Filmmakers Renee Story and Chloe Ray are hoping to make audiences laugh with their comedy pilot Noble Homes, which had its premiere at the Austin Film Festival. But the project has extra meaning for the two creatives—it’s based on their own family story. They’re not just partners in the project; they’re mother and daughter, welcoming the audience into their lives.
In an interview with TVBrittanyF.com, Chloe and Renee spoke about the dynamics of working together while also being family. They also reflected on the creative process of bringing such a personal story to the screen. Plus, find out what they’ve taken away from the Noble Homes journey so far.
Brittany Frederick: There’s the belief that working with family in the entertainment industry can be difficult. Why do the two of you work so well together?
Renee Story: it’s really easy to work with Chloe, because she’s just a strong woman. She is a very strong and smart and articulate person. And she’s always known from a very, very young age exactly what she wants to do and how she wants to go about it. Her work ethic matches mine and exceeds mine, which is crazy. And it just makes it so much more fun to have this personal connection with her and watch her grow as this director—starting off as an actor—and watch everything she’s done to just succeed in the industry and find her own path.
Chloe Ray: I would not have the work ethic I have without my amazing mom. I’ve introduced friends to her, and everyone’s like, oh my gosh, your whole personality makes sense. (Laughs.) She’s taught me from day one to be strong, to not be afraid of my opinions, and I think that’s what made me a director.
What was the genesis of Noble Homes? Because you’re pulling from your family history to put this project together, which adds another layer beyond the traditional mockumentary.
Story: [It] was really just being with my mom while she was diagnosed with cancer, spending all that time with her watching comedies and laughing and trying to find some joy in such a terrible and hard situation. My mom loved the entertainment industry. And every time Chloe booked something, she wanted to be the one to call her. So she was very invested in it.
I had all this time with her, that I had time to think about what am I going to do after this? Because I moved in and really stayed with her and took care of her, along with my sisters… When I got a small inheritance, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I it. Before she even passed away, I wanted to honor her legacy and her love for everything that she’s been watching our family building within the industry. It was just a matter of getting that off the ground.
And there’s nobody else I could get it off the ground with [than] my daughter, who is a powerhouse in getting a team together. And then I have a whole roster of wonderful actors that I could pull from. It was very fun to bring them up and just build our community. So between her group of really solid filmmakers and my group of solid actors, it was just no question. And then I have a fabulous writer, Bridget Bell McMahon. I knew she could execute it beautifully.
Comedy is very subjective, so how did you find the style or tone of humor that you wanted to use in Noble Homes?
Ray: Something to be noted is my grandma’s knack for that in general, like at the most serious of times in our lives… The moments that stick out are just the absurd. We have a big Italian family, so we get into some embarrassing moments or situations that just make it all funny and make you remember community and family and the blessings of everyone who is there being able to laugh and being able to smile. So she championed it more than anyone.
Story: One thing we also did is we left a lot of room for improv. In the beginning, we knew we were casting people who had some improv experience. So some takes are just totally different from the other, and [it’s] just finding those and piecing the right ones together. Sometimes we had choices of jokes, which was really kind of a blessing and a curse at the same time.
Ray: A lot of times we’d audition a different cut or a different joke in front of an audience of six to 10 people and see what played before piecing it in. It took us probably three or four cuts of saying “This is the final cut,” to get to the cut that is actually screening at Austin. So your work is just never done. You’re completely refining it, especially as you see how people laugh and take things in. And you’re like oh, they find this scene funnier than this scene. Let’s move that a little bit.
What would you say are the highlights from the pilot, now that you’ve put it together? Anything that you’re particularly proud of?
Ray: The blocking of the ensemble and a farce in itself is so different than just a mocumentary comedy or just a short film. You’re dealing with all of these characters entering and exiting at different times and all of these different cues. As a director, I’m not just directing one thing happening. There’s like 50 things happening in a scene at once—and [you’re] nailing those all down enough when you have that very limited amount of time to pull it off. And when your actors might be distracted because they’re having so much fun.
That’s what you want on a comedy. How can you hone in and make that blocking happen and get all of that done? So I guess the thing I’m most proud of is that entirety of the first act. We had to shoot it in a day and a half. We shot 15 pages with seven characters in a day and a half. And that in itself was the challenge of a lifetime.
Since there’s the personal element to this project, what’s going to make you two feel like Noble Homes is successful? Is it the journey of accomplishing it, or are there other goals you’ve set for yourselves?
Story: When I started this, I wanted to create a lasting memory for my mom and my dad. But I also just very simply said, if everybody gets footage out of this, and everybody gets a little leg up from this, then I’m going to be so happy. Everything beyond that is icing on the cake—getting into Austin and having some interest and joy in this project. And the sentiment behind it is, I just keep saying the icing is the best part.
Ray: I definitely agree that on this specific project, it was about fulfilling that honor to my grandma. I think for us, Austin was a huge “this was worth it” moment. Because it is so vulnerable to make something and put it out. We haven’t publicly released it, but sending it to studios and getting a lot of almost yeses, but no yeses—that kind of thing can get really hard. Something like Austin really validates that feeling inside you. The feeling that everyone from student filmmaker to hopefully Edgar Wright has, that they don’t know what their art is saying towards people. And so it was definitively a really validating moment as a filmmaker, but we’re not stopping until the series is made. That is my ultimate goal.
What have you two learned about yourselves or about each other through this creative process?
Story: I just learned how resilient she is. There are nights where there’s no sleep whatsoever. And to get up and be able to run and direct like that—I have such a true appreciation for her more as an adult. We did do some projects before this. We did a feature film a long time ago, but they were like kids when we were doing this. And to see like growth and to see her as an adult director who can fully command the respect of everybody on set just drops my jaw to the ground. I think it’s amazing. I love it. I just am so proud.
Ray: It’s such a privilege and an honor to have my mom not only support me, but want to be there beside me and help in any way, wanting to get her own stories told. It’s beyond just like a stamp of approval on my career. It’s like, I understand on a soul level why you’re doing what you’re doing, and I want to help you, and I want to do it with you. And it has brought kind of an unbreakable bond between us. Everything is so stressful at times, but being able to lean on your mom and being able to have that newly kind of an adult relationship, it was the kickoff to that for us, I believe, and our relationship will never, ever, ever break because of it.
Photo Credit: Marley Rankin, with makeup by Vlada Kozachyshche/Courtesy of Marque PR.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
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