"Sweet Thing" directed by Alexander Rockwell The NY independent scene of the 80's and 90's was a magical time [Director's Interview Vol.158]

Reason for using townspeople instead of actors

Q: There is a scene in "Sweet Thing" that I personally like. In the beginning, at the car factory, there is a shot of two men who are not important to the story gazing at each other, and I like the atmosphere and flow of time in that moment. What was your intention in including that shot?

Rockwell: That's an interesting point. The guys were fishing in New Bedford, the town where we shot the movie. I think New Bedford is a really interesting place in America. They're fishermen from Cape Verde in Africa, and they speak Portuguese. There's a community of them in Bedford, and I loved the mix of the place, so I asked them to appear in the film.

This is related to the music I mentioned earlier, but it seemed very natural and honest to me. I wanted to include their unadulterated, animal-like appearance at the beginning of the film, to convey the kind of music a certain scale can produce. I think their natural and pure presence is the basis of this work.

If you like them, I'd love to show you around Bedford and introduce you to them. One of them owns a bar, it's the best place they play Duke Ellington. It's a poor area, but they're really nice people.

"Sweet Thing" ©️2019 BLACK HORSE PRODUCTIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Q: The coworker who dresses up as Santa Claus with the father, played by Will Patton, is also a local resident who is not an actor.

Rockwell: You really liked the guys in that town! I found him when I was driving around looking for furniture. I was living in a cheap, shoddy house and I was looking for cheap furniture. He was a furniture store owner, he had no teeth, and he was mumbling and I couldn't understand what he was saying. I thought he would be perfect for this movie, but I think he turned me down at first because he was like, "What a shitty movie!" (laughs). But when I offered to pay him, he said, "How much!?" I told him, "I'll pay you $50 now, and if you come to the set, I'll give you another $50," and he agreed.

But on the day, he didn't show up. I looked for him but he was nowhere to be found. He must have been drinking somewhere. I finally found him and somehow managed to dress him up in a Santa costume. The setting is winter, but the actual shooting took place in summer, and it was a very hot day.

The funny thing is, he only recognised Will Patton. He yelled out, "That guy was in Armageddon !" and was totally confused and scared. Will, who is a great actor, only asked me one thing: "Does he have a knife?" He said, "If you have a knife, give it to me." I said, "No, I don't have a knife." Will confronted the guy, told him the lines right then and there, and yelled, "Say it like this!" The guy was so scared he ran out of the house screaming and drove off in his car. I never saw him again after that. (Laughs)

We were in the middle of filming, but Will said, "No problem," and we did the rest of the scene with that guy in front of us. Will is the best. He's a very professional actor, but he also has fun with the wild situations and knows how to control them.

I love being on set in the wild, and that's something I learned from the films of John Cassavetes, who I consider a father figure and my mentor as a filmmaker.