After graduating from Chapman University, writer/director Paulina Lagudi moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking. Aware of the dearth of female filmmakers in Hollywood, Paulina seized the opportunity to create her own films as well as launch her production company, Jax Productions, LLC (named after her first rescue dog, Jax).
Since launching her career in June 2015, Paulina has written and produced short films, multiple commercials, and online branded content. Her first feature, “Mail Order Monster,” was shot in the summer of 2017 and will be released in November. The family-oriented sci-fi drama centers on the friendship between a robot and a young girl, the sudden loss of a parent, step-parenting, and how hard that can be on both parents and children.
With so many scripts floating around Hollywood, why were you so invested in this script?
Paulina Lagudi: The original script by Marc Prey was entirely different in that it was about a young boy whose parents are separated and they get back together. The Monster comes alive as soon as he puts it together right out of the box. While it was a very sweet story, it wasn’t something I could personally connect to. It was something I’d seen before. But the title really grabbed me. Mail Order Monster spells out MOM. I have a really close relationship with my stepmom. She came into my life roughly the same age as Sam in the story that I re-wrote. So I bought the script and eventually re-wrote it to something I could relate to. I love movies from the 80s and 90s, the classics. I felt that they were the kind of movies that the whole family could get involved in. I feel the same way about animated films today. But a lot of indie live-action family films are so vanilla now that it’s really hard for the whole family to get involved since it targets one age group of kids. So I wanted to get back to the classic model. But instead of re-inventing that wheel, I turned it a different way and told a story today’s families can relate to. The challenge was to show a blended family that’s not doing poorly.
The use of comic book graphics was sparingly and effectively used. Why did you use these visuals?
Lagudi: The reason animated movies today are so captivating is that you can really tell some true, dark, and sad emotional moments because young audiences can accept them if they’re animated. Showing a live-action car crash at the beginning of a movie is not conducive to a family genre film. I wanted to stay true to the genre but still include the dramatic moments I wanted to tell. So we incorporated the comic book aspect, which is a theme throughout the movie. The motif is that Sam gets a comic book and that allows her to order the Monster. In a low budget film, being able to show things in graphics animation meant we didn’t have to spend money on a Janky stunt, but just tell it within the scope of what we have.
Can you go into your thoughts on casting for this film?
Lagudi: I have a phenomenal casting director, Rory Schleifstein, and my fellow producer Robert J. Ulrich is co-owner of Ulrich/Dawson/Kritzer Casting, which is one of the best casting offices in L.A. We were given a really great array of talent to look at. Casting for the role of Sam was a really fun process for me because I’d never worked with kids before. Through the audition process, I’m really learning how kids work. For the callbacks, I interviewed the parents as well. We were shooting in a very small town and I wanted to make sure that whoever we had with me would be on board and not difficult to deal with. As for Josh and Charisma, Robert was key in negotiating those relationships. He had worked with Josh before and introduced me to Charisma. It was funny because as soon as I met Charisma, she reminded me so much of my stepmom. All the actors were really talented but it was nice to work in a really collaborative way with Josh and Charisma. I felt they were really invested, which is nice, especially when you’re making a movie that’s not a big festival drama. Their performances are really nuanced and add so much to the movie. And I got super lucky with Emma (Rayne Lyle), who plays PJ; she’s a Kentucky local and a phenomenal actor who works all over.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making this film?
Lagudi: Murphy’s Law (laughs). Pretty much everything that could go wrong did. The biggest challenge was time. I had 17 days to shoot this film. When you’re working with kids, you don’t get a full 12-hour day. Luckily, I have a rock star of a kid who’s in 144 of 154 scenes. I was shooting 13 scenes in less than 8 hours every single day. Location was also an issue because when you’re shooting an area you’re unfamiliar with, an area that doesn’t have a lot of infrastructure, that can provide a number of challenges. We had to be creative in shooting to adapt to these challenges.
Action comic books and building robots are generally reserved for young boys. Your thoughts on finally discarding this stereotype?
