Authenticity is extremely important to writer/director Peter M. Cohen. He knew that if he were going to capture the sights, the sounds, the smells of the New York dating scene on film, he would have to do his homework. Now, to most writers, research is a dirty word. But Cohen is not most writers. He immersed himself in his subject and, with no regard for his own physical health or self-esteem, spent countless hours in bars and greasy spoons, talking to his friends about sex. It was just what he would normally be doing. .. .only now it was tax-deductible. It all provided the ample research necessary for WHIPPED (1999). From here evolved the semi-autobiographical tale of male friends, and an amusing examination of the ever-prominent battle-of-the-sexes.
Unlike yesterday's generations, this era presents a whole new scenario for the dating world. Long gone are the days where women were expected to be demure and agreeable--creating today an entirely different set of courtship rules. "It's about what typically happens in the lives of singles," explains Cohen, who recreated dialogue from time spent with male and female friends, the latter often shocking him the most. "All guys know they talk like this, and most don't realize that women talk this way too. I'd think, 'thank God they're not talking about me!' but maybe some women out there were. " Cohen therefore had a film he thought worked on two levels--one that can be enjoyed for its humor, or could go deeper with the message that women are not that much different from the opposite sex.
"Girls can be scammers too!" agrees Amanda Peet, who plays Mia, the hip femme fatale, "I think women are probably just smarter and less obvious in their manipulation and tactics. .. isn't this why we normally get the upper hand?" Cohen had
met Peet through a mutual friend, and although the actress had sworn off any more independent films, she jumped at the chance to play Mia. The role required someone with looks and moxie, both of which Peet did not lack. "I was attracted to the role because here was this formidable woman, who can play the same game as the men, and yet she keeps her dignity while they lose their pounce," she enthuses. "Mia is a modern girl, and she plays her cards deliciously well with a great poker face!"
As for his showy men, Cohen admits: "There is a bit of me in all these characters, all my friends are like this, and living in New York, everyone knows someone like Brad; I wanted people to relate to this and say 'yeah, I know a guy like that'. " Not coincidentally, his leading male characters, Brad, Zeke and Jonathan, are based on three of Cohen's close friends--who actually portray themselves in the film.
Zorie Barber, who plays Zeke, has known Cohen since the 7th grade and they've been best friends ever since. "WHIPPED (1999) is sort of like a wildlife documentary, like the mating call or native dance of the urban male," laughs Barber. "Just like different birds have different plumage, so do these three characters. The only thing they have in common is loyalty to their animal drives" he adds. "The film is funny and fast, and yet I think there is something there that is so revealing about our culture. "
Brad, the "king scammer" according to actor Brian Van Holt, is a character similar to many of his and Cohen's mutual friends. "People do talk like this and so much of this humour is based on real-life events," he says, "there are guys out there making up theories like that of the 'look away' and, so are the girls for that matter. " Having met in Los Angeles, Van Holt and Cohen ran into each other by coincidence on a flight to New York. As they made their way toward the East Coast, the aspiring filmmaker informed Van Holt that he was going to write a screenplay and had the perfect role for him.
Cohen was in fact returning to New York City after having completed USC's graduate cinema program. With a demanding new job as a commercial producer for J. Walter Thompson, he wrote diligently at nights and on weekends. When finished, Cohen was disillusioned to find that it was near impossible to get anyone in the industry to read his script. It soon became clear that he needed to make the film himself--particularly if he wanted it done right.
"This is a dating satire," explains Cohen, "I wanted to capture what a lot of people are experiencing and talking about. " Being one of those people, Cohen could envision exactly how he wanted to translate this onto film. "There are women like Mia who are scamming just like men and there's no need for the double standard. " Written before HBO's hugely popular "Sex and the City" hit the air, WHIPPED (1999) "similarly depicts the hidden truths about sex and contemporary relationships," observes Cohen. "While the women of that show may suffer comic humiliations at the hands of men, they usually dish it right back, and all of that is entirely true!" Much to his delight, he thinks the show will have "paved the way" for his film.
WHIPPED (1999) has been "pushed to a level that's over the top," reveals the director. This is humorously evident in Eric, the "married guy" who again is modelled after another friend. The character is painfully pathetic, something the director specifically did to juxtapose the singles' attitudes. "These guys think they're God's gift and just want to score with women. They are so turned off to their married friend," comments Cohen. Ironically, when Mia comes into the picture, she is the "perfect woman" who actually has the men thinking about a relationship. She dissolves their bravado and has them yearning for a change.
"They start to realize that there might be more to the feminine creature," says Judah Domke, WHIPPED (1999)'s hitched fellow. "And I think it's a rite of passage for every male when he gets to a certain age and meets someone special. At that moment you go from being a boy to a man. " Certainly, the three scammers in the film are having a hard time coming to grips with that, especially as Mia forces the issue.
Brad, Zeke and Jonathan also see their friendship crumble along with their egos. Where they once shared a strong male bond, they now have threat and competition. Their juvenile motto: "Bros before 'hos, pals before gals" has ended. "Their loyalty never extended much beyond the three of them, it certainly did not cross gender boundaries," says Barber, "so when things begin to evolve after meeting Mia, it's a defining moment. " Gone are the days of discussing "The Plan" ; instead are displays of volatile Zeke in his hot-tempered moments.
