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SINGLE WHITE FILMMAKER | PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - How different was the final product from what you had envisioned? The only reason the film worked in the end was because of several things that I did not anticipate -- because of the villain, Elie, and because of Elisabeth [his fiancée]. I lucked into this movie to a large degree. The relationship with Elisabeth immediately made the movie more accessible. Now, it's not just a story of a guy going out on dates, but about going from being single to hooking up with the girl I'm eventually going to marry. That's a transition a lot of us make, but we captured it on film. What was your relationship with Elie really like? Going in, I only had one or two meetings with him, but when he saw footage of me on dates, that's when he started going nuts and getting angry. Those were the conversations I taped, because he thought I was trying to steal his money, that it was a practical joke or something. He does actually threaten you with violence in the film. He would constantly say, "You're in big trouble, brother." There were also more specific threats of body parts being sent to my mother in the mail. At the very beginning when he said something like that, I called my agent, who said, "Ah, that's just the way he talks." So you taped your conversations with him because you were freaked out? I was a little freaked out. I was getting messages on my home machine. The other side of him, which isn't apparent in the movie, is that he saw the whole project through, despite all his yelling and screaming. I've been in this town a long time, and no one had ever given me a break, or money to make a movie. He did. Did you wrestle with how to handle the camera's influence on the dates? There would come a time when even though we both knew the cameras were there, we forgot about them, because the emotion of being on a date was stronger than the uncomfortable feeling of being in front of a camera. The first half hour, maybe, we were on our best behavior, but ultimately, you want the other person to like you. Were you self-conscious throughout the filming about how you were going to come across? You're seeing a movie made by a guy who was very desperate [laughs]. I was at wit's end. I was really going to give up trying to make movies and pursuing my dream. Like what Bob Dylan said -- "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose." I initially thought we would focus on the women, get snapshots of 20 single women, and then have some commentary from other people about single life and dating. When I showed what we had to people, they wanted to know more about me, what I was thinking and where I was in my life. After all, I was asking them to follow me on my journey. This was a nightmare, because I always swore I would never be one of those first-time filmmakers who makes a movie about himself, and here I was doing that. The other obnoxious thing is that these guys always get these beautiful women who would never go out with them in real life, and here I've got Elisabeth. No one's gonna believe this. Was there any one moment in the film that crystallized your dating life? Right after the bungee jump. This was a girl I was very attracted to and thought I might have a shot at. She seemed kind of interested in me, I made her laugh, she made me laugh, we had a good time. I thought we would go bungee jumping, the blood would be flowing. Then, of course, when we jumped, both of us climbed back onto the bridge having gone through the worst experience of our lives, the adrenaline totally gone. I realized that I would go into dates with all these plans and ideas and strategies and it never seemed to work out the way I thought. A moment that crystallized the movie experience for me, how it was kind of like living in "The Truman Show," was the scene on the beach with Elisabeth. We're talking about something very personal, about her family getting divorced and my dad dying and all that, and out of the corner of my eye I see a woman coming toward us. On one hand I'm having this very personal quiet discussion with Elisabeth, and I really do care what she's saying. On the other hand, I'm thinking that if this woman walks into my area, this is gonna be comedy gold. So I was constantly going through this process, saying, "Am I real? Am I doing it for the camera? Is this person real?" It was a very confusing thing. When are you and Elizabeth getting married? October. And there will be no photographers at the wedding. SALON | Feb. 18, 1999 Larry Getlen, a Florida freelance writer, writes for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Miami New Times and other publications. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Become a Salon member. Click here.