AFFINITY POINT: What's real, what's not

A lot of people have asked me if Affinity Point was autobiographical. The answer to that question is 'somewhat'. I like movies that have documentary feel to them. I also only write about what I know or/and have experienced. So, yes, Affinity Point does have many 'real life' elements.

Here are some of them:

- A lot of actors are basically playing simplistic or exaggerated versions of themselves.

I'm more outgoing than Jake is, Danielle is not as fucked up as Skylar is, Set is not as sadistic as Carol is, and so on...

For my character, especially, I decided to make him 'flat'- an empty shell- to let the audience focus on what was happening around him. I basically, made him up to be a loser. An anti-hero. Unlikable. Chubby. Awkward. Selfish. It was important that he didn't have anything going for him. Even his guitar playing was bad. This decision was tough, because I didn't feel like playing a loser. But it was the only way to get what I wanted out of the story. Jake was in part, inspired by one of my close friends who let his own adoption destroy his life.

The only two characters that aren't at all like the people who play them, are Jake's half-brother and Simmy.

- Locations, venues and apartments are real.

Places like the Cleo club, Circus after hours club, L'Absinthe, the cafe, apartments, Skylar's dance class and outdoor locations are real. We didn't change a thing when we shot in those locations, so the feel is very authentic.

- Many scenes actually happened in real life.

Almost every scene, except the obvious ones involving the main plot, happened in real life. The most shocking being a certain scene involving a used toilet.

- The extras weren't extras.

We just shot everything without asking permission most of the time. So a lot scenes have a real environment with real people reacting to our characters.

- The Scroll exists.

The band that performs in the film is really my band in real life. We used to wear masks like the ones in the film.