Interview: Filmmaker Alex Beh Presents ‘Warren’ at Midwest Independent Film Festival

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CHICAGO – The opening night of the 2015 Midwest Independent Film Festival is on its usual First Tuesday of the month, February 3rd, and what better way to kick it off then to have Chicagoland native Alex Beh come back to present the Windy City premiere of his first feature film, “Warren.” Beh wrote, directed and performed as the title character in this slice-of-life romance about staying true to a life’s path, and everything that happens in spite of that hope.

Alex Beh was born in Chicago, and grew up in nearby Winnetka. He trained locally in acting and improvisation through The Second City, iO Theater and the Piven Workshop. Now based in Los Angeles, he continues to work as an actor, writer and director, with seven short films to his credit and a number of TV and independent film appearances. In “Warren,” he cast veteran actors John Heard and Jean Smart as his character’s parents, and rising actress Sarah Habel (TV’s “Rush”) as Warren’s ex-girlfriend.

Alex Beh (center, in Blue Apron) Directs a Scene for ‘Warren’
Photo credit: Orian Williams for Full Circle Films

“Warren” has its Chicago premiere at the Midwest Independent Film Festival, a year-round Windy City movie event – taking place at Landmark Century Centre Cinema – on the first Tuesday of every month. The festival has been named by Chicago Magazine in their “Best of Chicago” issue, and has become one of the top places for local filmmakers, producers and actors to network in the city.

Alex Beh talked to HollywoodChicago.com via phone from Los Angeles on the themes and Chicago characteristics of his debut feature film.

HollywoodChicago.com: Chicago is the setting for ‘Warren” and a big part of the film. How do you think you defined Chicago as a character in your story?

Alex Beh: Chicago is a major character, and like how director John Hughes used the city, Chicago is a character that people can relate to, and the story was very specific to it. I grew up in the North Shore suburbs, and I think people who experienced that life understands the pressure to create standards that they have trouble living up to. Like the stuff Cameron in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ and the kids in ‘The Breakfast Club’ were dealing with, Warren struggles with ‘what am I doing with my life?’

HollywoodChicago.com: Okay, so how is the character of Warren in the film both most like you and least like you?

Beh: Warren had a lot of the emotions that I was dealing with when I lived in Chicago. He was longing for something more, and was trying to figure it out. Where he is most not like me was in how he didn’t really know what he was doing, and I’ve always had a clear vision of what I wanted to do. He mostly represents the people who perform improv in town, but are still working their day jobs, not really sure which side they want to join. And he’s a bit of a romantic, and I’m like that as well. [laughs]

HollywoodChicago.com: The character of Warren has a lot of anger that surfaces as the story progresses. What do you think is the main source of his anger?

Beh: It’s a bit of projected anger at his family, with is inwardly about him, but also his father – who didn’t do in life what he wanted to do. He’s also angry about the scenario of growing up in the suburbs and still feeling stuck in the city, and not really sure how to break out.

HollywoodChicago.com: You are critical in the film of wealthier characters, often giving them characteristics that automatically made them negative. What in your life is the source behind those characters, and what does it say in your impression and interpretation of class warfare in Chicago and elsewhere in America?

Beh: Honestly, I wrote the film when I was broke and living in the city, and at that time I didn’t appreciate where I came from, and now I’m in a place where I feel opposite to that – I really value now the people I grew up, and their standards, even though I didn’t know how to live up to them at the time. Now I can understand what it takes to achieve my goals.

HollywoodChicago.com: You had a mix of generations that you had to direct, including yourself. What is your philosophy on handling actors, especially veteran ones, that are making choices that you necessarily don’t want as a writer and director?

Beh: Handling actors is about being patient and open to their talents and craft, and what they can bring to the table. I hired them because I believe in them, I hired them because I know they can deliver, and I hired them because they are bringing themselves to the character. I want them to come in and do their take first, on who they think the character is – when I hear what they can do, then I work on it, but I’ve had very few problems.

Alex Beh as the Title Character in ‘Warren’
Photo credit: Full Circle Films

HollywoodChicago.com: This is a quasi-romantic film. In your opinion, does the romantic culture of the movies damage the reality of love or enhance it?

Beh: There is a two-sided answer to that question, obviously. One is absolutely that it enhances love, and gives people a hope that it can happen anytime. It damages it because people see the movies, and then are always looking for more drama and passion in their relationships, rather than enjoying someone who is amazing, and having a great and solid coupling. Movies tend to be all over the place on how couples ‘should be.’

HollywoodChicago.com: You make a reference to ‘The Graduate’ in the film, and then do somewhat of a tribute to it in the last act. Since the key word in that film was ‘Plastics’ – representing the generation of the time – what word do you think would define the generation in your film and why?

Beh: I would think the word is ‘Passion,’ and I think a lot of people are finding passion and freedom in being able to do what they want by using the internet and technology, and living out what they actually want to do in life. On the other hand, there are still many people who don’t know how to live out there passion, or understand what truly makes them excited.

HollywoodChicago.com: I presume you were working on a fairly tight budget. Can you think of an example where the lower budget forced you to do something different for a scene, and actually came out better than when you first envisioned it?

Beh: Yes. We shot the film in 15 days. There is a golf course scene near the end of the film that I wanted to be shot in the rain. Well, there was no rain, and certainly no ‘rain truck.’ So I didn’t get rain. But what it taught me – and this is a beautiful lesson to all beginning filmmakers – is that, guess what, the story and the interaction of the characters is much more important. If you can’t get your setting, make sure you go out and get your story – I learned to appreciate how a scene fit into the story I was telling.

HollywoodChicago.com: Finally, who are you director heroes, and did you slip in a hidden-or-not-so-hidden tribute to any of them in ‘Warren’?

Beh: My director heroes are John Hughes, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Sergio Leone. I grew up on Sergio Leone movies, and especially noticed his cinematic elements and the ‘picture structure’ of his scenes. With John Hughes, I admired his character elements, and he always had great cinematography. Warren’s ridiculous nature is straight out of Woody Allen. What all those directors have in common is that they inject their personal statement into great looking films.

By PATRICK McDONALD Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com