IT'S easy to draw comparisons between the lead character in Listen Up Philip and its director, Alex Ross Perry. Perry is 30 and a successful young film-maker - following on from Impolex (2009) and The Color Wheel (2011); Philip Lewis Friedman is a young novelist on the up, although he claims in the film that, "I'm not successful, I'm notable".
Philip (Jason Schwartzman) is told by his publisher that he's on a list of the top '35 under 35' writers on the scene as he gets set to release his second novel. Hilariously full of himself, he gets encouragement from his idol Ike Zimmerman, a famous writer whose best days are behind him, but also finds his photographer girlfriend Ashley (Elisabeth Moss) is running out of patience with him. He then heads off to Ike's summer residence to get away from the hustle and bustle of New York.
It's a sharp and funny film with lots of snappy dialogue, beautifully shot and with a great cast, so Perry is certainly a star on the rise.
The film has been screened at a host of festivals around the world. What for you were some of the highlights?
Sundance was really exciting. I'd never been before, so it was really interesting. When the film got played at the BFI [in London] and the Dublin Film Festival, I wasn't able to attend either of those because of scheduling and I would have loved to have been at both.
You assembled a great cast, with Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss (Peggy in Mad Men) leading the field.
The casting came about through the power of the producers. These are some of my favourite actors and actresses so it was exciting to think that they'd read the script, never even thinking I'd get to make the movie with them.
In the earliest conversations about what we hoped for with the cast, we said we'd like a `Jason-type actor', never thinking that we'd get the real thing. Then I mentioned Elisabeth and said I was a huge fan of hers and Mad Men. I didn't anticipate things like that would work out like this, for someone like me to make my first movie with professionals and get this kind of talent.
Jason's portrayal of the hilariously arrogant Philip often recalls his brilliant turn as Max Fischer in Rushmore (opposite Bill Murray). Are you a fan of that film?
Yeah, that's a very important film for me. I think I was about 14 when it came out, so it was an ideal age to discover that film and also the kind of cinema that it represented.
One of the best performances comes from feted Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce (Brazil, Glengarry Glen Ross, Pirates of the Caribbean and, more recently, Wolf Hall). Are you a fan of his?
Brazil is one of my favourite films so I couldn't believe that someone like him would come and do a movie like this with me, who has never worked with professional actors before. I'm excited about the UK and Ireland release because I feel he's more appreciated there and I think his work in this film is really exceptional. I talked to him on Skype but I didn't actually meet him until the day before the shoot, so that was definitely intimidating.
Pryce plays Ike, a famous writer who hasn't had success in a long time and who gives Philip advice. Was he based on anyone?
There are a lot of real world people who I've never met and whose work I admire who fit that mould of a hugely influential East Coast writer. That kind of relationship between the two characters [Ike and Philip] is definitely partially inspired by the relationships I have with people who are ahead of me on the same path and seeing the way they've handled things. It's fascinating for me to get close to them.
The film's cinematography, music and snappy dialogue have inevitably seen it compared to the work of Woody Allen. What do you think about that?
Of course I don't mind that comparison, because you're talking about major and important and influential films. We really fell under the spell of his film Husbands and Wives [1992] and looked at it quite a bit. It became incredibly important, in terms of lighting and cinematography and production design.
Is it true that you're currently writing the script for a Disney live-action Winnie the Pooh film?
Yeah, I've been working on it for a little bit and it's getting going now. It's a really exciting thing to be doing because of my lifelong passion for the character and the stories. People who see the relationship between Ashley [Elisabeth Moss] and the cat in Listen Up Philip will get an idea of my qualifications to be writing a story about humans and animals that they love.
How did you and the cast enjoy filming scenes with the cat?
It was a little bit of a challenge. I imagine if you had more money that you could hire a trained stage cat, but we just used my own cat.
Listen Up Philip opens at QFT Belfast today and runs until Thursday June 11 (QueensFilmTheatre.com).
