By Elizabeth Gracen:
If you’re familiar with the sci-fi cult classic Coherence, you know something about the beautifully complex brain of writer/director James Ward Byrkit. If you haven’t seen his debut feature film yet (watch it here!), prepare to expect the unexpected in a world where sly humor and wicked improv twist through a spooky dinner party with old friends on the night an unruly comet streaks across the sky, wreaking havoc on technology and the very fabric of reality. It’s a hell of a ride and lots of fun to watch!
Since the film’s release in 2013, Coherence has received high acclaim from the sci-fi community. It is currently listed as one of the 65 best sci-fi movies of the 21st century by IndieWire and continues to attract an ever-growing fanbase. I seriously had a 20-something relative tell me over this Thanksgiving holiday that he had just screened the film and was blown away—and that he had no idea that I was in it!
And for more about Coherence, check out our Flapper Press coverage, including interviews and the 10th Anniversary reunion!
So, how can you possibly follow-up such a successful debut with a project that hits all the right sci-fi buttons for your loyal fans but reaches even further into scenarios that stretch the imagination and leaves you wanting more?
For Jim Byrkit, the answer is easy: you create Shatter Belt—now screening on Apple TV, Amazon, YouTube, and Google Play.
I recently reached out to Jim to ask him about the new series, his process for creating the wonderful worlds of Shatter Belt, and to talk in detail about the episodes.
Elizabeth Gracen: Jim, I remember you telling me about the days when the world was
coming out of lockdown from the pandemic. You wanted to create something—not wanting to have to wait for someone else’s approval or financing to get the ideas off the ground. You just took the bull by the horns and did it—you brought Shatter Belt to life. Please tell our readers about Shatter Belt and how these fantastic sci-fi stories came to be.
Jim Byrkit: Well, it was a time when all of the projects that had taken so long to develop and get ready to make suddenly started dying tragic deaths one by one. And by the time we were in the pandemic, there was one final project that I loved so much and put all of my heart into . . . and it went in a different direction. I had this lightning-bolt realization that I was never going to direct again unless I just picked up a camera and started shooting something immediately. There would be no more endless meetings that resulted in nothing. No more heartbreaking rejections. I had always loved the way The Twilight Zone combined so much humanity and empathy in mind-bending, cosmic tales and that became the inspiration. Rod Serling created half-hour stories week after week on a deadline and with tiny budgets. So with that as my guide, we cobbled together just enough resources and support from friends to jump headfirst into the whirlpool.
EG: As a follow-up to your enormously successful feature debut, Coherence, this new series casts the net wide with interesting locations and a virtual cornucopia of characters. What were the biggest differences between working on a feature film and these shorter stories? What were the biggest challenges? What was the best part? The worst?
JB: These were much more challenging, not just because the Covid restrictions made everything difficult but because each story was much more ambitious and risky than a film shot in my own house (which is how we made Coherence).
Each episode needed an entirely different cast, crew, and editing schedule. I ended up having to edit one episode myself. Each episode had one major moment (in real life) where it looked like the entire thing was going to crash. Actors that suddenly got a big job somewhere else leaving the production stranded; sand storms that threatened to completely shut us down; getting Covid and having to delay and find an entirely new plan for our biggest episode; and, of course, being told by the police that we were being shut down and that I was going to jail.
Jim Byrkit, cast and crew for Shatter Belt the series
The best part: the people. The crew and cast that I got to meet and work with made it all worthwhile. Seeing great people come together for a common goal and all of the resulting adventures and talent that emerged . . . priceless.
EG: You are an artist who has worked in various mediums, and you’re considered one of the best storyboard artists around. What is your process like when you tackle your own stories as a director/producer? Do you storyboard to get the visuals set, or do you work more in the moment when you hit the set? I’m thinking in particular about the bigger set pieces, like Episode 2, “Immotus.”
JB: My own storyboards are SO MUCH WORSE than the ones I do for my favorite directors. Probably because I’m usually the only one that needs to understand them! I do very quick stick-figure sketches just to remind myself of what might be needed; but for something like this, the moment-to-moment approach of responding to what the actors are doing is usually more appropriate than the kind of finished artwork that is helpful on big visual films like Pirates of the Caribbean. Storyboards, for me, are just a tool to get me thinking of potential issues ahead of time. But they are easily discarded as the reality of the set starts to generate new ideas and solutions.
On Episode 2, I definitely had “reminder” boards, especially since we didn’t have a continuity person or script supervisor, which on any other project would be absolutely crucial to keep track of the madness. Everything we did was unconventional, and so I just created what I needed to support my brain when the true mayhem began.
EG: Having worked with you on Coherence, I know that you are a big fan of The Twilight Zone. Did you approach your new series as an homage to that series? Why are you attracted to sci-fi in general?
