The Knockturnal had the opportunity to interview Stephanie March and Laura and Danielle Kosann, the three women at the helm of the hilarious new mockumentary film, ‘The Social Ones’.
The Social Ones is mockumentary film that pokes fun at our society’s unhealthy and obsessive culture surrounding internet celebrities and social media influencers. The hilarious mockumentary premiered this past weekend at the Cinequest Film Festival and is the first feature film produced by The New Potato, an online lifestyle magazine and creative studio founded by sisters Laura and Danielle Kosann. The Social Ones also stars some well-known favorites like Law & Order: SVU actress Stephanie March, Debra Jo Rupp, Peter Scolari, and Richard Kind. Written and directed by Laura Kosan and co-executive produced by Danielle Kosann and Stephanie March —The Knockturnal had the opportunity to interview these three amazing women at the helm of this hilarious new film.
The Knockturnal: The Social Ones is your first feature film. How exactly did all three of you meet and what led you all to decide to take on such a huge endeavor?
Stephanie March: We met 5 years ago when Laura and Danielle interviewed me for their terrific site, The New Potato. The three of us hit it off immediately, and after a memorable dinner at The Polo Bar I knew we would be friends. When Laura wrote “The Social Ones” she sent it to me, and the ladies asked (over yet another hilarious meal) if I would be interested in participating in the movie- as an actor or producer or both. That very day I had received a check (the repayment of loan from a friend) for the exact amount needed to be the only additional EP on the film. I loved the script and I love Laura and Danielle. It was a sign. I made the decision to be fully IN in about 10 minutes.
Laura Kosann: In terms of taking on such a big endeavor, I had written and directed shorts for Danielle and I’s lifestyle website The New Potato that Danielle and I acted in together, and it has always been such a treat having a business with my sister and working with her in this capacity! At some point last year we decided to pivot our strategy and focus on quality more than quantity and what came with that was wanting to do long-form feature films (something we’ve always wanted to do) through our newly formed production company The New Potato studios. When I wrote the script, Stephanie was the first person we thought of, she is such a talent with an amazing sense of humor, and she also shared our love of Christopher Guest movies like Best In Show and Waiting For Guffman, and The Social Ones is that for the social media set!
Danielle Kosann: We first met Steph years ago when we reached out to feature her on The New Potato. (Full disclosure: I was a major SVU fan, and was fully smitten even before meeting her). The three of us became friends quickly – we have the same sense of humor, and the same love of long, very fun dinners. When Laura wrote the script for The Social Ones, and we were looking for a fellow EP, we immediately thought of Steph (we knew she’d ‘get it’) and reached out to share the script and see if she’d be interested in coming on board as an EP, and play the role of Dr. Miriam Spacelli. Lucky for us, we were right. She got it better than anyone else could have.
The Knockturnal: Laura, you wrote and directed The Social Ones and The New Potato features a lot of hilarious skits. But did you find writing skits versus writing an entire movie to be more challenging? What was your experience?
Laura Kosann: I’m so happy you find the skits hilarious! We have a lot of fun with them, and with the crazy cameos, we have on. I’m not sure why, and I don’t know if it’s always a good thing or a bad thing but I’ve always been a pretty fast writer. I was that person in college who waited to write the 15-paged English paper till the day before it was due (not always a good decision!). This script really poured out of me because I had been living it so much, and been in its world for so long, observing. I think I had so much to say and many, many jokes to make about it and a variety of characters I wanted to bring to life, so finally putting them down on paper was a joy. I do definitely think that it’s a different experience writing a full script in that there’s obviously exponentially more plot and character development, but that’s the best part. I liked walking around and having fake conversations with Dr. Miriam Spacelli in my head 24/7, getting to know her! In a 5-minute skit, you don’t necessarily have to do that as much, which actually can be disappointing if you really fall in love with a character.
The Knockturnal: The Social Ones is a humorous commentary on human beings’ unhealthy relationship with social media. How do you think this movie and your online lifestyle magazine, The New Potato, will help to redefine and reshape people’s connection to the online world in a more positive way?
Laura Kosann: What’s interesting about The Social Ones is already this week, there have been 2 headlines that are literally lines in the movie: Guidelines about The Royal family to deal with social media trolling (in the movie Jackie Hoffman runs a completely satirical trolling headquarters where there’s a troll tasked with trolling the royal family 24/7) and an article about the last Blockbuster video store (Dr. Miriam Spacelli talks about a condition that causes patients to be nostalgic, and one of the symptoms is searching for the last remaining blockbuster video store). The Social Ones is so topical and timely, we think it will just continue to reflect the headlines. It’s what everyone is thinking about social media and not necessarily saying, which we think is going to make it a real time capsule classic that is super quotable and something you see a dozen times. We always loved movies like Network or Zoolander that tapped into what was happening and made fun of it, and that’s what The Social Ones does, it taps into the zeitgeist and finds humor in it. In fact, when we talk to anyone about the movie or show them the teaser, the reaction you get is “Oh my god, I go through this every day, how has this not been made before?” No matter who you are you have to cope with social media in some capacity, even if it’s just your decision to go off of it!
