Josh Covitt and Michael Feld’s semi apocalyptic satire short, 40 MINUTES OVER MAUI, chronicles the seemingly terminal experience in a Maui hotel room when a couple enjoy and reveal more than they should given what the world is about to come to.
The short has become a hot ticket on the Festival circuit and one of the favourite comedy films of its’ ilk.
Film and TV Now checked in with the creative team to find out more about their reflections on the film and their development as film-makers.
Film and TV Now: Michael, you are a graduate of USC, whilst you, Josh, are a graduate of UCLA. Given both institutions are very prestigious, do the two of you have any particularly memorable stories of rivalries between them when you were studying?
Michael Feld: I only went to USC for graduate school so unfortunately, I don’t feel much of a rivalry with UCLA or with Josh. If anything, there were times I actively rooted AGAINST USC because their marching band would be marching around campus while I was a grad student, locked away trying to edit my film on a Saturday morning while all the undergraduates were off having the time of their lives tailgating and getting ready for the big UCLA/USC football game. I still very much value and love the friendships and relationships I made at USC but no, my energy with rivalries was taken up with my time at the University of Kansas as an undergraduate with the University of Missouri, who I still despise to this day.
Josh Covitt: I remember during the first quarter of my freshman year, I missed an incredible comeback victory over USC in football because I was spending my Saturday at the theatre school, rehearsing. That was the moment when I realized, “ Oh, even though I love both sports and the arts, they might not mesh that well in the real world.” That was something that held pretty true for my four years at UCLA. Although, if I’m honest, I’ve been a part of more USC film projects as an actor than those of UCLA, so even if I felt a strong rivalry, USC has certainly done right by me.
FTVN: Josh, you have an improv background and you perform weekly at the UCB Sunset Theatre in Los Angeles. Tell us about the format of the venue.
JC: UCB Sunset is the Upright Citizens Brigade’s newest theatre and home to their Los Angeles training center. It’s a beautiful 99-seat theatre that has improv, sketch, and stand-up 6 days a week. My show is every Tuesday night, “Outside Dog Gets One Star,” and one of the best things about being at UCB Sunset is that we get so many improv students to see our show because they want to supplement their training by watching experienced performers who love playing together. Our show is centered on bad reviews, so we interview the audience about a “one star” experience and then look up poor reviews of that location/service to inspire 30 to 35 minutes of improv. We’ve been doing it for about 3 years and it’s always a highlight of my week. Tuesdays at 10:30pm!
FTVN: Michael, your background seems to be more music-orientated. How much influence does music have on your creativity?
MF: Music influences everything I do. I have the band Whitney on while I write these answers. I often write to music that I would imagine being in the film or the scene I am working on, I feel it sets a tone and helps me see the world I’m working in. I also like to put scenes about music in films I’m working on because it’s such a strong way for people to connect.
FTVN: You make a passing reference to Trump in the film and at present there is such a polarized broadness of opinion about your President. In terms of the Visual Arts, has there been anything put forward by Congress in terms of funding changes for upcoming filmmakers?
MF / JC: You can typically set your watch to Republican administrations aggressively slashing budgets and endowments to the arts, however BOTH parties in America tend to not make funding the arts a priority. It’s definitely a challenge because in other countries, you can often apply for government grants to make a film, whereas in America, options are limited. It’s unfortunate because supporting filmmaking and the arts is such a net positive for society because it not only creates jobs, but also fosters collaboration, communication, and ultimately encourages empathy – which is the key to good story-telling and something the world could use a lot more of.
FTVN: Maui is a key element of the film. Why did you choose Hawaii and tell us about the hotel you filmed in.
JC: Michael’s father, Steve, wrote the first draft and he started with the premise of “what if my wife and I had been in Hawaii on January 13, 2018?” That’s what gave us our story’s location, but we had to figure out if we could shoot it in LA or if we had to crew up in Hawaii. Luckily, after calling nearly every hotel in a 30 mile radius, we finally found a hotel in Pasadena that let us dress the room as Hawaiian as we wanted. So all the interiors are in a room in Pasadena that was staged by our amazing production designer, Alex Knell, and the exterior/ocean view was shot at a hotel in Oxnard, CA.
FTVN: Josh, you have worked in digital series for Disney and Sony. How has the experience been working for these brands?
JC: I got to work with some very engaged and enthusiastic people at both companies. The Sony series never made it to air, unfortunately, but everyone I worked with in the development process was fantastic. That show was about a family running a medical marijuana dispensary, which is a pretty saturated story today but this was almost 10 years ago – so we joke that it didn’t work because it was too ahead of it’s time. The Disney series was about two teenage best friends who hosted their own vlog where they encouraged viewers to send in themed videos – so a lot of the fun each week was selecting the home-made content sent in by the viewers. We also got to shoot an episode at Disneyland which was a pretty incredible opportunity since they don’t do much filming at the actual parks beyond commercials/industrials.
FTVN: Julie Brister and Johnnie Ray Meeks make a fine duo in the film, capturing the essence of a couple with history, but who don’t make any apologies when they reveal their secrets to one another. How did you get these two actors on board and what have they also been in?
MF: We knew Julie and Johnny both from their teaching and performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade, and once we had the script in a great place we sent it out to them, offering them the roles if they were available. They are such great actors (and people!) and we hoped that they’d be on board if we presented them with characters who were relatable and capable of showing love for one another even in their highest moments of stress. Thankfully, they loved the script and were also generous enough to do some rehearsals with us so we could really fine tune the piece. Currently, Julie is on “Goliath” on Amazon and Johnny was recurring on “Crazy Ex Girlfriend,” and they both have extensive other appearances on TV and commercials.
FTVN: Michael, you were a Writer’s Assistant for three seasons on ‘American Dad’. Tell us about the process on that show and how demanding was it writing for that show?
MF: Luckily, it was an amazing writer’s room filled with creative individuals who knew what they were doing. Mike Barker was the show runner and co-creator while I was there and he was such an inspiration to learn from. He has remained a friend and a mentor to this day. The writers also didn’t seem to take themselves too seriously, which is part of why the show has lasted for so long. What’s demanding about a writer’s room like that is knowing your place in the room. Where you speak up, where and when you pitch a joke and you learn that while 16 people sitting in a room coming up with jokes sounds like fun, there are rules and a system in place. I also learned just how important lunch is for writers and how food can keep just about anyone happy.
FTVN: Josh, you write online sketches, which have amassed many viewers. What would you say are your favorites and where can we see them?
JC: One of my favorites is the 6-part sketch series “Ryan Gosling Stole My Best Friend” that I wrote and acted in a few years ago. It’s a bizarre series about me trying to reclaim my best friend after he works with Gosling in a movie and starts becoming more and more like him. It was a big hit on Funny or Die and YouTube, and all the episodes are available right now on punkanary.com. I also really enjoy two sketches I made as part of Muddasucka, “Get Lucky” and “After the Mash” (a “Monster Mash” parody) – both are still on Funny or Die and YouTube.
FTVN: Finally, what are your plans for 40 Minutes Over Maui?
MF: Right now we’re just enjoying the successful festival run it’s having, while trying to go to as many screenings as we can afford to. Our goal is to get it out to as many people as possible, and once the festival run is complete we’re hoping it’ll be available online for viewers to enjoy. At some point, we would very much like to celebrate “40 Minutes Over Maui” with our own vacation to Maui to see and experience this place that has been such a big part of our lives for the past year and a half.
