by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer

This new year has been off to a rocky start. Even before the election results, there has been a lot that folks have been struggling with. In times like this we often want to stay cocooned and disappear from the world. But it is important to remember how important staying connected to art, community, and humor can be. So the Dinner in America screenings happening Friday, January 24th at The Philadelphia Film Society are a wonderful way to connect with all these things in one place. 

Dinner in America was released in 2020 and like many films released around the same time, they struggled to get distribution and never got a theatrical release. But sometimes the internet comes together with enough enthusiasm and energy to make amazing things happen. Thanks to a small passionate fan base, an enthusiastic cast and crew, and TikTok, the film has made a resurgence. Theaters all over the land are programming this punk rock love story and giving it a second life.

The first screening at Film Society Center quickly sold out after being announced but luckily they added a 10pm showing and there are still tickets available. On top of that, both screenings will be followed by a Q&A with writer and director Adam Rehmeier, stars Kyle Gallner and Emily Skeggs, and producer Ross Putman. I was lucky enough to get the chance to talk to Kyle Gallner about the film and discuss the amazing, and very punk rock DIY initiative behind the Dinner in America enthusiasm. We also talked about why this film is so special to him and the rest of the crew, and why a streaming release “just wasn’t good enough”. This sort of fan driven enthusiasm and power is the exact kind of energy we need going into this year. 

If you’re coming out to the screenings make sure to swing by the MovieJawn table. I will be there with some of the crew slingin’ print zines and other cinematic merch. For those that show up early we will have some fun (and free) Dinner in America themed goodies. Hope to see you there!

Tori Potenza (TP): How are you feeling about this crazy journey that Dinner in America is going through? The fact that it's having this theatrical run right now seems kind of unheard of, especially for a small indie that only came out five years ago. 

Kyle Gallner (KG): Yeah, I'm excited. I'm very grateful and very happy that it's happening. This is one of those movies that I just genuinely love. I love the people I made it with. I love the final product. 

As an actor in your career, you're gonna make X amount of things and the truth is, you're not going to be connected to all of them. Some of them are jobs. Some you like and some are things you really didn't enjoy. This is one that I love through and through. And we got to make it. We got into Sundance. It was super exciting for all of us to go to Park City and have the movie play, and then Covid hit and it just went away. We tried to get it sold, nobody would touch it. They were all kind of scared of the movie… because the first 20 min are pretty abrasive. People were scared to jump on and embrace the movie for what it was. And then, we finally wound up on Hulu and it did okay. But there was always this thing in the back of my mind where I was like, that's not good enough. That's not enough.

There was this part of me that always felt like there would be something more because I thought the movie was special. I thought the characters were special and unique. There was something about it that scratched the back of my mind, like maybe there's more to this. Then I was on set filming this movie Carolina Caroline, which Adam is director of. And all of a sudden these TikTok videos started popping up. I'm not on TikTok but people were sending them to me and I went to Adam and asked him if he had seen any of this, and we just sort of watched this thing grow while we were working, and it just got bigger and bigger. I asked him, what if we just put it out there and see if people want to see it, if people will pick it up, if theaters will pick it up. And I just dipped my toe in the water and then all of a sudden. I'm getting messages from people saying, “Yeah, we'll play it. We would love to have it.”. 

Cut to where we are now. I mean, we have screenings lined up all the way until March and I don't see why there wouldn't be more if people want it.

TP: Yeah, I saw it during Covid and the person I was dating at the time had to buy some random international region version of it so we could watch it. Unfortunately it takes a lot for me to agree to watch something that isn't horror, but he finally convinced me. It felt like just the most beautiful discovery. 

KG: It was funny, because while we were trying to get people to buy the movie there's a link that would go around, or that you could send to producers. It’s just supposed to be for industry people. But all of a sudden, that link has 1,800 views on it, We were literally just getting passed around. We were like this weird, dirty little secret that people would be like, “Hey, I'm gonna slip you this link. Have you seen this movie? Have you heard of this thing?”. 

It’s also funny you mentioned… it's not a horror movie. But there's so much crossover between the horror community in this film. Which has been really, really cool. It's because it's its own weird, grindhouse adjacent, bizarre sort of world. A lot of people have followed me from my horror work so to have them also jump into Dinner in America and enjoy that has been really cool.

