Interview: Chicagoan Eric McCoy, Justus Meyer of McCoy|Meyer Productions

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CHICAGO – When HollywoodChicago.com last talked to Eric McCoy, he was a fresh-out-of-film-school director with a notable short work – “Carpe Millennium” – ready to hit the festival circuit, and a different name, Eric Bednarowicz. About a year later, Eric moved to Los Angeles, took his middle name as his new moniker, and teamed up with Justus Meyer to form the new production company McCoy|Meyer. Ironically, Dictionary Films of Chicago just announced that McCoy|Meyer of Los Angeles will join their team of production experts here.

Eric McCoy is a Chicago native, having grown up in the north Lakeview neighborhood. After graduating from Columbia College here, he pulled up stakes and took his talent as a director to Los Angeles. He reacquainted himself with Justus Meyer, a fellow Columbia College grad from a small town in South Dakota, while working on a music video. The two former classmates clicked, and McCoy|Meyer was born.

Eric McCoy, Justus Meyer
Justus Meyer (left) and Eric McCoy of McCoy|Meyer
Photo credit: McCoy|Meyer

After producing over thirty commercials and music videos, the production team was hired in December of 2014 by Dictionary Films, a Chicago based film house known for thinking outside the production box, and finding talent that represents that philosophy. Eric McCoy – with additional comments from Justus Meyer – talked to HollywoodChicago.com about their transition to Dictionary Films, McCoy’s move to Los Angeles and the team’s current projects.

HollywoodChicago.com: We last talked in 2010. Besides your move to Los Angeles and your name change, what do you think is the most significant part of your evolution in that time?

Eric McCoy: It’s the understanding that preparation makes a director, as much as talent. Which was a relief, because if it was just up to talent, I’d be in trouble. [laughs] There was someone who mentored me when I first got out there, and he told me that if I wanted to be a director, I would need 10,000 hours to just qualify. So that is when Justus and I decided to shoot commercials for awhile. It was a way to learn the craft, and as importantly, pay the bills. It’s one thing to call yourself a director once you get out of film school, but really it’s just the beginning. It’s learning to prepare, and to gather the answers for as many unanswered questions as you can, before they are asked of you.

HollywoodChicago.com: Eric, you moved to Los Angeles in 2011. As a new director in a town teeming with filmmakers, what steps did you and Justus take to attract work and network?

McCoy: We started doing commercial contests, and it’s a real way to get going. Besides the million dollar Doritos Super Bowl contest, there are a lot of companies who do them at lower dollar winning level. We tapped into the Columbia College of Chicago network in Los Angeles, who weren’t doing what they came out there for, and allowed them to tap into their passions as we made these commercials on the weekend.

We’d write, cast and shoot in seven days, and that became our business model. We won about 40% of the contests we entered in. When we’d hear of one, we were shooting another, and that kept connecting us with income and work. It was best way to get going, and that’s how we began.

Justus Meyer: Attracting work is difficult without a large portfolio. A large portfolio is hard to achieve without a large network of talented filmmakers, so our jobs rely heavily on attracting talented artists. It takes a lot of patience and trust to work with people in the early stages. We’ve spent a lot of time building that trust.

HollywoodChicago.com: You are paired together as business and directing partners. What is the origin of your teaming up, and what makes you ideal partners?

McCoy: We went to Columbia College together, but we never worked together then. But when he moved to Los Angeles, we worked on a music video together. It got some good traction, and we won an award for it - from the State of California and the U.S. Congress – for showcasing Los Angeles in a great way. So after doing that video, we started our partnership.

We compliment each other very well, using each other’s strengths. Justus is much more grounded, coming from South Dakota, and calms my growing-up-in-Chicago agitation. It works well to just wake up every morning and have a business partner to do it with, I couldn’t do it otherwise.

Meyer: We’re both dedicated and ambitious. One of the greatest strengths our partnership has is our diversity in interests. In this way, we cast a much wider net regarding attention to detail, and we’re constantly double checking each other’s work and approach – we push each other to be better.

HollywoodChicago.com: So you’ve won 40% of your commercial contests. What do you think is the key to that success rate?

McCoy: I think that we compete against people who see the prize money as something that they will collect for themselves, so for example if it’s a 10 thousand dollar prize, they want to shoot it for $500, cast, edit and do post production themselves. That is against the grain of the filmmaking process…a highly collaborative art.

