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<\/p>\nJason Biggs takes a page out of the Coen brothers\u2019 playbook in his directorial debut \u201cUntitled Home Invasion Romance,\u201d about a romantic getaway gone absurdly, violently wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are my favorite filmmakers. When I first read the script, I thought: \u2018Oh, this is also happening in that kind of world.\u2019 I mean, I am not a Coen brother, obviously. But they\u2019re always my reference point.\u201d<\/p>\n
More from Variety<\/p>\n
He\u2019s ready to switch sides and \u201cwork a little more behind the camera,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was coming up, I\u2019d wait by the phone and then go and audition. I was just an actor. Now, because of these things [he points at\u00a0Variety\u2019s phone], no one is just an actor anymore. Everyone\u2019s learning how to \u2018create content.\u2019 In a way, everyone is a filmmaker. I\u2019m a little late to the game, but I\u2019m hoping it sticks.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughs: \u201cAll right, I\u2019ll become a Coen brother. Why not? It\u2019s a great idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biggs talks to\u00a0Variety\u00a0at Italy\u2019s Torino Film Festival. It\u2019s his first trip to the country since becoming an Italian citizen. \u201cMy family is\u00a0siciliana. It\u2019s the very first time I got to use my new password,\u201d he\u2019ll tell local journalists later during the press conference.<\/p>\n
In \u201cUntitled Home Invasion Romance,\u201d he plays a commercial actor trying to get back with his wife Suzie (Meaghan Rath). They are separated \u2013 or \u201con a break,\u201d as he insists, inadvertently echoing Ross Geller. A short trip might be just what they need, but Kevin won\u2019t leave anything to chance. To look like a hero, he plans a fake break-in with a friend from his acting class. But once she sees the masked assailant, Suzie has other plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a dark comedy about two people who don\u2019t really know each other and, well, things are revealed,\u201d he notes, praising Rath\u2019s portrayal of the complicated character who refuses to be a victim. \u201cIt\u2019s really her movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taking backseat this time as hapless Kevin, Biggs is appreciative of the role that turned him into a household name back in the 1990s. Still, in his first feature as a director he wanted to try something else.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s different than \u2018American Pie,\u2019\u201d he underlines.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was briefly attached to direct a film that was a little bit more like it, but ultimately decided against it. I love the \u2018American Pie\u2019 films and I love that kind of comedy, and I feel that I could have directed it very well. But this is darker, more unexpected and edgier. It\u2019s more in line with the kinds of movies I\u2019m watching right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadly, it seems that the era when comedies ruled the box-office is long gone.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople watch things at home, and studios are more inclined to keep cinemas for action and superhero films. But I really think comedies work better in a theater with an audience watching together. More than any other kind of film,\u201d he stresses.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth is, this movie will mostly live on people\u2019s TVs or iPads. That\u2019s fine, but it\u2019s also a little bit sad. There\u2019s something about laughing together with an audience that\u2019s unlike anything else. When \u2018American Pie\u2019 first came out, people were rolling in the aisles and it was just contagious. Laughter is so contagious.\u201d<\/p>\n
As audience tastes change, so does the nature of celebrity.<\/p>\n
\u201cFame has changed so much. It\u2019s much more accessible to people because, once again, we all have these things [cell phones]. We\u2019re just one viral post away from becoming famous. Also, there\u2019s so much content. It used to be much more concentrated: when \u2018American Pie\u2019 came out, everyone saw it. Now, lots of people see something.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an actor, he wouldn\u2019t say no to another show like \u201cOrange Is the New Black,\u201d however. In Netflix\u2019s early smash, he played Piper Chapman\u2019s fianc\u00e9 Larry. \u201cTV is so great right now and that\u2019s part of the reason why it\u2019s harder for movies to gain a foothold with audiences,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just grateful that 27 years after we made \u2018American Pie,\u2019 I\u2019m still here. And I\u2019ve directed a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Best of Variety<\/p>\n
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