FCK’N NUTS – An Interview with Sam Fox

Chris Crespo: You said previously in another interview that the inspiration for this short was your own upbringing, specifically, living in a home with an alcoholic and drug addicted parent and not being able to bring people over to your house without exposing your reality to them. We know art is a great way to work through our emotions, thoughts and pain, so how has it been to take FCK’N NUTS around to different cities and film festivals and have these conversations with people?

Sam Fox: I’ve noticed that the real catharsis has taken place in my press process. Between festival screening Q&A’s and the amazing press and interviews we’ve garnered, I’ve had the opportunity to expose a very dark part of myself and my upbringing. When making FCK’N NUTS, we were so deep in it, all the stress of trying to get it right and hit the beats, I didn’t have a chance to process the story I was trying to tell. I also wanted to avoid imposing too much of my own story on Vincent and Maddie as they discovered their characters during rehearsal. When releasing FCK’N NUTS to the world, I made the decision to be vulnerable and honest in all press. I’m sick of lying at my expense to protect other people. I spent so much of my life playing a character and manipulating myself to fit everyone else’s needs. I have to admit, it’s incredibly challenging for me to go against everything that was instilled in me growing up, but in the process I am learning to be open and authentic. I think as an artist that is my number one responsibility.

CC: You decided to shoot this film in New Orleans in order to maximize your budget, since making a short film in Los Angeles would have been so cost prohibitive. In addition to the savings, what other benefits did you find in choosing to make FCK’N NUTS in New Orleans?

SF: There are so many incredible benefits to shooting in New Orleans. First and foremost, I find it one of the most creatively inspiring places. The city is vibrant, loud, booming with music and art. There’s diversity, culture, history… something LA tends to lack. Although, the biggest asset I found to shooting in NOLA was the people I worked with. Because the town is built on celebration and festivity, everyone is an artist of some sort. There’s a parade or party damn near every day of the year and those events call for dressing up and causing a stir. This has resulted in a city full of DIY artists. Everyone makes their own costumes, props, floats, etc. Everyone is creative, talented, and has the ability to do so on a budget. This was one of the smallest and most sparse crews I’ve worked with and the only reason we were able to pull off what we did is due to their creativity and work ethic.

CC: The score by SCRATCH MASSIVE is pretty incredible and works so well with the film, what was the process like in working with them and putting this score together?

SF: I have been friends and worked with Sebastien Chenut for about 10 years. We understand each other artistically and I’ve always wanted a SCRATCH MASSIVE original score but the opportunity had yet to present itself. I knew that Sebastien and Maude could beautifully balance the darkness of FCK’N NUTS with their 80’s new wave synth magic and create a soundscape that at moments was soft, feminine and tender, while also building tension with melodies that are unnerving and unhinged. They did such a wonderful job at hitting all those moments and creating something that has nods to my horror score heroes, John Carpenter and Johan Johansson, while also feeling original and new.

Chris Crespo is a movie critic, writer and podcaster based out of Orlando, Florida. He hosts the weekly podcast Cinema Crespodiso, and has also made appearances on Doug Loves Movies, A Mediocre Time with Tom and Dan, The Curtis Earth Show, and more. This is his 14th year covering the Florida Film Festival.

This interview was conducted via email.