Of all the short films released this year, few delivered slice-of-life comedic realness quite like Jon Ryan Sugimoto‘s latest Gut Punch. Side-splittingly funny, Gut Punch tells the story of three locals arguing in a neighborhood bodega about politics, semantics, and the state of the world. The film manages to take a hard and frank look at this current age of disinformation without ever feeling preachy or heavy-handed. In this interview with director Jon Ryan, we explore how Gut Punch came together, whether or not short films get the respect they deserve, his forthcoming new project Full Time, and more.
Jeromme Graham: The arguments and dialogue in Gut Punch feel so authentic and real. Was that inspired by situations in your real life? And how much does your life and background inspire or inform your work?
Jon Ryan: Yeah, I mean, I love the constant pursuit of clarity in normal human interaction. My radar is always open to those arguments. I came across one the other day at a bar where my friend asked me about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles song that says “Turtles in a half shell.” The thing is they are actually in a full shell because the front is hard too, so the lyrics should be “turtles in a full shell.” Four dudes who were strangers ended up gathering and having a debate about this for 20 minutes. I really really really look forward to when these conversations come up, so yes, it’s based on my radar for the pursuit of clarity.
JG: The film tackles everyday misinformation and skepticism in a humorous way that never feels too judgmental or heavy-handed. Was that a conscious decision?
JR: Yeah, for sure. I didn’t want the audience to be persuaded in any direction because the truth is that none of the characters know what they’re talking about. I remember being in group texts in 2019 and every debate ended with “do your own research” or “send me the link” which generally never ends with “ohh you’re right, I’m sorry I thought otherwise.” These phrases were dismissive to the point of no connection or understanding happening. These characters needed to be somewhat curious about what the other one thought and a glimpse of wanting to understand needed to be shown.
JG: How did you cast Gut Punch? Everyone was so magnetic and it just seems like that must’ve been a really fun shooting experience.
JR: Definitely the most fun I have had shooting a short film. I am a huge fan of all of them. I really can’t believe they all said yes. This film is truly a hot serve of comedic talent. When it came to actually convincing them to do the roles, Greer Barnes was into it right away and I didn’t need him to audition well because he’s Greer Barnes. I wrote this thing with Joe List in mind and I noticed he was very open to doing short films so he was just a DM away. Radel Ortiz was the toughest mostly because I didn’t think he would do it so I never emailed his manager. After many auditions for this role, I finally had the idea to reach out to Radel’s team and sell it as his “cinematic debut” since he does all iPhone sketches. Radel came in to audition the next day and we were ready to rock.
JG: I saw that you crowdfunded Gut Punch. Was that a nerve-wracking process? On the flip-side, did you find it reassuring at all that you would basically have a built-in audience via the people funding the film?
JR: The people funding the film mostly came from Joe List since he was an associate producer on the film and pushed the Indiegogo campaign to his audience. Between them and my network, we were funded in a week or two. Because Joe’s network was open to posting and donating, I wasn’t really worried that it would hit its goal. I get into this mode when I am in this development phase where there is no failing “I am going to get everything I need to make this film.” It sounds corny but when you’re making a film, you have to get into this mode where you can’t be stopped or else you probably will be.
JG: You’ve definitely mastered the art of telling compelling stories through shorts. What’s your creative process when you sit down to work on a short?
JR: Normally it’s a fun premise and then I write it out and it sucks. Then I send it to friends and they tell me why it sucks and why it’s good so I take out the stuff that sucks and send it out to friends again and I repeat that to wider and wider circles until when someone reads it for the first time they go “dude this is fucking awesome—are you going to make this?” That’s generally when I know it’s at a good spot. Takes a lot of time.
JG: Does the medium of short films get the respect it deserves?
JR: Honestly, no. I think it’s insane that there isn’t a short film section on every streaming platform. There should be a seasonal release of short films that are special picks by your favorite filmmakers or actors etc. People watch anthological content all the time in shows like Black Mirror and that’s a hit. This should be a regularly programmed season drop.
JG: The trailer for your new short Full Time is really intriguing. Can you tell us what Full Time is about?
JR: What the film is really about is growing up. A new graduate gets offered a job to stand in a square for money. He accepts the job and as he starts making more money, the free life that he knew and loved starts to fade away. Full Time is about that decision we all made somewhere along the way that led us to accidentally take our passion off of the table in order to put food on it.
JG: Full Time is working the festival circuit. When can we expect to see the official release?
JR: January 16th. It’ll be on my YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/@jonryanisdead/featured. It’ll also be on Omeleto, Directors Notes, and No Budge.
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Watch Jon Ryan Sugimoto’s short film Gut Punch below.
