Titties Revealed

an intimate interview with the cast and crew. 

 

 

“…there was just a plaque on the wall with a pair of boobs, and we thought it was the funniest thing ever, so, then we were like, ‘What if this thing was like running and floating around motorboating people?'”

 

Fast forward to a year later and…tatas!…er…ta da! Executive writers, producers, and co-directors Marion Joson and Tristan Heath, started production for their upcoming horror comedy musical: Revenge of the Killer Titties.

 

After six months of writing and brainstorming, the thought of Titties grew even bigger with the recruitment of cast and crew. The story line is unique and collects inspiration from The Breakfast Club, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Beetlejuice, and the “anything can happen” attitude of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

 

Who is the audience?

 

Tristan and Marion established their relationship from their previous projects, Talia and Safe. To understand some of the comedic references in Revenge of the Killer Titties, it is a recommendation to watch Safe, which is available on Youtube. 

 

Various genres and elements are crafted together in this feature film, including: horror, comedy, musical theatre, and even action. During the brainstorming process, Executive Producer, Carley Crosby, who has watched the thought of titties mature into a full double D production, points out the various challenges of fitting all genres into one film.

 

It is almost hard to tell who the audience is for the film, but the cast and crew share who will support the weight of Titties. 

 

Marion Joson: “Definitely, college kids are going to appreciate it due to the mature humor, so maybe like [ages] 13 to around 30. I want Danny DeVito to watch this. I don’t care if he likes it or not, I want him to know that I did this stupid comedy thing, then I would peak.”

 

Jasmine Johnson: “Anyone who enjoys underground or art films. The songs are not written in a show tune way and you want to watch the movie not knowing it’s a musical. Really anyone in the theatre community… it’s kinda humorous for everyone.”

 

Makayla Hardy: “It’s such a widespread genre, and it depends on what people are into–people who have an open mind and try to understand the cinematography and see how it is. Generally, [people] interested might enjoy it. “

 

Kathia Benitez: “I would probably say those who are into horror movies like Zombieland and, just like, end of the world movies and [those] who love horror films and people who make fun of them.” 

 

The Pitch, The Approach and The Impressions of Titties

 

It is exciting to be offered a part in a movie, but when the content involves a pair of breasts and various genres, it can be a bit daunting and make people uncomfortable.

 

The cast and crew interviewed were the few that swallowed their pride and were both tits in for this film. 

 

Jasmine Johnson came into the Cast as a songwriter, but later, it was decided that her musical theatre background perfectly embodied a specific role for Titties. Before the first meeting, most crew members did not know what this film was about, other than it is a horror-comedy.

 

Justin Tanks, the protagonist, recalls, “Titties at the time, was a whiteboard drawing with a pair of titties and a few bullet points that was in their living room, like alright this sounds goofy as hell. But they were talking about how it is definitely going to happen.”

Justin was immediately on board, “This sounds like fun, and I don’t think they believed me.”

 

Natalie Gonzalez: “When they filmed Talia they would joke about it and then they started having meetings. I thought it was going to be a simple comedy… and it was going to be a lot, but they put together their favorite ideas.”

 

Noah Lopez: “I was kinda on edge and kinda scared to be a part of the project because going into the entertainment business, everything is looked at, and I was scared that people will find out what it’s about and there could be a backlash. There are things in the movie that are far more ridiculous than a plaque of killer tits that I just came to accept… the film doesn’t take itself seriously, and it just fits well. I had my doubts, and I thought they were kidding, but I was like screw it, let’s do it.”

 

Jayton Newbury:” Marion has always been a silly guy, so when he pitched it to me, he called me over…he auditioned me, and it sounded so outlandish that it just had to be hilarious.”

 

Kathia Benitez: “When I first heard what the film was about, I was like “Um, can we pick a different topic?”, but after seeing how everyone was all about it, the day before we actually filmed, it was becoming more of a reality. It turned out pretty amazing, there was a lot of thought process put into it. “

 

Carley Crosby: “I was like ‘Okay’, and I did not think it was going to be a real thing, then it turned into one, and I was like, “Are you sure?” This was a massive jump from the other projects. I was skeptical, and it didn’t seem like it was going to work out, but I was impressed and surprised with how many people were all in.”

