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Literary filmic adaptations come in many forms, from the epic mass of Lord Of The Rings and the Harry Potter octology to the tighter tales of Shawshank Redemption (Stephen King short story) and Argo (article), but few can claim to be from as tiny an inspiration as a four-panel comic strip. Matt Lenski's 'Carolyn' is one such film and, if the series proves popular, could be one of many.

Based on the award-winning comic strip The Perry Bible Fellowship (PBF), Supply & Demand director Matt Lenski's short is a minute-long sketch offering a snapshot into a heartbroken man's day-to-day interactions. The PBF itself, is a darkly amusing series of strips which has amassed a cult following across the world since its inception back in 2001, featured in publications such as The Guardian, The New York Press and Maxim. More recently the comic branched out online to become a bonafide hit with the web crowd, collecting honours including the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Online Comic.

Realizing the potential of expanding the comic cinematically, Lenski reached out to Gurewitch directly to discuss possibilities, explaining to the artist that PBF was the perfect blend of humor, absurdity and oddity to be made into a series of shorts.

We loved the film's gloomy chuckles, so chatted to Matt about the project's inception, shoot and the series as a whole.


How did the Perry Bible Fellowship project get started? Did you speak to Nick Gurewitch directly or was it arranged through other means?

This was born out of a mad love for The Perry Bible Fellowship. Then once Nicholas and I started talking things started moving very quickly.

How did you decide which of the strips to make?

I would like to make EVERY SINGLE ONE of them into a film so it was tricky. We narrowed it down to a handful, closed our eyes, and threw a dart. Carolyn is what it hit.

It made sense because I believe that when a woman leaves a man the only thing he can do is walk away… anything else is pathetic (which has never stopped us in the past.) But this film is about a man who takes the pathetic route.



What was the pre-production process like? Did you contemplate expanding on the script, as it were? Were there any thoughts into compiling many strips into a single film?

The Perry Bible Fellowship comics always imply a bigger world… all I had to do was imagine what that looked like in live action. Comics and films share a lot when it comes to story telling… but they also differ in many ways. When we finish our first pass of this series of films we'll definitely re release them as a compilation.

How was the casting? Did you have to find a man with the requisite sad face to play Mr Morris?

I have a great group of actors I love working with - Mr. Morris is one of them. He is actually a bit of a departure from how the teacher is drawn who was kind of handsome. Ours is a bit offbeat and maybe he would feel a loss more than a handsome guy. We totally lucked out with the kids! Thanks to Neil at House Casting.



How long was the shoot? Everything go to plan?

One day! We did one take of Mr. Morris' breakdown without telling the kids what to expect... and got great reactions. After that the cat was out of the bag and most of the work was to keep the kids from cracking up.

Black and white – stylistic choice or couldn't you find the right crayon colour to match the hair in the photo, so had to cover it up?

Ha! The film is about a color but the color itself doesn't matter. Seemed like the right creative choice. Je suis un poet.



The film comes in at just under a minute in length. Has your commercial work given you a particular ability to tell stories in short spaces of time? Are you applying the 1-minute-rule to each of the films?

I love concise storytelling. I'm ruthless in the edit… unless it's GREAT it's gone. No doubt commercial and short form content has honed that ability. We will keep the bitesized storytelling intact and it will always be just as deliciously weird and funny.

The comedy in the film (and the strip in general) is pretty dark. Is that a particular aspect of the genre you enjoy? How do you make 'sad' 'funny'?

You know what they say: Misery loves comedy. I actually see them as, sort of, adult concepts and emotions via a playful childlike prism… which is sometimes dark and other times whimsical and usually a little of both. It's a metaphor for life (I just like saying that.)



The film is the first of a series. What strips have you eyed up next?

More shorty, weirdo, ones and we are also planning an original to cap the series.

Will you be working on these films between your commercial projects? Do you feel it informs your technique?

We're treating this as much of a priority as any project commercial or otherwise that we work on. But yeah, I love making films… and the more you do it the better you get. That's just how filmmaking works.



What's up next for you?

I just wrapped a separate film about an over-the-hill graffiti writer who is sort of caught in arrested development which I'm super excited about. But right now I'm off to Los Angeles to shoot more commercials that are mostly scripted and not unfunny. In fact I'm writing this on a plane!