INDIE SPOTLIGHT: Interview with ‘Forelock’ Writer-Director Caleb Alexander Smith and Actor and Executive Producer David Krumholtz

Forelock is about a naive fitness enthusiast moves to LA with dreams of becoming a trainer, but collides with a crooked Hollywood Boulevard impersonator in a tragicomic romp through the shadows of the American dream.

Coming off a successful festival run and now awaiting theatrical release, writer, director and actor Caleb Alexander Smith and actor and EP David Krumholtz give us an inside look at making their indie feature comedy film, Forelock.

But before we get into the meat of the interview, I need to give some quick insight into this zany and incredibly fresh comedy. Especially since, at this time of writing this, there isn’t a public trailer or set theatrical release date - definitely keep your eyes peeled for that news, because this indie darling is not one to pass up. It pays homage to the great dark comedies that came before it, and with Caleb’s vision and creative team by his side, they’ve created a unique visual landscape and never veer away from their intentions. There’s comedy, there’s action, there’s thrills and above all – there’s heart.

One last thing – it’s a master class in writing what you know. It’s not autobiographical nor is it entirely precious. But it is personal. And incredibly heightened.  And these two underdog characters, Caiden and Randy, wonderfully played by Caleb and David, are the beating heart of the film… so much so, that once the film ends… you wished there was a sequel out already!  

In this conversation with Caleb Alexander Smith and David Krumholtz, they discuss the importance of collaboration, Caleb’s writing journey, character development and emotional depth, to visual and thematic elements, and so much more.

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Sadie Dean: This is a great way into ‘writing what you know’ as a screenwriter. But knowing when to lean into that, and using this story as a creative vehicle for you not only as a writer, but actor, director and producer.

Caleb Alexander Smith: I was a screenwriting major in college, so since I was 19, I've just been writing, writing, writing in one way or another. I've had some ups and downs. I've sold some things, other things I thought would get made, never got made. I've gained agents, lost agents, gone through everything. And at some point, a few years ago, I realized that I hadn't really done what you just said, which is, write what you know. I had been writing a lot of science fiction, or suspense thrillers. And I was really researching about some kind of topic or industry that I didn't know about.

I really admired artists who delved into their own being to create something. And I thought, 'Man, that's kind of scary, but exciting, and the material is right there.' And so, in the back of my mind, I always knew if I did that for kind of an initial solo feature debut, it would be about this crazy Superman likeness thing that I have, that I've been getting for so long. And that seemed like a ripe thing to make fun of, basically, and to have fun with.

I knew the character would have to be played by me in that case. I wasn't setting out to direct myself so much, because that's kind of miserable, actually, and you can do it, [laughs] but it's not something that I recommend. I knew that that was where the story was going to start with a guy showing up to Los Angeles, and somehow this whole likeness to Superman kicks this story off.

And then from there, it kind of evolved naturally, where I thought that my character could be naive, and if it's a naive character, you want a foil. So, then the other guy is a little bit less naive and a little bit more street smart, and who would that guy be? And then I thought, wow, this is kind of like Midnight Cowboy. Let me just lean into that. Let me really go with that reference and try to do something that's hopefully a fun pastiche, and hopefully takes it enough in a new direction, while honoring that buddy comedy lineage.

Sadie: David, how did you get involved with the project? And was hooked you in?

David Krumholtz: Well, you know, being offered a large part... helps, [laughs] and my perspective on that helps, which is I see it as a blessing and a gift to be given the opportunity to do more than the typical fair of supporting actor stuff I typically do. And I don't take any credit for those opportunities. Instead, I see them as a gift from the person who's chosen me. I don't like getting gifts without then having to repay them, you know. So, for me, the hook was Caleb, being kind enough to offer me the opportunity. There was no way I was going to say no... unless he was a complete moron, asshole, which, by the way, I've even done those.

But in this particular circumstance, Caleb could not have been more open and willing to hear what I brought. But everything that I bring is done through the filter of what is Caleb trying to achieve, and how do I help him achieve that? I didn't come into this film going, 'I'm going to take over the film.' And I never have, and I hopefully never will, unless I'm in an emergency situation in which the actual production spirals out of control... and those are very awkward circumstances as an actor, because you only have so much say, which is why I asked to be a producer on this film. I thought, well, if shit hits the fan, I got to be able to advocate for what we need to accomplish in the worst-case scenario that people lose sight of that. Because that can happen with the best of intention - a filmmaker can surround himself with people that have ulterior motives for the film, that are based in self-first other than the welfare of the film.

