Run Rabbit Run: Unmasking the Madness – A Writers’ Room Special

So it's that will be total Okay, so are some
other ladies.
We're rolling we can just go now, Okay, I can't
believe it. Yeah, we're all right, Well let's get into it.
Then this is This is Sean Sharma, one of the
partners of Table Repodcasts, sitting here with Jesse Carter and
Thomas Boudouin, who are the writers of Run Rabbit Run,
which we just finished recording.
How are you guys feeling? Thomas? How started with you.
A little on edge to be honest, like a like
a what not on edge? But what's the what's the
word for you? Fork? Just nerves are vibrating exactly exactly.
I think I think Jesse has got the words for me. Really,
the energy was great, the acting was phenomenal. I just
wanted to I just I can't wait for you guys
to put all the sounds on it. It's like now
the anticipation is It's like the anticipation has a few levels.
You anticipate to come here, you're shaking all the way here,
and then now that you're recording, you're shaking because you're
anticipating all these lines, and now you're anticipating the final product.
It's like all of it is anticipation and and it's
uh yeah, it's it's a great feeling to be going through.
Absolutely, how about you, Jesse, Yeah, I mean I knew
we were in good hands just by reviewing the other
the other podcast, the other episodes, and the other content
you guys have done.
So I had a lot of confidence just based on that,
which alleviated a lot of anxiety as to, you know,
where this was going to go or what it was
going to be like. So that that helped tremendously. And
then you know, of course the casting, getting the talent involved,
you know, you really start kind of seeing the picture
come together, and uh, it just it went so well.
The chemistry, the banter, just it all, it all came to.
It all jibed in in the way that it was
designed too, because you know, words sound different than they read,
and so you know, when you're stuck on the paper
with it, until you hear it in that way and
performed in the way it's supposed to it, it's not
quite alive yet. And to see that leap from the
just words on a paper to you know, you know,
life projected. It it's just it's just an unbelievable feeling
to see it. You know, it's like music, It's like
writing a score or a symphony, and then you have
the idea of what the violins are going to sound
like with the drums. You know, you have an idea
in your head, and then when you watch it performed
and you watch the instruments play, it's you know, it's
just like.
With everyone's flare into it.
You don't expect because you know you write a certain way,
but yet you know there's all these interpretations. But in
good writing, you have the guidelines you kind of know,
you know, it's like a roadmap, but then from there
you can do your on exploring.
You mean, like with Floyd exactly what I mean.
And I was nervous about him because he's such a
unique not the actually.
Unique character, but it's hard to hit it on the
head oddball.
And it's coasting such a strange line of you know,
perversion and charm, and and he had brought such a
unique flair, nailed it, knew exactly what to do and
uh and brought it to life. Because that character could
have been a belly flop. He could have just tripped
off the curb and just face planted and and nobody
would ever know what it could have been.
It's sort of like a phoenix right off the page
and he took it to.
The start And who did that? Did that role?
Well?
You make an interesting point that actually being able to
review the projects that we already have up for any
other writers who want to potentially do this project with us,
they can They have all these different episodes they can
look at to see the quality and all of that.
What's fun about today too is that in putting the
cast together, was such a collaboration between the two of
you and with me and with me and Jack, although
it was really the three of.
Us piecing it together.
Yeah, and so because a lot of times in the
past we're doing all of the casting.
But the fact that it was kind of like almost
like half and half, like.
Half your friends half people that we were like, yeah,
worked really well together.
How we we just did a table read of this.
It's actually how you and I met Jesse right is
at the table read of this that we did and
back in January February. So how is today different than
that table read?
Oh?
Wow?
I think maybe they I think the actors had maybe
a little less prep for the first table read.
So it was a little yeah, it was a little
more raw.
And and even though it was a little more raw,
sometimes the lines didn't make as much sense back in
January and February, But there was also the same kind
of genuineness in terms of discovering the characters and this
and and and and also you know, pulling them out,
pulling them off the page. The different I think, of course,
you know, as actors, we want to perform and we
want to.
