Outlaw misfits who find themselves in pursuit don’t typically prove to be the protagonists who are trying save innocent characters in Christmas movies. But the two anti-heroes in the new crime thriller, ‘Filthy Animals,’ which is infused with a western and comedic twist, prove that even the seemingly most twisted people can have some morally redeeming qualities.

James T. North wrote, produced and made his feature film directorial debut on ‘Filthy Animals.’ The movie stars Ryan Patrick Brown, Austan Wheeler, Mena Elizabeth Santos, Peter Larney and Raymond J. Barry.

Set on Christmas Eve, ‘Filthy Animals’ tells the story of two outlaw misfits – Lars (Wheeler), a thrill-seeking drug enthusiast, and Freddy (Brown), a bodybuilder recently out of rehab – as they hunt down child sexual predators. While the two have noble intentions, their mission eventually takes a devastating turn. 

The thriller is now playing in select theaters and is available on VOD, courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media. The feature’s official release comes after it won the Best Independent Film award at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival earlier this year.

In honor of the movie’s official distribution, North and Wheeler generously took the time recently to talk about scribing, helming, producing and starring in the project during an exclusive interview over Zoom.

Film Factual (FF): James, you wrote the script for the new crime thriller, ‘Filthy Animals.’ What was the inspiration in scribing the screenplay for the film?

James T. North (JTN): For my first film, I knew it wasn’t going to be a big space epic or Norse mythology film. I knew we had to use the background of the South Bay and the resources that we had.

I knew I had some talented friends who I could use for resources to be in the film. Austin’s actually my childhood friend. He went to school for acting, and I thought he’d be great for this role. So I kind of wrote the role for him, and other roles for some other people involved in the project.

I went to school at El Camino Junior College, and my film professor helped produce this movie. Then a TA in one of the classes ended up being my cinematographer.

So we were able to make this fun blend of using the school’s equipment and the resources of what’s in our backyard. We call this movie an F movie, not to belittle it, but because it was made with friends and family.

FF: Austan, you play Lars in the movie. What was it about the character, as well as the overall project, that convinced you to star in the thriller?

Austan Wheeler (AW): Well, when James approached me about it, I was very excited because it seemed like it was right up my alley. I thought I connected with Lars a lot. I thought he could be a complete goofball and unhinged at the same time.

I thought that kind of multifaceted character was right up my alley because I am a villain kind of actor. I enjoy villains because they just don’t have constrictions on anything; it’s just do what you can do. James kind of wrote it with me in mind because he knew I could do stuff like that.

Developing Lars together was a fun, interesting process. He became a deep character. If you look at him a little bit too long, you can understand there’s a lot of things behind him, even though he just seems like the comedic relief. But he’s a complex character, and it was awesome.

FF: James, besides penning the script, you also made your feature film directorial debut on the project. How did you approach helming the movie on set once production began?

JTN: Going back to school is very interesting. At the time, I was 27 and I felt like Billy Madison. I felt like I could relate more to hanging out with the film professor than I could with the other students.

The TA who ended up being our cinematographer started getting me on film sets. I had this moment when I was doing grip work, and kind of questioning, where do I fit in best? I knew I wanted to give back to this passion and art form of filmmaking that I love so much.

I kind of had this moment where I had to tell my ego, oh, you actually do want to direct and you do want to make a movie. So I was telling the team that I was with, which included my cinematographer, I want to make a movie. They were like, “Please start with a short film.”

I had built up all this momentum with being on sets and building these relationships. We did a mini version of that short film. All we did was shoot one of the days from the script to get an idea of the machine of filmmaking and what it is. It was great.

They all apologized to me after. They said, “I’m glad you didn’t listen to us. I’m glad you just went and made a feature.” I know everyone’s probably sick of hearing this, but between COVID and the strikes, we had to pull the trigger and go for it.

FF: You mentioned writing some of the roles for actors you knew before you made ‘Filthy Animals.’ What was the overall casting process like for the thriller?

JTN: Well, I was really fortunate because Austin was involved from the very beginning. So he was there for all of our casting.

We had a really good idea of who was already involved in the film. But some of the casting that we had to do was some of the smaller roles and some of the people that played the sexual predators.

The audition process for casting the sexual predators was really bizarre and…quite the experience. We even had some of the actors kind of role play and improv what they thought the character should be like

But the overall casting process was a really great experience. We did the casting at Space Station, which is no longer around. They were really great to accommodate us and help us. I don’t know if you want to add to any of that, Austan.

AW: We had some very talented people come out and audition for us. We had to deliberate for a few days about each part because we had a lot of good runner ups and third choices. Everyone who showed up was awesome, but what came about was the perfect cast.

JTN: Yes, we had a lot of fun doing it.

FF: Once everyone signed on to star in the film, how did you work with the cast to build their characters and the overall story? Did you have any rehearsal time together?

AW: We had tons of reversal time. Before we started filming, we went over to James’s house a lot and met everybody who was the final cast members. We would then go through the script a few times over and over to where we just poke fun at each other. We had fun as we tried things.

Then when we went to set, it was kind of like you were seeing your friends again. So it was a very good time. He (motions to North) established a very good way of having everyone collaborate and connect very fast. So it made the process great.

JTN: We didn’t get to do a table read where we had the entire cast there. But we got to really divide and conquer and break up the scenes because the movie passes the baton between the characters. There are different sections for different people.

So we were able to really get that time in and practice the different scenes. When we got to set, we knew what we wanted. I usually did three to four takes, and for the first couple, we prioritizing what we needed. Then at the end, we could see what the actors wanted to come up with and let it fly.

FF: James, besides writing and directing the movie, you also served as one of the producers. How did you balance helming and producing the movie during the production? How did you approach producing the thriller?

JTN: That’s a great question. I was super fortunate to have my film professor and wife also produce this with me. We were all kind of wearing a lot of hats with contracts and just getting our shooting list ready for the next day. I was really fortunate in the fact that we were all able to conquer and divide with that.

But it was really difficult. I don’t know what the experience is like to just go and direct something because I was in this producer mode most of the time on this movie. This is the only way I know how to do it.

But but was funny is that I have a friend, Myra. We were on set one day, and I was stressing and bickering a little bit. Myra was like, “Hey, I just want you to know, James, we’re all here for you. Everyone here in this room, these 20 people here, we’re here for you and your vision.”

Even though it was extremely difficult, and I may have aged myself a little bit, having everyone there assisting me was so helpful. It’s a luxurious thing to get to chase your passion and dream, especially with that support.

While it was very difficult, we were able to get through it. It was a luxurious endeavor.

FF: ‘Filthy Animals’ is now playing in select theaters and is available on VOD, courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media. What was their process like of securing the distribution for the film? What does it mean to you both that the movie received the dual release?

JTN: It was wild. We got into a film festival that we dreamt about getting into. We were accepted into one of the biggest film festivals in Los Angeles. We never thought we would sell out our showing or win the Best Independent Film award there and we got to do these things.

To be honest, the high was really high. I was completely sober for the event, but completely blacked out. I didn’t know what to expect because I’ve never been in that situation before. I’m more of a behind the camera kind of guy, so I don’t want that kind of attention.

So when you sell out a film festival and win Best Independent Film, you almost think you’re automatically going to get phone calls or letters from a lot of distributers right away. But long story short, we needed to get a sales agent, and he helped us get distribution. We had a list of our options of what we could get into.

We’re so lucky that we received interest from Freestyle Digital Media, as it’s a really high quality company. We’re just really grateful to be associated with quality, in terms of our official distribution. We hope viewers watch the film any way they can and enjoy it!