EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning recently sat down with writer and director Michael Felker and actors Riley Dandy and Adam David Thompson to talk about their sci-fi drama Things Will Be Different, an official selection of the 2024 Chattanooga Film Festival. Before going into a deep dive conversation on the filmmaking, the group spent some time shooting the breeze and cracking wise as they logged into Zoom.
Michael Felker: Hi Thomas, how are you doing?
Thomas Manning: Hey Michael, I’m wonderful! How are you?
Felker: Doing good, man. I love your accent. Where are you based out of?
Manning: Thank you! I’m from North Carolina.
Felker: Oh, very cool. I’m from Alabama originally. There are different shifts in the dialect, but it’s pretty close.
Manning: Southerners always recognize each other some way.
Felker: Exactly. We pull each other from a crowd.
[Riley Dandy and Adam David Thompson log on]
L-R: Riley Dandy as Sidney and Adam David Thompson as Joseph in THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT. Photo Credit: Carissa Dorson. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Riley Dandy: Look how different all of our backgrounds are!
Adam David Thompson: Thomas is the only one that looks like he’s actually read a book.
Manning: Well, those are actually DVDs and Blu-rays back there [laughs].
Thompson: Well, you know, that says a lot about me, the fact that I didn’t even know what a book looks like.
Felker: Adam doesn’t know how to read. We learned that very quickly on the shoot.
Thompson: No, just tell me my lines.
Manning: Some of us are late bloomers, so that’s all right.
Thompson: Yeah, I’m only 41. Still haven’t bloomed, but that’s fine.
Felker: [Gesturing to Riley Dandy] What’s that cat picture behind you?
Thompson: Yeah, it’s cat James Dean!
Dandy: It is, yeah! It’s “Rebel with 4 Paws.”
Manning: That’s outstanding. This is going to be a transcribed interview, but I’ll have to figure out some way to insert a reference to it. Well Adam, Riley, Michael – it’s wonderful to meet the three of you and I appreciate your time.
Felker: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having us and thanks for checking out the movie.
Manning: I watched it and instantly fell in love with it. It’s probably one I’m going to return to a few times. It seems like there are about a thousand different ways to do time travel in storytelling, and we’ve seen so many combinations of this throughout cinematic history. So, Michael, when you were developing the script for Things Will Be Different, how did you ultimately reach the decision of this particular mode of time travel that we see in the film?
Felker: I just kind of thought about this world and this land quite a bit in a way of… time travel is like, if we had it, and it existed right now, it’d be a weird little secret that no one should ever be able to touch. So, I just thought about, what would it be like if there was time travel and it existed right in front of our very eyes and it was under lock and key, two-factor authentication kind of process? And that kind of spilled this entire world and rules of using what little science fiction and quantum mechanic theory, and I put it into everyday household objects that protected people on how they used it. So that kind of motivation allowed the world and the rules to feel different than what I’ve seen before. And then that gave the movie its time and place for the story we wanted to tell.
Thompson: We also couldn’t find a DeLorean on short notice, so that was tough [laughs].
Felker: Yeah, not exactly anywhere in Indiana.
Manning: Adam and Riley, we have the obvious sci-fi elements of the film, but it’s just as much of a family drama at the heart. And this is all seen through the lens of the brother/sister relationship between your characters Joseph and Sidney. So, in translating that relationship from script to screen, what are some specific aspects of that dynamic that challenged you the most as actors?
Dandy: Well, I think so much of it was on the page. And I think that’s because Felker has a sister that part of this story was inspired by. So, a lot of it was already there, but, you know, Adam and I really get along. I think it was just so incredibly easy to feel as though we’ve been connected our whole lives. And we also worked for several weeks leading up to filming on backstory and sibling intimacies that no one else really knows. I think that was super helpful.
Thompson: Yeah, I think, Riley’s 100% right. The second we met via Zoom, it was like we knew each other our whole lives. And that was extremely good luck. And I think that when we started building our background and our history as brother and sister, everything that we came up against story-wise, we were 100% in agreement with each other about how things occurred and things that aren’t necessarily on the page, but [how the characters got there]. And then when you add in the sci-fi element, my goal was to create a really strong sense of character and sense of family. And then allow all of the other stuff to happen to us. I think that was the only way that I could compartmentalize kind of the way that… you know, there’s so many tendrils that go out everywhere with this, with the time travel elements and all of that. It was so easy with Riley to be able to just have our connection there as the foundation, and then allow things to try and disrupt that foundation.
Manning: Yeah, and I’m glad you mentioned kind of building a backstory for your characters. Michael, I’m curious for you generally as a storyteller – do you like to come up with answers to all the questions relating to the mythology and the history of this time travel, or do you just kind of keep those with you internally? Would you have answers if someone wanted to know them?