Lagudi: I grew up not your typical female. I wasn’t always playing with dolls. I played sports. So I felt that Sam was a young representation of young girls today. It’s a type of character that I want to empower. There are girls that love to do makeup and do their hair but there are also those who read comic books and love to build things. I wanted to show a character that exists but isn’t always represented.
Faulkner noted you have to ‘kill your darlings.’ Which did you have to kill when directing this script?
Lagudi: (laughs) I’m pretty objective when it comes to what I make because I think what’s best for the project is to try to be as emotionless as possible. You do have to put all your heart into it to express that specificity, but at the same time you need to do what’s best for the project and take your ego out of it. Half the time, it wasn’t even my editor saying we have to take this out. It was me saying, that’s got to go, which makes for a really enjoyable post process.
The story addresses parental loss, adjusting to step-parents, bullying, isolation, and other issues that affect teens. What do you see as the film’s core message?
Lagudi: The core message would be not everything is black and white. People aren’t black and white. It’s often good intentions taken the wrong way and people are often in pain. It’s creating a conversation among people that shows a different perspective. I would have loved this movie to exist when I was younger so that I could watch it with my dad and stepmother and realize that’s where they were coming from. And also to say, see, that’s where I’m coming from. Often times, we don’t have the words to express ourselves when we’re in those situations. At the same time, the message for kids in blended families to understand is the stepparent saying, I choose you. Choosing is great because you counter the child’s argument when they say you’re not my real dad or my real mom. So saying I choose you is special and powerful, and we often take it for granted. It’s a reminder of the unspoken choice we make to have these kids in our lives.
Were there elements of this film where you drew from your personal experience?
Lagudi: Oh, 100 percent. So much of it really is. I didn’t grow up an only child. I had a younger brother and an older sister, who is much older than me. So mostly my brother and I had to grow up with my single dad. He’s my best friend. We had a really close, almost peer relationship. My stepmom came into my life when I was 13—a year older than Sam’s character. I also changed schools a lot, so that was often isolating at times. Ostracizing happens a lot more with young-girl bullying than just straight-up bullying. It also happens with kids who were friends. But my stepmom never had kids; she’d never been a mom. But she’s been the best. I didn’t know my dad was going to propose to her when he did. So I went through a lot of the emotions that Sam goes through.
You shot this film in 17 days, you built a robot, and you worked with kids. This was trial by fire. What advice would you give young aspiring directors when taking on a film?
Lagudi: Besides not doing what I did? (laughs). To be honest, I’m really happy with what I did because where there’s a clear voice and vision, there’s always a way. One thing I would say is always be adaptable and never let your ego get in the way of what’s best for the project. Because being collaborative will inspire your team the most and present a really clear vision for your project. Don’t get caught up on how the project will affect your image or your career. Just tell a good story and make a good movie. The rest will work itself out. Also, follow your gut. I could have saved myself so much by just trusting my gut. As first time filmmakers, we may not think we deserve to follow our gut. Like what do we know? So you tend to look to people with more experience but sometimes they don’t always know what’s best. So trust your voice and your gut, because as a filmmaker, that’s your job. And do as much prep work as you can. One of the things I realized is that it’s much cheaper to edit a film that to re-shoot. So get that script locked down and don’t be in such a hurry to start shooting. Another thing I did was having my editor read the script, which is something many people don’t do. Editors are storytellers too and they’re really good at trimming the fat.
What’s next for you? More features? A TV series? And what genres will you explore?
Lagudi: I’m open to all genres. I’m writing a number of different features right now. One I’ve been hired to write is a family movie, a true story. Another script I’m writing for myself is not a family film but it deals with family, especially young girls. I’m always making shorts and working with different production companies on various projects. I enjoy family films and I think that genre has opened itself up to a lot of different sub-genres. Even when you add sci-fi elements, fantasy, and adventure, you can really be super creative.
“Mail Order Monster” will be On-Demand November 6, 2018. Check out the trailer here.
Alex A. Kecskes is a published author of "Healer a Novel" and "The Search for Dr. Noble"—both now available on Amazon. He has written hundreds of film reviews and celebrity interviews for a wide variety of online and print outlets. He has covered red carpet premieres and Comic-Con events for major films and independent releases.
