Five Questions With... Davey Holmes, Creator/Executive Producer, and Lucy Walters, Star, of GET SHORTY

We're premiering a new screening and conversation series at #NFF2017 titled TV AND TALKS, featuring full episodes of GET SHORTY and THE KEEPERS. 

Based on Elmore Leonard’s 1990 New York Times bestseller, Get Shorty is a 10-episode dark comedy coming to EPIX later this year. Miles, played by Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, This Is 40, Love After Love), works as muscle for a murderous crime ring in Nevada but is attempting to become a movie producer and launder money through a Hollywood film. Three-time Emmy®-award winner Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond, Parenthood, The Big Sick) stars as Rick, a washed up producer who becomes Miles’ partner and guide through Hollywood. 

NFF is very pleased to present a screening of the first episode of Get Shorty, followed by a conversation with Creator/Executive Producer Davey Holmes (Shameless, In Treatment, Damages).

Read more from Davey and series star Lucy Walters below, and join us on Friday, June 23 at 1:45 PM at the White Heron!

NFF: Davey, when you were looking at adapting Get Shorty to a series, what inspired you to imagine this as a story that could last multiple years/seasons?

Davey: I believe any story can last multiple seasons if you care about, and believe in, the characters.  Certainly there are challenges if the premise of the show, the central conflict, seems to run its course early on.  As someone who has fought to make my way in the entertainment industry for several decades already, I don’t feel we're in danger of running out of material…  But I’m actually more interested in the dynamics of the characters.  Hollywood is simply a fun background.

NFF: Coming off shows like Shameless and Power, it seems you both have a penchant for anti-heroes. Can you talk a little about what draws you to these conflicted/complicated characters who aren't always "good"?

Davey: The ascension of the antihero on television was a God-given gift to writers like myself.  Heroes who struggle with the good and bad inside of them are so much more fun to write, and I think, to watch.  We’ve had enough great examples of this on television that there is now actually a backlash, with writers and critics wondering aloud if antiheroes are all played out.  But I think that’s nonsense.  If you’re imitating someone else’s approach to a character, yes, that’s going to be stale and limited.  So we try not to do that.  We find our own ways in.

Lucy: It was a shock to me how much people hated Holly [on Power] - they were throwing parties when she got killed! It's all a matter of perspective, and I loved Holly - I believe it is your job as an actor to never judge your character. You have to love them and believe in them and justify what they're doing. I guess I do feel drawn to the darker, shadowy roles - I think Lucy Walters suffers from being too accommodating, and both these women I've played recently are not trying to please anyone. There's something badass about getting to embody them!

NFF: Davey, you get to poke fun at Hollywood a bit. Are there any lines (or personalities) you don't want to cross?

Davey: So far, nothing seems off-limits, other than taking cracks at easy targets or being pointlessly cruel.  And we are fairly equal opportunity in who we go after: the “writer” characters on the show fare worse than anyone! 

NFF: Can you say a little about casting, and how putting together/finding this ensemble happened?

Davey: It’s something I’m incredibly proud of, that we managed to attract and find this group of actors.  We obsessed over it.  And we have a fantastic casting director, Rachel Tenner.  We reached out to Ray Romano early, as soon as we heard he was available, and he was excited about the project.  When Chris O’Dowd signed on, everything fell into place.  I’m incredibly proud of the whole ensemble.  Some actors came in to audition for roles that only had a line or two, and have grown into really big parts.  

Lucy: It's rare to read scripts that are just great and this one was GREAT - it felt fresh and real - I fell in love with Katie and it didn't feel like acting to read her. I was actually out of the country and sent in a self-tape for my initial audition - I was so pleasantly surprised to get the call that I needed to come to LA to read. I loved the script and the role and I'm so happy to be a part of the show.

NFF: What's been the most fun day of shooting?

Davey: That’s an impossible question.  First of all, it’s a big blur.  Second, there were countless moments that were so exciting, when the actors, director and crew not only lived up to the scene but transcended it, and the feeling on set was electric.  Those are moments everyone can feel, and if you’re even luckier, it translates to what you see on screen.

Lucy: I don't want to give away any spoilers for the series, but at least when shooting the pilot, we got to set up the world - it was so fun and there was so much possibility in figuring out who these people are. We shot this in New Mexico, and there's a different level of bonding that happens that when you're all together in the desert - we would go on hikes, and explore the state together, which I loved...plus we were in the hot tub every night!