As we head into the 2019 Nantucket Film Festival, N Magazine spoke with actor, writer, and director Brittany Snow. Best known for her role starring in the Pitch Perfect franchise, Snow will be screening her directorial debut Milkshake at this year’s festival, as well as presenting at the Screenwriters Tribute Award ceremony.
N MAGAZINE: You’re here to debut your short film, Milkshake. You’ve said that Milkshake is a semi-personal story to you. Does this make it easier or more challenging to write, direct, and produce?
SNOW: I think it’s easier to write about something you connect with and that resonates with something in your own life. This is a short about a lot of kids I grew up with, being a child actor, but I think everyone can relate to wanting to succeed in your parents eyes. I think also writing the short made it easier to direct because I had a very clear idea of how I wanted it to feel. I think the memories from being a kid are colored and remembered in a very specific way. I wanted it to feel like a young girl’s memories and it helped that I was drawing from some of my own.
N MAGAZINE: You also started production on your first feature film in February, could you tell us a little about that? Is the storyline for that film also a personal one?
SNOW: I wrote a movie that was funded and going into production, but I ended up getting a TV show [airing on FOX this fall] that filmed at the same time. My project is now going to be done at a later time.
N MAGAZINE: You started your career as an actor, but have obviously gone on to write, produce and direct as well. What is it like switching between these fields? What have you found most challenging about this?
SNOW: I love being able to switch between the fields. I love movies, TV and stories, so I’ve always wanted to be able to tell them in whatever way possible. I still have a lot to learn but it makes it very rewarding to try, fail and hopefully succeed by doing something new. I think the most challenging aspect now is being on set as an actor and understanding I have no control over the edit or the direction. Now that I’ve been on the other side, I understand the process a little bit better and hopefully I’m a better actor because of it.
N MAGAZINE: Someone Great has been a big hit on Netflix. With all of your new endeavors in directing and producing, will you continue to act in others’ films or do you want to focus on the production side of things for a while?
SNOW: Thank you! I want to do it all. I love acting first but I really love the collaboration of production. I think that is a huge part of directing and producing. I loved the aspect of working together to create one vision. There’s nothing more rewarding. It’s fun to discover how talented people are and let them put their stamp on an already collaborative project.
N MAGAZINE: What was it like working with Anna Camp as a producer/director instead of acting along side of her?
SNOW: Anna is one of my closest friends and I was very grateful she wanted to be a part of this. We have always gotten along so seamlessly. We are very connected, specifically with our senses of humor. It’s effortless to talk to her and so, very easy to direct her. She is also immensely talented. It was amazing to watch her breathe some life into words I had in my head for a long time.
You can see Brittany Snow‘s film Milkshake, screening as part of the Nantucket Film Festival‘s shorts program, on Sunday, June 23 at 11:30am at the White Elephant Ballroom. Tickets are available here.
