MONROE - When Dave McCary graduated Monroe High School in 2003, he was known by his peers as a fun, charismatic guy with a penchant for humor. In the 14 years since then, McCary has honed his craft from class clown to "Saturday Night Live" contributor to award-winning movie director.
"Everything has just kind of been surreal," McCary said.
Starting in a film class at MHS with Deb Upton (formerly Schilt), McCary found he loved movies, which put him on a path where he would develop his skills and find his calling.
He realized where he wanted to be in that calling.
"Mrs. Schilt, senior year films class - we made a few short films," McCary said. "And I loved editing movies: watching them unfold on the computer screen, picking the soundtracks and everything.
"We made a movie about two detectives, and one of them was blind," McCary said. "I was in (the film) with (classmate) Erik Davidson. But I didn't like watching myself. I was critiquing too much and didn't think I was very good at acting."
In 2007, McCary, who split time between Monroe and San Diego growing up, teamed with childhood friend Kyle Mooney and Mooney's two improv partners from the University of Southern California, Beck Bennett and Nick Rutherford. Together, the quartet formed the sketch comedy group Good Neighbor.
"A lot of our characters just came from ideas we had hanging out, going to bars," said McCary. "The characters just came naturally from hanging with your buddies. A lot of our videos we made were not fully written, just Kyle being funny and we started filming because I always knew I could edit it later. And there were no rules back then - it was just YouTube. Beck, Kyle and Nick all did improv and were naturally funny."
After gaining an intriguing amount of YouTube views and subscribers, the Good Neighbor team was picked up by "SNL" (McCary, Mooney and Bennett in 2013, Rutherford as a writer in 2014) to replace the departed group of The Lonely Island sketch artists - Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer.
"'SNL' reached out to us through our agents. Some of the cast members and writers were aware of our existence," McCary said. "They asked me first to be a director the first year, then the second year I went into writing as well.
"Jorma and The Lonely Island guys had sort of this casual friendship with us and were supportive. Jorma once said that he couldn't wait to see what our first movie would be. They were pretty vocal to the powers-that-be at 'SNL' to consider hiring us."
Slowly, Good Neighbor's profile began to build. Mooney envisioned an idea for a movie years ago, and decided to write it. Along with Kevin Costello, Mooney wrote a screenplay for a fish-out-of-water movie about a young man who cares about nothing more than the lead character of his favorite childhood TV show. The show's character would become the name of the movie, "Brigsby Bear."
From that point, Mooney decided McCary, his best friend, would be the director. The film was McCary's cinematic directorial debut, and Hollywood veterans would soon be entering the cast of the low-budget film. Actors Mark Hamill ("Star Wars"), Greg Kinnear ("Little Miss Sunshine"), Matt Walsh ("Old School"), Claire Danes ("Homeland"), Samberg and Bennett all signed on to various roles.
"Kyle was the leading role, and he's not a huge star yet," McCary said of the indie film, noting that just getting picked up by Sony Pictures Classics was a big deal.
"It was incredible that it got bought. It could have been a straight-to-Netflix or OnDemand movie, but we wanted it in theaters," McCary said. "We're very grateful it was able to be in theaters."
After filming the movie, the cast set off on a tour of film festivals to try to raise its profile. First came Sundance in Utah. Then Cannes in France.
"Our favorite part of the process was the festival audiences. They are film people who truly love movies and making movies. They were so receptive," McCary said. "Cannes, France, was really beautiful. I always wanted to travel out of the country, but financially I wasn't always able to. But now I think I can explore a little bit."
McCary's directing was nominated for five awards at various film festivals, including Cannes and Sundance. "Brigsby Bear" picked up a win in the Narrative category at the Provincetown International Film Festival in Massachusetts.
The film was a learning experience for both the director and the writer.
"We maintained a relationship with (The Lonely Island) after they left 'SNL.' They said to us, 'When Kyle and Kevin finished the script, send it to us,'" McCary said.
The Lonely Island helped produce the movie via their production company, Kablamo Tokyo Drift LLC, and McCary said having the presence of Taccone and Samberg was a big help.
"(They were) acting as mentors and giving notes throughout the whole process. Those are guys that have made a bunch of movies now," McCary said. "It is so valuable to have guys like that who know the path and can help us."
As an "indie film," the production didn't get the same kind of marketing and budget that the average blockbuster gets, despite the popularity of some of the stars. As a result, rolling out the film was slow. Other than the festivals, a screening tour was held around the country, and on July 13, McCary and Mooney came to Madison for a Midwest visit.
"We had a whole tour of places like Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York, Comic Con (in San Diego) - to get Madison in there so my family and friends had a chance to see it was a big deal for me," McCary said.
The official opening of the film was July 30 at just three screens around the country. The week of Aug. 20 saw that number jump to 408 screens, which was still just one-tenth of the screens that the remake of the horror thriller "It" opened to on Sept. 8.
