Love in Dangerous Times is the newest film from acclaimed indie director Jon Garcia (The Falls Trilogy). As a virus spreads quickly throughout the globe, Jason remains ambivalent about its danger. Unable to travel and with his family on the other side of the country, he decides to spend the pandemic working on a play that resembles his life and current circumstances. As writers-block and loneliness ensue, he begins to turn to online dating to find a buddy for the apocalypse where he meets Sorrel. With the infection rate worsening and feat looming, the two begin to lean on one another for support and while they try to make sense of the times they live in. Ian Stout and Tiffany Groben star.
We had a chance to speak with Mr. Garcia about the film. Here’s what he had to say:
How does one get into screenwriting? Or let me rephrase that, how did you?
I didn’t write a screenplay until I was 29 years old so I had a lot of insecurities about it at first. At the time I was a working musician but I still hadn’t gotten my college degree, something that was important to me, so I enrolled at PSU and was balancing a school and music career. I decided to study filmmaking and took a screenwriting class with PSU professor Charles Deemer. I wrote my first script which became my first feature, “Tandem Hearts,” in his class.
And is there a type of story you usually gravitate towards?
I tend to gravitate toward stories that have some type of social relevance. I believe LOVE IN DANGEROUS TIMES is quite different to your previous work? Love in Dangerous Times is different from some of my other work. I think its most similar to “The Falls” and “Sex Weather.” Something I’ve learned about myself as a filmmaker lately is that I enjoy the process more when I leave room for levity in the filmmaking process. I did this with LIDT. I wasn’t trying to write jokes, but I wanted it to have a lightness that I think myself and maybe others might need during this time while still navigating through a pandemic.
How long did that take to come together – I imagine, fairly quickly!?
Ha! Yes, I wrote the first two or so versions of the script and then sent a copy of it to Ian and and it was back and forth from then on. This pretty much happened the entire month of March and a little into April and we began filming mid to late April.
Did you have to continually update the script as Coronavirus updates hit the air?
We definitely had to adjust the script as we continued filming and as the world was learning more and more about the virus.
Being an independent movie, how many hats did you wear on the film?
I definitely didn’t wear as many hats as our Grip/Gaffer/1st AD/second AD/UPM/Sound recordist/ craft services person Steve Avalon Gardner, we have just been calling him “crew,” But I was pretty much the director, cinematographer, co-writer, producer, editor and in some ways production designer. I definitely didn’t want to put my name all of over the credits though. 🙂
Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business you still struggle with?
I love it to be honest, I’d almost rather be in a room with a few friends making a film in an intimate environment. I wish it was more sustainable. I think my career is just not in that place yet, but I’m getting there. I think the only way to reach some of the goals is to take the leap into working with much larger budgets and everything that comes with that however.
Where do you think your strengths lie as a writer?
I think my strengths as a writer lie definitely in dialogue. Plot driven writing is something I’m still working on, character-driven work is something I am definitely more comfortable with.
How important is marketing? Do you think a project can make any dent without it these days?
Marketing is everything, otherwise it’s just a shot in the dark and people have to delve through a forest of platforms and word of mouth to discover your film.
What do you hope audiences get from the film?
I hope people take a sense of hope away from the film. The film is not without its tragedies but Jason never gives up hope in finding love and happiness even though he is in a pandemic and as for us the filmmakers we were feeling the same sentiments when we made the film. LIDT is not just for single people looking for love but for all folks who are trying to live their lives the best they can in spite of the state of things.