Rob Lowe has been vocal about his disdain for the fact that film and television production is leaving Los Angeles and moving to other cities where they can afford it. Although Lowe says the movie shooting situation in Hollywood is “getting better,” he feels “it’s still criminal to have given away this entire industry to other states and other countries.”
“It may sound incredibly selfish, but a large portion of the tax credit budget is over the limit,” Lowe said, referring to the salaries of actors, writers, directors and producers. “Everywhere else gives us credit for crossing the line, but Los Angeles doesn’t. Until we do that, we’ll never get the big shows back.”
Thanks to new tax breaks for independent films, Lowe was able to stay in Los Angeles to film his latest film, “The Musical,” which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday. Directed by Gisele Bonilla and written by Alexander Heller, this zany comedy tells the story of Doug (Tony Award winner Will Brill), a failed playwright and middle school teacher who learns that his fellow educator and ex-girlfriend (Community star Gillian Jacobs) has started dating the principal (Low) of the school they all work at. In a fit of malice, Doug stages a highly inappropriate school musical to ruin the principal’s chances of winning a prestigious academic excellence award.
“We thought a lot about what would happen if ‘School of Rock’ was made into a movie like ‘Apocalypse Now,’ and that’s what guided us for a long time,” Heller said on Variety Studio presented by Audible.
There’s a saying in Hollywood: “Never work with children or animals.” The cast of “The Musical” rejected that idea, with Brill saying that the inclusion of several young actors was one of the “daringest” aspects of the film. Lowe added. “Most of us are child actors ourselves and have experienced what kids go through in movies, where you don’t get the part you want[in a musical]. I couldn’t get out of the chorus. So it’s really fun and satisfying to be around kids when we were kids once.”
In keeping with The Musical’s theme (motivated by malice), the cast and creative team reflected on the smallest thing they’ve ever done or happened to them.
“The list is long,” Lowe said, bringing up the time he received the trophy at the awards ceremony. “There was a certain actor behind me who was trying to undo the other actress’s bra strap and grabbing her and taking away the focus of my speech. I didn’t like that.” Lowe continued, “And by the way, there’s no group more despicable than actors, so that’s not surprising.”
He has not disclosed the incident, but there is a grainy YouTube video that appears to fit the description of Lowe winning Best Dramatic Ensemble at the 2002 SAG Awards on behalf of “The West Wing.” In the background, co-star Bradley Whitford appears to be teasing and toying with Allison Janney, who begins to laugh while Lowe speaks at the podium.
As for Bonilla, the incident in which she admitted that she was the perpetrator of something so trivial ended up having a major (positive!) impact on her career.
“My high school boyfriend cheated on me with a mediocre film student who didn’t get into NYU. I got into it out of frustration, and NYU is the only film school I got into,” Bonilla said. “That’s why I’m standing before you today.”
