By: Jeremy Murphy
When I spoke with James Francis Ginty, he was sitting beside a lake in northern Michigan, writing a screenplay, and spending time with his Bernese mountain dog, Ulysses. It’s a long way from Hollywood, but Ginty isn’t particularly interested in being where Hollywood expects him to be. “I’m doing the man in the wilderness chapter of life,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve just totally fallen in love with writing, and it’s a great environment to write.”
The change in scenery is part of a larger shift. After years as an actor, including roles in “K-19: The Widowmaker” and “Surrogates,” Ginty is now focused on creating his own films. His latest project, “The Hangup,” is a short he wrote, produced and starred in that premiered at the Austin Film Festival and went on to the Chicago Irish Film Festival, earning recognition for its screenplay.
From Juilliard to Kathryn Bigelow
Ginty grew up in Los Angeles as the son of actor and director Robert Ginty and actress Francine Tacker. His path into acting eventually led him to Juilliard, where he was studying when Kathryn Bigelow cast him in “K-19: The Widowmaker” opposite Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson. The experience also introduced him to Peter Sarsgaard, whom Ginty remembers as a mentor. “Peter was an extraordinary guy,” Ginty says. “He took us out and looked out for us and guided us on how to handle the complexities of all that stuff. He’s a real mensch.”
Ginty’s connection to the arts also runs through his godfather, entertainment journalist R. Couri Hay, who became an important influence throughout his childhood. “He introduced me to ballet and culture and theater,” Ginty says. “I wouldn’t have known up from down in New York City without him at 18.” He admitted that he later wondered whether he made the right decision leaving Juilliard at 19 to make a major Hollywood film. “I was confessing to Couri, maybe my mom was right. Maybe I shouldn’t have left school,” he recalls. “He told me, absolutely not. You were just in a Kathryn Bigelow movie. That was your education.”
Finding the Funny in Dark Places
Ginty’s most recent project, “The Hangup,” is a dark comedy built around suicide and heartbreak. The premise is deliberately uncomfortable. A heartbroken man attempts to take his own life, changes his mind when his former girlfriend calls to reconcile, and you’ll have to watch it to see what happens next.
The subject is not entirely abstract for him. While attending Valley Forge Military Academy, Ginty became fascinated with mortality. During a schoolwide debate as an eighth grader, he delivered Hamlet’s famous “To be or not to be” speech to the student body. His approach to the subject now is rooted in the idea that difficult material does not necessarily have to be presented in a relentlessly grim way. “We approach sensitive, complex material with humor and freshness,” he says.
That philosophy led to an unusual controversy surrounding the film. Ginty says Meta removed a promotional Facebook post because the platform’s systems flagged the film’s suicide-related imagery. “To me, that’s the craziest thing in the world,” he says. “We’re trying to make sure that people who are dealing with these emotions feel seen.”
“The Bar” and the Future of Indie Film
Ginty and his collaborators are now developing “The Bar,” a darkly comic story about a police officer who has been sober for 20 years but is deeply unhappy with his life. During a crisis reminiscent of Hurricane Sandy, he becomes trapped inside his old neighborhood bar, where a murderer is hiding among the patrons. Then, the former alcoholic starts drinking again.
The movie is difficult to categorize. Ginty describes its sensibility as “Rocky Horror Picture Show” meets “From Dusk Till Dawn,” with music, dancing, romance, violence and comedy all competing for space. The bigger subject, however, is addiction. “We’re always trying to walk this razor’s edge of fascinating content, but delivered in a way that is just highly fun and palatable,” Ginty explains.
A New Home for Independent Movies
Ginty believes the biggest challenge facing independent filmmakers today is finding an audience. “You could make ‘Citizen Kane,’ but if you don’t get a microphone, a phone or a platform with which to share it, no one’s ever going to know,” he says. He sees an industry increasingly dominated by powerful gatekeepers and fewer independent outlets willing to take chances on unconventional material. For filmmakers who grew up on the independent cinema of the 1990s, it’s a profound change. “We’re trying to make movies like a 90s indie rock band,” he says. “We want our audience to find us.”
That’s why northern Michigan feels right for Ginty; he has found room to think, something increasingly difficult to find in Hollywood. For Ginty, the next chapter is about writing, collaborating, and trying to finance a feature that does not fit neatly into an existing Hollywood formula. He knows the odds. “But I also know we can make an awful lot with the raw materials that are out here,” he says. That is the bet James Francis Ginty is making on independent film, and on himself.