 

Makayla Hardy: “I remember we were sitting in a big booth, and they didn’t have details at the time, but they were giving me the general idea, and I was like, ‘What in the world made you guys think of this?’ It was a mix of everything, with songs and dance and the weirdest plot line ever, and it was definitely something really unique. There have been other films in the past that have pushed boundaries, and I was all for it. I could not wait to be a part of something so strange and unusual yet so exciting.”

 

Who is most like their character?

 

“80% of the cast members are more like their characters so that cast didn’t have to change themselves completely”, says Marion. The characters are inspired by The Breakfast Club, and Tristan and Marion paid homage to the idea of recognizable “jocks” and “nerds.”

 

Despite the stereotypical differences, the cast uses the flaws of their characters to separate themselves from the character, such as Makayla, who plays Makayla, the drunk. Other characters include Lewis and Justin, who play the cool and popular kids, Noah, the awkward and wannabe cool guy, and Mani, the pushover. 

 

-“Noah, because he kinda has an awkward vibe, and it’s the best, and it’s what makes the character shine.”

 

-“Marion, because it’s hard to define how he is like when he is Joe D, he is pretty much himself. And he is most similar to his character, and it’s funny.”

 

-“I think everybody had some similarities to their character, but I would say, Justin. He is like this super popular guy, and that is how I knew him, and I would assume that he is just like this super cool guy.”

 

– “Nat and Noah fit the character really well. Noah can really give off that persona well. And Natalie is such a nice person and outgoing, and I see that in her character.”

 

-“Marion and [Tristan] because I think they wrote their characters to be most like themselves. Or Natalie’s character remind me of a lot of herself.”

 

-“Noah, because he is very kind and kinda on the nerdy side, but he tries to be out there, and he is very social. As an extra, maybe Sean with his Rocky impression. He tends to do the Rocky impression a lot outside of the movie.”

 

What is your favorite moment on set? Least favorite moment?

 

Noah Lopez: “There is a part where I walk off-screen, and one character says something to me, but I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. I could not maintain character after hearing that line of dialogue. My least favorite experience… when random stuff happens in a particular scene with shrimp, and the rest of the day, I didn’t smell good.”

 

Jasmine Johnson: “I’d say my favorite moment on set, is when I had a really good scene with Natalie. There was a hefty amount of dialogue, and I just had to go for it and to try to learn everything and once the camera started and we had the lights figured out, I just felt really connected. It was the first time my character ever spoke more than two sentences, and it felt really important to the development. My least favorite moment is my first scene, now looking back on it and thinking agh, I could’ve redone it.”

 

Natalie Gonzalez: “There are a lot of favorite moments, but I think one of my favorites is when I got to do the fight choreography with Jasmine. That was like my first time doing something like that. At least with that level of detail. And that was the first or second day of filming, and that’s when we got to really know each other while just wailing at each other. We were so ready to go even though it was tiring. It’s not my least favorite moment, but any moment I was inhaling smoke constantly from the fog machine.”

 

Marion Joson: “I have a least favorite day on set, and I would say it was dab smack in the middle of filming Justin’s scene… I want to say we wilded out the night before, and it carried over the next day. We had to direct like nine people at once, myself included. I don’t want to say I was hungover, but I was not 100%. We got through it in the end. I have so many favorite days, but I liked the two days of filming the party scene because we pulled it off so well. It was [Tristan] and me, and every take was so different. Sean was so hilarious with his one Rocky character. Every time our posse would say something new, it was so hilarious. And that day, we managed two complicated scenes into one night. I think I am really happy with it.”

 

Tristan Heath: “There were a couple of days toward the end, and it was understandably hard to get a crew. Last few weekends, it was mostly Marion and me… just trying to grind out the last two weekends. My favorite weekend was with Justin there. We used a Friday that was only supposed to be a makeup day for filming, and we just used it to hang out with Justin at our apartment. [Also] the first weekend, we had the biggest crew… and I took it for granted. Marion and I are just used to getting like 3-5 minutes of footage in a day of filming, but we got like 10-12 minutes of footage and finished the whole scene in the day. We had Gema Alvarez as a fog operator, and Eden Steele was the camera operator. He is super professional, and he just did a long day for us, and I appreciated it… because of the crew, we just got so much done.”

