Review Fix Exclusive: Casey Gates Talks ‘Judy The Clown’

Review Fix chats with filmmaker Casey Gates, who discusses her new YouTube series “Judy The Clown.” Breaking down the inspiration for the series and her goals moving forward, Gates lets us know why this project is a special one for her.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this series?

Casey Gates: The story stems from both my experience working in the social media-culture, as well as my time studying at The Clown School in Los Angeles. A clown is meant to celebrate their mistakes in public, which is basically the opposite of how most of us use social media. So by creating Judy– a clown documenting her life through social media– I could hold up a mirror to our culture’s obsession with “sharing” ourselves with the world. It was also an eminently make-able project that enabled me to express my own voice and aesthetic, without having to wait around or ask for permission.

Review Fix: What was behind the decision to shoot this on an iPhone6?

Gates: The decision to shoot on an iPhone was a direct reflection of the social-media-saturated world the project portrays. The storytelling style of the series is based on the “vlog” culture of YouTube, so shooting on an iPhone was the most authentic way to capture the tone and aesthetic of that world.

In the first incarnation of the project, I actually played Judy myself, with the help of a selfie-stick and a vlogging mic. As the idea evolved, I felt more drawn to (mostly) being a behind-the-camera creator and casting another actor to play Judy. And I couldn’t be happier with the work Connor Kelly-Eiding (Judy) is bringing to this project. She has elevated it in a way I truly could not have done on my own.

Review Fix: How do you want this series to affect people?

Gates: Judy goes on quite a journey through the series’ six episodes. I won’t give away the end, but what I’d love is for our audience to both be entertained by Judy, as well as see their society, and eventually themselves, reflected in her. Are we all just a bunch of clowns going to the extreme to find approval? What does it mean to share an authentic version of ourselves online? Can a digital community really provide a sense of connection?

Review Fix: How do you think your work at HBO has made you better at what you do?

Gates: I served as Social Media Producer for HBO’s Project Greenlight in 2015. It was a valuable experience to see what goes on behind the scenes of a docu-series about filmmaking, and to be exposed to so many up-and-coming filmmakers in the process. Basically, it made me want to do it, and I couldn’t stop stewing in ideas about what kinds of stories I wanted to tell.

Review Fix: Bottom Line, why should someone play this?

Gates: Come for a laugh, stay for a story. There are times when this series operates like sketch comedy, but I wanted to go further than that. In addition to making people laugh, or sometimes cringe, our character grows and has something to learn. Yes, she’s a clown. But in the art of clowning there are lessons about acknowledging and integrating our imperfections that Judy has yet to embrace.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Gates: I have a digital idea board that I’m often adding to and thinking about. But one project I’m especially passionate about is a narrative series titled “Blissed Out”, which is an indie dramedy depicting the world of LA yoga. I’ve written the first few episodes and shot a proof of concept, but am waiting to hear about a couple of development opportunities before moving forward.

And as always, I’m trying to stay up to date on the Lady Brain series: bit.ly/ladybrainchannel

Episodes will air every Tuesday on the Lady Brain YouTube channel : bit.ly/ladybrainchannel
Judy The Clown on Instagram : Instagram.com/judytheclown
Casey Gates on Facebook : facebook.com/caseygatesfilm
Casey Gates on Twitter : twitter.com/caseygates

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14225 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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