Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Talk About ‘It’s Kind of a Funny Story’

She says that Zoolander is one of her favorite movies of all time. He prefers the stylings of ’80s standbys like Back to the Future.

The “she” in this case is Anna Boden and the “he” is Ryan Fleck – their favorite movies are two unlikely films for a writing/directing duo that are responsible for heavy hitting indie darling films like Half Nelson and Sugar. Their awesome choice of favorite movies brings them down to Earth and detaches that stereotypical “indie snob” stigma. Their latest movie, It’s Kind of a Funny Story travels in a different direction from what audiences may be used to.

Based on the book by Ned Vizzini, the movie is told through the character Craig (Keir Gilchrist) who claims he is depressed. He checks himself into a psychiatric ward and expectedly befriends some interesting characters like Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), an survivor of multiple suicides and of a broken relationship and Noelle (Emma Roberts), a teen cutter and love interest.

I had the opportunity to chat with Bay Area native Ryan (he was born in Berkeley, raised mostly in Oakland) and his partner in crime Anna.

Q: Do you think Craig was really depressed in this movie? Or do you think he was just being emo?

Anna: We tried not to define or judge it too much. We related to feeling stressed out, frustrated and worried about the world and your place in it – both as a teenager and adults. I don’t know if that makes us immature – that we relate to that 16-year-old in us. I guess we didn’t think too much on whether he is or thinks he’s depressed.

Q: Is Craig’s brand of “depression” is common with this generation?

Anna: I think there is something about this generation of high schoolers in this super-accelerated time. So every stress that every generation has felt – it’s just super accelerated.

Follow the jump to read more.

Q: How was it adapting a book to a movie?

Ryan: This is only our third film and it was a fun experience for us. Ned (Vizzini) was really supportive. I imagine if we worked with an author who wasn’t as supportive and interfered a lot and was not happy with the end project, it wouldn’t be as pleasant – we wouldn’t be so quick to do it again.

Q: Was balancing comedy and drama difficult task?

Anna: The balance between comedy and drama is different with every story. With this one, we had the book guide us. It deals with serious themes but with comedy and lightheartedness in an entertaining sort of way. When we read it, we thought of the films we liked when we were growing up – like John Hughes movies: The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles – it really does the same thing. We’ve tried to strike that balance. It’s a different tone than what we have used before. This was a unique balance.

Q: Out of all the characters, who do you connect with the most?

Anna: I feel very connected to Nia – I was the hot girl that everyone wanted to date.

Ryan: Stop.

Anna: (laughs) I’m kidding!

Ryan: Craig is the obvious choice.

Anna: It is too obvious, but there is no other character in that movie who I really relate to as a high schooler. I also relate to Bobby to but that’s the more adult side of me.

Q: When you worked with Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson, he was one of those emerging talents that was getting a lot of buzz. With It’s Kind of a Funny Story, you worked with Keir Gilchrist and Emma Roberts. Do you like working with fresh talent?

Anna: Whether or not the actor has done a lot or not, we are looking to cast somebody in a role who at least playing a character that we haven’t seen them play before – doing something that is fresh. Even with Zack, who has been around for 20 years doing stand-up, he’s doing something unique in this movie.

Both of you have cited John Hughes movies as inspiration for this movie. The movie has also been called The Breakfast Club in psych ward.Why do you think movies by John Hughes resonate with audiences?

Ryan: With those movies, I was younger than the characters. It felt so powerful – it was like those characters were going through something so important and it was so amazing – and so cool. Even with Anthony Michael Hall, who was a big dork in some of those movies, still felt so cool. There’s something about movies that reach out to young audiences on the verge of becoming a teenager that stays with you – that’s why John Hughes movies stay with us. I don’t know if they were celebrated in their time, but I think kids that grow up with those movies – it stays with them and then become celebrated later on. I hope that this one is celebrated now (laughs) but I hope that kids grow up and remember this movie later on.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story opens in theaters Friday, October 8.