TP: When did you get the sense that this movie was something special? Was it when you read the script or started working with Emily and Adam?

KG:  I mean it was a whole story of how I even got it and how it came to be. I actually got sent this movie probably two or three years before we even shot it. I was in the middle of a TV show, and they wanted to offer me Simon. I had a brand new baby, and I read a few pages, put it down, and forgot about it. I think I was in Romania, and JP, who shot Dinner in America, was shooting this film I was working on. He was like we were supposed to go and make this movie. But the cast pulled out last minute, and you would actually be great for it.

I asked him what it was, and he told me the title and something kind of sparked. I looked in my email. And it was there from like three years ago. So I read it, and I hit Adam up. And Adam and I really hit it off. I basically begged “Please don’t hate me! Let’s do this.”. A couple months after that we were in Detroit making the movie and I got to meet Emily. 

Emily was incredible. I got to watch her create the “Watermelon Song” with Adam, and I got to record the punk vocals with Disco Assault, and it was just one thing after the other that just got more and more fun and exciting, and then we finally actually shot the film. Every single day was like summer camp. I'd never played a character that was so intense and so forward and big in a lot of ways. And I just learned so much making that movie as well, from top to bottom. I can't say I loved it from the beginning, because I didn't read it. But the second time I read it. I loved it, and you know I've loved it ever since.

TP: Yeah, and it's one thing for you, and the rest of the cast and crew to realize that it's something special. But having that translate to the audience isn't always the easiest. What do you think it is about Dinner in America that connected with audiences?

KG: Yeah, that's always been a really interesting thing. Our screenings at Sundance would have twenty year olds, and then, like seventy year old women that would love it. The crossover and the mass appeal of the film was so crazy. But I think a big part is that people recognize, at least a part of themselves, in one or both of those characters. I think at some point everybody's felt a little bit like Patty (Emily Skeggs), or wanted to tell somebody to fuck off like Simon (Kyle Gallner) has. They're relatable, and they feel normal. It feels like a real world situation even though it's heightened. I think you just root for these imperfect weirdos. And people see themselves infinitely more in people like that. People that feel real. There just seem to be so many people who are proudly attaching themselves to Patty, and owning their own version of that. And you'll meet people who will be like I dated a Simon, I knew that guy back when I was nineteen. You hear all kinds of stories when you start talking to people about the film.

TP: What was the process of bringing Simon to life and solidifying the chemistry with Emily, that really pops off the screen?

KG: Adam is really great about fighting for time and fighting for the things that he wants. And one of the things that was very, very important to Adam is that we had time. So he got us out there 2 weeks early. They bought us (Kyle and Emily) plane tickets next to each other, we didn't even know. So we flew out together. Adam picked us up from the airport, brought us to a diner. We sat, we ate. We spent time together. Emily came with me to the recording studio while I recorded the punk music. I sat down with her while she wrote the Watermelon Song. We were just together a lot and doing these things, you know.

One of the things I wanted was to have my hair cut very early, just to start walking around like that. Because there are preconceived things. You walk into a coffee shop with your head shaved and all done up, and people are going to look at you differently than if you walk in with a suit. So I like to start walking around as that guy and just feeling it. And then once you get the jacket on and those heavy boots, the walk comes and everything starts to build from there. It's always weird because you're trying stuff and you don't know if it's gonna work. Adam just kept being like, don't worry about it, push it further, push it further. Even though I'm like this feels huge, and he's like, no, no, no, keep going. Keep going! And then by the end of the first week we were just cooking.

Emily, as a person, is one of the greatest people I've ever met in my life. And we just got along really well, too. So there's a lot of real life love there. We were able to fully trust each other and dive in. And that's sort of what we talked about, like you do whatever you want and whatever you're gonna do, I'll just try to keep up. If you fall I'll catch you. We'll be there for each other.

TP: I follow you on socials, and it's really cool to see you posting and talking about a project that you are clearly passionate about. Which also makes fans really enthusiastic about supporting them. Is there something specific you’re looking for either in a script or the relationship with the filmmaker when you are picking these projects that you become attached to?

