Taylor Gates is an Indiana native who earned her BFA in Creative Writing from the University of Evansville. She fell in love with entertainment by watching shows about chaotic families like Full House, The Nanny, Gilmore Girls, and The Fosters.
After college, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a writer, editor, and filmmaker. Today, she’s a sucker for dramedies — especially coming-of-age stories centering around complex female and LGBTQ+ characters. She has been with Collider since May 2022.
This interview contains spoilers for Club Kid.
You’d be hard-pressed to find another movie that feels as authentic and confidently directed as Club Kid, let alone from a first-time filmmaker, but that’s exactly what Jordan Firstman has managed to achieve with his debut. As heartfelt as it is hilarious, the story centers on party promoter Peter (Firstman), who not only learns that he has a 10-year-old son named Arlo (Reggie Absolom) but is forced to take care of him after a tragedy. Despite being thrown into fatherhood under less-than-ideal circumstances, he quickly finds purpose in his new role and forms a sweet bond with the kid he had no idea existed.
Firstman is best known for his work in the comedy space, appearing in everything from Search Party to I Love LA, writing on The Other Two, and producing Big Mouth. Absolom is just 14, but he’s already proven himself to be a rising star to watch. His credits include Apple TV’s Silo and BBC One’s The Other Bennet Sister. Together, the two depict an unexpected yet beautiful father-son relationship — one that feels natural and lived-in.
Collider got the chance to speak to Firstman and Absolom about their work in the film. During the conversation, the two revealed what’s on their joint playlist. Firstman also discussed working with The Invite and The Studio cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra and the film’s perfectly bittersweet ending, and Absolom shared what it was like to DJ in the film and how he pulled off its most heart-wrenching moment.
COLLIDER: I love how music is such a connective tool between Peter and Arlo, so I'm curious what songs would be on a shared playlist between the two of you.
JORDAN FIRSTMAN: I mean, funny you should ask.
FIRSTMAN: We do have a shared playlist now.
FIRSTMAN: Yeah, I think. Or it will be public soon. I think we're planning on sharing it with the world. I mean, let’s see. [Pulls out phone]
ABSOLOM: Let’s have a little look. I put a lot of stuff from my main playlist.
FIRSTMAN: Yeah, you had a lot of Pinback. Reggie learned a lot from the movie. [Scrolls list] Oh, Part Time. I don’t know Part Time.
ABSOLOM: You need to listen to Part Time. I love Part Time.
FIRSTMAN: Okay, I’m gonna listen to that.
ABSOLOM: The first Cocteau Twins I ever listened to.
FIRSTMAN: Oh, that’s a great Cocteau Twins song. There's some Nine Inch Nails on here.
ABSOLOM: Fiona Apple. I need to start listening to more of her.
FIRSTMAN: Yeah, Fiona Apple is the best. There's some Lana Del Rey on here — “Get Free.” Do you know Lana?
ABSOLOM: Oh, yeah. I’ve heard of her. I haven’t actually listened to her a lot. I should.
FIRSTMAN: She’s amazing. You gotta get into Lana. We’re just talking to each other now. Sorry. [Laughs] Anyway, that’s what we would choose!
I love that. I can't wait for it to be public because I would love to listen to it.
This movie's direction is so stunning and so immersive. Jordan, I'm curious if you can talk about how you worked with your incredible cinematographer to build that visual language, especially in those club scenes.
FIRSTMAN: I was so lucky to have Adam Newport-Berra on this team. He did not have to do a movie at this scale at this phase of his career. He didn't really have time, but luckily for me, he read the script on a plane, so that made him more emotional when he read it, and he cried, and he called me, and he was like, “I really don't think I have time to do this, but I need to do it.”
He's such a confident cinematographer, and he has such an eye for beauty. I think I have an eye for grittiness and reality, so when we melded them together, we created something both very visceral and real, but also beautiful. I think that's what makes the club scenes really stand out — they feel real, and you are immersed in this moment in time, but also with a cinematic lens and a beautiful lens over the chaos. It was important for me to depict everything in this movie with reality, but the way that I look at reality, which is through a lens of empathy and beauty.
Reggie, you got to step into that club scene as well when Arlo DJs. What was it like to film those scenes, and did you do any DJ training to prepare?
ABSOLOM: There's a scene before where Saturn is teaching me how to DJ, and she actually was. That scene wasn't her faking teaching me — it was real teaching me — and when I went into the club, it was really fun, especially because the first time viewing it was from being a DJ. It made it seem probably even more fun.
Absolutely. I would love nothing more than to go see a Night Shift set.
FIRSTMAN: I know! He’s starting to learn more and DJ more. It was so cool seeing him. We had this platform, and we had real queer people from my community and my scene in the crowd, and they were hyping him up so much. [Looks at Reggie] You felt like a little star.
ABSOLOM: They made me feel like I was a real DJ. It felt really real.
I think you are a real DJ! I think you passed that test. You’re official now.
FIRSTMAN: You are. Say it with your chest.
The ending of this movie is so perfectly bittersweet — it's going to stick with me for such a long time. Jordan, how early in the process did you know that's how you wanted this movie to end, and did you ever consider any alternate endings?
FIRSTMAN: I think, at the very beginning, there was maybe a more buttoned-up Hollywood kind of ending, but once I started writing it, it became very clear that it needed to end this way. Life gives them both that year apart. I think meeting each other was the biggest thing that's happened in either of their lives, and the year apart was the next biggest. I think Arlo needed stability, and he needed to know what stability felt like. And Peter needed time without intensity to grow up and time away from the club. Even if he had stepped away from the club and kept Arlo, that's just a different form of intensity that he would have had to be keeping up with. I think life really gave them that gift of those two things for themselves, and life then opens the door back up for them when they're ready.
Yeah, absolutely. I love how you didn't go that traditional Hollywood route because I feel like it's so much more impactful that way. Reggie, there's a scene near the end where Arlo breaks down and sort of lashes out at Peter. You are so good in it — you gave me goosebumps. What is your process of going to that very raw, emotionally vulnerable place?
ABSOLOM: It was one of the later scenes that we filmed, and I got such a strong bond with Jordan. I just had to go through the feeling of, “He's going away” — that's what I had to try to make myself think. [Looks at Jordan] Because you acted so naturally, it made me feel like it was really happening, and that's probably what made me feel stronger emotions. And when I would come up to push you away, you were like, “Push me harder. Try to hit me even harder — full force. I don't care,” which really helped me out.
I have to ask about Peter's t-shirt selection. Were those custom-made by the props department? Did you just find those? I need the lore.
FIRSTMAN: Some are real t-shirts from the world. [Laughs] I had seen the BiLatinMen.com t-shirt in the real world, and I was like, “I gotta put that in the movie.” But we made the other ones. It was really fun. There are many that weren't even featured. I love an inappropriate t-shirt. I just think they're funny. You could see me holding them up in Cannes. I like that gag, and it was really fun for the costume department, too.
