Due to the sheer volume of movies to see and interviews to conduct at Sundance, it’s hard to get around to the bounty of shorts that are available. Honestly, it’s hard to even make time for a documentary or two in the festival’s line-up. Priority, at least on my end, must go to the big narrative titles that have the best shot at getting distribution. That’s the plain truth.
When I heard the synopsis for directorJack Henry Robbinsshort filmHot Winter, however, I knew it was something I’d have to cover. As it turns out, one of the first feature-length films to address the issue of climate change was also a hardcore porno movie, a historical fact thatThe Nice Guysclearly took for a ride. All the sex scenes have been removed as to not distract from the film’s environmental message, resulting in this politically charged short.
The short film premiered as part of the Midnight Shorts Program at this year’s Sundance and right before the premiere, I sat down with Jack Henry Robbins andTim Robbins(who executive produced the film) to talk about how the film came together. They talked about where the idea came from, how much porn was involved in the research process, casting a film like this, filming on VHS, if the two of them will ever do a film where they play father and son, and a lot more.
In addition, towards the end of the interview, you’re able to also watch the pair play a game I call “Get to Know Your Sundance Attendee,” which asks tough questions like drink of choice, how long can you go without looking at your phone, what’s the last TV show you’ve watched that you want to recommend, what do you collect, favorite websites, and a lot more.
Check out what they had to say in the video above and below is exactly what we talked about. Finally, a huge thank you to everyone atPlexus,The Future Partyand editorJonathan Mathewfor helping to make these interviews happen.
Jack Henry Robbins and Tim Robbins:
