Matt Watkins, Tom Flynn, and Will Prescott., a sketch comedy trio from Los Angeles, are The Greater Good. They talk to RAW about their film making careers, their many projects, friends, and influences. Be sure to RSVP to attend the Hollywood showcase on Thursday, July 1st at Cinespace to view the screening of three of their short films. 

Tell us about The Greater Good. 
We formed in the summer of 2006 and began developing, writing and shooting short video sketches that would not be released until January 2009.  Our comedic style is a unique blend of mainstream, observational and surrealist humor, usually conveyed in a deadpan or overly serious manner. Using both improv and tightly written scripts, we love to create awkward and uncomfortable experiences for our viewers. 

How did you first get started in film ? 
We originally met back in 2005 while attending school at Chapman University. All three of us were pursuing our graduate degrees at the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. At the time, we were working on numerous film projects in all capacities, from producing to directing to writing.  

We decided to form a sketch group with the purpose of creating high-quality comedy for online distribution. Our shared interest in writing, directing and acting made for a great fit and we’ve been in love with each other ever since. It’s kind of weird because most comedy groups meet at an improv class, but we all met in film school. We think about comedy from a very film-oriented perspective.  

Any other films you've produced?
As The Greater Good, we’ve produced over twenty shorts— most of which can be viewed at greatergoodcomedy.com. We’ve also produced, directed, written, and acted in many other side projects.  

Tell us about the films you will be screening.
We’re screening three shorts: IMAGINARY BREAKUP, MAIL ORDER BRIDE, and DICK STICK. IMAGINARY BREAKUP is about a guy who uses a very creative way to end things with his girlfriend. MAIL ORDER BRIDE is about a guy who receives a package he didn’t order. DICK STICK, which is making it’s world premiere at RAW, is a spoof deodorant commercial directed by Nathaniel Atcheson (http://www.filmpsychosis.com/).

From where do you draw inspiration for your work?
We get inspiration from all sorts of random, messed up things. We love great sketch comedy like The State, Stella, Upright Citizens Brigade, Tim and Eric – all shows that we’ve been obsessed with at some point in our lives. We also love stand-up comedy from people like Patton Oswalt and Zach Galifianakis. In fact, each of us fantasizes about having the courage to perform stand-up comedy and we each have little “stand-up files” on our laptops but we probably won’t do anything with it until we grow a pair – individually, not collectively.

Do you engage in, or draw inspiration from, any other forms of art? 
Sure. Of course, we’re all former film students so we’re automatically film snobs. Together we’re inspired by everything from Jean-Luc Godard to Jean-Claude Van Damme. We’re all obsessed with film – Tom being the biggest “fanboy” out of the three of us – but we all love music just as much. In fact, we sometimes feel like we’re in a band instead of a sketch comedy group – probably because of all the groupies we have. By “groupies” we, of course, mean Matt’s girlfriend and Tom’s wife.

From start to finish, explain your process; what does a typical film-making day look like for you? 
Well, one of us usually comes up with a premise for a short and sells the others on it. If it’s something we think needs a script, one of us will take the first attempt at writing and then pass it around. Once we lock the script, we hammer out all of the logistics- equipment, locations, props, crew, cast, etc. One of the benefits from having attended film school is the community of filmmakers who are in our immediate creative circle. We’ll often use their expertise to make the shoots as painless as possible so that we can crank projects out. After the shoot, the editing starts, which is usually spearheaded by Tom. Once we all feel good about the cut, we release it online and use our social networking fan-sites for promotion.  

When you are not filming, how do you like to spend your time? 
Well, we love to hang out with each other. That’s the most important thing about our sketch group is that we’re really good friends, first and foremost. Otherwise, we have a great group of super-talented intelligent friends that we enjoy spending time with.  

All time favorite film?
We have varying tastes but I think we all agree that the Coen brothers are arguably two of the best living filmmakers around. Otherwise our personal favorites include THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK/MILLER’S CROSSING/PATHS OF GLORY (Tom), THE GRADUATE (Will), and BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (Matt). 

Are there any filmmakers, past or present, who strongly inform and influence your work?  
Tom thinks that he and Edgar Wright are kindred spirits. Will adores the Coen Brothers. And Matt would rape Spike Jonze if given the chance.   

Are there any specific reoccurring themes or subjects that you explore and deal with most in your work? 
We often just try to do as much as we can with a straight face. There’s often something normal happening around something very abnormal. For instance, a VERY dramatic scene about a woman accepting her lover for the half dog/half human hybrid that he is. Other times, we depict some sort of intervention and ask the question, “do you REALLY have to do that weird thing you always do?” 

Any previous films/collaborations that you are most proud of? 
We’re very proud of our work on a webseries called SEMI-DEAD created by Chris Wiltz. We’ve also been fortunate to appear in the feature film, HERPES BOY, directed by Nathaniel Atcheson. And we’ve done work on another hilarious webseries, BAD LOVE, created by and starring Michael Ashley and Valerie Shepherd.   

Why showcase with RAW?
RAW provides an excellent venue for budding artists to showcase their work and get recognized. It really is a great deal considering how much they do for the artist. They showcase your work in exchange for your promotional efforts. It’s a win-win situation. We’re very thankful to be a part of it.

Any current rising stars within the genre that you would recommend we look out for?
Hell yes.  Nathaniel Atcheson, director of HERPES BOY. Chris Wiltz, writer and creator of the webseries SEMI-DEAD. Amir Motlagh, writer/director of several short and feature films including WHALE. M. Elizabeth Hughes, producer. Benjamin Kantor, cinematographer. Michael Ashley and Valerie Shepherd writers/actors of BAD LOVE. Ed Timpe, cinematographer.

To view some of their shorts and learn more about the Greater Good, visit: http://www.greatergoodcomedy.com/