Advertisement
Reed Arnold writes, directs, and stars in the new wedding comedy Do Us Part. The Oklahoma City filmmaker, who has had his works produced on stage in San Antonio, New York City, and Los Angeles, stepped up to the plate and made his own indie film. It’s an ambitious task, and the great news is this film absolutely hits the mark. Arnold talked to Deepest Dream about the challenges of making the movie, which is now playing in Los Angeles and available on Digital. As for writing the screenplay, it was not an overnight process. Check out the full interview below!
Read more: Finish Your Screenplay: Reed Arnold On Writing Wedding Comedy ‘Do Us Part’
Do Us Part centers on Ryan (Travis Laughlin), a nice guys who’s about to marry the love of his life. With his best man Mark (Reed Arnold) by his side, what could possibly go wrong? When Ryan’s close friend Rose (Kelly Russo) pops up to the wedding without an invite, things get complicated.
‘Do Us Part’ Screenwriting Journey
The story’s first draft started as a twenty five page short back in 2014, and that original premise was already set in place. “I don’t remember how long it took (to write),” said Arnold. “But it was pretty quick, and a lot of that still remains in the final version.”
That story was rehearsed as a play several months later and then upon realizing the story could be expanded, it was turned into a full length tale. “Four years later I adapted it to a screenplay where I added the other characters and did some rearranging to open it up for film,” said Arnold. “So it’s kind of a long journey from the short script it was gonna be into the final product. But that core original idea of the best man keeping this thing afloat for his own reasons, and then I had a second plot twist idea pretty soon after that which really solidified the premise for me and made me think that I had something pretty fun. It was in bursts for six years basically that we put this thing together.”
Classic Sitcom Styles To ‘Do Us Part’
One of the script’s strongest aspects is its machine gun dialogue and banter among the characters. That aesthetic was inspired by Arnold’s love for such sitcoms as Friends and How I Met Your Mother. “I was going for that rat-a-tat sitcom style dialogue,” said Arnold. “That was the part I wanted to play. So that’s what came out, and I’ve tried to maintain that throughout the entire process. That was my North Star – you get some insults in there, but you always know that there’s still, love behind them.”
Check out my Do Us Part review on CinemAddicts:
Do Us Part is now playing in Los Angeles and is available on Digital.
***Full interview with Reed Arnold:
