Originally posted on January 20, 2025 @ 4:18 pm
Wrecked a Car Had a Good Time: Matt Ferrin and James P. Gannon Interviewed
How would you describe your short?
Wrecked a Bunch of Cars, Had a Good TIme is a documentary focused on one night at a demolition derby in Durham CT. It’s mostly a cinema verite-style documentary highlighting interesting characters with humorous beats.
Tell me about the creative process behind it.
We made Wrecked a Bunch of Cars, Had a Good TIme while doing research for our feature narrative film, HARDPAN, which is about a demolition derby driver that gets marooned in the desert with only a case of beer to survive on. It was important for us to get an insider understanding of the people who exist in the derby world.
What was your role in the film/creating the film?
We are primarily the directors of the film but we are also very hands on with other aspects. Matt created all of the text based graphics for the film and we did a minor amount of shooting the derby while our cinematographer, Adam Ginsberg was shooting the main camera.
What was it like working with such an amazing cast?
As this was a documentary, we didn’t cast the film in a traditional sense. We just approached the derby drivers and asked if they would be willing to talk to us on camera. Everyone we spoke to was very welcoming and willing to share.
What were some challenges you faced during the process of creating the short?
One of the biggest challenges in making the film was casting our subjects. The way the derby works is people show up on the day and sign up… so there is no way to know who or how many people will be there. So we watched the contestants arrive and observed them from afar deciding who might be the most interesting “characters”. We tried to look for drivers that had a range of experience in demolition derby. We ended up only focusing on 5 people out of close to 100.
What are some of your favorite memories from the experience?
Being people who had watched demolition derbies it was really fun to actually be in the pit and close to the action. There was a slight level of danger we didn’t fully take into account for, but we were reminded of during the first heat when one of the cars hit the concrete block barricade and a giant part fell off just inches from James’ foot while shooting. Had it landed on his toes, they would have been splattered into mush.
What is one moment you’re looking forward to everyone seeing?
Since we were shooting the event in real time, we had no idea how big some of the car crashes were going to be or if we would be lucky enough to catch them on camera. There is a moment toward the climax of the film where a derby car is crushed between two others and ends up with a car on top of it. It’s an exciting moment we were lucky enough to catch.
What else are you working on?
We are currently in pre-production for our feature film, HARDPAN about a demolition derby driver who gets lost in the desert. We are hoping to shoot that in the spring of 2025 and are currently looking for investors.
Tell me a fun fact about yourself.
“I was born with two teeth” – James
“My allergy to pineapples has an odd reaction that I use as sorta a party trick. When I eat them, my eyebrows immediately start sweating profusely. Not sure if that’s your definition of fun, but my friends all seem to find it amusing. ” – Matt
What are you watching these days?
Our film premiered at TIFF and then went on to screen at Fantastic Fest, so we were able to see a bunch of movies there that have yet to be released. A few that we both loved that you should keep an eye out for…”The Wolves Always Come at Night” (dir. Gabrielle Brady), “The Spirit of Halloweentown”
(dirs. Bradford Thomason & Brett Whitcomb), “Harvest” (dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari), “Eden”(dir. Ron Howard) and “Steppenwolf” (dir. Adilkhan Yerzhanov)
Anything else you want to share?
If you can, go see films at the theater.
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