You know, do a good job.
So with the mics, you know, there's a certain kind
of not necessarily a composure, but there's.
Something that happens when you have a group of actors,
we're here to do a job. It's like the energy.
You can feel it in the room. I'm sure the
mics have picked up on it. I have no doubt
about it, that the vibration is there. So I think that,
you know, maybe it was a little more intimate back
in January, and now this time it's like it's a production.
It's something a little bigger. It's like, okay, let's go,
let's take it to the next level.
Now, when you have so many accomplished performers in the room.
We're also wanting to like be there for each other
and help elevate each other and all that. Absolutely, So
what was the inspiration for those who are listening to this,
what was the inspiration for the film in the first place.
Well, I'll tell you one scene reference that kind of
spark the whole role and thing is there's this move
out of Sight. It's nineteen ninety eight Olds Sdenberg. There's
a scene where, uh, George Colooney robs a bank without
a gun, and he never robs a bank with a gun.
But he comes out of the bank and there's this
freeze frame of him just yanking the tie off his
neck because he can't stand the tightness of the tie
that it represents the working you know, lifestyle, you know,
just you know, it represents so much constriction.
Any pic image when he comes out of.
Hat that he had to wear the tie.
He hated that he had to be so phony and
then his car won't start and so the luck that
he has because if his car had started, he would
have been able to get out of and the cops
bust him in the car, and that kind of led
to that was kind of the nucleus or the seed
that led to you know, rolling and the luck kind
of aspect and and just and Butcher casting in the
Sundance Kid, that kind of that movie when I was
a kid, and it still holds up now so well,
just the chemistry between those two, you know, just the
magnetism of those guys and the humor of it, and
the pace and the style. It's timeless, and that always
stayed with me, you know, kind of like a lethal
weapon but even even better, even richer. And you know,
I always wanted to kind of bottle that kind of
you know, and it's hard to go out and find it.
You kind of have to, you know, it kind of
has to land on you and then you grab that
idea and then you just start sewing and the rest,
you know. And then Thomas and I just took those
seeds and it's like playing tennis or something, just hitting
the ball back and forth to each other. But eventually
the rally gets faster and next thing you know, you're
hitting it back to each other eighty miles an hour.
And that's where the real ideas. You know, one idea
leads to another, and.
You know, there I saw you guys like slapping each
other's shoulders and part.
Okay, So we've been in the melting pot with this
for hours and years, and sometimes it gets real heated
because it's the best idea that wins. There's no ego,
It doesn't matter whose idea. It's the best idea. And
we're both And this is rare because some people they
want it to be their idea. They don't care if
there's a better idea. They want to stick to theirs.
Both of us are really good about recognizing what's the
best idea. Who gives his ship whose idea it.
Was, what's the best idea?
And it's through that sometimes it's friction, you know, yeah, absolutely,
you know.
You have to communicate your your ideas, and you know,
sometimes you're you're lacking the words or you're stumbling on
your words, and then the other one is just waiting
for that idea to come out. And the way and
the way it comes out, it doesn't reach the other one,
and the other one is already somewhere else. And especially
with a story like this where it's a multiple character plot,
it's all over the place. It it talks about luck
and and you lose characters in the you know, in
places that you don't expect them to poor Tyler.
Yeah, poor Tyler.
Exactly exactly on that scene in particular, when we were
discussing that, we were like, do we show that? And
we were like, absolutely.
Absolutely let them.
Yeah, we love him by now don't show us.
You can't show it's a saw blade and you can
just imagine horrific that was. We don't need to spell
that out. Let the individual create that scenario how they want.
And that's the thing.
As far as this as we've taken this script, the
things that happened in this script, a lot of it
actually happened in real life. Like these things.
Like like the saw blade came from actually comes from newsreel.
It's something that actually happened.
This guy was water article into a deli or a
grocery store, and as he's closing the door, this saw
blade just wham rams into that door.
