One of the most enjoyable features I saw at Sundance this year was Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens‘ Iceland-set road trip comedy, Land Ho!. Tracking the journey of two men (perfectly cast as Paul Eenhoorn and Earl Lynn Nelson), I said in my review, “As our aging characters reflect on life, boredom, Facebook, Jewish mysticism, and all things in between, the film blissfully rolls by, touting the importance of friendship in any period of life.”
Soon after its Sundance premiere and moments after it got acquired by Sony Pictures Classics (who are distributing it this weekend) I had a chance to sit down with the leading duo for a candid conversation. We discussed if they knew each other before filming, producer David Gordon Green, filming in Iceland, day jobs, fellatio, crying at the premiere, and much more. Check out it in full below.
Can you talk about the initial steps of the project and how you came aboard?
Paul Eenhoorn: Well, we can paraphrase Aaron. Aaron and Martha are North Carolina alumni and they’ve known each other for a long time and they’re making their own films…
Earl Lynn Nelson: Martha came up with the idea after she get Paul and me to commit to go to Iceland. Then they wrote the script.
Eenhoorn: Yeah, they had 20 pages and we shot the first 20 two days in Kentucky. Then the next three months they had everything done and we were ready to go.
You guys have such natural chemistry.
Nelson: We met the day we started the film.
That’s amazing. Wow. Was there time to rehearse?
Nelson: No.
Eenhoorn: Earl and I ran lines where we had to just to stay on track. As Martha says, 50% of the script we stuck to, 25% is loose, and 25% is just improv.
Did you see the film for the first time at Sundance?
Eenhoorn: First time.
Were you surprised at things they maybe kept or took out of your conversations?
Nelson: I actually cried a couple times during the movie. Not because I was sad or not because I was happy. I just couldn’t believe how well they put it together, how it went together.
It’s a beautifully shot movie, too.
Eenhoorn: Yeah, Iceland is definitely the third character.
Was there time when you were in Iceland to see the sights outside of shooting?
Eenhoorn: We saw everything! We saw like half of the island.
Nelson: We saw the geysers, we saw the waterfalls, we saw the glacier, we saw the hot springs, we saw the blue lagoon. We shot all over the place.
Eenhoorn: We shot everywhere. Then we went back Reykjavík.
Nelson: The thing that was tough was that we shot the end of the movie first and the first part of the movie last. One time we were doing something and Martha say that hadn’t happened yet because the continuity. It was basically me, because this was only the third movie I’ve ever done but Paul was my pro.
Eenhoorn: It worked really well, the way the characters are set up. They’re pretty straight-forward. I think I’ve said this many time, but I don’t remember shooting a comedy. [Laughs] Because it was a demanding film, a physically demanding film for both of us. It was out in the wilderness and long drives and really bumpy roads to get to some of the locations.
Nelson: You think you’ve seen potholes, but you haven’t seen an interstate with nothing but potholes.
Working with two directors, what was the divide?
Eenhoorn: I see the film and see the hand that Martha put on it and the same with Aaron. You can see the paths where I remember talking to him about it. They both directed the film really well. It wasn’t a loose shoot, it was a tight shoot.
Nelson: There was no hostility there. It seems like everybody is trying to suggest there was friction.
Oh, no.
Nelson: I don’t mean you. Of course, I don’t know these things but they say when you have co-directors there might be friction. And there wasn’t any.
I know the Coen brothers, one of them will talk to the actors and the other will work out more of the technical aspects of the movie so I wonder if anything like that was happening here.
Nelson: They both talked to us.
Eenhoorn: Yeah, they both set up shots. There was an open discussion on set ups, which they resolved together and went with. Of course you had [cinematographer] Andrew Reed and Benjamin Kasulke on second camera, so it was a two-camera shoot. They really, really worked beautifully.
Nelson: Whether you know it or not, the scene at the lighthouse, when you focus in, Andrew actually shot through that Kodak camera. That was actually through my camera. Seriously. I couldn’t believe that, that he could do that.
Have you seen the movie The Trip? Has anyone brought this up yet?
Nelson: No.
Because I called this movie The Trip to Iceland. It’s just about two guys going out discussing culture, life, etc. That film has a sequel where they go to Italy. I would love to see a sequel to Land Ho! Where would you go if you could?
Eenhoorn: Well, Martha and Aaron both love The Trip and Planes, Trains & Automobiles —two of the films that they really wanted it to feel like.
Nelson: Uncle Buck. They both love Uncle Buck.
Eenhoorn: So, where would we go next?
Nelson: Warmer weather. [Laughs] Hawaii.
Eenhoorn: Lei Ho! [Laughs]
Nelson: We were talking about the next one Land Ho, Ho, Ho in the North Pole. [Laughs] So we can try to find Santa Claus.
Is this your first Sundance?
Nelson: First time. I hadn’t been to Park City in 30 years.
Have you been able to see any other movies?
Nelson: We haven’t had a chance to do anything.
Eenhoorn: Yesterday we had the night and we just chilled. We were tired.
Nelson: When you’re going 18 hours today. When you’re going down the street up, down the street, across the street, etc.
Eenhoorn: Yeah, I’ve been to so many festivals and all I’ve seen is This is Martin Bonner and Land Ho!.
[Laughs] You just need to go to one without one of your movies there.
Eenhoorn: Yeah, it’d be nice to just go to a festival and just go and see the films. I mean I catch up with the ones I can on cable and things like Frances Ha, which is such a beautiful film. I’d love to see them all in a theater. It would be so cool.
Some of the movies you reference in the film. Is that scripted or does that come from your history?
Nelson: Both.
Eenhoorn: Yeah, the film references kind of got dropped in after our first couple of shoots. I didn’t realize there was going to be film references all the way through. Some of that is improv.
