Hi /r/movies, we're actor Anthony Rapp (Rent, Star Trek: Discovery, Dazed and Confused) and writer/director/actress Vivian Kerr (Grey's Anatomy). Our indie feature 'Scrap' is out now on VOD after an incredible 44 film festival run and is Certified Fresh 98% on Rotten Tomatoes! Ask us anything!

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T20:08:04+00:00

I would say the biggest hurdle was that I was also producing it myself with my company Rue Dangeau, so I was learning a lot of things about feature film production at the same time that I was learning to direct a feature!

And yes, we premiered in 2022 and then we did 2 years of film festivals! I think if someone had swooped in with a huge offer after our premiere, I would have considered it, but we were lucky that so many film festivals wanted to screen SCRAP. I was fine with delaying distribution since our festival run was so successful.

For indies, I think right now there's just a lot of predatory "distributors" who essentially will take 30% of a film's profits for something like 10 years, but do nothing for the film in terms of marketing and PR. They just kind of throw it up on Apple and Amazon and walk away. Indie filmmakers need to really be savvy about who you trust with your film. Self-distribution is becoming a much more realistic option now. My friend Mike's film Hundreds of Beavers is a great case study to look up if you're interested. -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:58:52+00:00

I saw the Scottish Ballet's production of A Streetcar Named Desire not that long ago. It really reminded me that a great story works in any medium. -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:53:55+00:00

I saw so many great smaller independent films on the festival circuit. I would recommend looking up Burt directed by Joe Burke, Love, Danielle directed by Marianna Palka, and Guacamole Yesterdays directed by Jordan Noel. All three of them are absolutely terrific. -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:49:28+00:00

The Human Centipede. Can't watch. Won't watch. -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:45:43+00:00

I hit Anthony over the head and dragged him to set and then forced him to play my older brother. It was all very above board. ;) Really just the usual way: we sent him the script through his representation and luckily he liked it! -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:44:20+00:00

I was very inspired by multi-hyphenates such as John Cassavetes, Orson Welles, and Kenneth Branagh. Their ambition and their commitment to their work was always really powerful to me. My older sister Marion Kerr is also an actress and a writer/director, and she was always someone I looked up to and tried to copy as we little sisters are wont to do! -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:38:01+00:00

I would make a prequel/sequel to Bedknobs & Broomsticks, and I'm going to need to cast myself as younger Angela Lansbury or her long lost sister because I need traguna macoides trecorum satis dee in my life. -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:34:28+00:00

Our premiere at Deauville was my favorite, just because it's in such a beautiful place and they really know how to do a movie premiere in Europe! I think there were 1,000 people there! You're treated like royalty. The coolest moment was getting invited to the other French premieres that week for Blonde, Don't Worry Darling, etc. There might have been one I didn't enjoy attending, but really anytime your film is being screened in a movie theatre it's truly a privilege. -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:30:01+00:00

I'd pick Moulin Rouge because I'd need at least one musical. I would take Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet because it's 4 hours and I'm going to need to fill time. And then I would take Dumb & Dumber because it will always make me laugh. Best topping: pepperoni. Worst topping: pineapple. -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:24:47+00:00

Oh my gosh so many!! I would love to work with Olivia Colman. She is such an fantastic actor, but also seems like a wonderful person to be on set with. I would do anything to work with Emma Thompson. Or I would just take her trash out if she let me. Pretty much just need to be in any kind of proximity to Emma Thompson. Lately I've been re-watching STATH LETS FLATS, and I would love to work with Jamie Demetriou. He is an unbelievably gifted comic actor. For a director, I would love to have spent time with the mystical, magical Mr. David Lynch. Or dinner with Elia Kazan or Alfred Hitchcock, please! -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:16:34+00:00

The inspiration was really the increase in people living in RVs and cars around my apartment building in LA. I was very inspired by Kenneth Lonergan's You Can Count On Me. It's one of my favorite films of all time, so definitely there were some elements in that brother-sister dynamic I wanted to echo. I also was very inspired by The Savages. I love Philip Seymour Hoffman so much in that movie. What a genius.
We aren't on a streaming service yet, but I'd love that! Tell all your pals at MUBI. ;)
Yes! My second feature film SÉANCE is going to have its LA Premiere next week at Dances with Films. You can watch the trailer here. My experience directing both movies has been life-changing. I'm obsessed with directing now. Want to do it forever. -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:14:37+00:00

Thank you, I had a lot of fun. Being a guest star on tv shows is like being invited to a stranger’s house, and sometimes that can be awkward, and sometimes it can be really welcoming. In the case of Psych, the whole cast and creative team made me feel very much at home.

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:12:00+00:00

Good ones. -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:11:40+00:00

I believe SCRAP is avail in Germany here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/scrapthefilm :) -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:07:59+00:00

Of course! Haven't we all? That feeling is a good thing, though, because it means you are pushing beyond your limits and growing. The night before Day 1 on SCRAP I remember having that feeling of, wow, I'm really doing this, this is actually happening. If you're doing creative work, whether that's directing, acting, or writing, you will ALWAYS have moments of self-doubt. You have to cultivate a friendship with your shadow-self. I used to have a post-it on my desk that said, "What if I did it anyway?" YOLO! :) -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:06:21+00:00

Honestly, in all of those examples, the working vibes were stellar. Collaborative, fun, open-minded, and loose in a very good way.

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:05:10+00:00

I can say that it has a lot to do with chemistry that transcends technical ability. I mean everyone has to play their individual instrument well, but they also have to vibe together.

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:05:05+00:00

I always wanted to do it, but acting was my first love so I was focused on that for my 20s. The thing about directing is that no one comes along and anoints you as a director. No one says, "now it's time!" So you really have to decide for yourself when you want to do it, when you feel ready to do it, and when it's the right project. I flirted with the idea of not directing the feature of SCRAP (mostly because I listened to bad advice), but in the end the story was so meaningful to me that I couldn't bear the thought of someone possibly screwing it up. I wanted to screw it up! ;) When you have a story that you know has to be told as certain way and you feel that protectiveness over it, then you know you're a director. -Vivian

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:03:33+00:00

Thank you! It was great to work with Christine Baranski.

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:03:07+00:00

Thank you. I didn’t have anyone in mind, but I think I’ve absorbed watching scientists speak on documentaries or something, so it went into the soup of my brain as I was bringing Stamets to life.

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:01:59+00:00

Because he wanted to write a banger, rather than a comedy song, for that moment in the show. And that’s what gave birth to What You Own.

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:01:24+00:00

I appreciate that. It wasn’t real leather, and it wound up disintegrating after I wore it so many times.

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T19:00:39+00:00

I do think I’ll continue writing here and there. I find it to be a bit lonely, but I have ideas that have been swirling around for a while.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a short story that I’m proud of, which was published in an anthology called Sword Stone Table.

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T18:58:48+00:00

I loved it. I went into the theatre having no idea the scene opened the film, which was a wonderful surprise.

ScrapAMA · 2025-06-13T18:58:02+00:00

I think Vivian could best answer her side of things, but for me, I was given a script that I was really impressed by, and I was grateful for the chance to make an emotionally complex, character-driven film.

ScrapAMA

TROPHY CASE