Neil Berkeley on Documenting ‘Harmontown’

A. Lawrence Dreyfuss

Fans of the TV comedy “Community” are already well aware of show’s creator Dan Harmon, as he previously spearheaded Adult Swim’s “Rick and Morty” and co-created Comedy Central’s “The Sarah Silverman Program.” Lately, Harmon has taken his distinct brand of humor and philosophical insight to the stage for the weekly live show “Harmontown.” Attracting an audience of misfits and comedy lovers, the show is broadcast in podcasts each week on iTunes. The show also went on a U.S. tour a few years ago while Director Neil Berkeley documented the adventure for the film Harmontown. Entertainment Voice sat down with Berkeley to talk about the doc, his relationship with Harmon, and cats.

What was your route into filmmaking and documentary work?

NB: It’s a little backward. I kind of faked my way into this. I run a production company, and for a long time I did promos for networks and main titles for TV shows. There was also a graphic design element. We did animation for shows like “Top Chef” and “Project Runway,” “Real Housewives” and all those shows. I had a partnership that dissolved and we both left with a ton of cash. I thought, “Okay, I’m going to start a new company and I’m also going to make a movie. I’m going to a buy a little video camera and I’m going to follow Wayne White around and make a first movie called Beauty Is Embarrassing.” I had known Wayne for about 10 years and I was fascinated by him. He had made “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” “Beakman’s World,” music videos, and I was a huge fan of those. I thought, “I’m just going to follow that guy around and see what happens.” That was about a three-year process. It was this desire to make something, to make a movie. I always wanted to be a director and make features. It’s like they say, “If you want to make a movie, go make a movie.” Beauty Is Embarrassing went to South by Southwest and was very successful. For my second [film] Harmontown, Dan has seen Beauty is Embarrassing and called me [during] Thanksgiving 2012 and said, “Hey, I got a documentary idea. Let’s talk.”

Both of your films are centered on biographies. What do you see as the role of the documentarian?

NB: For me it’s to capture a story, to stand back and observe. You can ask 50 questions, but after you ask five, they should guide the next five. You do decide what road you are going to go down, but that’s as much guidance or directing as you are going to do. The role of the documentarian is to tell a full story and tell an honest story. Yes, have a goal and vision, but the main goal is to tell a complete story. You can’t tell everything but in Harmontown we tell the story of the tour, Dan’s relationship, where he came from, and his writing career. Of course, we left out some of the things he’s worked on, but we chose that line so that people can walk away feeling that they understand this guy.

Do you feel like you were successful?

NB: I do. Like everybody, Dan has a list of good things and bad things, and I picked a certain list and I talked about them. We show it; we show all sides of Dan, more so than a lot of movies produced by the subject, which this one is. Dan gave me final cut, which was vital because at no time did he say, “I look good here, bad here, change this, move this.” The notes were just how to make it better without lying or being dishonest. I think the movie tells a full picture of where Dan was at the time of this tour.

Are there specific films that you were thinking about or that inspired you when going into this film?

NB: Yeah, I watched two movies, [such as] Crumb, to see how far you can take it and to see what was special about that movie because it is incredibly honest. Also the movie Anvil: The Story of Anvil. It’s about two guys no one has ever really heard of. Dan is a writer on a TV show, he’s not the actor. Writers are not famous, or they’re not usually, but Dan is. Dan is famous. I watched these two movies to see who these people are and why they’re important. You watch them go on this journey from nothing to something. Dan went on this journey. There is an inherent story on a tour because you get in a car and you go and you come back.   

Take me through the process. You get this call from Dan. What is your reaction? What do you do after that?

NB: At first I was like, “Oh wow, this is awesome, this is cool. This is Dan Harmon. This will be fun. We’ll have a good time.” Dan originally thought it should be a little more meta, a doc about a doc [and] I would be in the movie. We would show me talking with him, working with him. That would be a great movie but I’m not the kind of guy of person to make that. That’s not my style. We talked and talked and he said, “I want to make whatever movie you want to make. You have final cut.” That’s how it happened. A week later I would shoot at Nerd Melt [where the show “Harmontown” is recorded] and a not long after we hit the road. It all happened really fast.

You had originally set out to make a road film, which turned into something more. How would you describe what the film has become?

NB: It’s a portrait. We didn’t know Dan would be rehired on “Community.” It’s really about this lost summer of what he did between being fired and being rehired. He bounced around on a tour bus; he tried to write two scripts; he got in a fight with his girlfriend. Yet there’s this guy who has hundreds of thousands of fans. He has this following and this behavior, so let’s discuss that [and] show that. Let’s explain why it’s relevant, why people are in that room. At face value he’s an abusive, drunk, bad boss, [so] why would anyone go listen to him talk into a microphone? That’s what it’s about.

Did you know what the “Harmontown” podcast was before starting the documentary?

NB: No. I was out of town when Dan called me. I said, “I’m back next week. Let’s meet and talk.” I listened to every episode that weekend. At that point there had been 23 episodes. I just devoured it.

How did your perception of the podcast change over the course of the making of the movie?   

NB: My appreciation changed. When I first went to shows I realized quickly that something special was going on. It’s Dan on stage with whoever is controlling but everyone in that room is part of that show. They are characters in this performance. It really is like performance art. They go up on stage and talk about things that should be embarrassing but it’s cathartic for them. They get a lot out of that. It has affected my relationships. I became more open, more honest. It changed the way I behave in a relationship, the way I talk to people, the way I’m feeling, in a positive way.    

The movie is bookended by beautiful shots of Dan in bed along with shots of cats.   

NB: That was one of the first things I came up with. I shot that cat scene the day after the tour at eight in the morning. I said, “Dan, I’m coming over at eight in the morning [and] I want you to look like shit. I want to know what this is like.” As soon as I shot it I said, “This is it, the beginning and the end.” That has never changed.

Who should go see this movie?

NB: I think anyone in a relationship would benefit from this movie. I think [it’s for] anyone who has ever been closed off to the world or scared or picked on or embarrassed for something they love. If you’re embarrassed or ashamed and want to know that it’s okay to stand on a stage or make a movie about how embarrassing their things are, you would really get something out of this movie.

Harmontown opens in select theaters October 3. For more information, visit Harmontown.com.