Tyler Davidson: Take 5 (Part 2)

Tyler Davidson: Take 5 (Part 2)
From Sundance to Spirit Awards to Sunshine

Tyler Davidson is having a big year. Another big year. He’s just returned from Sundance with his next project, Compliance, which, with a controversial screening, was the talk of Sundance and sold to Magnolia Pictures. His N.E. Ohio produced Take Shelter has just been released on DVD, on the eve of the Spirit Awards — the prestigious event held a couple of days before the Oscars, recognizing the top talent in independent film. Take Shelter is recognized with five nominations, including Best Feature.

In the midst of all this activity, I caught up with the feverishly busy Tyler. We here at Cool Cleveland have been supporting the producer since late 2010, when we knew then what the rest of the world is discovering now: Tyler’s talent is unique, result-oriented and bound for greater success with each new project. Persistence, hard work and taking risks aren’t for anyone, but if it’s for you, here’s a man from whom we can all learn to be a little, or a lot, better at our own craft.

Cool Cleveland: How was returning to this year’s Sundance Film Festival a different experience for you vs. last year? Did you do anything differently to prepare yourself? Was the thrill still there?

Tyler Davidson: The thrill was very much still there. Maybe even more so. Getting back there for a second straight year was tremendously validating, signaling to me that last year with Take Shelter wasn’t some accident.

The main thing I did differently this year was largely superficial. I booked a shorter stay! Most of the industry leaves soon after the first weekend, so even though there’s a better chance to see more movies and chill a bit during the second half, I couldn’t justify that this year. Not much else was different. Meetings, parties, walking a lot through snow and slush.

Take Shelter was named one of the Ten Best Independent Films of the Year by the National Board of Review. How does it feel to have a film share company with Scorsese’s cinematic masterpiece Hugo?

We were pretty isolated from the world and the industry during the making of the film in Cleveland’s outskirts. It was an intimate experience for me, the cast and the crew. So now to see it perform on an international stage and get these accolades — alongside a Scorsese film in this case? — it’s incredible.

You cast January Jones (Mad Men) in Swedish Auto, and Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) and Jessica Chastain (The Debt, The Help) on the eve of these stars breaking through in industry-recognized iconic roles. What do you look for when casting? How do you know if someone has the it factor — to deliver on the role and to have that special watchability?

It’s a combination of great casting directors, luck, and doing your homework. The first two being big factors behind casting January ahead of Mad Men. With Michael, he already had the Oscar nom (for Revolutionary Road) and a body of work that showed him to be one of the most interesting and talented actors going. He’s natural and honest but totally in command, always enlarging the character.

Michael getting that breakout role — or making a role a breakout role I should say — was only a matter of time in my mind. With Jessica, she had already shot The Tree of Life with Malick, who told our director that she was one of the greatest actors he’d ever worked with. I had heard that Al Pacino, who did Wilde Salome with her, said the same thing. That was enough for us. She never read for the part or auditioned. Although I’ll say that when I first met her for lunch in LA, she had a glow and a warmth and a charisma that screamed “movie star.” Apparently a lot of other filmmakers who were casting her at the same time had the same feeling.

What do you enjoy most about producing? If possible, what would you rather outsource?

I love the mix of business and creative and working to find the perfect balance between the two. I don’t love the administration. Each project has its own LLC, and there’s a lot of administration that goes with forming and managing those entities. But I’ve got support now that I didn’t have before, so the outsourcing has begun.

What’s next?

I’m producing a comedy this summer, partnered with the producers of Little Miss Sunshine. Can’t wait to share more about it soon!

[Photo: A. Sukhoy, 2010, at the Film Commission Mixer]

Reprinted with permission and gratitude from CoolCleveland.com.