Despite the fact that he was starting from scratch and everyone warned that there was no way he could do this himself, Cohen was determined to make his film. He began raising money after preparing an impressive investment package with some legal help. He then hit up family members and every college friend--all those Wall Street suits he nailed in his script became his investors. A few months later with his minimum amount raised and his cast and crew in place, Cohen started shooting.
"There is no way this film could have been completed in the short time we had if Peter was not so smart and motivated," says Peet, "he really had a confident vision of what he wanted. " This assertive energy drove the film to completion in only 15 days, with three additional days for pick-up shots. Such quick-fire results were abetted with a talented crew and some innovative scheduling.
"Cutting corners was essential, so I had this idea to rent an empty loft in SoHo for one month and shoot all the apartment interiors there," says Cohen. For $2500 the production had a space to build and shoot five different rooms. While they prepped the loft, Cohen completed specific location shots the first week, then shot in the loft the second week. With six movable walls, they would shoot one bedroom scene while building and painting the next bedroom. "We went from room to room, using the same bed in each," he says, "then we shot in the diner the third week, during which people cleaned up the loft space. "
While this type of creative planning got production rolling, it also demanded a degree of flexibility from everyone. They had completed a master shot inside Madison Park on the first day when they learned their permit was exclusive to the park's exterior. It was an obstacle Cohen would have preferred to skip, particularly on day one. But such is the nature of the independent beast. They had to do all the remaining scenes at Battery Park. Similarly, after securing a bookstore location, the merchant backed out at the last minute, forcing Cohen to scramble, reschedule and use his neighbourhood magazine shop. "We'd often see what would work when we got there," he explains, "we shot a scene on Amanda's stoop while she had her make-up done inside simply because we couldn't shoot in Washington Square Park that day. We had to be willing to rewrite and shoot different ways. "
One of the biggest challenges for the filmmaker was producing and being in charge of all those details. While directing, his mind was also in producer-mode, wondering how much it was costing to shoot that day and pay his crew. "Being on set and knowing we could only be there for six hours or risk paying another $1000 was not something I wanted to worry about. As director, I'd know we had to shoot all these pages, but as producer, I was also concerned that this actor had never acted before, so how could we really complete it all in six hours. I'd have to go through the shot list cutting out stuff in order to save time. "
In one instance, the cutting back issue was forced on him. The women's brunch scene at a downtown coffee shop proved quite tricky when its owner decided to cut their shoot time in half if they didn't shell out more money than originally agreed. Cohen had to rush through that scene, yet, it would never be known. Not only did he make it look like an uptown, yuppie-chic establishment, but the women nailed it beautifully in a fraction of their allotted time.
One area where Cohen did not cut cost was in paying his crew. Aside from the realization that it is hard to get people to work for free these days, he also wanted quality work. His economizing took shape in other deft ways. His cinematographer, Peter Kowalski, whom Cohen had met and worked with during his USC days, was able to get a free camera package from Panavision. "I was working on that for about a year," says Cohen who ended up moving his shooting schedule to accommodate Kowalski and the essential donation. He also hired his sister as script supervisor, despite the fact that she was just newly trained at the job. "I think my sister was miserable, but she was the only person I could get an honest opinion from," he reflects, "and, she was the only person I could yell at!"
His wardrobe manager, a still shoot stylist with large quantities of clothing, was fortunately the same size as Amanda. Everyone also pulled together resourceful friends who worked for designers such as Prada and Kenneth Cole to donate accessories and some clothes. All the people in Cohen's life--from his mother to his friends--became extras in the film. "I couldn't pay real extras and plus, I knew I could rely on friends to show up. " Additional freebies came from his commercial producing connections at post facilities and labs.
The diner, the core of WHIPPED (1999)'s head-spinning conversations, was an authentic eatery Cohen found in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which had been closed for ten years. After cleaning it up and with most of the appliances still intact, the production shot there for five days. Other shoots included trendy locales like Club Vanity, the Merc Bar and the Belle Cafe--its owners or managers dutifully playing bit roles in the film.
Although the production began with a solid script, there was a lot of collaboration with the actors. "A lot of dialogue and terms came from rehearsals; we'd try it scripted or differently, " explains Cohen who actually filled six pages with "scammers' terminology. " "We didn't want to use old terms. .. 'stabbin' cabin' for instance had started out as 'love den,' and we discovered amusing conjectures like the 'Nice-Guy Date. ' "
Cohen had shot his film and made a video copy on his budget, but he still did not have a finished print. Eager to complete WHIPPED (1999), he broke the first rule you learn in film school: never invest your own money. "I knew that getting the final print was essential," he says, "It would be costly, but I figured this was a once in a lifetime chance. I am still young; I could always continue producing commercials. " With that decision, he put up all his savings, sold his stocks and worked very, very hard. "Those four months of dealing with funds and finishing the film were the worst, most stressful of my life!" Cohen shares. He eventually even quit his job to commit himself to the project.
Of course, if there is any irony, it is that the cocky men of this tale do get the comeuppance. "I think it's fantastic how Peter depicts his characters, the dating world's madness, and how the film gives women a unique equal footing," observes Peet, "that adage about it being 'a jungle out there' is true; it can be so absurd. But then, hasn't the war-of-the-sexes been the longest battle ever?!"