Right broke off from a construction site enrolled at a
like forty miles an hour, and right when he walked
in the door, it stuck into the and shook the
whole shot. And he stepped back out and realized if
he had paused or taken a moment longer, that saw
blade might have just cut him.
In ast Oh, so he survived, he survived, touched.
No, No, it's you know the objected some movie man,
it's it happened.
Those are things that happen, like car chases or you
know what.
And that's what we want to do with this movie
is it's it's it's outlandish and it's absurd by design,
but we had to keep it tethered to reality in
some regard. Otherwise they would just disconnect from it and
not go on the adventure. But it's intentionally absurd and
and and just kind.
Of yeah, but you guys pull it off.
So one of my favorite, uh parts of it that
is like, like I can't imagine how you guys came
up with it. And there's other times throughout the script
where I'm like, it shows the years you put in
to kind of work these scenes out and see how
you can enhance them or these these sequences. But like
when all this drama overwears Samantha, then she's in the
trunk the whole time, and.
Then they popped the trunk.
She runs on the woods, and it's just this comedy
of error where people not knowing what the fuck is
going on, Like error so it's like that kind of
stuff was really fun, you know, because it's it's it's
you have to conceive of it and figure out how
you can sell it and whatever. And so there's little
moments like that, like what happens on the yacht and whatever.
So like, are there moments or scenes or lines of
dialogue that you're particularly proud of, like that stick out
to you where you're like, yeah, that was a good
find when we did that.
I personally, I think, I mean, boy, there are too many.
To be completely honest, I think there are too big one.
I think it's as an actor, I think every actor
wants to do a monologue. And I think both monologues
that we've worked into this, there's something about those monologues
that have a beginning and middle in the nand and
the message through them are just going straight to the heart.
Is about the one the two of Roland's monologue and
the True.
Love the Cotton Candy.
But then at the same time, like the ideas, Like
it's funny because often we'll be talking about ideas and
then you know, somehow like I'll give an example, like
I'll have an idea. Okay, well, okay, we have to
change this character. We have to give the runaway car
to someone else. And then and then we'll have the
idea about like, oh, it's got to be and you know,
it's got to be Floyd. And then we're both like,
oh shit, we got goose bumps. That's how we know
it's real. That's how we know it's real.
We got the goose bumps. We're onto something good exactly,
I feel it.
And then and then Jesse in the middle of the
night or you know, in the middle of the evening,
he's like, I got the scene down.
He's sending it to me. I'm like, that's brilliant. That's brilliant.
And then the whole scene reads perfectly, and.
Well we have to go and tweak it, like I'll
have some raw scenes they you know when they you know,
it's like bottled lightning. But then you got to iron it,
iron it and then but it's fun to work on
it once you have it, because that blank paper, that's
what discourages a lot of writers. The blank page.
What do I where do I start? What do I do?
Just put it down and then what happens is it's
just like clay or a painting wants to pay is
on the canvas. You can then go and play with it.
But until it's on the page, it's daunting.
How much for you Jesse? Is there lot a line
of scene?
I I man, it's also close to me that you
know it's hard. But one that has that's been there
for a long time is when they're sixteen with the
motorcycle and he's reading the engine and rolland's like, where's
the gas? And he's like, seriously, because that anybody that
rides bikes knows that if you have to ask that,
you don't.
Have a fucking clue what's going on?
Where's the gas? Like? And in the way Roland plays
it off, if it's guy handles, I can handle it.