We structured it so that the winnings would spread out, if we won, and that lured talented people initially that are still with us today, when we have actual shoots with actual budgets. So the answer was volume…do as many as possible with the same expert people. I have 15 years of editing experience, but the smartest thing I did was get an editor who had more passion for it - that is his expertise - and that’s how the finished project is better. It’s an acknowledgement that I don’t know every f**king thing, and I can only spread my energy so far.

Eric McCoy, Justus Meyer
On the Set of ‘My Best Friend’s Death,’ an Upcoming McCoy|Meyer Production
Photo credit: McCoy|Meyer

HollywoodChicago.com: You’ve done mostly commercial work together, and were recently hired by locally based Dictionary Films. What particular style do you believe sets you and Justus apart and landed you the gig?

McCoy: They really liked our comedy. For example, we did a spot for Black & Decker that basically showcased a serial killer using the product. This was a situation where the company paid filmmakers to submit. We weren’t interested in doing something blah, so we figured they’d either embrace it or run for the hills. [laughs] They sort of ran for the hills, since the implied violence was a tough sell, but the client did love it, they just couldn’t take it on. Dictionary Films is selling us as a comedy team, and actually the Black & Decker spot is getting us the most attention.

Meyer: We’re also currently most known for heartfelt and sentimental content, especially for mothers. We call it “mom-tent.” We especially enjoy any mom-ortunity to make “mom-edies.” [laughs] Funny thing, the client wasn’t convinced to ‘go in that direction’ for our Black & Decker commercials, but this is what we love about commercial contests. Because the budgets are low, there isn’t much room for push back and critique about our approach for a commercial.

HollywoodChicago.com: Eric, getting back to the transition to Los Angeles. What kind of preliminary connection made it easier, and what kind of Chicago contingent have you found in your connections there?

McCoy: Los Angeles is a city of transplants. I’ve only met a few people who actually grew up there. Our Chicago connection is very deep. Our latest short film - ‘My Best Friend’s Death’ - stars Max Lesser from Chicago. We’ve worked with cinematographers and production designers who came right from here.

HollywoodChicago.com: You decided to change your name, from Bednarowicz to McCoy. In the tradition of Hollywood name changes, what was the overriding influence for making switch?

McCoy: It’s my mother’s maiden name, and my middle name, and I think I look more Irish. [laughs] My Polish father is completely okay with it, and also my Polish grandmother, it just made sense. It’s an easier name to remember, and if you can get just the slightest edge, I will take it in a heartbeat. It’s competitive out there.

HollywoodChicago.com: Beyond your commercial work, you both obviously would like to work in narrative short films or features. What is a current or expected project in that arena, and what stage is it in?

McCoy: We just finished the first act of ‘My Best Friend’s Death,’ which we envision as a trilogy. It’s about a guy who tries to kill himself, and when the Grim Reaper arrives, they realize they went to high school together. They catch up, and the guy killing himself finds out that his high school crush is alive and very single. It gives him something to live for…so the Grim Reaper is torn between helping his friend, and the corporate hierarchy of death.

The idea is to release the first of three, which is a complete film, and start showing it on the film festival circuit. While we’re doing that, we’ll shoot parts two and three, to remind those festivals of the first one. ‘It’s a trilogy, here are the other two.’ It’s always good to have multiple strategies.

HollywoodChicago.com: What are your director influences, and have you ever snuck in a tribute to them in any of your narrative or commercial works?

McCoy: I do have a few influences…I admire the preparation that David Fincher has, he just is so capable. There is purpose to every shot, nothing is left to accident. It’s a perspective that I just have more appreciation for, because preparation is exponential to a project…the longer it is, the more you have to prepare.

Artistically, in terms of visual symmetry we tried to practice in ‘My Best Friend’s Death,’ is Wes Anderson. Stylistically, he is second to Fincher, because Fincher connects more with the way I approach the work, but Wes enjoys a wink to the audience, ‘we know we’re making a movie, but I’m going to talk to you anyway.’ We like the tongue-in-cheek, and the dark humor as well. They’re both very prepared, and they influenced us with their blueprints.

Meyer: My biggest influences are Danny Boyle, David Fincher, and Stephen Spielberg, for their ability to bring incredibly compelling content to life. Like most filmmakers, we count ourselves as storytellers above all, and as such I’m drawn to masterful stories that consistently flirt with the rules, only to bend and break and shape and mold them, all at the filmmaker’s will. These are the stories most resonate with me as an artist, and as a human being.

To access more information about McCoy|Meyer, and Eric McCoy and Justus Meyer, click here. For more information about Dictionary Films. click here.

HollywoodChicago.com senior staff writer Patrick McDonald

By PATRICK McDONALD
Writer, Editorial Coordinator
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

© 2015 Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

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