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Grow Director John McPhail on Recruiting Favorites for Family Comedy

Director John McPhail (Anna and the Apocalypse) spoke to us about assembling a comedic ensemble for his Fathom family comedy, Grow.

John McPhail developed a passion for the film, similarly to many of his peers, during family movie night. Regularly perusing gems at the video store, he became a filmmaker and writer, starting his career with shorts in 2013's Notes, Just Say Hi, and V for Visa. He would graduate to films with his feature debut in the 2015 rom-com, Where Do We Go from Here. His second feature, the Orion musical Anna and the Apocalypse (2017), would put him on the map as a solid cult classic. He's since worked on the Hulu anthology series Bite Size Halloween and the Lionsgate supernatural horror film Dear David. His latest is Fathom's family comedy Grow, which is the tale of a young girl, Charlie Little (Priya-Rose Brookwell), who just might be a pumpkin-growing savant. McPhail spoke to Bleeding Cool about the dynamic between Charlie and Dinah (Golda Rosheuvel), the long journey to get the film made, breaking out of the mold from the success of Anna and the Apocalypse, assembling his dream comedy ensemble, and more.

Grow Director John McPhail on Creating a Family Comedy with Heart and Legendary Comedians

What intrigued you about Grow, and how did you get involved?

I got sent the script, and I fell in love with the Dinah and Charlie dynamic, that unconventional mother-daughter story. For every movie I pick, it's always got to be about character, and I loved their dynamic and themes. We also have an array of eccentric characters that inhabit this town. I love playing in the absurd sometimes, but if I can ground it in real relationships, then I'll love it, and I'm all over it.

What was the process of working with so much writing talent, with Nick Guthe, Christos Gage, Ruth Fletcher, Mark Huckerby, and Nick Ostler on the script and story?

First, [Grow] was written about 19 years ago; this film has been sitting on a shelf for so long. The production company, Double Nickel, and Sky were talking to Sky about a TV series, and they'd mentioned this, and Sky loved it. [Double Nickel] redeveloped it for the UK, and that's when the two UK writers came on board. When I got it, I put little bits of me in there as well, but it was so well developed, and it was such a good place; the actors came in, and they put their stamp all over everything.

What went to casting, and why are Priya-Rose and Golda perfect as Charlie and Dinah?

I've wanted to work with Golda for ages. What that woman can do with her look is incredible. She's a wonderful human being as well as a class collaborator. I loved working with her. She set the tone on set and for the whole film. None of the cast had any egos. They wanted to be on set, hang about on set, and have fun. It was ridiculously good, like genuinely. Priya was nine when I shot this, so she's incredible. I don't know about you, Tom, but I thought she was great for a nine-year-old. She never cried and never huffed. She was literally in every frame of this film, and you couldn't get her away from the set; she loved it.

How does a project like Grow differentiate from your other work?

For everything, it's like I don't really care about genre. I hate it when people try to put me in a box for so long. I was the "zombie musical guy" [laughs]. That's the box I sat in, but I love genre, I love comedy. Comedies will always bring them all out, and will tie everything in for me, because, again, all that plays in character. Grow is a love letter to the family films I grew up watching. Films were a big deal in our household. We didn't have a lot of money, so going to the cinema was scarce. My mum would tape films off the TV, and we would go to like Blockbuster [Video] on a Friday night, rent movies, and sit around with our parents and laugh along. I wanted to do that for the kids and parents.

As far as casting, how did you fill it out with Nick Frost, Joe Wilkinson, Tim McInnerny, and Jane Horrocks, and what did they bring?

Nick Frost is exactly how you think Nick Frost has got to be. He's so funny, such a sweet, lovely man, and he's so giving as well. His improv is great, you set him off, and he goes with it. Priya learned a lot watching him, like a lot of improv stuff. I've wanted Tim McInerney and Jane Horrocks for this because I grew up watching them, like I talk about them with my parents, and grew up watching Blackadder and Absolutely Fabulous. It's what we watched in the evenings, so to get to work with them was incredible. Jeremy Swift was so funny, such a lovely man, like I can't speak highly enough of how wonderful they were. They all wanted to come in and play, like they wanted to have fun. I feel like it comes across on screen. Even the crew was having so much fun doing this.

What was your biggest challenge during production?

The same answer everybody probably gives you, Tom: "There's not enough time. There's never enough money" [Laughs]. We had long, hard days, but again, a great crew. The big finale, the big set piece at the end, creating that whole pumpkin festival, was challenging. We had a lot to get through; we had only two days to shoot it, and we're in Scotland. You're waiting for the weather to turn like that and like rain, but we were fortunate with the weather, like really lucky. It was challenging because I had the full-on cast as well as over 150 extras, and 100-odd crew. As an independent filmmaker, I only started directing 12 years ago. That was a huge thing.

What are your biggest influences as a director?

I love films. I'm a big horror fan, like I grew up watching…like my mum loves John Carpenter and Stephen King movies, any horror, really. I love comedy as well, and I also love [Steven] Spielberg, Richard Donner, [Quentin] Tarantino, Edgar Wright… I'm a huge fan of the cinema.

Is there anything you could tell me about your upcoming projects? I heard about your Lady Macbeth musical. Where are we with that?

That's sitting over on Amazon. They've put a pin on that at the moment, so that's the usual sort of thing. I've got like a bunch of stuff on my slate, though. I love comedy, and I just want to make movies. I keep wanting to entertain as many people as I can and try to make as many people laugh as I can. I've got a romantic comedy I'm writing now, going back to my roots in shorts.

Grow, which also stars Dominic McLaughlin, is available in theaters on October 17th.

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