Director Jamie Babbit talks 'Addicted to Fresno'
“We included a lot of improvisation including the ‘blow-job’ and ‘Fresno poetry slam’ scene,” says Addicted to Fresno director Jamie Babbit. “Actors are special people. I don’t know how they do it.”
Addicted to Fresno is Babbit’s latest black comedy – following her previous cult hits But I’m A Cheerleader (1999) and Itty Bitty Titty Committee (2007) – which follows two polar opposite sisters: unemployed, heterosexual sex addict Shannon (Judy Greer) and responsible lesbian Martha (Natasha Lyonne). Martha has never left their hometown of Fresno, California whereas Shannon left as soon as she could, before returning as part of her rehabilitation programme.
“Both Judy and Natasha are great actors so they just did their thing. They did not know each other but their talents shine through.” Babbit knew Greer from directing her on Married (2014-), an American sitcom just taking off in the U.S. whereas Lyonne; she directed in the cult satirical comedy But I’m A Cheerleaderwhich Babbit addresses: “Over time that film has become kind of a landmark queer film so I think Natasha trusted that she would be in good hands.”
Greer has sustained an impressive and versatile 20-year career. First starting off in supporting roles – What Women Want, The Wedding Planner – moving into blockbuster roles in Jurassic World and Ant-Man. Greer has also demonstrated her comedic skills in 13 Going On 30 and Love and Other Drugs. “I was blown away by her comic timing and, having directed her before, there was a comfort level between us already.”
Indie favourites Aubrey Plaza, Ron Livingston and Molly Shannon also make appearances in Addicted to Fresno as supporting, quirky characters. However, on a tight, independent budget, Babbit had to rely on her networking skills to get a supporting cast on board.
“When you have no real money to pay the actors it helps to have a way around their agents. It definitely helps to have some outside routes.” Plaza is an old friend of Lyonne’s whereas Livingston and Shannon are two of Babbit’s neighbours, so each relationship was organic. “So much of an actor-director relationship is about trust so it helps if you know and respect each other!” says Babbit.
“By the time I was filming Addicted to Fresno, I had pictures in my head for so many years: it was just about realizing them in real time and space.” Babbit’s wife, Karey Dornetto, penned the script for Addicted to Fresno. Dornetto was keen to write about the relationship with her sister – one of who left their hometown and one who left. “She was excited about telling the complicated love story of two very different sisters”, says Babbit.
“Karey was also intrigued by my stories about my grandmother who was in the Twelve-step program my whole life and told me her sex addiction was the worst addiction to kick. So the script was sort of a mix of both mine and Karey’s family stories with some murder and comedy thrown it.”
Having worked in both film and television – notably writing episodes for the likes of Gilmore Girls, Nip/Tuck and Ugly Betty – Babbit has experienced wide ends of the directing spectrum. “The speed and concentration of working with actors in great in television is great. The crew is awesome and the jobs are short.” Film is a whole other kettle of fish: “because there is complete control when you make them cheaply with no studio, it allows for a good deal of flexibility.”
Addicted to Fresno premiered at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco at the Frameline Film Festival; an event, which Babbit recalls as “pretty amazing.” By pure coincidence, the film screened the night that gay marriage was announced legal across the United States. “There was an impromptu rally outside the theatre in San Francisco and the air was electric. It was an awesome moment to screen the film!”
Babbet used the chance to express that the long overdue legalisation of gay marriage in America meant that restrictions of any kind no longer apply. “I made the movie with my gay wife [Dornetto] and my gay ex-wife [producer Andrea Sperling]. I reminded the audience that this historic day was a celebration of both legal gay marriage and legal gay divorce.