"Last weekend it was only in a few major cities - something like 15 theaters and art houses," McCary said. "We (director/cast) don't have a say in what theaters they go to, but I know it's hard for independent films be picked up in small towns that rely on the big blockbusters for profit. This ("Brigsby Bear") was not a big budget movie. And I think the climate has changed for movie-goers - they like big spectacles. I'm hypothesizing, however."
Duke Goetz, owner of Goetz Theatre in Monroe, said that for a theater the size of Monroe's, a film would have to be open in more than 3,000 theaters nationwide to get picked up.
"The studio would guarantee so much, and the booker as well," Goetz said. "It was a business decision on their (Sony Pictures Classics) end more than anything."
With summer closing out, the movie tour has ended and work on the Emmy award-winning sketch comedy at "SNL" resumes. But first, the "SNL" crew traveled out to Los Angeles this past weekend to take part in the Emmys.
"I'd never been to an awards show before. It was so bizarre, and yet it was fun to see my colleagues get awards for their hard work," McCary said.
The Emmys were on Sunday, and the next morning McCary hopped on a train to San Diego to throw out the first pitch at the San Diego Padres game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"That's always been a dream of mine. I've been a lifelong San Diego Padres fan," said McCary, who admitted that he was nervous for the moment. "It was one of the more nerve-wracking moments of my life. You only get one throw - one shot. I've watched the YouTube videos of 50 Cent and others who have had it go poorly. Plus, I was maybe a little hungover from the afterparties the night before."
McCary, a pitcher in his younger years, said that despite all that pressure he thinks he threw a borderline strike.
"Fortunately, I spent most of my childhood wanting to be a baseball player. My dad played catch with me out on the field (in San Diego) to help get me warmed up. It was very special to have my family and some of my closest friends there," McCary said. "And the pitch was close to a strike. It was maybe a touch high, but I think it was probably a strike."
As for what lies ahead in his future, McCary is unsure. The 43rd season of "SNL" premieres Sept. 30 and will end in late spring.
"Kevin and I are working on a TV show. In the off weeks of 'SNL,' we'll take stabs at that. Otherwise I'm reading scripts people are sending me, but I have no immediate plans. I want to just follow my instincts," McCary said. "My goal is to eventually make a movie every other year or so the rest of my life."
As for "Brigsby Bear," McCary added that for those who want to see the movie, the time will come.
"I'm not positive on all the details of everything, but I think it will be available on iTunes first, then it will be available on Amazon. Probably not Netflix though," McCary said.
"Everything has just kind of been surreal," McCary said.
Starting in a film class at MHS with Deb Upton (formerly Schilt), McCary found he loved movies, which put him on a path where he would develop his skills and find his calling.
He realized where he wanted to be in that calling.
"Mrs. Schilt, senior year films class - we made a few short films," McCary said. "And I loved editing movies: watching them unfold on the computer screen, picking the soundtracks and everything.
"We made a movie about two detectives, and one of them was blind," McCary said. "I was in (the film) with (classmate) Erik Davidson. But I didn't like watching myself. I was critiquing too much and didn't think I was very good at acting."
In 2007, McCary, who split time between Monroe and San Diego growing up, teamed with childhood friend Kyle Mooney and Mooney's two improv partners from the University of Southern California, Beck Bennett and Nick Rutherford. Together, the quartet formed the sketch comedy group Good Neighbor.
"A lot of our characters just came from ideas we had hanging out, going to bars," said McCary. "The characters just came naturally from hanging with your buddies. A lot of our videos we made were not fully written, just Kyle being funny and we started filming because I always knew I could edit it later. And there were no rules back then - it was just YouTube. Beck, Kyle and Nick all did improv and were naturally funny."
After gaining an intriguing amount of YouTube views and subscribers, the Good Neighbor team was picked up by "SNL" (McCary, Mooney and Bennett in 2013, Rutherford as a writer in 2014) to replace the departed group of The Lonely Island sketch artists - Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer.
"'SNL' reached out to us through our agents. Some of the cast members and writers were aware of our existence," McCary said. "They asked me first to be a director the first year, then the second year I went into writing as well.
"Jorma and The Lonely Island guys had sort of this casual friendship with us and were supportive. Jorma once said that he couldn't wait to see what our first movie would be. They were pretty vocal to the powers-that-be at 'SNL' to consider hiring us."
Slowly, Good Neighbor's profile began to build. Mooney envisioned an idea for a movie years ago, and decided to write it. Along with Kevin Costello, Mooney wrote a screenplay for a fish-out-of-water movie about a young man who cares about nothing more than the lead character of his favorite childhood TV show. The show's character would become the name of the movie, "Brigsby Bear."