And to bring that line at the end when Monty
knows he can't handle it, and that that ending. It's
changed a lot. But the fact it was a very
crucial one when we kind of came to that conclusion
because Roland it's such a selfless act. He knows he's
probably gonna die, and he and he's already brought Monty
and there's so much trouble on all of him. He
decides right there he's not and that's why he doesn't
let Monty in the car like he doesn't. He's already
calls them so much, so many close calls and risked
his life. He's gonna take that one for that. And
he knows his odds aren't good. He knows he doesn't
have a chance in hell. But it's like take jumping
on a grenade literally for somebody like that, it's like
jumping on the grenade. So that like in The Thin
Red Line, Woody Harrelson's character jumps on that grenade and
he kind of saves all his his not teammates, but
his platoon, and he died for that. And and that's
the because we love the anti hero, all the heroes
have to be a little flawed because then the viewer
has to be able to think, hey, I could do that,
that could be me, because if they're perfect, so they
have a error, you can't relate to it. And we're
all flawed, and so the anti hero is you know,
that's where it's at because you then feel like I
could do that, I could be in that situation. And
then that's when it's transcendent. That's when the audience. Those
are the movies that that really stand the test of
time or do what they're supposed to do because you
then put yourself there, and that is you know.
We're also very reminiscent of the movies we've watched growing up,
you know, as all children or as teenagers, you know,
and that's that's also the way we write. That's what
inspired us absolutely either become an actor or to become
a writer. And so we're very much inspired by all
the greats that we look up to.
What are some of those films?
Oh looking?
I mean, like we have another script called for Adam,
and that's that was I.
Saw that on your IMDb.
It's like stand by Me, Meet Stranger Things, but with
three young girls as instead of boys.
Instead of boys, it's like a girl's yeah, they don't
really have anything.
Having a daughter, I'd love to, I'd love to. I
would love to see a movie where my daughter can
actually relate to the characters and and and see how
courageous these girls are and just be like, yeah, I
could be that, you know. But also like for a run,
Rabbit Run, like you said earlier, out of sight. It's
funny because when he came up to me with the
idea or the like the first draft of the script.
I was reading it and then and then when we
you know, when we saw each other again, I said, look,
i'm reading it. I have to reread again. I have
to reread it again. But right now the feeling i'm
that I have is kind of like.
Out of sight. He was like, you're right in the ballpark.
I appreciate it. Let's go.
So yeah, because we love the uh the mixing of genres.
Where yeah, because and this is what's taking so much
time with it, the transitions and the mixing of genres.
How many years of time I mean off and on.
I mean there were years where you just because sometimes
you got to set aside and because you're so close
to you gotta let it marinate and cook for a
while then reapproach it. So I mean over the course
of you know, nine years, nine to ten years, but
not the entire time.
See, that's what's so important.
Like for any writers who are listening or anybody actors
who are listening, you know, we owe it to our
writing partners to do our work and come prepared because
the amount of time they've spent to create this story
and then we get to roll in the last second
and have the fun doing the stuff like to phone
it in or to not rise to the occasion is
so disappointing when it's like, look at the work you
put it in the great world fun work.
It doesn't feel like work.
And it is a lot of work, but it doesn't
feel like work.
It's not like.
Mowing the lawn or something like, you know, like when
you create something that you're really into, of course, like
it's not. It doesn't feel like work. Yeah, like you know,
depending on the job that you're working on. But like
scripts like this or scripts that we actually work on
or that we come up with, is literally both of
us sitting down and just giggling and laughing. If we're
not necessarily, you know, arguing about a line or and
it's not necessarily an argument.
But sometimes it is.
But that's faster better because passion for exactly and we
put it on the page.
It's like, well, you decided not to act today.
Why? I just wanted to hear it. I didn't want to.
I didn't want to be.
I didn't want to influence the actual read. I just
wanted to. First of all, Tom is an incredible actor,
and I wanted him to have a go.
At it and does Monty is a character that you
probably most relate to, or.
I relate to all of them.
I relate to all of them, Killian Jameson like I
literally relate to every single character in the story, even Floyd.
Absolutely despite his perversion. But yeah, it's hard.
Yeah, and then and these ideas came out, like it's
like you grabbed them. You're like, oh, yes, this is
this is so good and.
Driving his classes.
