Lonely Wolf International
Film Festival 2022
Interview
Rick Morrison
ANXIETY-PROOF: THE MOTHERSHIP
lonelywolffilmfest.com/Tickets
May 6, 2022
An anxiety-powered superhero gets a call from an old Tinder date saying he might be her baby’s daddy.
Hi Rick, it’s great to get to talk with you, how have you been keeping after everything that’s been happening?
Thanks for having me. And I’m honestly not sure anymore. I’m making short films about anxiety and bacon, which is probably pretty fucking telling.
How have you managed to stay positive and busy?
Trying to be deliberate with my thoughts. Like if I have shitty thoughts all day, then go to bed feeling shitty, that’s not a coincidence. More mindfulness, started meditating about a year ago. And staying busy making things helps.
Anxiety-Proof: The Mothership is a Finalist at Lonely Wolf, what has it meant to you to be part of such an amazing and creative festival?
It’s nuts, and so cool, and so humbling. Filmmakers don’t make films just for themselves, so when a great festival like Lonely Wolf takes notice it’s so validating.
How important are festivals like Lonely Wolf in championing and supporting indie filmmakers?
It gives filmmakers a platform and a deadline, which are two of the hardest things to come by.
Can you tell me how Anxiety-Proof: The Mothership came about?
Anxiety-Proof actually started as a series of dumb Instagram videos inspired by my experiences with anxiety. I made them for my own amusement and the amusement of friends. There were three of those Instagram videos, and The Mothership is technically the fourth in the series.
What was the biggest challenges you faced writing this screenplay?
Sticking to scenes I could actually pull off myself with a limited budget and limited resources.
When working on a film like Anxiety-Proof: The Mothership do you ever find it hard to let go of your characters?
I’ve actually never had that problem. I really like finishing a project because it means I can start working on something completely different.
"I always hear about great scripts people are working on that would require money and crew and lots of characters to make."
Have you aways had a passion for filmmaking?
Yeah. Writing and making stuff has been my favourite thing to do for as long as I can remember.
Do you have any tips or advice you would offer anyone thinking about writing their first short film?
Write something you can actually produce yourself, so you can see how your words translate to video. I always hear about great scripts people are working on that would require money and crew and lots of characters to make. And unfortunately those scripts rarely get made because of that. Give yourself achievable parameters—even if it’s as simple as “shot in my apartment, with an iPhone, starring my two roommates”—then try to write the most compelling thing you can within those parameters.
What themes are you hoping to explore with future films?
I’ll keep exploring mental health to some extent. Maybe something about love. Love makes people crazy. Crazy people are cool to write.
And finally, what do you hope people will take away from Anxiety-Proof: The Mothership?
My dream is that they take away something that didn’t occur to me until I was almost finished with the film. And that’s that “negative” traits like anxiety aren’t necessarily a cripple. Those traits are often the equal-and-opposite side of something we love about ourselves. And you can’t have one without the other.