It's a common practice for movie productions to bring in specialists to coach actors in preparation for roles that require them to perform certain complex behaviors, such as driving, fighting or playing the piano. But, what if the complex behaviors in question are rolling joints and smoking pot? Well, according to Graham Phillips, then you turn to a "master of the cannabic arts" for instruction.
In first-time director Christopher Neil's new coming-of-age movie, Goats, Phillips needed to look practiced at smoking marijuana to play Ellis, the son of a New Age "hippie" mother (Vera Farmiga) whose mentor and father-figure is the Goat Man (David Duchovny), a "botanist and a goat trekker" well-versed in said "cannabic arts." For his role, Duchovny joked that he "didn't need" a coach to teach him how to smoke pot, but he did need some instruction in rolling joints. Duchovny also conceded that he isn't quite sure why the movie is titled Goats, except that "there's something about 'Goats' that's kind of...fun."
Goats is based on the novel of the same name by Mark Jude Poirier, who also adapted the screenplay. The cast includes Ty Burrell (TV's Modern Family), Keri Russell (Bedtime Stories), Justin Kirk (Weeds) and Dakota Johnson (Beastly).
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With a title like Goats, there's no telling what a movie is going to be about, but, luckily, Reelz caught up with star David Duchovny at the Goats premiere to get the answer.
It is a true coming-of-age story, but it's realistic and it's a little harder-edged. It's just a smart, well-observed movie that parents and teenage kids would enjoy together.
More specifically, Goats is based on the novel of the same name by Mark Poirier and follows teenager Ellis (Graham Phillips), who is preparing to go to prep school, while balancing his neediness of his New Age, hippie mother (Vera Farmiga) and trying to bridge the emotional gap between himself and his straight-laced father (Ty Burrell). There's also Duchovny's Goat Man, Ellis' pot-smoking mentor, though Duchovny says that the character isn't your typical goat-trekking, pot-growing parental figure.
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