Posted in: Interview, Movies | Tagged: Any Day Now, Eric Aronson, Paul Guilfoyle, taylor gray

Any Day Now: Eric Aronson on His Feature Directing Debut, Heist & More

Writer Eric Aronson (Mortdecai) spoke to Bleeding Cool about his latest indie heist comedy Any Day Now, Paul Guilfoyle, Taylor Gray and more.

It's been a long and rewarding journey for writer Eric Aronson, who decided to take a giant leap into directing and producing with his latest film, Any Day Now. His third feature in 25 years from his previous efforts in 2001's On the Line and 2015's Mortdecai, Any Day Now is based on the "true-ish art" heist of Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the thieves who walked away with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of art – the single largest unsolved property theft in the world that took place in 1990, which the museum still offers a $10 million reward for information that leads to the stolen artwork. Steve (Taylor Gray) is a night watchman in his early 20s, but his life is already getting away from him: his band is falling apart, he owes a ton of money, and he's in love with his best friend's girl. When Marty Lyons (Paul Guilfoyle) comes along and ropes Steve into a world of misfits, oddballs, and lost souls as dirty as the Charles River, Steve wonders if this is a change for the better or if he's about to make the worst mistake of his life. Aronson spoke to Bleeding Cool about the inspiration behind the film, why he felt the time was appropriate to make his directorial debut, why Guilfoyle and Gray were perfect as leads, and his initial jitters.

Any Day Now Director/Writer Eric Aronson on Film's Journey

Bleeding Cool: What's the inspiration behind 'Any Day Now?'

'Any Day Now' is loosely inspired by one of the great myths of my hometown, Boston, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist. The other great myth, of course, is the Whitey Bulger story, but Whitey Bulger is not funny.

Given your previous experiences writing with 'Mortdecai' and 'On the Line,' what made 'Any Day Now' the ideal feature for you to make your directing debut?

It had to be something I knew well, which I do because it's from my hometown. It had to be something I could do for a smaller budget, right? I didn't do the 'Ocean's Eleven' version of this because I couldn't afford it, and I'm not interested in it. I'm interested in the characters around the story, so I wanted to see how much of the story I could put in the background. And how many of the characters I can bring forward. That's more affordable as an indie filmmaker, and it's also more interesting.

How did Paul and Taylor get involved? Can you break down their chemistry and how they developed as Marty and Steve?

Paul, I had it in mind from the beginning. I wanted to give him a space where he could show off all his talents. He doesn't always get a chance to do that, and I'm a huge fan of his, so the role was written for him to play. Taylor, I found because someone mentioned a movie he was in. I saw it and thought, "This is someone who could play a character who's just right on the edge of getting his life together. That's perfect; he can do that."

[Paul and Taylor] have two very different styles. Paul is going with the moment, and he's honed in on naturally seeing what comes out of him. Taylor is really organized; he's done so much work and research and knows exactly what he's doing. To see these two contrasting styles work together helped the movie, and it was like that's exactly what you can see on the screen. They're in different places, and that's cool.

How did the rest of the casting come together?

Well, in Massachusetts, we have this great tax break. We get a lot of films from Hollywood and outside that come shoot in Massachusetts, which allows a lot of these great character actors to live, have a career, survive, and thrive in Boston. I went through Carolyn Pickman, who's a great casting director, and she found the rest of the cast. She helped me cast the local Boston folks and a couple from New York. She was great.

Was there a particular scene or aspect that was most difficult for you to get through while filming?

The first day was probably the hardest. I hadn't slept the night before and didn't know what was in store for me. I remember the first shot that we made; it was in a car. They drove up the hill and parked in a parking spot, and that was the whole shot. I came over, and Taylor and Paul were in the car. I leaned over and said, "Please don't make me look like an idiot in front of all these people." Paul and Taylor were like [hands up], "We got you. Don't worry, we got you," and then from then on, it was a dream. It was easy. Not easy, but it was much easier.

Do you feel you're a lot more equipped now to tackle more directing projects, or do you feel more at home to focus on writing? How do you feel about yourself now as a director compared to when you started?

I feel like I'm a split personality; if I'm going to write for Hollywood, it's a whole different thing. It's very stylized. I know better now of what I think directors need, but it's almost like Kabuki theater. It's stylized, but it can be done really well, and then if I'm going to direct my features, they're going to be small. They're going to be more personal, and they're going to tell my story better. It depends on which one I want to do. I got to keep that line really solid because they'll never let me in Hollywood do the things that I can do in 'Any Day Now.'

Any Day Now, which also stars Alexandra Templer, Thomas Kee, and Armando Rivera, is available in select theaters.

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