Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin Talk ‘Splitsville’ And “North Star” Influence of Buster Keaton

Watching Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin’s latest feature Splitsville reminded me of Buster Keaton’s classic feature The General. Crafting memorable physical comedy and visually arresting cinematic compositions are qualities they share with the silent film star icon, so I started our interview with a Keaton question . . .

“I’m so happy you asked that,” said Michael Angelo Covino, who directed and co-wrote Splitsville. “It’s sort of like a North Star for us. Buster Keaton obviously from the pure – just throwing his body on the line (for movies). It is an inspiration for us. Certainly Charlie Chaplin from a young age I was obsessed with, and then I discovered Buster Keaton a little later.”

“There’s a simplicity to the way in which they use physical comedy to juxtapose against emotion and character,” added Covino, who also cited Pierre Étaix and Jacques Tati as influences. “That has always been a foundation of like, when we’re coming into writing a scene, let’s just strip it down to the simplicity. What ingredients do we need?”

Kyle Marvin, who co-wrote Splitsville and The Climb with Covino, added that quantity over quality when it comes to writing has been the key to his success. “I think the key to being a good writer is just to write a lot,” said Marvin. “I think it has more to do with the quantity of your work than anything else. A lot of times we’ll write scenes and then trash the entire thing and come up with something better. But it takes that first scene for you to realize what you like or don’t like, or to inspire you to write something else. I think it has a lot to do with quantity.”

Check out my review of Splitsville on this week’s CinemAddicts episode:

Splitsville, co-starring Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona, is now playing in theaters. Let us know your thoughts on the movie in the comments!