Original-Cin Q&A: DJ-Turned-Director D.W. Waterson Talks Backspot and Hard-Core Cheerleading
Ever since its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Backspot has been creating a buzz. Directed by D.W. Waterson and produced by Elliot Page, the film takes place in the world of cheerleading.
Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs) plays Riley, an ambitious cheerleader with a drive for perfection and triumph, who faces adversity and a demanding head coach (Evan Rachel Wood) when she and her girlfriend are selected for an all-star cheer squad.
The competition is fierce, but Riley must navigate her drive alongside her crippling anxiety, as one wrong move could destroy her fledgling career and self-confidence. Bonnie Laufer caught up with first-time director Waterson to discuss what drove them to make this film. (And be sure to read our review of the film).
Devery Jacobs in Backspot. Photo by D.W. Waterson.
ORIGINAL-CIN: Let’s start with the TIFF, where the film had its world premiere last Fall. As a Canadian filmmaker with your debut film, you must have had an out-of-body experience.
D.W.WATERSON: It was wild. I love Toronto so much. I have lived here since I was 18. To be at TIFF was surreal mainly because I’ve been attending that festival for over 10 years. I saw the world premiere of Black Swan there, I saw the World premiere of Juno there. I’ve seen so many incredible films that have truly impacted my life at TIFF.
So to have my debut feature at the festival, kind of like in my hometown, was a dream. Everyone came, including crew members, cast, there were even cheerleaders. Then there's that amazing Toronto audience, movie lovers who just come because they want to see a great movie. It was just so invigorating, a moment I'll remember forever.
O-C: How did your background as a DJ influence your decision to become a director?
WATERSON: I feel like I've always been directing or denying the director inside of me. Renting movies from Blockbuster was the highlight of my week when I was a kid. I've always been a drummer or involved in music and I feel that film and music have always gone hand in hand.
I did a digital web series called That’s my DJ where I was able to flex and explore my directing chops and show that the DJing world in Toronto is crazy and that there's so much drama and life here.
But I never saw myself represented when you think of directors. And so I just never thought there was a place for me out there. Every time I would entertain that there could be a future for me, there were always people around saying, “Well, no,” or “It's really hard.”
But it's just in me, I couldn’t let go. I feel I was born to be a director. It's oozing out of me and I let go at this point. I've just stepped into my own skin and especially with this film because there's so much connectivity between DJing and directing. You're a leader, you're leading a group of people telling a story.
When you're DJing, you're getting everybody on the same page. Depending on if they're drunk or they're high or they're sober or they don't know who you are, you need to get them all onto the same page, and then take everybody on a journey together. I think that's very similar to telling a story and being on set and also directing an audience.
O-C: You grew up in a family surrounded by competition. Your brother played hockey so you knew a lot about that world. What connected you to this story of cheerleading?
WATERSON: It kind of fell into my lap and it was pretty eye-opening to me.
Director D.W. Waterson
Like you said, I grew up in a hockey household, I was there for when my brother was doing tryouts. I witnessed all the parents in the arena and the tension and the shit-talking and the pressure, and if a team was winning or losing, how that would impact the stress of my household. All I could think was, “Why is the sport impacting all of these family members' mental health?”
And for me, I really wanted to try to figure that out from the perspective of cheerleading. As a DJ., I used to wear a cheerleading uniform, and so I felt like there was a little bit of a fun way into that.
O-C: Then you must have started diving into the research of the competitive nature of cheer, and how it can really take a toll on one's mental and physical health.
WATERSON: Yes, but it wasn't until I saw a video go viral online of a cheerleader getting into her practice zone. She’s doing stretches and somebody’s stretching her out, but she was in pain and she was screaming in agony.
I think that was my first foray into realizing, “Oh, wow, do I need to look deeper into cheerleading league?” Not so much the final result when we see them on the field or in competitions, but the lead up to all of that.
So I met with Cheer Fuzion, which is an all-star cheer team in Brampton. And they just opened their doors to me.
