Jason Biggs takes a page out of the Coen brothers’ playbook in his directorial debut “Untitled Home Invasion Romance,” about a romantic getaway gone absurdly, violently wrong.
“They are my favorite filmmakers. When I first read the script, I thought: ‘Oh, this is also happening in that kind of world.’ I mean, I am not a Coen brother, obviously. But they’re always my reference point.”
He’s ready to switch sides and “work a little more behind the camera,” he admits.
“When I was coming up, I’d wait by the phone and then go and audition. I was just an actor. Now, because of these things [he points at Variety’s phone], no one is just an actor anymore. Everyone’s learning how to ‘create content.’ In a way, everyone is a filmmaker. I’m a little late to the game, but I’m hoping it sticks.”
He laughs: “All right, I’ll become a Coen brother. Why not? It’s a great idea.”
Biggs talks to Variety at Italy’s Torino Film Festival. It’s his first trip to the country since becoming an Italian citizen. “My family is siciliana. It’s the very first time I got to use my new password,” he’ll tell local journalists later during the press conference.
In “Untitled Home Invasion Romance,” he plays a commercial actor trying to get back with his wife Suzie (Meaghan Rath). They are separated – or “on a break,” as he insists, inadvertently echoing Ross Geller. A short trip might be just what they need, but Kevin won’t leave anything to chance. To look like a hero, he plans a fake break-in with a friend from his acting class. But once she sees the masked assailant, Suzie has other plans.
“It’s a dark comedy about two people who don’t really know each other and, well, things are revealed,” he notes, praising Rath’s portrayal of the complicated character who refuses to be a victim. “It’s really her movie.”
Taking backseat this time as hapless Kevin, Biggs is appreciative of the role that turned him into a household name back in the 1990s. Still, in his first feature as a director he wanted to try something else.
“It’s different than ‘American Pie,’” he underlines.
“I was briefly attached to direct a film that was a little bit more like it, but ultimately decided against it. I love the ‘American Pie’ films and I love that kind of comedy, and I feel that I could have directed it very well. But this is darker, more unexpected and edgier. It’s more in line with the kinds of movies I’m watching right now.”
Sadly, it seems that the era when comedies ruled the box-office is long gone.
“People watch things at home, and studios are more inclined to keep cinemas for action and superhero films. But I really think comedies work better in a theater with an audience watching together. More than any other kind of film,” he stresses.
“The truth is, this movie will mostly live on people’s TVs or iPads. That’s fine, but it’s also a little bit sad. There’s something about laughing together with an audience that’s unlike anything else. When ‘American Pie’ first came out, people were rolling in the aisles and it was just contagious. Laughter is so contagious.”
As audience tastes change, so does the nature of celebrity.
“Fame has changed so much. It’s much more accessible to people because, once again, we all have these things [cell phones]. We’re just one viral post away from becoming famous. Also, there’s so much content. It used to be much more concentrated: when ‘American Pie’ came out, everyone saw it. Now, lots of people see something.”
As an actor, he wouldn’t say no to another show like “Orange Is the New Black,” however. In Netflix’s early smash, he played Piper Chapman’s fiancé Larry. “TV is so great right now and that’s part of the reason why it’s harder for movies to gain a foothold with audiences,” he says.
“I’m just grateful that 27 years after we made ‘American Pie,’ I’m still here. And I’ve directed a movie.”
Courtesy of Torino Film Festival