With 'Shared Rooms,' Director Rob Williams Makes the Yuletide Gay (Once More)

In 2005, writer-director, Rob Williams co-founded Guest House Films LLC with his partner, Rodney Johnson and has since made eight features, including his debut, "Long-Term Relationship," the beloved, "Make the Yuletide Gay," and his clever and topical gem, "Role/Play."

His films regularly run the LGBT Festival circuit and have amassed quite the fan following, with good reason: Williams is savvy at blending art and commerce. He presents smart, gay-positive characters, often naked, coping with real issues. And, no matter the plot complication, he sends a positive message that things can work out well in the end. This is especially evident in his latest movie.

"Shared Rooms" is an ensemble rom-com of sorts where three different stories converge on Christmas.

Laslo (Christopher Grant Pearson) and Cal (Alec Manley Wilson) are a happily married couple sans children, who actually have no desire to have any (contrary to every gay around them). Of course, be careful what you don't wish for, as Cal's teen nephew (Ryan Weldon) appears on their doorstep, having been ousted from his home from his homophobic parents.

Meanwhile, a couple of nudists, Sid (Justin Xavier Smith) and Gray (Alexander Neil Miller), meet via a hook-up app and fall for one another, while having philosophical discussions about the existence of God and such.

The third plot leg involves geeky Dylan (Robert Werner) who returns home from a business trip only to find his roommate (and secret crush), Julian (Daniel Lipshutz) has rented out his room on LGBTQBNB.COM to a handsome stranger named Blake (Eric Allen Smith).

Rob Williams, like his films, proves to be intelligent, opinionated, passionate and honest.

EDGE spoke to Williams on the eve of "Shared Rooms'" debut on DVD and Digital Platforms. For more on buying and/or streaming the film, visit this website.

Intertwining storylines

EDGE: Where did the idea for 'Shared Rooms' come from?

Rob Williams: The idea came from several different areas. I had started a script that was about the Cal-Laslo-Zeke storyline about the Uncles taking in their nephew. I really liked the characters but I wasn't really sure where it was going... At the same time I had started a script about two roommates where one was renting out the other guy's room, which eventually became the Julian and Dylan storyline in the film... I think I was probably watching 'Love Actually,' one of my favorite Christmas films of all-time, and just went, oh, what if I took those two storylines and merged them and did a gay homage to 'Love Actually,' with intertwining storylines.

EDGE: Are your films autobiographical in any way?

Rob Williams: There are certain things that are inspired by my life. My husband has a nephew who came out and stayed with us for about six months, five or six years ago. Nothing like the movie... we've also rented out using AirBNB and met a lot of interesting people so that inspired the LGBTQBNB.COM storyline.

EDGE: How long was the journey from script to screen?

Rob Williams: I started writing it in April of 2015. Then we shot it in late October/early November. Then we did all the editing and started playing festivals in May 2016. And we've been playing festivals ever since then.

A gay Woody Allen

EDGE: You're kind of becoming the gay Woody Allen...

Rob Williams: Please feel free to write that.

EDGE: You're prolific and ensemble oriented. How do you crank them out so quickly?

Rob Williams: This is my business. This is what we do. Part of it is that business aspect -- let's get something out there and part of it is that this is what I love to do. As a creative person and a businessperson I can't justify spending two or three years on a film. I don't understand people who make a film and then spend two years playing festivals and then it finally comes out -- just get it out already! I have so many ideas and so many things that I want to do that by the time any film is done and edited I am ready to move on to the next one.

EDGE: But you have a built in fan base.

Rob Williams: It's a business and you have to build a brand and put products out there. We've been very lucky that our fans have been loyal in following us from project to project and have been very supportive.

EDGE: Tell me about the casting process?

Rob Williams: We used a casting director who brought in some amazing people here in Los Angeles. One of them, Robert Werner, was referred to by a filmmaker friend I have on Facebook, but apart from that, everyone else came in straight through the audition process. And we were really lucky because we found incredible people... it was really quick.

Incredible chemistry

EDGE: Were you afforded a rehearsal process?

Rob Williams: No. Not on our scale. Some (of the cast) didn't even meet until we did a table read. The actors who play Cal and Laslo, for instance. They met and it was as if they had known each other their entire lives... We were thrilled and so lucky they had such an incredible chemistry and liked each other as people. This was one of those films where not only did everyone have incredible chemistry on film, but they've become friends off the set. We hang out together... And that doesn't always happen. Everyone enjoyed themselves and everyone enjoyed each other. That doesn't always happen. This was the most fun I've had in eight films.

EDGE: How do you work with your actors? Are you very hands on?

Rob Williams: I'm not a big fan of improv and ad-libbing as any of my actors will tell you... I try to be as hands off as I can and let them do what they're doing, unless it's something specific. Being the writer and director, a lot of times I have very specific ideas about certain lines and making sure certain things are said in a certain way since I'm already editing the film in my head. My favorite line of direction is: 'can you just be sexier?' And usually they're like, 'really? Sexier?' These guys are standing there naked.

About nudity

EDGE: You just brought me to my next question, which is about nudity. Your films usually feature plenty of nudity and in 'Shared Rooms' there is even a discussion about the hang-ups people have about nudity. Can you elaborate on your feelings on nudity and nudity in your films?

Rob Williams: I'm all for nudity. I think it's great. And I think people have way too many hang-ups about it. That's kind of where these two characters came from (Sid and Gray). Let's put it out there. Let's have two people who have no hang-ups about nudity... they're just naked the whole time. I think that's a reality for a lot of people.

