Director, Taz Goldstein, Discusses Creation of 2084
Every story starts with an idea. Director, Taz Goldstein, pulls back the curtain to reveal his inception story for 2084. While the original thought may have occurred two decades ago, the film’s relevance is felt firmly in our current year. Continue below to read what Goldstein had to say on the subject.
2084 is an epic sci-fi comedy that was shot in my living room with a cast of three, a crew of less, and a budget barely big enough for pizza. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
In 1994, at the Acme Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles, I watched Byrne Offutt perform a bizarre and hilarious sketch that pitted a back-woods simpleton against a faceless overlord (loosely inspired by George Orwell’s Big Brother). I loved it, and desperately wanted to direct it as a short film. I imagined re-framing the story as a futuristic face-off between man and machine, set in a post-apocalyptic world governed by technology and an omnipotent computer. Unfortunately, at that time, creating the film I had envisioned was financially and technically impossible. So, I reluctantly shelved the idea… for twenty years.
Recently, I was reading yet another article about our government’s desire to control technology in order to invade the private lives of its citizens. It was clear that Byrne’s sketch had never been more relevant. Once again, I felt the overwhelming desire to tell the story of 2084. Additionally, visual effects were no longer the private plaything of studio blockbusters. While I had no prior experience using 3D software, I hoped I could teach myself along the way.
With this in mind, I asked Byrne and his equally brilliant comedy partner, Bob Levitan, if they were interested in pursuing my vision. I described how I would capture their performances against a green screen, and then spend my nights and weekends creating everything else on the computer. They agreed, we ordered pizza, and 2084 was born.