Can you tell us something about The Coupon that audiences might not know from watching the short?
Our goal with The Coupon is to satire institutional overreach in matters of female bodily autonomy. Just because Wendy gives consent in one way, does not mean she gives consent in all ways. It should never be assumed that consent in these ways is given without discernment or in perpetuity.
What advice would you give to aspiring directors out there?
Tell stories you believe in and feel connected to personally. Trust your instincts. Work with passionate and kind people who love movies more than they love themselves.
You starred in the hit comedy Superbad. Do you have a favorite memory from that set?
There are too many to cover here, but I will always remember filming those cop scenes with Seth Rogen and Bill Hader where they break up the underaged party. Those were very long takes of those two improv-ing. My trying not to laugh during those shots was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do on camera.
What would be your dream project to act in?
There is so much fantastic television right now. I’d have to say shows like HULU’s The Dropout, or HBO’s Succession have been my favorites lately. Long form stories about folks dealing with trauma in ways that are complex and sometimes destructive. I’m very interested in exploring damage in characters, whether comedy or drama.
Visit Laura’s website at https://lauraseay.com/