I had the pleasure of interviewing John Solo, who plays Stan Klock in the new film Love Magical by babywolf productions. The film, shot in NYC, is the story of David Justice, an overly passionate man whose fear of love is standing in the way of his dream of becoming the greatest R&B songwriter in the history of the world.
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Jen Bokoff: In Love Magical, you play an ‘alternative’ elementary school principal. What was it about the role that attracted you?
John Solo: What attracted me to Stan was his passionate battle for the woman he loves. Even though his heart is broken, he pushes past his feelings of betrayal to fight for Barbara. His ‘alternative’ elementary school abides by the mantra “Find your truth so you can find yourself.” Stan knows his truth and that allows him to battle like no other, storming the castle, and going balls deep in the name of love.
JB: Babywolf productions creates content that is “comedic and truthful.” How do you
think Love Magical conveys that idea in the film?
JS: It’s truthful in that we all know and feel what the characters are going through. It’s comedic because the characters leap into very aggressive areas that the most people wouldn’t. Breaking into my ex-girlfriend’s house while she is having dinner with friends and presenting my case for love is a pretty risky thing to do. I know I’ve thought about doing it, but to actually do that is hysterical.
JB: The directors of Love Magical are on Kickstarter raising money to score the film with orginal music. How important is the music to the film and to the director’s focus on rising artists from the NYC music scene?
JS: The story is about a guy wanting to be an R&B songwriter, so music is very important. I think the directors are thinking they have two masters to serve here. One is the R&B side, the sexual and passionate aspect of the film and the other is the independent and quirky nature of the film. The film is a bit off. So between Keith Sweat and Sophia Urista, the R&B side should be covered and with independent artists like Marnie Stern and My Pet Dragon, the fun and independent side should be covered.
JB: Can you give us any hints on who wins the great janitorial showdown at the end?
JS: It’s really a close call. All I can say is that political correctness is thrown out the window!!!
JB: In addition to Love Magical, you were recently in Ed Burn’s new film Newlyweds, which was also shot on location in and around NYC. What was it like shooting both of these films there?
JS: It was fun filming in NYC. We had one day shooting Love Magical down in Tribeca and it was on the same block as this cool little restaurant where a few months before I’d shot a scene for Newlyweds. I actually went in and had lunch there that day. It’s great when two different film worlds collide.
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Love Magical is currently in post-production and raising a final round of funds for original music, which you can support through Kickstarter. You can also get a sneak peak at some footage and more behind the scenes info here.
Jen Bokoff 