by Liam Ridolfi
LA-based filmmaker Shane D. Stanger’s Good Bad Things explores the struggles of a young man suffering from FSHD Muscular Dystrophy, inspired by childhood friend and lead actor Danny Kurtzman’s own lived experience. What results is a poignant, incredibly moving romantic comedy, which took out the Audience Award and Unstoppable Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance 2024.
Shane, right off the bat, how much of this movie was birthed out of your desire to explore this subject matter, and then how much of it was just your desire to show off to the world your amazing lead actor Danny Kurtzman?
Shane D. Stanger: “Well, I’ll go backwards. First of all, Danny had never acted before, so I didn’t know I was going to get to be showing him off. We had no idea. Danny got into acting classes, and he really impressed me. He killed it, so he did such a good job beyond my expectations, truly. I mean, how could you expect someone who’s never acted before just to hop on set and carry a whole film?
“I’m happy you asked that question because it’s cool to see how people have been responding. I just had a feeling that he could do it and then exploring the subject matter… The subject matter is really our life. We’ve been friends since we were little kids, and so I think that was appealing to me. We have a friendship that is pretty unique. Growing up, I didn’t really think anything of it. As I was starting to think about what movie I wanted to make, along with my instincts and also what people say about your first one; it needs to be something intimate and personal… And so I thought of Danny when I was doing a short film in film school a couple of years ago, and he did such a good job and people were drawn to him that it all kind of came together that way, where, by the time I was thinking about what to do, I really didn’t have any other ideas other than … ‘okay, Danny, you want to act?’ He said ‘yeah’. So, we figured it out.”
You mentioned that you have known each other since you were really young. At what moment, if there was one, did this character and these themes specifically become a movie?
Shane D. Stanger: “I went to film school in 2021. The first short film I made was with Danny, and that just came on a random whim. That film is what I really think inspired me to look into the idea of seeing if Danny wanted to actually commit to this and do a much more difficult thing, which is make this feature film that was going to take up the next few years of our life. But that being said, it was not overly well planned from the time we started talking about the movie to the time we were on set shooting it. I mean, it was only a few months. It was crazy.
“We hired somebody to write a script because I hadn’t written a full screenplay before, and Danny never even thought about the idea of writing or coming up with the movie before. And then the script that got turned in just didn’t feel right. It wasn’t the movie that I wanted to do. And so, I was like, ‘Danny, the script came back, it sucks!’ But then he ended up coming over and we were just going to come up with a movie idea together, just the two of us, and then if we can pump out a screenplay in a couple weeks, we’ll make a movie and if not, we’ll put a pin in it. And the couple weeks went by, and the screenplay was liked enough that we decided to move forward.”
Danny, you portray this character in such a nuanced, multidimensional way. Can you share any insights into how the character’s experiences resonated with you personally and how you brought authenticity to the role?
Danny Kurtzman: “The movie came from Shane and my personal experiences. The way my acting coach – who played my dad in the movie – taught me to deliver scenes with that technique, which was born from personal emotions and experience constantly in every single scene.
“I’ve been disabled my whole life with muscular dystrophy, and it’s been a journey. I feel like in the last couple of years, I’ve been on a pretty powerful disabled journey, to say the least. And it was really cool having Shane allow me to bring that to the movie and share my definition of what I believe being disabled is in today’s world. So much about being disabled, is that we allow the world to dictate what we can and can’t be. We use that to be a crutch for not having full independence and accessibility. I think that’s bullshit. We are fully in the driver’s seat, and we are capable of telling our own story and being as powerful as we want to be. We do get in our own way. It’s us. Once we create that story and show how powerful we truly are, everything else will change. That’s the big picture. What I believe the story is about, that Shane allowed me to perform and show in this movie, is that Danny has everything throughout the movie. He’s got a gorgeous house, he’s got a business, he’s got a best friend that loves him, he’s got a dad that cares about him. He’s just fucking struggling. It’s not all that. It’s himself. He constantly is getting in his own way and not allowing himself to thrive and be the amazing person that everyone else sees.”