So, I took that very seriously, super seriously. And it's fun to be part of the whole process, like come in and just say the lines and embellish and lift what's on the page is fun. But then being able to put the puzzle together a little bit, be part of that process, so there's no secrets.

The script was fun. It was clear, it was twisty. I've never made a movie like it. I've never gotten the opportunity to play a character so unhinged. It had everything you would want if you're me and it was a real escape... and that Caleb was looking for something that would be high jinksy and slaps sticky, but be grounded. And I felt like, 'Oh, I can do that!' And that's what I like to do. And that's a muscle that I hadn't been able to exercise recently.

Sadie: These characters and this world they live in are very grounded in their unique way. How were you able to stay true that without it becoming some kind of caricature?

David: Well, you got to play a character with investment, if you want the audience to be invested. I got to believe in him, and I got to believe he's in pain. Comedy does not come from joy. It comes from pain. And I wanted to play the pain. There's the physical pain that's written in to this character. He gets beat up pretty bad in the movie. This guy clearly has issues being him. He gave up on himself a long time ago, and you know that because of the manner he's written, which is intelligent, even dare I say, intellectual... He's smart enough to run these schemes. He's very sarcastic, very witty. He's very quick. How the hell did he blow it? And so that's what I read when I read the script for the first time.

There's that juxtaposition that's written in that he's this Super Mario, whatever, coke dealing, impersonator guy, schemer on Hollywood Boulevard. But he's also wildly opinionated and unapologetic about who he is, and intellectual to some extent. And that juxtaposition, that dichotomy was really interesting to play. And so there it is. There's the investment. That's all I need. From that point forward, that's all I need to sort of keep it grounded and not fall into caricature.

And then I think Caleb went in and found an even deeper groundedness in the edit... the language of this film, the psychological communication it's having with its audience is very grounded. Everything just feels really logical and natural, and that's rare. And I think that's one of the major strengths of this film, and sets it apart from your typical studio comedy fair - keeps it independent. I love that.

Sadie: Caleb, there's a moment in this movie that really sings for me, and that got me invested into just what Caiden's journey. It’s that sliver of flashback, the memory of him landing at Venice Beach, laying in the sand, and just weeping. It's so subtle, but it packs such a punch, that you want to continue this ride with him and root for him along the way.

Caleb: So that scene, which now happens around minute 25 or so, as a little flashback, as you say, was right in the beginning of the script. And in the script, there was no emotion written in - I think it was just Caiden sits and takes in the scene, basically. That was actually the first shot of the movie is that shot, and there was a lot of emotional build up in that moment of just, 'I'm making this movie. This is scary.'

David and I had had a key conversation - I don't know if you remember this, David, where we had run the scenes a few times just before shooting, and we were kind of playing around with characterizations and the dynamic... and at some point, we landed on 'play the pain.' That's what we said, play the pain, because the humor is there. There's slapstick written in, and it's a bombastic comedy, but if we could find that pain, then that would really help the story flourish in a real way and help be complementary to that slapstick, colorful, zany comedy.

And I think that was kind of in my mind as an actor, when I went to do that first take, which was to sit down on the beach, and it was like, the character has gone through a lot, and he has a tragic death in his recent past, he has a lot of emotional baggage, and he's moving here for a fresh start. And it just kind of felt natural that he would break down and weep out of kind of joy for being there, and also sadness.

In the edit that remained in the beginning of the film for a very long time. And I try to, at this point in my career, get a lot of feedback on the script and the edit on anything I'm doing at the right stage, too early isn't appropriate. And I had someone give me the suggestion to cut that out of the beginning and then just place it a little bit later in the movie. And I thought, 'Oh, I don't like that idea.' And then, a day later, I thought, 'That might be a pretty good idea. Let me just try it.' And I just tried it in a couple different places… and then I found where it really had emotional resonance. And I'm happy that that stuck out to you, and I'm grateful to my friend for making that contribution. And that's, by the way, how writing and filmmaking goes. It should be collaborative.

