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Allman and ‘Little Dizzle’
Marshall Allman, who graduated from Austin High School six years ago and headed to Hollywood just a couple of weeks later, has already made a name for himself on television, as LJ Burrows, the son of Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell).
And it looks like the 24-year-old is well on the way to becoming a movie star, too. He has the lead role in director David Russo’s “The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle,” which screens Sunday night at the South by Southwest Film Festival and will show again on Thursday and Saturday.
As Dory in “Little Dizzle,” Allman cleans bathrooms and toilets at a Seattle office building where a company is experimenting with the ingredients of cookies. He and a motley crew of outcasts discover the cookies in the trash and start eating way too many of them each night.
The result?
Chemical changes begin to occur within their bodies, causing unusual developments. During a recent conversation at an Austin hotel before the local premiere, Allman discussed his life in L.A. and how he came to star in what is one of the most unusual movies of the year.
It must have been scary to move to Hollywood right after graduating from high school. Can you talk about that?
In hindsight, it was risky and scary, But at the time, I guess it’s the way I’m made up. I get a vision and then I go for it. I remember my mom (Austin resident Idanell Allman) helping me make the transition. She had to teach me how to do laundry once I got to Hollywood. She had taught me before, but I didn’t pay attention because she was always there to do it for me. She came out and helped me get settled. I already had a job and a manager for my acting career.
Before you moved?
I’d been to a talent search and met a manager there. And when I moved to Hollywood, I was working at the Gap. I had a job at a Gap store here in Austin, and you can just transfer a Gap job to L.A. So I had a job, and my manager helped me find a place. It was awesome. I lived in West Hollywood at the time, which was a total trip. I was right off the Sunset Strip near the Viper Room and Tower Records. It was the biggest culture shock. Have you ever heard of Angelyne, the Billboard Queen?
Yes.
Well, she lived in my building. So I’d come home and see this pink Corvette pull in with Angelyne on the license plate, and this woman looks completely like … what is going on? (Angelyne is quite busty and blonde.) I told friends about it, and they said, ‘You live by Angelyne!’ And I said whatever, you know. And they said, ‘She’s famous!’ And I said, ‘Famous for what?’ And they said, ‘She’s famous for being famous!’
There’s a lot of that going on in Hollywood. How long did it take to get an acting job once you were out there?
Not very long. I think it took about a year before I got a meeting with a commercial agent. I went in and said, ‘You’ve probably heard this before, but I’m going to book three national commercials in a year. Do you want to be my agent?’ And he said, ‘Sure.’ And I booked three national commercials in nine months. So I did it. I felt like Babe Ruth. And because of that and some other help, I got my first theatrical agent and I just started going out on auditions. I said to myself, ‘This is going to work.’ The theatrical agent led to my first guest spot on television and all that jazz. My very first job was on ‘Without a Trace,’ and then I moved on, eventually getting the role in ‘Hostage,’ my first feature film, with Bruce Willis. I was a hostage taker. I was very nervous. I hadn’t had as much acting training so I relied totally on my raw talent, with no way to know how to bring my talent out. It was this big lesson. I learned just ow much talent I have without any help. After that, I studied pretty aggressively so that I wouldn’t get into that situation again. Then I got ‘Prison Break’ and in between the seasons of that show I did ‘Immaculate Conception’ and ‘Winged Creatures’ (2008).
How did you get the role in “Little Dizzle”?
It was through an audition, and it was pretty crazy meeting (director) David Russo. He’s a trip. He’s the archetype of the mad artist and he plays it well. I left that audition and went ‘Wow!’ (Co-star) Vince Vieluf and I did a chemistry reading, acting out a couple of scenes while David was right in there with us, filming. And we ended up shooting one of the scenes in the bathroom when Vince’s character flushes his dizzle. David fell in love with me because I reached my arm down the toilet to get it. I think he knew it was meant to be after that.
What do you mean?
It’s that I had no fear in sticking my arm down the toilet because I was trying to save dizzle. That’s a lot of conviction right there, sticking your hand down a toilet.
How would you describe your relationship with the dizzles?
The director was a janitor for seven years, and one time he found an aborted fetus in a toilet. And that’s what inspired the film. That’s what dizzle represents. … He’s not really fit for this world, and that strikes a chord with Dory. And therein lies the comedy. It’s more like an experience than a movie. It’s palpable.
What kind of religious significance do you see in this film?
Dory is trying to do all the right things. It’s almost by rote. But really it’s about a movement inside, about what I think is a relationship with God, rather than rules and regulations, doing checklist A to get the results for checklist B. That’s what I love about Dory. He has no fear. He’s willing to take the risk.
Why does he lose it all at the beginning of the movie?
He’s trying to get a break. There’s a girl he has a crush on, he tries to become a Christian for a girl. He tries to do all the right things to get the Christian girl, but gets the wrong results, and then she’s talking about a guy she wants to date who isn’t even a Christian. But she thinks she can convert him. She calls the new guy a ‘convertible with a convertible.’ Dory recognizes that he gave up everything to believe what she believes. It’s a breaking point for him.
Did you have any awkwardness in the making the movie?
Well, the shower scene was crazy, because it took 17 hours to shoot it. It’s a very elaborate scene. And it’s animated by Rosto (a digital compositry artist). And we were very happy to have him. I had to hang upside down in front of green screens for hours. You’ll notice that I was split into two at one point, and when we shot that, I was actually hanging upside down. The rest of it was me standing on a platform in front a green screen, and I had to be all wet. It was wild. You get to a certain point where you’re so focused on what you’re doing that all the awkwardness goes away. This film was a trip, man. We shot it in Seattle, in June, and the sun doesn’t go down until 10 p.m. at that time, and we shot the entire movie in 19 days. The shower scene took a whole day. Oh yeah, and this is important. I got my motorcycle license for the movie. I don’t want to forget that, because I was terrified of motorcycles.
How do your parents react to all this?
They love it. They’re my biggest fans.
What’s next?
I doing a project called Blue Like Jazz, (a best-selling book of essays about spirituality). Steve Taylor is directing. He helped adapt it from the book with Donald Miller, the author.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment Categories: SXSW 2009
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By Rene Alcala
March 18, 2009 10:47 AM | Link to this
I haven’t seen the movie yet but my family has known Marshall and his mom and dad for years, Marshall is a fantastic kid, as are his mom and dad (and brother) we are so proud for all of them.
By MMC
March 17, 2009 9:16 PM | Link to this
I saw the movie at the Alamo and it was GREAT. Every seat was filled and the entire audience laughed out loud. It was a very fun time and I think it will be a hit.
By Idanell Allman
March 16, 2009 2:45 PM | Link to this
Great article, Charles! Thanks! I found it very interesting, especially how the shower scene was filmed.