Yeah, you want to know, a funny thing is that
was originally whyatt Yeah, it's all changed a lot. Yeah, honestly,
the hardest thing with this one was the meshing of
the genres to go because just a comedy, it's linear.
You know, it's easy to maintain if it's just a comedy.
But to have like kind of that Magnolia drama, you know,
that Cohen Brothers kind of drama, but then kind of
fuse it with you know, outlandish comedy, and it's kind
of like boxing in that way. Like if you're laughing
at something, you're disarmed and you're not ready for the violence.
You know, where if it's just like violence, you know,
you're always ready for it, but the humor disarms you
so that when the violence or the drama sets in,
it actually gets you yeah, because you're not you know,
tense ready for it, you're laughing. And then from the
drama you go to comedy and so it's you know,
and that was the most difficult thing we had to
do was kind of balance all the jontre because it is,
you know, a drama, but it is also you know,
ridiculous comedy and there's tension and thrill it, you know,
So it was kind of making all that work where
it didn't feel disjointed, like, wait, what kind of movie
is this? A drama? Who gives you shit? It doesn't matter,
you know, it's like.
Who cares what the rules are? If it works, it works.
So and yeah, yeah, no Q because I know, it's
been a long day, so it's always good to talk
about it.
We could talk about talk about it.
A lot of people are going to get a chance
to experience the story now audioly, which is, you know,
we all grew up listening to stories, so it's just
reaches us that we can use our imaginations and stuff.
But so my first question is what do you want
people to take away from the film when they listen
to it or eventually one day when they watch it,
what do you want them to take away from it?
I mean, above all, just just to be in Really,
for me, what it's all is just to entertain them.
And if they're moved at times and they laugh and
you know, just but just to be entertained, and you know,
and just the undertone is luck, you know. I mean,
there is a metaphor all throughout it, and that's how
much loves shapes our lives, good and bad, and sometimes
bad luck is good luck. Things that happen bad in
our lives and we all, I don't care where you are,
who you are, what creed color we are.
In the world.
That is a human condition. Sometimes bad things often turn
out to be treasures and you don't recognize it at
the time, and it takes time sometimes for the journey
to unfold to realize that that was a blessing. There's
this old expression like thank God for unanswered prayers, and
that always stayed with me too, because it's like when
I was young, I didn't know what that meant, like
what does that mean? But when you get older, you
know it makes more sense because you have to live
enough life to see things unfold. But really just that
you know, just I mean, really just to be entertained.
Is is that the same for you, Thomas?
Yeah, I think the entertainment is the major factor or
the major takeaway of this movie, because, like Jesse was
saying earlier, there's something about the drama starting with really
strong drama and then boom, going straight into some dark
comedy and then.
It just takes you by surprise and to go along
for the ride.
It's you, don't you know, not that I want to
throw our I don't want to throw us some flowers here.
It's just like it's the kind of movies or the
kind of stories and scripts that it's the kind of
script that I I personally really enjoy reading and working on.
And and I think the takeaway as the audience is
to just go along for the ride and let your
imagination flow into this crazy world and be entertained by
all these crazy characters and and and yeah, just just
have fun with them, because you know, once this movie
gets made, I want I want the crew and the
cast to just have fun as well, because that's what
it's all about. That's really what it's all about.
Entertainment.
So that's the last question that I have for you. Guys,
which is the Well, yeah, it's that. Part of the
reason why we do this podcast in the first place
is to bring these scripts to the public in a
way where producers, you know, lit people like production companies
and network studios, they don't have to read the script.
They can listen to it and it's brought to life.
Right. So the so the hope for all of us
is that we can be a platform to expose great
stories that ultimately get picked up and made into shows
and films. So my question is, like, if I'm a
production company or a studio and I'm listening to this
movie on this podcast, like what's the budget, Like, what's
what are you guys looking like? How would you pitch
it to, like somebody in production?
How would we pitch in the budget is.
Well, I pick as comps.
We would probably say Bullet Train meets Seven Psychopaths, and
that's probably where we would.
