Theatre buffs may recognise Matt Zeremes and Guy Edmonds from their portrayal of a love-struck homosexual couple in the sell-out show Holding the Man.
Now the pair of straight-up straight guys are working on a new project, this time tackling the issue of gay marriage.
The comedic feature film, Super Awesome! has just finished 17 days of shooting in Sydney and now cast and crew are en route to New York, where they will film the finale.
“I can’t wait. It’s chaotic, there are still a couple of things to organise, it’s super exciting,” says Zeremes – who co-directs and co-produces with Edmonds – the day before the duo is set to fly to the Big Apple.
“Already it’s been a really amazing journey, really awesome,” adds Edmonds. “But I’m so absolutely shattered – it’s been the biggest three weeks of my life.”
The two first came up with the idea for Super Awesome! a year ago when they were both staying in Los Angeles for pilot season.
“So there was lots of downtime as well as busy times,” Zeremes says. “I think we’d recently watched the latest Rocky Balboa film, and we both found that kind of inspiring. Then the rough idea of Super Awesome! came up and we were both really excited about it for the get go. It just felt right from the start.”
In under a month the pair had knocked out a 25-page treatment and, once they returned to Australia, began working on the script.
“We spent a good eight to nine months of writing, drafting, getting it out to people, getting it back, and workshopping,” Edmonds recalls.
“It moved very quickly and we worked very hard on it,” adds Zeremes.
In the film, Zeremes and Edmonds star as two struggling actors, Gary and Mark, who, off the back of a long-ago, once-off hit play, are given one last chance to prove themselves. The result is a musical about marriage equality – an issue which neither Gary nor Mark know much about – entitled Honey I’m Homeless.
“They are very straight guys and they see a very straight take on marriage equality,” says Zeremes. “But like in all movies the characters go on the journey, and the significance of the theme is realised by both of them.”
Edmonds and Zeremes are supported by a top-notch cast, including Rob Carlton, Annie Maynard, Patrick Brammall, Jack Simpson and Brett Stiller.
Renowned cinematographer Judd Overton (Return to Nim’s Island) is working as the Director of Photography.
“He’s a god,” enthuses Edmonds. “And we have a dream cast. We got pretty much everyone we wanted to get.”
The issue of marriage equality is one both Edmonds and Zeremes take seriously, despite the light tone of the film.
“Matt and I are both straight guys, and when we started doing Holding the Man that really started opening our eyes to another part of the world,” says Edmonds. “Through that we met a lot of gay people, Matt and I both have a lot of gay friends, some of which are in committed long term relationships and would like to get married.
“I’m not a placard waver, I’m not a huge protester kind of person but I do believe this is sort of the last great human rights issue facing the west.
“I feel (the change) is inevitable – it’s going to happen – marriage has been evolving since it was invented – just look at Henry VIII – but Matt and I would love to speed it up a little bit.
“And we wanted to deal with it in a way that isn’t super earnest but hopefully change hearts and minds… Ultimately I feel people are more open to change when they’re not being lectured at.”
The plan now is to finish the film by September, in order to maximise the opportunity of it being accepted into one of the top tier festivals.
“There has been a lot of interest in the film already internationally,” Zeremes says. “We’ve already done some interviews across America and the UK, and a lot of festivals have already contact us.
“This has been the third independent feature I’ve made, and this is the first time we’ve had such interest.
“I’m really pumped, I really believe in this project.
“I did from the get go.”