They invited me to come and watch and see what a practice is like. And I saw concussions, I saw broken bones. I saw cheerleaders running around being silly. I saw cheerleaders walking in the door with McDonald's, jamming a burger in their mouth, and then doing a bunch of flips, which was the craziest thing for me.
There's so much family and camaraderie and silliness. And then there's perfection and stress and anxiety and the toll it takes on their bodies. Nobody had ever explored this, and so I really wanted to highlight that through the athleticism in this sport.
O-C: Backspot stars Devery Jacobs who is really fantastic as Riley. We really get a sense through her character that the stress is real. Why was she the right person to play Riley?
WATERSON: She is a star and an absolute beast. I remember we met at a Film Institute around six or seven years ago and I remember watching her in Rhymes for Young Ghouls, which was such an incredible performance. I think we were in a taxicab going to TIFF, and I remember turning around telling her, ‘The movie I'm trying to make is a cheer sports movie.’
She just nonchalantly said, ‘I used to be a provincial champion gymnast,’ and I was like, ‘OK, great. You can be in it.’ I was kind of half-joking. But then I started to learn more about her, and she's such an incredible actor. She's an incredible producer. She's so great with story development. And I realized she would be perfect to play Riley. Devery brought life to Riley and made that character completely 3D.
O-C: How much did you and Devery really get to know real-life cheerleaders for her to give such a powerful performance.
WATERSON: We definitely pulled from hanging with the cheer squad and being there in that environment. We went to competitions with them, or just being in the gym and watching them practice.
We saw this spectrum of emotions from the team. I also pulled from my teenage years, and friends and family. We were pulling from personal experiences.
I always find that scripts are 3D. Devery also went deep and pulled from her personal experience and put that into the film. There’s a scene in the film when the girls have sleepovers. Devery was the one who told me that she used to have clubs and lots of sleepovers to alleviate tension, give them a chance to be teenagers and have some fun without any pressure.
It was important to show that side too because I never want to just go in and traumatize the shit out of the audience. I feel like a lot of male directors don’t care about showing some levity.
I don't really need to add to that conversation. There’s no need to show real violence, you can still make an audience feel. I care about the audience and my main goal is that I want them to have a good time and be entertained and walk away with something that could maybe be a positive impact.
O-C: Evan Rachel Wood is also a fantastic addition to the film as Eileen, the coach. How did she come on board?
WATERSON: Working with Elliott Page and Pageboy Productions was how that ball got rolling. Elliot made the film Into the Forest with Evan and they have remained friends ever since. When we were ready to start our casting process I was asked to give our top five actors and honestly, Evan was number one. She was in our mind while writing it.
I'm such a huge fan of Evan’s she gives her all in every single performance. I could really see her in Backspot for the role of the coach. It's a character she'd never played before. The character has a hefty monologue to deliver but I decided to take a shot.
And so we did. We sent it to her team, her team got back and they're like, “This is a surprisingly good fit for everyone.” Deverey and I soon met with her on Zoom, and we just chatted about the script and the character, and also just chatted to see if they were really compatible. And it was like magic. She is so professional and so cool. When we started to shoot, as soon as that camera turned on, Eileen was present and everybody was terrified. (Laughs)
O-C: For people who are not familiar with cheerleading, the backspot is the backbone of the squad. Who has been your backbone during the making of the film and who were you the backbone for?
WATERSON: I would say supporting me would probably be my producer Alona Metzer. She was definitely my backbone, but Devery Jacobs was also my backbone. She was in the thick of it with me throughout this entire process.
Then I would say, I was the backbone primarily for the actors. I was there to make sure that they felt safe, secure, good, that they could feel great to give me a good performance and not have to worry about anything else.
I kind of also had to be the backbone for everybody, to every single person who worked on the film. I wanted to make sure that I was a constant leader, because at the end of the day, I want the best performance from everybody. And that's how you ultimately make a good movie.