Felker: This is a common thing I get from anyone who just watches the movie, because it does lead a lot to interpretation. It leads a lot for the audience to fill in with what they think happened around Joseph and Sidney’s characters. I do have a defined list of what happens. I do have like – I’ve been pitching this around now a little bit – but I have treatment for a sequel/prequel to this whole thing that helps fill in even more gaps that I’m still debating on whether even to share with the world, because I like to see what the reaction is, or who’s going to fill in what they want. And it does help to have the answers even if you don’t say them, because when you do go on screen and you say something with confidence but don’t explain why, you give the audience… they’re lost, but they’re in good hands at the same time with the filmmakers and the storytelling. So, it helps that I know the answers and I just literally lock the audience with Joseph and Sid in this farm and what they know and let the audience wrestle as much as they do. Whether they want to find out the answer like Sidney’s character does, and going through the theories and anything that they find around the house, or just wallow in the helplessness like Joseph’s character does, and kind of leave it up to the faith of what’s beyond. So, in that sense, it’s a very interesting and risky place to play in, but I couldn’t tell it any other way. It feels correct to me to lock us in with them.
Dandy: It is also fun to chat with Felker about the theories because he’s very selective with what he shares and what he doesn’t share. So sometimes if we had questions on set, he’d give us the full answer. And then other times he’d be like, “I’m keeping that to myself.” But it was very helpful for our characters to have some information withheld from us.
Manning: So, Riley and Adam, as actors, do you like to have a firm grasp on all of the details of the time travel mechanics in order to fully embody your roles, or is that too much of a distraction?
Dandy: Personally, I think I have a tendency to be a little bit Type A and want to know what’s going on just to quell my anxiety. And I found that with Sidney, it was kind of the less I knew as myself, the better, because Sidney has no idea what’s going on and she’s coming up with her own answers. So, in the prep for me, it was better to not know. What about you, Adam?
Thompson: I struggled with whether I wanted to know or whether I didn’t want to know. But there was a point in which Felker and I had a Zoom meeting, just the two of us, where I said, “Okay, these are the things that I do need to know.” And I had gone through the script many, many times, and come up with my own ideas on a lot of it. But there were some things that, in order to play it and in order to buy into the lore, I needed to know a certain amount of information. And there were other things that I didn’t need to know. And so Felker and I had a really good conversation about it because we knew that Riley didn’t want to know certain things and I didn’t want to impose that. So, we kind of met on our own time. And that was able to help me really buy into everything that was happening to Joe. So, yeah, my answer is half and half.
Dandy: Yeah, I also think that Joe – without any spoilers – Joe does have to kind of buy into the lore a little bit more than Sid does. He’s thrown into it all a bit more. So, I feel like that makes sense. I’m also a little offended that you guys talked without me [laughs]. So there’s just that.
Felker: You could have had your own Zoom conversation too. Adam took initiative and had a lot more questions.
Thompson: Adam’s dumber!
[All laugh]
L-R: Adam David Thompson as Joseph and Riley Dandy as Sidney in THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT. Photo Credit: Carissa Dorson. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Felker: I am a type of director who loves to give creative freedom to all sorts of collaborators, including Adam and Riley, because they have to embody these characters in ways that I can’t possess. So, when we were talking about things that happened beyond the script, we were just bouncing a lot of ideas – because the minute I tell them too much of what I think happens, the less they feel like they are those characters. We had a lot of Zoom conversations, and then at one point I was like, “All right then Adam and Riley, I guess you guys go and talk without me. I want you guys to form a brother/sister bond and relationship that I don’t even know about. So that way you guys can come to set and… you know, if production gets in the way, at least you guys have an unspoken code that will read in the performances that I can’t direct, no matter how hard I try.”
Thompson: Felker has his secrets, we have ours.
Felker: Exactly. That’s a great way to put it.
Manning: Michael, you have an extensive background in editing, working with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead on their films. And you’ve dealt with time travel in some form in a few of these projects. I’m curious to hear you elaborate on applying some of that previous experience to your work on Things Will Be Different and engaging with a narrative structure that has multiple timelines and different temporalities. What was unique about structuring and editing this film compared to some of your previous films that dealt with similar subject matter?