Danielle Kosann: We started our site The New Potato in 2013, and on it have interviewed, photographed and done videos with many celebrities and influencers, and for a while were very immersed in that world. We felt ourselves the immense pressure to post 20 times a day and to obsess over likes, comments, engagements etc. With that, we were really able to see the humor in that world and that pressure, and that’s what inspired Laura’s script (which we call a love letter to our generation). With this movie, we are totally laughing at ourselves and this world of social media we’ve all become immersed in. I think more than anything else we really want others to also see the humor in it, and hope that that gives them a fun, fresh perspective on it that maybe helps us all to have a better-balanced life with social media!
The Knockturnal: The funniest part about The Social Ones was watching how neurotic and obsessive all those online celebrities were. But do you think social media makes humans like this or were we already like this in some capacity? Is social media just a reflection of human beings in our most concentrated form?
Stephanie March: I suspect social media taps into something deep in our animal brains. All you have to do is see a kid with an iPad or iPhone to understand how addictive this stuff is. We make fun of it and we have fun with it, but I sometimes wonder who is really in charge. Us…or the “like”?
Laura Kosann: One thing that is definitely a theme in the movie, that I think social media has really tapped into is our tendency sometimes to not want to confront people in person. It’s something we make fun of in the movie, I won’t say anything to spoil what happens, but it’s definitely a funny satirical element: The idea that this has all come about because we do not like to talk to people in person and confront them. To echo what Danielle said, it’s a matter of tapping into our worst inclinations; I don’t think this is true of people, I just think social media being around can create a bit of a crutch for an inclination we all have in some capacity!
Danielle Kosann: I think the dark side of social media – what the films refers to as Social Media Anxiety Disorder and the various fake (but not really) social media disorders that come with it – all ring very very true to many of us. You only need to scroll through Instagram once and you can find yourself feeling vain, comparing yourself to others in an unhealthy way, or obsessing over superficialities you might otherwise not have. I think, like many things, social media can tap into our worst inclinations if we let it, but that’s why we think it’s so important to see the humor in it! Humor brings perspective and perspective brings balance.
The Knockturnal: I think the greatest thing about The Social Ones is that it was written, directed, and produced by women. In what ways do you think more female-led projects will change the landscape of filmmaking and change the future of creative endeavors in general? What differences do you notice working with a team that is mostly women compared to working with a team that is run by men?
Stephanie March: We were under budget, on time, wrapped early, had fun, zero on-set drama, zero backstage drama, and wholly supportive of one another- both in front of and behind the camera. I have never experienced such a seamless set. No ego. All warmth (meets organization, meets diligence, meets determination). Moms really should be in charge of more businesses.
Laura Kosann: The answer I have for this one is just complete pride to be a female writer/director at the time we are in amongst so many other talented and incredible female writer/directors, and to be part of a female producing team that is so special. Stephanie said it at one of our first meetings: “Teamwork makes the dream work!” And I am beyond lucky to be on a team with my sister and co-founder Danielle and Stephanie March, and to have had such an incredible and professional cast and crew. Without any one of them, this film would not have been possible.
Danielle Kosann: To echo everything Steph said, the set really ran so seamlessly. I think women understand the importance of balance, and that everyone on set works better when they feel like they have time off set to decompress and reset for the next day, so it was important to us to be efficient. We also were very, very positive. Laura used to bring donuts for everyone to set a few times a week! We wanted everyone to feel like a family. It just makes people want to be at work. I think women are particularly good at this, and at supporting each other which sets a great tone for the rest of the set.
The Knockturnal: What’s next for The New Potato? Do you guys plan on creating more films in the future?
Stephanie March: No question. We see a fine (and funny) future for our zany cast of characters
Laura Kosann: We definitely plan to produce more films through The New Potato Studios, and work with Stephanie for as long as she gets tired of us (we all just work so incredibly seamlessly together!). And to echo Stephanie, The Social Ones has legs for a series. Each character could be their own show, it’s so timely, and a 10 episode treatment may or may not have been written up for those ready to take a look…. 🙂 🙂
Danielle Kosann: Definitely. We’ve pivoted The New Potato into a Creative Studio for various creative projects, films being a big priority. We also see a big future for The Social Ones, both for the film, and beyond!