I know our audiences enjoy it. It's part of real life. Whether it's these two characters who are nudists or just in general.

My biggest pet peeve is watching a love scene in any film, a gay film, a straight film, a Hollywood film, and they finish having sex and they get out of bed and they have their underwear on. How did that just work? You even see that with a lot of indie gay films. I'm not sure I know anyone who keeps their briefs on while they're having sex... Maybe it's just me? I always want it to be very natural. If you would be naked in this moment, then just be naked in the moment. Let's not cover it up. Let's try and be real... Especially with these two nudist characters.

The audition process was tough because I had to tell all of the actors, these characters are nudists and I want to be able to shoot wherever we shoot. I don't want to be doing 'Austin Powers' holding things in front of your crotch. Or framing everything to make sure we don't see anything. If you're walking across the room and we see something, we see something. I needed to find actors who were completely comfortable with that. And I did. Justin Xavier Smith and Alexander Neil Miller were incredible... They were so cool about it and wonderful. It had to be natural. And it doesn't become titillating and gratuitous. It's real.

EDGE: Have you ever run into a situation with an actor who agreed to nudity but was then apprehensive about it?

Rob Williams: Yes!

Personal best?

EDGE: How do you deal with it? Did you recast? Were you able to coax? Or did you have to capitulate?

Rob Williams: When that has happened, it's happened onset. They'd show up and were like, Y'know, I kinda changed my mind... Okay, it is what it is and you have to work around it. It's never been so crucial. Usually, it's someone who had agreed to do full frontal and then they changed their mind. Which is fine. We can deal with that. Actors are very wary of nudity for whatever reason. You just have to roll with the punches.

EDGE: 'Role/Play' is my favorite of all your films. Do you have a personal best?

Rob Williams: Honestly, 'Shared Rooms.' This is the only film that, on the film festival circuit, every time it played, I sat and watched the entire movie with the crowd. Normally, you reach a point where you've seen it enough. This one I enjoyed so much. I enjoyed the making of the film. I enjoyed the final product. I loved the crowd reactions. And I feel like it sums up everything that Guest House Films is about. It has the positive messages, the happy endings. It's got the discussions about issues. Sid/Gray are very reminiscent of the 'Role/Play' characters. It's a Christmas film, reminiscent of 'Make the Yuletide Gay.' To me the more I watch it the more I realize that it's everything we've done in the past, everything I like to do, coming together in this one movie. If I had to tell someone to watch one Guest House movie to know what we are about, it would be 'Shared Rooms.'

Dealing with Trump

EDGE: What is up next for you?

Rob Williams: Hopefully a romantic drama called 'Happiness Adjacent.' Hopefully we will be shooting that early 2017. I'd love to get it out at the end of 2017. It's another character driven, character study in the 'Role/Play' vein. Dealing with a bisexual character torn between his wife and this new love he's met on vacation.

EDGE: In the wake of the Trump victory, what are you thoughts on what this will mean regarding both LGBT films and LGBT rights?

Rob Williams: It will be absolutely dreadful and horrible for LGBT rights. I will not believe anything positive (Trump) says until he actually backs it up.

I know he just did an interview with '60 Minutes' where he said that marriage equality is settled, it's done. But in the same breath he's saying he wants to appoint judges who will overturn Roe vs. Wade. So follow the logic. Any judge who wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade is also going to want to overturn marriage equality.

And the team he has around him, the Pence's of the world, the white supremacists he has on his team, are very anti-gay and I think it's going to be a really horrible time. And the gay people who supported Trump, thinking he isn't anti gay, well, he may not be -- and I don't know that -- but the people around him, the people who actually wield the power, are.

Making it okay

EDGE: Especially Pence.

Rob Williams: Especially Pence. And if Trump is convicted (of a crime) and we end up with Pence, it would actually be worse. I think we're in for a really rough four years. And we're going to fight and be united and hold this administration accountable for everything that they do and we really need to stand up for our rights.

In terms of movies -- my husband and I started Guest House Films 11 years ago because we were tired of seeing negative portrayals of gay men in film. At that point, LGBT films were so much about death and hatred and gay bashing and drugs. If you went to an indie gay film festival, the films were very negative. And you'd come away thinking, gosh, if I'm gay, I'm going to end up dead.

That's why we started our company, to make films with positive messages. I think now, more than ever, that is needed. People are going to want to respond with politically oriented films and documentaries and I think that's important. We need to get the truth out there. We need to make sure people know what's going on. But it's just as important to put out positive messages and to show positive portrayals of our community so that that teenager in middle America who's living in a Trump state, who has the ultra religious parents, if he is able to rent a gay movie online and watch it and he can see that those are gay men who are happy and in love and married. Maybe they have kids. They've got friends. They've got a good life. It is possible. I think that's more important now than ever. We have an obligation to put out positive portrayals so that people in times like this can see that it is possible to have that happy ending.

Ever since we made 'Make the Yuletide Gay,' every single Christmas, I hear from teenagers and college students who say, I watched that movie. It gave me the courage to come out to my parents. Now we have a better relationship... So I know for a fact that films can make a difference, even if they're comedies like 'Shared Rooms,' where being gay is not an issue. Or for the only character where it is an issue, the teenager, he's able to find his own family when his biological family kicks him out. And you know that at the end of the film he's going to be okay. And I think we need to put out messages that say you're going to be okay...And that's what we're going to keep doing.

"Shared Rooms" is currently out on DVD and Digital Platforms via Wolfe Video. For more on buying and/or streaming the film, visit this website.

Watch the trailer to "Shared Rooms":