From that point, Mooney decided McCary, his best friend, would be the director. The film was McCary's cinematic directorial debut, and Hollywood veterans would soon be entering the cast of the low-budget film. Actors Mark Hamill ("Star Wars"), Greg Kinnear ("Little Miss Sunshine"), Matt Walsh ("Old School"), Claire Danes ("Homeland"), Samberg and Bennett all signed on to various roles.
"Kyle was the leading role, and he's not a huge star yet," McCary said of the indie film, noting that just getting picked up by Sony Pictures Classics was a big deal.
"It was incredible that it got bought. It could have been a straight-to-Netflix or OnDemand movie, but we wanted it in theaters," McCary said. "We're very grateful it was able to be in theaters."
After filming the movie, the cast set off on a tour of film festivals to try to raise its profile. First came Sundance in Utah. Then Cannes in France.
"Our favorite part of the process was the festival audiences. They are film people who truly love movies and making movies. They were so receptive," McCary said. "Cannes, France, was really beautiful. I always wanted to travel out of the country, but financially I wasn't always able to. But now I think I can explore a little bit."
McCary's directing was nominated for five awards at various film festivals, including Cannes and Sundance. "Brigsby Bear" picked up a win in the Narrative category at the Provincetown International Film Festival in Massachusetts.
The film was a learning experience for both the director and the writer.
"We maintained a relationship with (The Lonely Island) after they left 'SNL.' They said to us, 'When Kyle and Kevin finished the script, send it to us,'" McCary said.
The Lonely Island helped produce the movie via their production company, Kablamo Tokyo Drift LLC, and McCary said having the presence of Taccone and Samberg was a big help.
"(They were) acting as mentors and giving notes throughout the whole process. Those are guys that have made a bunch of movies now," McCary said. "It is so valuable to have guys like that who know the path and can help us."
As an "indie film," the production didn't get the same kind of marketing and budget that the average blockbuster gets, despite the popularity of some of the stars. As a result, rolling out the film was slow. Other than the festivals, a screening tour was held around the country, and on July 13, McCary and Mooney came to Madison for a Midwest visit.
"We had a whole tour of places like Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York, Comic Con (in San Diego) - to get Madison in there so my family and friends had a chance to see it was a big deal for me," McCary said.
The official opening of the film was July 30 at just three screens around the country. The week of Aug. 20 saw that number jump to 408 screens, which was still just one-tenth of the screens that the remake of the horror thriller "It" opened to on Sept. 8.
"Last weekend it was only in a few major cities - something like 15 theaters and art houses," McCary said. "We (director/cast) don't have a say in what theaters they go to, but I know it's hard for independent films be picked up in small towns that rely on the big blockbusters for profit. This ("Brigsby Bear") was not a big budget movie. And I think the climate has changed for movie-goers - they like big spectacles. I'm hypothesizing, however."
Duke Goetz, owner of Goetz Theatre in Monroe, said that for a theater the size of Monroe's, a film would have to be open in more than 3,000 theaters nationwide to get picked up.
"The studio would guarantee so much, and the booker as well," Goetz said. "It was a business decision on their (Sony Pictures Classics) end more than anything."
With summer closing out, the movie tour has ended and work on the Emmy award-winning sketch comedy at "SNL" resumes. But first, the "SNL" crew traveled out to Los Angeles this past weekend to take part in the Emmys.
"I'd never been to an awards show before. It was so bizarre, and yet it was fun to see my colleagues get awards for their hard work," McCary said.
The Emmys were on Sunday, and the next morning McCary hopped on a train to San Diego to throw out the first pitch at the San Diego Padres game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"That's always been a dream of mine. I've been a lifelong San Diego Padres fan," said McCary, who admitted that he was nervous for the moment. "It was one of the more nerve-wracking moments of my life. You only get one throw - one shot. I've watched the YouTube videos of 50 Cent and others who have had it go poorly. Plus, I was maybe a little hungover from the afterparties the night before."
McCary, a pitcher in his younger years, said that despite all that pressure he thinks he threw a borderline strike.
"Fortunately, I spent most of my childhood wanting to be a baseball player. My dad played catch with me out on the field (in San Diego) to help get me warmed up. It was very special to have my family and some of my closest friends there," McCary said. "And the pitch was close to a strike. It was maybe a touch high, but I think it was probably a strike."
As for what lies ahead in his future, McCary is unsure. The 43rd season of "SNL" premieres Sept. 30 and will end in late spring.
"Kevin and I are working on a TV show. In the off weeks of 'SNL,' we'll take stabs at that. Otherwise I'm reading scripts people are sending me, but I have no immediate plans. I want to just follow my instincts," McCary said. "My goal is to eventually make a movie every other year or so the rest of my life."
As for "Brigsby Bear," McCary added that for those who want to see the movie, the time will come.
"I'm not positive on all the details of everything, but I think it will be available on iTunes first, then it will be available on Amazon. Probably not Netflix though," McCary said.