First Time Caller: Interview with Co-Director and Star Abe Goldfarb

“First Time Caller” is a new and acclaimed feature-length film that was adapted from a popular Science Fiction podcast titled “The Earth Moves.” The movie has been described as a darkly funny look at success, power, loneliness and the apocalypse. It chronicles a day in the life of a podcaster named Brent Ziff, a shock-jock who both insults and enlightens his fans…then, one fateful night, Brent’s world is rocked by a long-time listener who calls in with a grave message.

“First Time Caller” enjoyed its world premiere at the Seattle Film Festival where it earned the Grand Jury Prize, along with awards for Best Actor (Goldfarb) and Best Director (Goldfarb and Brynn). The film went on to win Best Feature Film at the Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival and was headlined as the Opening Night Feature at the Bowery Film Festival.

Co-Director and star Abe Goldfarb recently discussed the film and more via an exclusive interview.

Meagan Meehan (MM): What gave you the idea for the “First Time Caller” story?

Abe Goldfarb (AG): It actually came from an anxiety dream I had near the start of the pandemic. I was having a lot of those, but this one stayed with me in crystal clarity. It was as simple as “what if a call-in host received a call from someone with a terrible prophecy?” I couldn’t shake it in the days after, so I contacted my friend Mac Rogers, a really brilliant creator of theater and audio drama who’d written my first feature, The Horror at Gallery Kay, and he turned it into a podcast called The Earth Moves. Then I just kept wondering if “disaster movie set entirely in an asshole’s basement” was a fun movie pitch to anyone but me. Patrick Terry, our producer, was thankfully of the same mind.

MM: What were some of the challenges of filming this piece?

AG: The most obvious problem-solving element was making a film set in a single room with one guy on camera visually interesting. My co-director J.D. Brynn and our cinematographer Kevin Chiu were tireless collaborators when it came to goosing the visuals, amplifying the limited space, finding aesthetic complements to the piece’s thematic and emotional concerns. J.D. and I would spend hours and hours talking through the script, breaking down a more or less real-time story into discrete scenes with discrete visual strategies. Some storyboarding was done, a lot of shot listing, and then once we were on set Kevin would often find solutions that were better than anything we’d planned. Relatedly, the confined nature of the piece created a massive acting challenge. You have to work hard to justify an audience’s attention when your co-stars are all off-camera. As much as that was rewarding, it was terrifying.

MM: There are some great special effects in the film, so how did you implement them?

AG: For that, you’d have to talk to J.D. He did some dynamite compositing work before we even got on set, so we could just play them live on phone screens and monitors instead of pasting them in during post-production. The first tsunami is such a great, simple moment because the work is sort of hidden; it plays out on a monitor in the background of a shot, so audiences are always like “wait, WHAT?” I love that. My two favorite effects are never actually noticed: at one point J.D. painted my ear hole out because my headphones were in the wrong position continuity-wise, and there’s a long shot where the right and left halves of the frame were shot at different times; both are basically invisible even if you’re looking for them.

MM: What is your favorite part of the movie? Why?

AG: There are two, really. One is the performance of Brian Silliman, who is present in voice only and is completely sublime. He’s one of my dearest friends and he’s been delivering astonishing work for decades, but this really is exquisite work. The other was getting to direct Greg Proops, who’s a legend to comedy fans like me. Just a brilliant performer and a courteous pro. His final scene in this knocks me out every time, and I keep having to pinch myself that I shaped it with him.

MM: What has it been like to win so many awards for this film?

AG: The fact that audiences and juries have seen fit to shout us out like that is really, really lovely and gratifying, and I’m so thankful. But the main prize has always been the ability to just show people the movie, and the fact that so many festivals have allowed it on a big screen is beyond meaningful to me. That’s the juice, knowing strangers sat in a cinema and enjoyed themselves.

MM: How have you raised awareness of this film?

AG: I’m not much good at social media, but I’ve been talking it up endlessly on Twitter and BlueSky (where I’m @abegoldfarb), and on Instagram (where I’m @abrahamgoldfarb). I’m my own intern and I’m a highly questionable employee.

MM: Are you currently working on any other films?

AG: Mac and I have some stuff we’re working on but I don’t like talking too much about it before cameras are rolling. I’m superstitious that way. Plus, it’s difficult to set much in stone right now because I’m touring with the musical adaptation of Beetlejuice. I’m pretty locked into road life. But there are things brewing that I can’t wait to share.

MM: What is the best part of being a moviemaker?

AG: I’m sorry, it has to be a double answer again. The first is making movies I’d want to watch as a moviegoer, trying to share and stimulate and entertain in a way I’d personally really enjoy. The second is getting to create with other people. I’m a firm believer that artists find their best work in collaboration. I’ve already sung the praises of J.D., Mac, Patrick, Brian and Kevin, but I have to mention James Kolsby, who did sound and built us all of our on-camera interfaces (including an entire internet!) and Redacted Heart, whose music provided an invaluable guide for tone and tempo. I couldn’t have done my best without all of them doing theirs.

MM: What are your ultimate career goals?

AG: Just keep doing this until someone tells me to stop, I suppose. I can’t say I’m especially ambitious. I just want to keep making things.

MM: What is coming up next for you and is there anything else that you would like to mention?

AG: Well, I’m with Beetlejuice for a few more months, and I’m working on a book. I’ve already written one and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with it, but I got restless and started on another. The future is a blank slate. But for the time being I just hope people watch First Time Caller and get freaked out and laugh and enjoy themselves. And let us know what you thought of it! Thanks so much for this interview, and thanks to everyone reading and watching.