Directors: April 2008 Archives

When C. Jay Cox and I chatted last week about his latest movie "Kiss the Bride" which opens in LA and other selected markets today, I recalled the thunderous reception his last film, "Latter Days" received when it premiered at Outfest four years ago. Anyone there that night will never forget it - especially C. Jay.

"I can't dwell on it too often because it just feels like this stolen moment from someone else night," he said. "It was one of those incredible experiences that was so overwhekming that it was hard to imagine that it was actually happening to me."

"Bride" stars two leading men, James O'Shea and Philipp Karner, who are unknown but very good in a film that also stars Tori Spelling as a bride who about to marry a man whose high school best friend (and former lover) comes back to town to attend the wedding and stirs up old feelings,

"It was important to get a name like Tori," said C. Jay (pictured above). "In the landscape of independent film, it's so tough in sort of a crowded landscape of even a lot more gay films are being made. It's vital to get somebody who at least can give your film a bit more of a profile to help a movie stand out. I think it really helps to have a recognizable name. Tori was just perfect fort the role of Alex, the bubbly sensibility and absolutely loveable quality."

But Tori was pregnant during filming and her character was not. This led to various efforts to conceal her baby bump with strategically-placed pillows and other tricks. Says C. Jay: "There's a drinking game in which every time something appears in front of Alex's stomach, you have to take shot, You get wasted."

Of his leading men, the director says: "I feel we were really lucky to get Philipp and James because they were perfect for the roles. Philipp lends this polished cosmopolitan air of someone who has lived in the city and moves in that world and he comes back to a small town. I just feel like they were both an absolute find and also a thrill to work with. Both are great guys,...We shot for 18 days, it was areally a tight shoot. They developed this great chemistry."

One of my favorite character in the movie is the friend/co-worker of Philipp Karner's character played with great comic flair by Jane Cho who shows up every now and then: "We were going after Margaret Cho but she was in London and unavailable. In a way, I'm thrilled we were able to work with Jane, She brings this freshness and lights up every scene she's in."