How do you navigate the portrayal of disability in the entertainment industry, and what, if any, changes would you like to see in how it’s treated on screen?
Danny Kurtzman: “I’m very new to this industry and I’m again very thankful with Shane being a part of this project from literally ideation conception to, we’re talking to distributors right now… I am basically in my masterclass in Hollywood. Especially with the disability lens and having Steve Way, our executive producer, who has been such a huge inspiration for me to think I could even do this project. He’s been super impactful educating me on Hollywood and disabled representation. And I do feel like it is timing. I’m excited to be a part of this at this time because I do think that the time is now for disabled people to be seen within Hollywood and TV and film. There’s so many super talented actors and actresses, writers, directors, editors who label themselves as disabled that aren’t being seen. Shane and I are in some really cool conversations right now and news to be hopefully announced in the new future. We’re trying to build this really super powerful team of amazing disabled individuals that are going to hopefully shake the tree. And Hollywood’s beautiful, it gives so much to this world, and it’s going to be a tough sell to crack. But I love the challenge and I think with this new lens and team that I’ve been thankful enough in the short period of time to know, I think we’re going to do some cool shit.”
The naked photo shoot scene was beautiful. It’s one of those moments in a film that feels like it perhaps was as magical on set as it translated into the film. What was that day on set like for the both of you and what does creating that kind of moment mean?
Danny Kurtzman: “This stemmed from a moment that Shane and I shared. We were at our best friend’s wedding in Cabo. I had a little bit of a connection with the wedding photographer, and she wanted to shoot me naked, and I said, ‘fuck it, let’s do it’. And so that created a really beautiful photo shoot, and I honestly didn’t think I was that comfortable in front of the camera, but the photos turned out beautiful and sexy, and I was really stoked. And it kind of brought an idea that I pushed into the movie. But yeah, I think Shane’s cinematography and how he and the DP [Nathan Haugaard] shot that scene, it’s definitely beautiful.”
Shane, as the writer and director, your vision is obviously paramount and clearly passionately motivated. Above everything, is there a particular sentiment that you hope audiences take from the film?
Shane D. Stanger: “I’d like people to be left with a little bit of a different understanding of what life and friendship is with someone with a disability. I think a lot of people don’t really have access to that or have a friend like Danny. Part of what we were doing was just showing people a different look at what they’ve seen regarding a life with a disability. Which is crazy because it should be something that is just normal, but it’s not. So, we were like, ‘well, why don’t we just do the thing that no one’s done before and show a normal experience with a disability, just living their life. That’s how we went into it. Afterwards, I hope people feel appreciative of their friendships and the love in their life.”
Danny, what impact do you hope your performance in Good Bad Things will have on audiences, particularly those with disabilities?
Danny Kurtzman: “I love this question. It goes back to what I was saying before in that I hope it empowers people with a disability, maybe not everyone, but a good amount. I hope it shows them that they are able to do whatever they want, honestly, to not wait for things to come to them, to adapt, to accept them, that you have the ability to do that within yourself and make some of the most simple things beautiful and that they are. Disability ages so drastically, whether you are born with it, whether you get diagnosed with it later in life, or whether you literally get in your car and the next minute you are disabled and that there’s nothing wrong with that… It doesn’t mean you’re lesser, it doesn’t mean you can’t do things. It just is different. And there’s beauty in that and there’s lots of strength in that.
“Also, when Shane and I hopefully do what we envision we want to do with this movie, it allows the disabled community to see themselves in something that they’ve always wanted to be seen in. Because we just did it in a really organic, authentic way. I wasn’t trying to be someone that I wasn’t in the movie. We didn’t write some crazy ass thing that we’ve never really truly experienced. We just wrote what we have been a part of. And hopefully that’s something that resonates with people with disability, whether it’s the full movie or just in one little scene. And it’s been cool to hear that in lots of screenings that we’ve had, how much they see themselves in the movie.”
Good Bad Things will screen at the Sydney Film Festival on 9 and 13 June 2024. Click here for tix.
