Doug Spearman may be best known for his role as Chance on “Noah’s Arc,” but with his directorial debut, “Hot Guys With Guns” (which he also wrote), he will soon be known for his work behind the camera.
This fun and sexy gay interracial buddy-cop, comedy-thriller features Danny (Marc Anthony Samuel), an actor, who uncovers a crime while researching a role. He asks his ex, Pip (Brian McArdle), to help him solve the case. In a recent Skype session, Spearman spoke with PGN about making “Hot Guys With Guns.”
PGN: What prompted you to write and direct “Hot Guys With Guns”? Were you looking to make a gay “Charlie’s Angels”? DS: I really love ’70s and ’80s detective shows. It wasn’t “Charlie’s Angels” so much as “Moonlighting.” The plot of “Hot Guys with Guns” is the pilot episode of “Moonlighting.” I also love buddy-comedy caper stuff from “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy” to “The Thin Man.” And I wanted to write the snappy, sexy patter from films like “The Front Page.” I’m also a fan of L.A. noir, like “Double Indemnity.”
PGN: What comes to mind when you think of a hot guy with a gun? DS: Right now, I’m fixed on Channing Tatum in “White House Down.” He’s hotter than a biscuit. “Hot Guys With Guns” was generated from a generic ’70s movie poster featuring a young, long-haired [smiles] white guy with leather jacket and a gun with his black partner, slightly smaller, grimmer in the background.
PGN: How much of Danny’s experiences of discrimination stem from your work as a gay, African-American actor in Hollywood? DS: A lot of white people don’t see that. Danny’s trajectory as an actor, it is exactly mine. He is often the one black person in the room. A lot of what we — me, Marc and co-star Darryl Stephens — knew making the film was that audiences would have a hard time with Marc if he came off as an angry black man. So I told him to be soft and gentle so white audiences would accept him. I wanted to broaden the audience and make a film for gay people and minority figures. One of the things I learned in acting classes is that if you need a skill to play a part, you go learn the skill. I was always encouraged to immerse myself.
PGN: What’s the most outrageous research you’ve done for a role? DS: Oh, my God! I would say spending a couple of days as a transwoman in L.A. back in the ’90s, and having to drive on the lot at Sony as a woman. It was a small role, and I was young. I had to know what it was like.
PGN: OK, speaking of experiences, have you ever been to the sex parties as shown in your film? DS: Wow. [Pauses.] Sex is a part of everything out here. Sexual currency, especially in gay L.A. or Hollywood, is how fuckable are you? Where do you rate on the scale, and what does that give you access to — a party, film role or stardom?
PGN: What are your experiences with firearms? What is it like to hold a gun? DS: I’ve only held a gun as an actor. My father worked for the government and had a top-secret clearance job. And he was required to carry one, so I never was allowed to touch one. Guns I got as toys were hidden. I learned to fire a gun as an actor. I first shot a .22 rifle, and I played a detective with a snub-nose .38. As cheesy as it sounds, it taps into your man-brain to carry a gun. It felt good.
PGN: Danny and Pip are exes who still care for each other. How did you develop their characters and relationship? DS: Pip and Danny are the extreme opposites of my personality, but basically the same person. I’m leaning more towards Danny now, but a lot of times, I’m Pip. My exes are all in my life. There’s one relationship that is the model for Danny and Pip. Fun fact: The bed scene in the beginning has my current boyfriend lying naked next to my ex-boyfriend!
PGN: What about working with Darryl Stephens again? Was casting him a favor or payback? DS: Darryl is one of my oldest friends in L.A. I love him and wanted to use him for this movie because people are used to seeing him as Noah, and I wanted to change that.
PGN: Why didn’t you appear in the film? Were you too busy writing/directing? DS: I wrote Danny for me, but I aged myself out of the part. I don’t want to act anymore. As the director, I am the generator. I’m the cause rather than effect.
PGN: Will we get a sequel, perhaps? DS: Hell yeah! I already know what it’s going to be.