Director Derek Milton talks to us about wrapping up his series, blacking out, and even gives you some advice for what to do when your drunken escapades make you "that guy."
Director Derek Milton talks to us about wrapping up his series, blacking out, and even gives you some advice for what to do when your drunken escapades make you "that guy."
If you've never seen the web series The Guy From Last Night, you need to know two things. First, it's hilarious. It's about the aftermath of drunk antics, and the morning after when you realize you've blown it with hurricane-force and you are "that guy." Or girl. Whatever. The show understands you; it's got this bizarre ability to sympathize with your morning-after humiliation and mirror the way you probably handle the ridiculous situations you create when drunk. Second, it's made by a crew of Colorado kids who grew up in the wilderness of Castle Rock and metro Denver, so it's got a characteristic, Colorado-y sense of humor that you'll find warmly relatable if your area code falls within our quadrilateral borders.
Here's a little example of TGFLN so you know what we're talking about here:
And because we love the show, we wanted to catch up with director Derek Milton about what it was like to make it. So we did! #Followyourdreamz.
Here is Derek:
Hi, Derek. And here's the trailer for his show:
And here is what we talked to him about.
Where did you get the idea for this series?
From what I can recall, the original concept came from spending time with Noury and watching him interact with people in party-like environments (Noury is the actual Guy From Last Night; the main dude). The situations he would get himself into and how ordinary people would react to his energy was great. Mix that with a bit of fiction and that is how TGFLN came about.
Anyway, what's your fascination with the mundane?
What a hard question to answer. It must be innate.
Were you ever the Guy From Last Night personally?
Absolutely. It’s healthy to be the guy from last night ever once in awhile. One time, we were having a few drinks at a friends apartment complex and my girlfriend (now wife) decided to go swimming in the complex pool. She left for the pool a few minutes before me because I was searching for some swim trunks. I never found any trunks and decided to just go out in my boxers. Inebriated and a bit confused, I got lost in the apartment complex and after an hour and a half of searching for the pool, I gave up. Defeated, I returned to my friends apartment and was locked out. After frustratedly knocking for a couple minutes, a man who looks like he had just woken up answers the door. I wasn't at the right apartment. A black guy in his boxers at 1 am knocking at your door can be a bit bizarre. Anyway that's my "guy from last night story." I hope this makes sense, I'm typing this on my phone in a LYFT right now.
What percentage of your stories are based on true events?
A lot of the stories stretch or over-exaggerate true events. An example would be making plans with someone while inebriated. A majority of us have done it and I would say, most of the time, no one ever follows through. In one of Noury’s situations, he makes plans with an aspiring parking enforcer and is physically forced to follow through with him.
Which character of yours from the series would you most like to party with?
Klaus the butler who was played by the legendary Graham Mackie Sr.
How much Smirnoff Ice do you have to drink to become The Guy?
I’m not sure. We’re more of a Mike’s Hard crowd.
What's the most memorable reaction you've had to your series?
“That was weird.”
What was it like to work with Alex Noury, who plays The Guy? Is he actually drunk in these scenes or just insane?
Noury is drunk and out of his mind only in the iPhone/party footage that pops up throughout the series. It would be damn near impossible to film a scripted scene if he was in that same drunken stupor.
It’s a blast to work with Noury because he is a good friend, a good actor, and is open to just about anything. So far for the show, he has taken a bottle to the face, gotten beat up by gang members, vomited on a Segway, and received a “Cool Dr. Money” haircut. I don’t think there is many people who would be down to do that for a web series.
One of the best parts about the series is that the dichotomy between drunk Noury and sober Noury. What advice do you think drunk Noury would have for his sober counterpart when he wakes up in one of the "next day" situations?
Just … this:
It's always hard to to figure out an ending to these sorts of projects. How did you come up with an ending for this?
Ending a series about a guy who constantly blacks out can be a bit tricky. We also had a B-storyline that was paralleling Noury's story which was slowly building to a climax and we felt it would be good to end it once it reached it's peak. There's a lot of different avenues we could've gone down and, in the end, I think we chose the right one. It could be interpreted as happy, sad, or just pathetic.
Here's the finale for your viewing eye-pleasure:
Where is The Guy now? What's next for him? What's next for you?
I’m not sure where the guy is or what’s next for him. For me, I’ll be doing some writing and helping out with my friend Brian Rothlisberger’s animated series called TURNIP and my pal Bucky O’Connell’s series called HEROES & VILLAINS. As far as Noury goes, he is somewhere in Kansas. Call him (913) 827-2520.
Where can we binge watch TGFLN?
www.theguyfromlastnight.com
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