Nelson: Could you hear during the waterfall when I said, ‘Have you seen Last of the Mohicans?’
Yeah.
Nelson: You heard that?
Yeah, definitely.
Nelson: See, a lot of people didn’t even hear it.
I picked up on it, yeah.
Eenhoorn: I think that’s one of the funniest gags in the film. It doesn’t get the major laughs because…
..it’s during a transition, kind of.
Eenhoorn: Yeah, it’s kind of during a transition and it’s just funny. You can just see it.
Nelson: Well, the thing is, did you realize how many facial expressions got laughs?
Oh, yeah.
Nelson: With no dialogue whatsoever, his face or my face. The look that we had on our faces that they helped us get on our faces. I enjoy comedies and I couldn’t see how many facial expressions got laughs.
You said they helped you get them. What kind of things did they say to do so?
Nelson: They would either come up and whisper in our ear or like the night before one of them would come to the room and discuss the feeling and…
Eenhoorn: ..the character arc.
Nelson: The feeling of the scene. The thing that gets me is that in all of our interviews people want to talk about how this is about two guys retiring but the thing about it is is that I think it’s a lot deeper than that. Because young people can lose their jobs. Young people can get divorced. Young people can lose a loved one and have these same problems and you find a friend that helps you through that. So they’ve got the big stamp that it’s only old people, but that’s not the way this movie. It’s all ages.
Yeah, it’s universal.
Nelson: The thing about it is is the movie, to me, was fun doing even though it was hard work. What made you feel good was people laughing and having a good time during the movie.
There’s a brief moment of conflict, but it was pleasant to see a film this relaxed. Was there anything in the script that inserted more conflict?
Eenhoorn: It stayed pretty true to the bones of the script all the way through. I think Colin is one of those guys that sucks it up until he can’t suck it up any more and he has to say something.
What did you find most relatable in the script?
Eenhoorn: From my point of view, as an actor, I’m not a backstory guy. I strictly go with the words of the script and they lead me to the character. Always. that’s the way I work. And Colin’s character was a good, solid backbone for me. It was well-written, a beautiful script.
I love the dynamic when your cousins come. During that dinner conversation, was that a much longer conversation?
Nelson. Oh, God. Yes.
How long did you shoot that for?
Nelson: Two days.
Eenhoorn: It was a lot of pages and then it was trimmed down. I don’t think half the footage is there.
How many Q&A’s have you done so far?
Nelson: Just two so far.
How has the response been so far?
Nelson: You can’t imagine the people that didn’t leave. That’s what everybody was amazed about.
Eenhoorn: That’s the first clue I saw when I did the premiere. I was amazed.
Nelson: I was amazed by the applause we got. It was thrilling for me to see people the really enjoyed the movie.
Eenhoorn: The real compliment was a question in Salt Lake City and it’s been repeated. He said, “I was watching it and I drifted into this feeling that I was watching a documentary about these two guys.” I think that’s a compliment to both of us, to get that far into a character that they think they’re absolutely real. For me, as an actor, that’s what I’m trying to achieve.
This morning, with it being acquired, how was that news?
Nelson: I didn’t know what that meant. See I’m a surgeon. I’m not an actor. I do surgery three days a week.
Wow. You’ll have to be on the press tour, when it’s released. Right?
Nelson: I didn’t operate for a month when we were up on in Iceland.
Eenhoorn: That’s yet to be sorted out. We’re kind of deliberately out of the loop.
Nelson: We don’t want to know the ins and outs and so forth because, number one, I don’t know how to explain them.
Eenhoorn: You’re the face of the film, but there’s a team that’s behind this film that’s indomitable. From when we shot those 20 pages in Kentucky to David Gordon Green coming on..
When did he come on?
Eenhoorn: The money had been arranged, but the time between pitching and actually shooting in Iceland was amazing. I thought this was a forced to be reckoned with, Gamechanger Films had such an incredibly slick act.
This is their first feature, right?
Nelson: That what’s they said. Yeah. I did an episode of Eastbound & Down. I was an Uncle Al and I had the four nieces and the crazy nephew on that show. I don’t if you watch that show.
Yeah, I’ve watched every episode. I love it.
Nelson: They said I might be in two or three episodes, but I only ended up being in one because David, when Martha went to him, to ask him about how to get funds for our movie, he said, let me see what you’ve done. I was in Martha’s first two movies — see I’m Martha’s cousin — and he saw her two movies and said, ‘Whose the guy with the voice?’ He said, ”I’ve never heard that voice. I want that man’s voice on my show.” Then he flew me to North Carolina.
Have you seen your work on it?
Nelson: No, I don’t have HBO.
I bet you can call David Gordon Green. I’m sure he can arrange that.
Nelson: Well, I feel like I’m an inadequate indian and he’s one of the chiefs. [Laughs] I’m glad you enjoyed the film. That’s what’s important to me. You’ve got to laugh. There’s so many movies now that are so damn depressing and so many people killed and lasered and shot and blown up. When the F word is used a thousand times…
Eenhoorn: It turns you off. It’s not dialogue. It’s not two people talking.
Nelson: It’s trash, as far as I’m concerned.
Eenhoorn: I’m with you totally on that. That’s why I think this film is liked so much.
Nelson: It was done in good taste.
Eenhoorn: If we can talk about pussy in good taste, it was done in good taste. [Laughs]
Nelson: Well, if you’ve never eaten any pussy, you wouldn’t know. [Laughs] Remind me to use that one some day.
Eenhoorn: It’s just a fun film and I’m proud of it and so is this man.
Land Ho! hits theaters on Friday, July 11th and will expand throughout the summer.