Weak Layers is a ski comedy written, directed, and starring Katie Burrell.
We subsequently had a chance to sit down with Katie Burrell at the Whistler Film Festival (WFF).
HNMAG: You’re originally from BC.
Katie Burrell: Born and bred in BC. I was born in Powell River and grew up on the Island and my parents currently live at Sproat Lake, near Port Alberni. I’m looking at moving back to Vancouver. I’ve lived in a few places in the Lower Mainland before. East Van, North Van, South Granville. I love the city.
HNMAG: How did you get involved in entertainment?
Katie Burrell: The first stuff I did was Stand-up comedy. I did that for ten years. I started in Montreal when I was at McGill. I also did short films there. I did improv in Vancouver with Blind Tiger and did a bit of work on commercial projects.
HNMAG: When did you move back to BC?
Katie Burrell: After I graduated in 2010. I moved to Vancouver first then I moved to Revelstoke. I was between the two places for a time. In 2013, I took Stand-up more seriously. I moved back to Vancouver permanently and I did stand up for three years. Then I got a full-time marketing job for a Heli-Ski company in Revelstoke. That’s when I found the opportunity to do something new, a blend of comedy and skiing. I started as a comedic host for documentaries. I was playing a caricature of myself. We met the producers of Buried which opened up the opportunity for Weak Layers.
HNMAG: Is that why the movie was set in Tahoe?
Katie Burrell: We did consider Canada but the financing company was American, so they would have lost tax credits to shoot in Canada. Whistler would have been too expensive and Revelstoke was too far out there. The great thing about Tahoe is that you have the LA talent pool as well as the Reno talent pool. A lot of our day players and crew were Reno-based.
HNMAG: Were you the only Canadian?
Katie Burrell: Colleen Gentemann was there as well with me. Ryan Collins was our DIT. Tahoe was also really excited for a new ski film to be shot there. They were incredibly helpful. The goal was to resurrect the Ski Comedy.
HNMAG: Where did you first ski as a kid?
Katie Burrell: I skied at Mount Washington. We sometimes called it Mount Slushington as it was so slushy.
HNMAG: Do you have any plans to set a movie in Canada?
Katie Burrell: I want to do a comedy about the Canadian construction landscape and hire comedians as the performers. I prefer the delivery of just talking, stylistically.
HNMAG: What was the casting like?
Katie Burrell: Our casting director was Susanne Scheel. In early conversations, she already had a short list in her head. We went out to Actor’s Access and we had something like two thousand submissions for the role of Gabe. Spoil of riches for the roles of Tina and Lucy. Actually, Jadyn Wong (Lucy) is Canadian.
HNMAG: OK, so there’s a fourth.
Katie Burrell: Yes! Jadyn is Canadian and she’s between Vancouver and LA.
HNMAG: Who is the distributor?
Katie Burrell: Greenwich Entertainment. They have a proven model of how a film like this will work. Did you enjoy the film as a non-skier?
HNMAG: For sure, I didn’t know the celebrities but it was funny. This was different than the ski comedies I remember from the 80’s.
Katie Burrell: Sure, it’s different than the movie Hot Dog as it’s all girls.
HNMAG: Yes but also this wouldn’t happen in the 80’s. It’s still hot but the type of women’s behavior…
Katie Burrell: Sure, rogue and troublemakers…getting into shit. It was fun to have these characters. Even today you don’t see women behaving like that in movies. It’s a generational shift.
Weak Layers is a fun comedy that plows through the world of life on the slopes. Since it’s considered an American movie by exhibitors, that might mean you will have a greater opportunity to see it in the theatres. That would be a positive, not just because it’s worth watching but that way Katie’s next movie could be about Canadians.