Try to land in terms of style and you know,
in genre.
So I'm trying to think of what's really expensive in
the film.
Well, the action sequence, certainly at the end.
I mean that could all be.
With the location, the action like the luck, you know, rolling,
the stunts, the car chase, but I mean, of course,
like the car going through a wall is definitely something
that that will cost a pretty penny.
Yeah, that's right.
There's a lot of stunts in there that would probably
be like, yeah, a couple of cranes here, like we
have to we need fifteen walls for fifteen takes for
a car to go through that day times, you know,
for all the different angles or you know, probably you know,
I think I'm not too sure in terms of in
terms of budget, I'm not too sure. And it's not
necessarily my forte. I'd rather leave that to someone who
really knows about it. And but we're definitely not shy
of that's the thing. We're definitely not shy of working
and collaborating with people who actually know what they're doing
in terms of that kind of storytelling. And and let's go.
I mean, let's let's play ball and let's go. You know,
it's it is a collaboration.
That's that is not if.
You know, if our directors see the vision and they
see where we want to take us, where we want
to take it, yeah, let's go and could happen.
Our emphasis and see the characters come and go. So
it's like you could come in and do your part
and not have to spend six months doing it right,
but yet it's juicy and potent. And so that was
in the same way. Not to compare the Pull fiction
or anything like that, or Big Lebowski, because you know,
it's like, I'm not saying it's anything.
Like, oh, but it's got flavors of flavor.
But it's like, you know. But the idea though, is
if you make those characters potent enough, you draw the
attention of names like that, and you get names like
that filing in to play the part. Sky's the limit, and.
That's definitely the dream that is by no means we're
actually you know, we're actually Yeah, we're telling everybody like,
oh yeah, that's what we are. No, no, absolutely not.
These guys are inspiration, Like these guys inspired us in.
The work that we they started right where we all
did exactly.
And this is the true too. If you don't believe it,
no one you have to believe it. You have to
doesn't nobody else can believe in you. But if you
believe in it, that's it. Everybody can believe in you.
But if you don't, it's not going to mean squat.
So you have to believe it and you have to
see it, or you'll never make it there, it will
never happen.
Well, I think I think the vision is actually pretty
clear on the page now, all these years and after
ironing all the cases or at least most of the
creases out, and and I think that whoever reads the
script or even listens to it, they'll they'll get the vision.
They'll they'll get the sense of it.
Well, when we put the episodes up, we also on
the website put a link to the script so they
can read along with listening to it.
Oh. Really, the.
Good surprise A great way to read the script while
you're it comes fully.
In bloom Because I don't know about you, but sometimes
it's nice for me to have a second screen up
where I can just like read along and see what's happening.
Well, this is the first time I didn't read the
script while we were doing I wasn't even like, well,
I was just listening because I'm the script that spent
too much time with so and we know it so
well that I don't I know all the lines.
Like you know you you're part of the thread, right,
Like we just kept on shooting lines at each other.
Even with you, it's like, you know, we're talking about something,
and then the line pops up from the script, like
just because it's well placed within our conversation with you,
or you know, between the two of us, it's like
it's so fresh in our.
Mind, it's always there.
Yeah, it's almost like yeah, just looking over you, it's
just like, well.
I just I want to thank you both for trusting
us with this opportunity to tell the story in this format.
And I am so excited for other people to hear
it and to see what energy this generates.
I had complete confidence when I saw the quality of everything.
I knew. I had no reservation at all.
And I really want to yeah, yeah, and I really
want to say thank you Sean for having us on board.
No, I mean you you were kind of our lightning rod,
absolutely kind of trail blake, like.
Yeah, one time, you guys would be up for it,
because we just read the script together earlier this year
and I was just like, hey, what the heck, well
just toss it because we needed another really fun piece. Yeah, no,
thank you, and I appreciate that, and thanks for spending
some time talking about it. It'll be fun for people
to get us some insight, absolutely all right for