Felker: A lot of that comes from me as a storyteller versus Justin and Aaron’s voices as storytellers. Because, you know, we collaborated a lot. I edited like four of their five movies. And then on the first one, I was a PA. So, I got to be a part of their storytelling process from the get-go. It is kind of just a taste thing of how much information you give versus how little information you give. In the editing process, we have a “good confusion meter” versus a “bad confusion meter,” where we kind of be like… how much do people really have to know this in order to process the heart and the character arcs of the story, versus how much do we not want to tell them, and then they get bored or overwhelmed with new questions and stuff like that? So, for me as an editor, I try to cut to the bone, to the emotional core of the movie, and leaving so much more for the characters. Because that’s the most universal element. If that doesn’t work, nothing we do works. I try not to get bogged down too much. I think there’s a level between how much you feed your head and how much you feed your heart. So, I try to feed as much of my heart as I can, but not deplete the head part. So, I give enough information here to kind of keep things balanced. It is a delicate, tricky tightrope to hit. And I think my skillset as an editor at least allows me to see it visually when we were shooting, like, “Oh, I know exactly where we’re cutting here and here and here,” to let people feel this thing and maybe know this thing, if that makes sense. It’s kind of a muddled answer, but it’s a delicate balance.
Manning: A huge part of this film is the farmhouse location. It’s absolutely essential on all levels – narratively, thematically, and technically. I feel like you make every square inch of this location compelling in some way. And at the core, that is all three of you, whether it’s Michael as writer and director, or Riley and Adam on screen. So, the first part of this question I’ll send out to Michael. What were some of the key decisions for you as a filmmaker in finding ways to frame the image and block the movements of Adam and Riley in the most visually interesting ways possible?
Felker: That’s a great question, because originally that farm was not our farm. Our farm was a different farm that fell apart one month before we were shooting.
Thompson: The farm didn’t fall apart. It’s not like it came crumbling down like a Buster Keaton movie [laughs].
Felker: It just wasn’t, for a litany of reasons, the best place to shoot. And so we scrambled and found this place about 30 minutes away. It was basically a failed town that then was bought by this couple who turned it into a wedding venue – Jourdan and James Thompson, who really were key in making this movie work and sing. So, once we got to that location and had all these totally new opportunities, I just did a nice little rewrite. And a week before pre-production, me and our Director of Photography, Carissa Dorson – who’s my favorite DP I’ve ever worked with for years, insanely talented – we went and shot the movie with our phones pretty much in advance. She had the Artemis app that allows you to shoot with the right lens and camera type, but just simulate that on your phone. And then I just pretended to be either Adam or Riley in the shots. So, we could kind of then use these as a starting point and that allowed us to give more time for lighting, when we’re like, “Hey, this is the shot we want to frame for. Just put the camera there and go for there.” And putting the movie mostly on sticks or on handheld allows me to have very deliberate choices of what we want to do and more freedom to cut as fast or as slow as I wanted to. And on top of that, once you get to the location, you’re just like, “I want to use this open space. I want to use this texture. I want to use where the light is hitting this house at sunset.” Finding this new location, pre-planning a lot, and embracing that stuff that pops in while you’re shooting allowed us to really have control of the image and the edit in a way. And then it allowed me to have more time with Adam and Riley, though they came in so prepared that sometimes take one was like, “Great, moving on!” Everyone just prepared so much and then used the space as they can. But in terms of blocking, what did you guys think about the space?
Thompson: Well, I quickly want to say some nice things about Michael Felker, like he’s not in the Zoom room. His background as an editor and the pre-production work that he did with Carissa – that really was the key to allowing this film to be made in the way it was, because we knew exactly what we were up against each day. We knew exactly the shots we had to get. Each department knew what shots we needed to get. So, each department was working two shots in advance. You know, we were all on the ground doing these things. And sometimes, like Michael said, the first take was the take. That allowed us time in the important, emotional scenes to have that time to explore, because everything was so buttoned up before we arrived. It allowed us to say, “We need a little bit extra time for this thing to occur.” And that is kind of a dream when it comes to making a film, because, if it’s an insert, let’s just get the insert. Let’s just keep cranking. Let’s do this thing because we have really important things to get to throughout the day. So, I think that when we showed up on set and we could see Michael as Joe and Sid in these shots, and we knew where we were going to be and what it looked like – especially after just reading the script and not being able to picture exactly where these locations are – that was the final key to open up the door to be like, “Okay, we know what this is. We know what we’re doing. We know our relationship. We know the lore. Let’s go.” And on an indie film, time is sometimes your worst enemy. And with that process, I never felt rushed throughout the entire shoot.
Dandy: You’re right. That is so unique and special to get, because many times people are spending 45 minutes changing a light, but God forbid we get one more take [all laugh]. So, in this case, it was really great. Everyone was so graceful about everyone’s jobs because of the preparation that was done. Also, just to answer your question about the house as well – I think having the beautiful home that we shot in as opposed to a soundstage or anything like that, we got to know that house so well. And, you know, we didn’t have trailers to go back to. So, Adam and I were so familiar with every single inch of that house. And also, there are parts of the house that are just weird and too cool to not use. There was like an underground chapel with stained glass ceilings that are really eerie and scary, but also stunning. So, yeah, we got very lucky with that location.