KG: Yeah, I mean, its usually first the story and character. Seeing if I can find something interesting in there or something I’m drawn to. I say no to a lot of things, especially now with my kids and my family time. Which means something different to me than it did ten, fifteen years ago. The project has to be something that really makes sense for me… something I feel like I need to go do. 

I’ve read things that I’ve liked and then I met with people and it just didn't feel right so we ended up not working together. Sometimes I’m on the fence about something and then I meet with the people making it and that pulled me in. It really depends and it’s a combination of things. Sometimes there may be a role that I think is cool but it’s also very close to something I’ve done before. So then it would make sense for me to spend those six months here as opposed to going off to do that again. There are exceptions to the rule but I look at things through a little bit of a finer lens these days as opposed to when I was starting out and just trying to work. Don’t get me wrong, being on set is one of my favorite places on the planet. But balance is important and we’ve been working to discover what that is, and as the boys grow the balance changes. So you’re always re-calibrating. 

TP: You had mentioned some similar roles and things being offered, and that made me think, too, about Simon. Since then I've seen you play some characters that have a similar kind of intense chaotic energy but every single time you bring something different that stands out. What’s your process like of finding the nuance in roles that could feel really similar on a surface level?

KG: Everybody has different wants, needs, and goals and that's the same with these characters. Even if the emotions are sort of similar. Like Benson from The Passenger wants something very different than what Simon wants. Benson went through something horrific that Simon never went through. Everybody’s life and backstory is different. Let’s just say these two characters, they’re angry, right? They have very different things that make them angry. So what does their past inform, and breaking that down, and sort of getting into their shoes. And I always try not to judge. If I start judging him, then it’s never going to work. There’s some intuitive work there too. Everyone is different, sometimes it’s just about coming up with the right playlist. It could be as simple as that. Sometimes it requires a lot more work. There is no right way to do anything and someone’s approach to the same character could be totally different and just as good. 

TP: And talking about Benson, The Passenger was another film I adored.  Are there other films in your filmography that you'd love to see have the kind of resurgence that Dinner in America is having right now?

KG: There's a really cool one I made a long time ago called Band of Robbers. The Nee Brothers wrote and directed it. They've since gone on to making big, big stuff. They're really talented. It's a re-imagining of what Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn would be like if they were around now as adults. It's a funny, cool, small adventure movie that's really good.

Dinner in America is just such a different animal, though. It just felt poised for something like this, it was the right kind of movie, because it totally bucks the system. It kind of gives a big fuck you to the whole distribution machine. And the way things are done. It's kind of punk rock in its own way. It's such a good, almost Rocky Horror type of midnight movie. You can yell and have fun and sing along. And this whole thing is fan driven. All of these screenings are from people calling their local theaters, their local theaters getting in touch with, you know the powers that be. And then setting up these screenings. I mean, everything that's happening is because people are asking for it. I mean, we're going to Chicago, and we're playing like a 700 seat theater. And they added 2 screenings because we sold the first one out. 

TP: Since people have fallen in love with this movie, fans are clamoring for a sequel, and I know you mentioned working with Adam again. Is this a story that you want to continue?

KG: Oh, we talked about it multiple times. We have scenes we've talked about. At one point I think there was even discussion of doing like a five episode thing. We still daydream about it. It would be amazing and realistically, I would look at Adam and say, just tell me when I need to start growing my hair out, man, and let's go. I would. I'd slip that bomber jacket on again in a heartbeat. I love Simon.

TP: So they added a second screening here in Philly because the first one sold out so fast. And there are still tickets for the second one. What would you want to say to help get people in those seats?

KG: Just come, have a good time. We'll be there. It’s the kind of movie you want to go see in the theater. It's meant to be enjoyed with the people around you. You're meant to get loud. You're meant to laugh. And everytime I’ve seen it in theaters it's been a blast. Dinner in America is a movie about standing up for yourself, what you love, and being your full authentic weird self. And the energy around this theatrical run shows how fans have taken that message close to heart. If we have the power to come together and advocate for something we love like a film, just imagine what that energy could be used for? If you want to feel empowered, enthusiastic, and ready to fight for what is important to you, come hang out with us Friday and feel the love! 

If you have not yet grabbed your tickets to Dinner in America you can snag them here. Make sure to show up early to say hi to the MovieJawn crew. We will be slinging our print zines and have some fun (and free) Dinner in America themed goodies!

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