 

Jayton Newbury: “I locked my keys in my car, and we had just finished filming, and it was dumping snow, and I said bye to everybody, and 3 minutes later, I came back and telling everyone. My favorite was filming me and Natalie’s scene together because there was so much going on outside of filming like [questioning] if we should be inside the room, and it was intense, but it ended being a great time the whole night.”

 

Kathia Benitez:” My favorite moment on set was the beginning of the party scene, and when Justin just walked into the party and Jasmine and I do like ten takes of the scene where we are trying to repeat ourselves on the same topic over and over again until we ran out of things to talk about. I think my least favorite would probably be setting up the set with us running around putting things in random places to get the one portion of the cabin ready for filming.”

 

Justin Tanks: “There is this party scene when I am walking into the house and seeing all the faces I know, and I cut into the bathroom real quick… we were supposed to imply like we were doing coke, and so we began to chant Coke. It was just so goofy it wasn’t a real line, but it was one of my favorite moments because it was fun being on set with everyone who was there, and it just fit the theme of the movie.

I had to put up some light gels in the garage, and I was on this ladder, and it wasn’t that bad, and I volunteered to do it. It was relaxing, and I had a great time the whole two weeks I was out there.”

 

Carley Crosby: “I feel like one of my most favorite moments was one of the hot tub scenes and were playing the cool kids, and we got to throw shrimp at the nerd. My least favorite was when we were filming the battle scenes, and I spent the day by myself designing the garage, and it was freezing.”

 

Makayla Hardy: “The moment we were rehearsing the final scenes and everyone was starting to gather around, and everyone came out, and the sauna man came out to say his classic sauna man line. My least favorite were the times we would have to reschedule, and it was a bit frustrating. It was never a huge problem in the first place.”

 

When the Students become the Masters

 

Although a majority of the cast and crew come from acting, theatre, and videography backgrounds, they were able to acquire various skills over the three months of production. Whether it was learning to light, holding a boom mic, or learning how to direct while acting, the experience was uplifting for the Titties crew.

 

A few were able to share their background and their familiarity with production and what they have learned.

 

Kathia Benitez: “I think this film made me social. If you ask Marion, he would say that I have become more music cultured with all the music that they play. This project made me more grateful for the people that surround me.”

 

Carley Crosby: “Coming from a science background, I never really understood how much work it takes to do stuff in the arts, and being a part of this crew has made me realize that they do so many more things than I ever imagined.” 

 

Natalie Gonzalez: “Content-wise, there is more flexibility and how we want relationships to develop, and they’re more of a group of students. We are all brainstorming together to see how we want our arc to go.”

 

Jayton Newbury: “In live theater, you have one chance to get it right, with Titties, I don’t think anyone had their whole lines memorized. It’s weird to me to have not looked at a script, and we are about to film. Titties felt more planned, and I think Marion and Tristan have grown in that way and have increased knowledge of directing.”

 

Justin Tanks: “The theatre process has a lot more rehearsal than there is in film, and it builds the character on stage. [Tristan and Marion] are easy-going in their approach to film, and since they directed, acted, and wrote, watching them handle themselves was amazing.”

 

The Impact

 

“It seems like a lot of people don’t want to do their own project because it seems overwhelming and they don’t know where to start.”

 

Getting people involved in this project has made some realize that people can pursue bigger projects.

 

Tristan and Marion are inspiring people to do their projects in the art community,” says Carley Crosby. Motherbrain Studios welcomes all talent and ideas that have greatly enlarged the appreciation of art and those who are both artists and art lovers alike and will continue to do so. 

 

You could say the film is risky, absurd, artistic, or just outlandish, but one thing is for sure, this movie will have you saying “BOO-bies.”

 

Favorite lines from the Cast

-“You got me.”

-“If no one lives, no one suffers,” “if no one lives, no one grows.” 

-“D. Joe, D.”

-The awkward “Thank. You.” 

-The lyrics, “I leave my titties as my witness. I am going to destroy everyone on my shitlist.

-“I am tired of living under expectations,” followed by a scream. 

-“This is a very visceral amalgamation of miscommunications.” 

-“Are you too much of a bitch to sit on my dick.”

-“Shrimp dick.”

-“COKE!”

-“FUCK”