Manning: There’s a pivotal moment in the film with a boombox – not quite the same circumstances as John Cusack in Say Anything, but it’s still very memorable. And the song that’s playing is one that instantly brings back memories for the character of Sidney. It’s a song that her mom used to play. I’m curious if there’s a song that means something similar to each of you personally, a song that maybe transports you back to a time with a family member or a loved one.
Dandy: I’ve got one straight away. I’ve got one with my mom. When I was in fifth grade, we moved from Orange County to Palm Springs, which is like a two-hour drive. And she didn’t want to take me out of school. So, she drove me from Palm Springs to my school in Orange County every single day. It was two hours there, sometimes like three hours back because of rush hour traffic. And there’s this song by Keith Urban called “Better Half.” And we made up a dance to it – before TikTok, obviously. We made up a little dance routine to the whole thing while she was driving. So now every single time I hear “Better Half” by Keith Urban, it reminds me of those drives with my mom.
Thompson: Growing up, my mom and I would sing “You Are My Sunshine” to each other. And it was kind of our routine before going to bed. I’ve always been called sunshine by my mom because of that song. And actually, at my wedding, we danced to Ray Charles’ version of “You Are My Sunshine,” which was extremely touching. And then the other thing would be – my oldest daughter, Aster – I used to sing The Beatles’ “In My Life” to her. Every night before we went to bed, when she was a baby. One day [when she was older] the song came on and she snapped to me and she said, “I was in the car seat, and you were sitting next to me, and you were singing this song, and mommy was driving.” But the fact that she was able to have this recall of something that happened when she was a tiny little baby, it just speaks to how important music is to us as humans, that that lives somewhere in the fibers of our being.
Felker: Yeah… I mean, I could pull the exact song that I guess it was based off of in the movie for me. There are actually a handful of songs that always just… if I listen to it, I’m immediately back at that place. I’m in the exact position. I know exactly how cold it is or warm it is. That’s the beauty of music with certain places. But the one that I guess it’s based off of [in the film]… One of my earliest memories as a kid, I’m just standing in my parents’ living room and I’m looking across the room over this really terrible rug and a stereo. And it’s weirdly Ace of Base, “The Sign.” Every time I hear it, I’m just like, “Whoa, I’m back to, like, the beginning of my life!” Which is such a weird thing to do. That one is key. But then there’s also my wife and I’s song, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” by Death Cab for Cutie. That one, I just go back to us on the dance floor. And then a bunch of Radiohead from when I was in school – I just remember sitting on the bus. There are so many songs that transport you to a moment as soon as you hear them. Everyone has one, and I guess that’s what’s beautiful about it. So, I’m glad you asked that question.
Dandy: Yeah, that’s such a good question. Now I’m thinking about it and there are so many. I remember the very first time I ever sang in public, which was mortifying, but I did it with my dad, who’s the person that I play music with. And it was Stevie Ray Vaughan’s, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” And so now whenever I hear that version of that song, I remember being the sweatiest I’ve ever been and feeling like I was going to shit my pants singing in front of people [laughs]. But then looking at my dad and being like, “Oh, you’re here. Okay, I’m good.” It’s such a specific feeling. That’s a great question.
Felker: That’s a great answer to end on too.
[All laugh]
Manning: Well, this has been absolutely wonderful, you guys. I really appreciate your time and congrats on such an awesome film. I’m glad that more people are going to get a chance to see it soon. And hopefully we all share more conversations in the future.
This conversation has been edited for clarity.
Official Synopsis:
In order to escape the police after a robbery, two estranged siblings lay low in a mysterious farmhouse that transports them through time, hiding them from consequences and punishment. There they reckon with a cryptic force that pushes their familial bonds to unnatural breaking points.
Screening during Chattanooga Film Festival 2024.
In theaters and on VOD October 4th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Chattanooga Film Festival Things Will Be Different webpage or the Things Will Be Different website.
Thomas Manning is a member of the NCFCA, SEFCA, and CCA, and also the co-host of the television show and radio program Meet Me at the Movies. He has served as a production assistant and voting member on the Film Selection Committee for the Real to Reel Film Festival. Additionally, he manages his own film review and interview site, The Run-Down on Movies. Manning is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University with a double-major in Communications and English. His passion for cinema and storytelling is rivaled only by his love for the music of Taylor Swift.
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