JB: Yes, I really respond to Rod Serling’s worldview and his special mind when it comes to the big picture. Science fiction is a way to approach big ideas concerning the future and how advances in technology might affect us. But some of the really interesting stories go way beyond technical questions and explore the fringes of reality and consciousness. These are the stories that Shatter Belt tries to tell, and for me it crosses over into spiritual and philosophical realms. The best science fiction can expand your mind and take you on journeys so much further than your typical mundane drama.
EG: As a creative with a strong vision, your style of working on set is very open and receptive to actors’ ideas. I remember you just letting us run with our improvs on Coherence. However, I know you just a little bit, and I know that you have strong ideas and a true vision about what each project should look, sound, and “feel” like. Do you consider yourself an actor’s director? What is your general philosophy about the process of getting what you want from your players as you keep them on track to fulfill your vision?
JB: For me, part of being a strong director is being strong enough to allow others to shine and bring their best possible work. Because I love actors and their process, it’s probably a bit easier for me to empathize with their situation and only step in when necessary.
There are so many different kinds of actor, and each one requires a completely unique way of supporting their best work. So I try to be an antenna at first and learn what they are doing naturally before I even express my own vision. Many of them will bring surprising, completely unexpected, and brilliant interpretations if you give them a little space. So unless they are doing something that clearly isn’t working, I try to see if I can incorporate their intuitive responses into the shape of the story and only gently nudge them rather than demand a certain performance. So far it’s worked out beautifully, but I suspect that’s mostly because I cast the right people to begin with.
EG: What advice can you give to new filmmakers about how to approach lower-budget passion projects? How important is it for artists to stay true to their vision in Hollywood? Do you wrestle with a lot of compromise when you set out to pitch or create a new project?
JB: The lower-budget passion projects are ideal for a filmmaker to really test themselves and explore what they are truly interested in without the pressure of solely pleasing a group of others. There are certainly directors who thrive by simply doing exactly what is expected of them in a professional way, so I don’t want to suggest that you can only be a real director if you stay true to your uncompromising vision. Sometimes I wish I could just be a director for hire. But I know my instincts are always to try unconventional approaches to get a new feeling or a more natural flow or a more extreme visual result, and in order to really do that, I need to make my own stuff. Working in Hollywood, unless you are at the highest levels, is always going to be about compromise, it’s just built in to the deal.
Each episode of Shatter Belt is so unique and different. I asked Jim to tell me about the ideas that inspired them to create such original stories.
Episode One: "The Hard Problem of Carl"
Following an AI Contact Tracer on her most dangerous mission yet: releasing Carl from his newly conscious refrigerator.
Starring: Emily Baldoni
This episode was inspired by my fascination with the role of desire and intention when talking about free will and intelligence. What we call AI today really isn’t intelligent at all, it’s just fast math. But once intention is added, you have a whole new issue. People have intelligence and it’s deeply woven into “wanting” and feelings of pain and pleasure. It’s very hard to separate, and so this episode gets pretty nerdy as the characters try to figure out the latest development to baffle them.
Episode Two: "Immotus"
A night of surreal discoveries threatens the very fabric of reality when an unmovable apple arrives at an internet startup, triggering a wild chain reaction of consequences.
Starring: JJ Nolan, Julie Zhan
This episode is really about pushing past what seem like invisible barriers in life. Rules that seem hidden in reality. Like, “you’re never going to direct anything that gets released.” How to push past something that seems like a cosmic rule, that seems insane, and yet the more you test it, the more it seems to confirm your suspicion.
Episode Three: "The Specimen"
Dervey Ryan is a man on a last desperate mission to salvage meaning from his life, as the jaws of fate close in and he faces the prophecy of being "one turn away" from the promise of fame.
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Dale E. Turner
This episode was inspired by Patton Oswalt reaching out to me because he saw Coherence and I knew I needed to write an episode just for him to star in. So less than a week later, I had something that showed a dramatic side to him that I knew would be a little different, a little bit more of a character study and the only episode with what might be considered a twist.
Episode Four: "Pearls"
The most exclusive restaurant in the city serves impossible meals that defy logic, remove inhibitions, and reveal the core truths of their diners. Chaos ensues.
Starring: Abigail Spencer, Elimu Nelson, Catherine Lidstone
This story was something so ambitious that it was slated for Season Two. But the more I thought about it, the more excited I got, especially thinking about all the wild food we could invent for the restaurant. I also hoped to get Abigail Spencer to join us for an episode, and it had the perfect character for her to shine.
EG: Thanks for taking the time to talk to Flapper Press, Jim. Please share what’s next for you . . . I know it will be fantastic!
JB: For now, we have just launched four episodes of Shatter Belt on Amazon and Apple TV! Go here for trailer and link to Amazon https://www.shatterbelt.com.
As for the next year, we are working on a sequel to Coherence, and with a little luck and intention and intelligence, we hope to be cooking up that caldron of mayhem soon.
Elizabeth Gracen is the owner of Flapper Press & Flapper Films.
Comments