click, click, BOOM!
Where Wall Street glamour meets impending doom
Directed by Tomson Tee
Welcome to click, click, BOOM! - where Wall Street glamour meets impending doom. Questioning what it means to be “rich”, Tomson Tee takes us on a whirlwind journey through the highs and lows of wealth, privilege, and the ultimate quest for meaning. Catastrophe is ticking and the countdown is on for a high-flying exec forced to confront a stark reality. Because, in a world where luxury masks emptiness, the true currency lies in connection and understanding.
"If you look poor, you are poor" - we love the tagline and it definitely feels more relevant than ever. There's even a hint of Anna Delvey in there, if we may say so. What inspired you to develop this narrative? Feel free to go personal - we love that.
Anna Delvey is a great reference! That makes me think of the many performance artists over the years that have called attention to the abundance of free food and products you are entitled to if you infiltrate upper-class spaces. If you look rich, you are rich?
The narrative was sparked by an article I read about “why the 1% don’t feel rich”. They interviewed these millionaires who were like: “you try sending your kids to private school, hiring a nanny that cooks a range of ethnic cuisines, going on an appropriately exclusive vacation every year, and see how much you have in your bank account.”
Reading that was the hardest I laughed all year.
Click, click, BOOM! illustrates very well the absurdity of our society. We may not be able to afford our lifestyle, but in order to be perceived as successful we have to pretend we can. What does that say about our society? And is there any hope for the future?
Money is a powerful bleach. It gleefully strips people and objects of all context — labor, culture, history. It tells you that only the transaction exists. And in this one-dimensional moment, you are unquestionably entitled to this commodity.
If you’ve traded it for money, of course it’s fair! The other side consented, didn’t they? You’re doing them a favor by paying them (a fraction of what you yourself would accept to perform the same service). Don’t think about why they are desperate enough to accept such a low price — you work so hard. You deserve this!
If we’re talking about hope vs absurdity contemporarily, this is where we have to look. Why do we believe money is necessary? What are our assumptions about human nature that justify its existence? How many of those assumptions are predicated on an uncritical intuition? If you’ve only observed starving rats, can you claim to have a conclusive grasp of rat behavior?
If we can stop defining our lives as a series of short-term transactions — a more lasting solidarity and general will can be cultivated. Only then will we be empowered to engage with serious questions about rethinking the way we treat each other and our environment.
And if not, we will most definitely spiral into ruin.
Crafting a story where the protagonist's head is set to explode is quite - how shall we put it - unconventional. How did the script evolve during development, and were there specific narrative choices or challenges you encountered in balancing the comedic and dramatic elements of the plot?
We had just wrapped this music about a deer-woman who falls in love with a truck that keeps trying to run her over. We fabricated a lifelike deer head for our actress to wear. I remember thinking “Huh. It’d probably be pretty easy to fabricate a lifelike human head, and… it’d probably be pretty easy to blow it up too.”
Yeah, it wasn’t easy.
I hadn’t made a short film in 6 years and was hoping to scratch that existential itch. I went into the first draft aiming to bang out something quick that would motivate a head exploding. But as I started imagining characters and their situations, bigger themes that had been marinating bubbled to the surface. Funny how that happens!
Writing is always a challenge for me, but I don’t think in terms like “drama” or “comedy”. They just don’t come intuitively to me; I’ve never experienced life as strictly dire or strictly whimsical. When I was dying laughing at that millionaire’s quote, I wasn’t just tickled. I was angry, sad, discouraged, outraged, energized…
Overall, I’m drawn to absurdism because humans are deeply absurd! I find this most compelling when presented plainly. A millionaire thinks she is… poor. She throws a party… only her handbags show up. She thinks she’s survived… but she counted the days wrong.
The chemistry between Coconut (Ash Mayers) and Trixi (Angella Katherine) is palpable. This is key when working with comedy. What was your approach to casting and how did you know you found the right people for the roles?
We did a mixture of scenes from the script and situation-based improv. I am drawn to actors that come in with strong individual ideas, but prize the confluence of our collective vision above all else — a sense of play, and a desire for discovery.
If I devolve into hysterical laughter on set at least once, I know that we’re on the right track.
“If we can stop defining our lives as a series of short-term transactions — a more lasting solidarity and general will can be cultivated.”
As a film director working in a complicated (and beautiful) industry, what's your definition of success?
It begins with creating work that vigorously challenges the destructive norms that we consider fundamental. If I can subsequently identify myself within the questions raised in the ensuing discourse, and if these questions resonate beyond a single conversation — that would be success.
Executive Producers: Mark De Pace, Zachary Mortensen
Producer: Oliver Finley
For Ghost Robot: Jake Eisner, Jess Pardue
Writer+Director: Tomson Tee DP: Cory Fraiman-Lott
Production Designer: Kimberly Matela
Special Effects: William Stitt, Argon Props
Special Effects Asst: Colin White
Wardrobe: Kimberly Matela
AD: Gerardo Coello
Gaffer: Laura Hilliard
Sound Mixer: Phillip Kim
Stills Photographer: Chia Lynn Kwa
PAs: Valeria Brenes-Salas, Alissa Yong
Sound Designer: Keller McDivitt
Composer: Keller McDivitt
Colorist: Mary Perrino
Editor: Tomson Tee
Poster+Titles: Flora Chan
Coconut: Ash Mayers
Trixi: Angella Katherine
Special Thanks: 88rising, Rich Brian, Ghost Robot, Jack Mikuszewski, Jess Pardue, Elisabeth Ng, Ruth Tang, Tee Keng Boon, Hong Lee Kuan, Justin Tee.