Interview with Jason Hammond

About making a drug-story film with an unorthodox script, full acting improvisation, and working with an addicted actor.
Say My Name
I knew that the idea of them shooting up in a motel room would not be very pleasant, so to speak. Like, it would not be something like inspiring or motivating. I knew it was gonna be something disturbing. It naturally is. It’s just goes to the greater motivation - I am trying to reference reality rather than reference other movies. So, most people
would rely on a set decorator or something. Most things, when it comes to film industry, are referencing other films. So, it’s a lot of theatrics, a lot of pretending. So, filmmakers are trying to contrive as hard as possible, and they feel that if they act it really hard, and then it will become real. Whereas I want to see something real, I wanna taste it, I want something to be gross, I just want it to be what it should actually be. So, I chose the cheapest possible motel. It’s just natural, the realism of it. The other factor that’s probably good to mention is that I am diabetic. So, I inject myself with insulin.
So, all of the syringes were ones that I had. I didn’t use them, obviously, but I had them and some of them I rigged as a prop. I would take the needle off, and then I would fill it with fake fluid. That added some realism in a subtle way that makes it grimy.
  • AFF journalist
    There are multiple scenes in the film where dialogs fades out, and audience cannot hear but fully understand what characters are saying. When you were preparing, did you know for sure when to fade out voices in such scenes? For instance, the parking lot scene.