How many times have you asked “how’s it going?” and known you’d never get a real answer? Thousands? Tens of thousands? In “Two Cents & a Footlong” by writer/director Kanin Guntzelman, an unexpected answer changes has the potential to save a life.
In Guntzelman’s short, which screens at Austin Film Festival as part of the Shorts Program 2: Adult Supervision Required, Saul Trujillo plays Lenny, a guy working the graveyard shift at a 24-hour sandwich store. When he asks that small-talk question to a late-night customer, Roger (George Russo), gives him an answer he never expected, and the conversation – and the sandwich order – spirals out of control.
Austin Chronicle: What’s your favorite sandwich that makes the staff at the sandwich place raise an eyebrow like Lenny does to Roger?
AC: The setup is basically one guy who overshares and one guy who finds himself on the receiving end – which are you more likely to be?
KG: For whatever reason, I am the guy people open up to. In the oddest of circumstances, something about me projects “this guy GETS IT.” As a result of this aura, I have been told incredibly weird things at parks, on planes, and at funerals. This is also how I found out my former therapist was a member of a sex cult in their youth.
AC: “How’s it going?” is the most loaded question in the world. When did you realize this was the way to open up the story?
KG: Years ago, someone not too dissimilar from myself wandered into a Subway sandwich shop at 4am, drunk and depressed. As I’m standing at the counter spiraling, the exhausted employee asks, “How you doin’?” I looked up at him and thought to myself, “Do I just tell this guy that my best years are behind me and my entire life has become a meaningless sinkhole that makes every new day a festering slog with no hope for happiness?” At that moment, I thought, “Na, this guy does not deserve this.” But the interaction never left me, and I knew that one day I would make it into a movie.
AC: Watching it, my first thought was that the question is an endless setup – have you considered turning this into a series?
KG: I have thought about turning it into a series. I think it would be fun exploring a series of vignettes each taking place at a sandwich shop. Fleeting interactions; everyday exchanges are so common in day to day life and my favorite part about them is how people inject their personality and experience in unexpected ways.
AC: George Russo, who plays insomniac Roger, has this Michael Imperioli-meets-Jerry Orbach energy, and is a true veteran. You’ve talked about writing the part for him, but how was it, coming up with a part that you felt happy offering to him?
KG: I’ve known George for over 12 years and he was actually in my first ever short film, “Crybabies.” From the moment that we worked together, I fell in love with his talent; his dedication, his love of craft, and the way he collaborates. Being an Actor’s Studio member for decades, he’s a pro’s pro and he has this magical ability to walk the line between comedy and drama and do it in a way that always keeps you on the edge of your seat. He brings such a unique energy to the most ordinary moments and makes them come alive. I know the types of movies and characters he likes so it was critical to create a complex character that went on journey – even if it was an 11-minute journey. Because the character of Roger was rooted in my own experience in a time when I felt lost and yearning for connection, I knew it was honest. When the script was done, I hoped George would respond to that honesty. Luck for me, he did.
“Just when you think you are sure of how the world works, you may walk into a Subway at four in the morning and change your life.”
KG: Saul read the script and agreed to meet me for coffee to discuss being a part of the project. When we sat down, I said to him, “This movie is going to be funny but the root of it is in the pain of working a soul-crushing service job where you feel like you’re getting eaten alive by mean and ungrateful people. Do you feel comfortable with that?” He looks at me and goes, “Bro – I’ve worked so many of these shitty jobs. I KNOW this character. I’m in, let’s do it.” From that moment I knew he was going to bring that kind grounded honesty that I was looking for and he would be able to play off of George perfectly. He’s also funny as hell.
AC: There’s something very beautiful here about what really makes a difference – someone listening, a free cookie. If you want people to walk away with a moral or lesson, what is it?
KG: If there is anything I would want people to take from this movie – aside from auditing their sandwich order – it would be to take a moment and humanize the interactions in everyday life. I think there is magic to uncover in every mundane task or exchange and you never know the type of connection or perception shift you might find. Just when you think you are sure of how the world works, you may walk into a Subway at four in the morning and change your life.
Two Cents & a Footlong
D: Kanin Guntzelman
USA, 12 mins, Texas premiere
Screening as part of Shorts Program 2: Adult Supervision Required
Mon., Oct. 28, 5pm, Rollins
Follow all the Chronicle’s 2024 Austin Film Festival coverage.
This article appears in October 25 • 2024.
