INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER MIKE BAGLEY

How would you describe your film?
I would describe our film as a dark comedy. Many people find it that way, and also say that it’s very intriguing. We get asked what message the viewer is to get out of the movie after they've finished watching it, and we tell everyone that it's basically up to his or her own imagination. Personally, I like it that way, not having a concrete, set ending that leaves the viewer without any additional questions. I love leaving the movie theater after a film still thinking about the movie and it's ending. Basic and Mystic River are classic examples.

What was your inspiration?
Our inspiration for this movie was basically the 1950's. John and Matt wrote and directed the movie and both are very time period-oriented. They felt like doing it in a style similar to the old silent, Charlie Chaplin movies. So, they did - in black and white and the whole nine yards!

I saw the "True Blue Beauty" as being the girl at first but then realized the blue flower at the end. Tell me your interpretation of "True Blue Beauty."
Honestly, I don't really have an interpretation of the movie. That may sound kind of odd since I helped produce it, but every time I see it, to me, it is what it is. The coloring effects of the flower I thought was ingenious on the part of John and Matt. That's probably my favorite part of the whole movie. It just adds personality. The funny thing is that the flower has nothing to do with the title of the film. Everyone thinks that the colored flower inspired the name of the film. Not so. We almost ended up naming the film The Flirt, but decided that True Blue Beauty sounded catchier. That's basically what it came down to.

Why a black and white, 1950s theme?
Like I mentioned before, the whole 1950's black and white theme were John and Matt’s brilliant minds at work. It's different, and it stands out from other movies, and that's what we’re all about.

What are your aspirations in the future in the film industry?
Well, currently I am producing another film that John and Matt have written and plan to direct soon. It’s a feature film that we are currently trying to get funding for. True Blue Beauty was a short that we wanted to make to get out there and see what sort of a response we would get. If it tanked, we'd count our losses and move on. However, because of the positive response we’ve received from TBB, we decided to go ahead with the feature and have gotten much of the same positive response for the script. Don't worry, though; it's not in black and white!

Interview by Tracy Chartier, March 10, 2004