Sadie: Yes, it should be. In terms of establishing the tone and really giving this film its own unique look and atmosphere, what were some references that you put on your key department heads? And did you use a pitch deck or lookbook to get that across?

Caleb: I've been directing movies in my head for a very long time, and this was my one real shot. I wanted to make it distinct, basically. I wanted it to really just be different on a visual level, on a production design level. I wanted to stretch our production budget and do something unique, and I was able to find great department heads to really bring that vision to life.

I do kind of a unique process in pre-production, which is to do an elaborate visual essay, almost, where I kind of talk through references. I'm not a fan of PDF documents for pitch decks for movies, because I don't know what that shows. You know, movies are audio visual. They're moving, there's sound, there's music. So, I like to reflect that and do almost like a moving pitch deck. It's also kind of a recruitment thing, by the way, for department heads. So, we were able to get Roberto Schaefer, our cinematographer, who's done Monsters Ball, Quantum of Solace, Stranger Than Fiction, Finding Neverland, Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, I mean, a complete legend. And he liked the little video I did, and he liked how distinct and specific my vision was, while being clear that it needs to be a collaborative thing, right? Because I don't know how to pull it off - I'm not a cinematographer, I'm not a production designer. I don't know how to do the execution part of it. That's where someone else can bring their expertise.

But for me, it was about getting very specific and kind of betting on the tone, and saying, 'Hey, this is an indie, this is going to be a weird, dark indie movie, but also a colorful one, and a zany, and it's going to be, hopefully, a unique blend.' And maybe it's not for everyone, but I think that it's going to be for a lot of people. And I think that it will really find a core audience, and that's what we're discovering.

So, my references on the directing side were a lot of classic Italian comedies, like Big Deal on Madonna Street, and then visually early, Coen Brothers films, Raising Arizona, that kind of garish, wide-angle lens, and just framing things in a goofy way, and being unafraid to be goofy, I think. I didn't want to make something that looked like another episode of a prestige TV series or just kind of like content. I wanted it to be just weird and unabashedly different.

And fortunately, I had a great team who helped bring that out. We have this color palette, red, blue, yellow, and we found these locations and the costumes, and we were very intentional about keeping it cohesive and this insular world that is distinctly its own.

Sadie: David, what was your North Star for Randy?

David: Well, Randy wants to be Caiden. He wants to be naive again. He wants his innocence back. Wants to be understood. Wants to be naive and fresh faced and handsome and strong and tall and compassionate and kind. It's all the things he regrets having lost. So, that's the anchor. You ever meet somebody who wants to do what you want to do, or doesn't necessarily? And you see yourself in that person, and they're much younger, much more idealistic. And your first thought is, 'Life's going to kick this kid's ass just like it kicked mine.' And then your second thought is, 'If this person wanted to, he or she would be better than me at what I do.' And then you go, 'OK, so the choice is, do I kick this person's ass, or am I the person that supports that person's vision?' Or is it a sort of a combo of both? Do you do both at the same time?

I don't think Randy sees himself as Caiden's guru or anything, but I do think that he's happy to live vicariously… so there's motives that are on the page. But what does he want for his identity? What would he want his identity to be? And I think when he meets Caiden, and gets to know Caiden, he sees that innocence. I think it's attractive to him, because it's something he had lost long ago.

Sadie: You’re now sharing the film with audiences after a long journey, what was the biggest learning curve for you that you're going to take with you onto your next project?

Caleb: I think relationships are key, and you can't pre fabricate relationships. You have to go through processes with people. And I guess what I'm getting at is the collaborators that I've accrued. And then, those few people who maybe I wouldn't bring back on... that's a very important thing for a filmmaker is to find allies. And you can't know that without doing it.

I think for writing, there's actually something similar that happens again. It's this whole production that's happening in your own head, but you need to find the right people to read your scripts and to give feedback, or the right avenues to get feedback. For Forelock, I tried to get a lot of anonymous coverage, actually, because I thought, well, I don't want just people I know reading, and I want random people to open it up and say, 'This is what I liked. This is what I didn't like.' So that was the first time I did that as a writer, and that was very helpful.

I do think every project is different, and I try to listen... good actors, they're always listening. And I think as a creator, I'm trying to do the same thing, where I'm trying to almost see what the project needs, if that makes sense, and being receptive.