Alyssa Milano in a scene from No Overnight Parking. Photo courtesy of Meg Swertlow.
HOLLYWOOD, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 8/26/2023 – Meg Swertlow’s latest film, No Overnight Parking, opens with Nicole (Alyssa Milano) heading to her car after shopping for Halloween costumes for her children. She’s inside a dimly lit parking garage and is navigating several flights of stairs as well as a phone call with her sister. So, it’s no wonder that she is as distracted as she is especially after confiding to her sister that she will finally be leaving her husband, Wes (French Stewart). The black eye she sports more than drives it home as to the reason why.
On the way to her car, the parking attendant literally bumps into Nicole. He scurries away but not before removing a cone that had been propping open the only door to the stairs. Startled, and with the weight of the upcoming confrontation with her husband on her shoulders, Nicole drops her keys on the ground. She struggles to reach them right before entering the seeming safety of her car. And that’s where Nicole ends up literally fiighting for her life: finalizing the breakup with her husband over the phone and battling the masked intruder who managed to sneak into her back seat.
It’s a credit to Swertlow that although only ten minutes in length No Overnight Parking manages a few rather startling surprises. For such a short amount of time, a lot of story still manages to get told. The narrative is for the most part fully fleshed out. And while a back story on the protagonist (The American) would have been welcomed, there’s no reason why that can’t be more fully addressed in the feature length version. And there are possibilities in the works for just that.
The technical aspects of the film are on point. The camera work captures the dark, foreboding atmosphere of the parking garage while providing an intimate look at the rising uneasiness of Milano as the threat to her life gets closer and closer. And a heads up: there are genuine moments in this movie that will make you jump.
There are also a few instances of unexpected comedy as well. And speaking of the unexpected, French Stewart as Wes, deftly alternates between the fake concern and the explosive rage typical with many a gaslighting and abusive partner. For many of us who best know Stewart from 3rd Rock From the Sun, this is quite the departure from what we think of as the norm for this actor.
No Overnight Parking succeeds because it draws us in enough to make us wonder about the fates of all of the characters in the film. That it does so elevates it above your typical slasher film and shines a light on Swertlow as a filmmaker to watch out for.
We caught up with Meg Swetlow at the HollyShorts Film Festival to learn more about the making of her feminist slasher, No Overnight Parking.
The character of Nicole is an abused wife. She’s made the decision that she’s going to leave her husband. This is it. No more. And on this night of all nights, some kind of evil force decides to mess with her and gets a really raw deal in the process. How would you describe this movie?
“A feminist slasher. From a female gaze. Although a lot of slashers are feminist.”
In the credits, you have the antagonist down as “Hoodie.” His mask is interesting because it’s the American flag.
“It is. In the feature his character is called, ‘The American.’ It’s a perfect concept for a feature and I’ve gone back and forth and I decided to name him ‘The American’ and it’s actually what it had been. And then I was like, ‘Maybe a different name?’ I thought ‘Hoodie” was fun, but really the character to me was named, ‘The American.”
Ok but why? Why the American flag? Why ‘The American?’ The mask jumped out at me right away because it had the image of the American flag. Are you making a statement?
“I believe I am making a statement. I think crimes against women, crimes against women in this country specifically are what I’m calling out. Patriarchy, white men…that side of politics, I do think that that is a commentary on that. And I think I do feel that it’s in a way clear but I also think the fact that the American flag means something else to a lot of people I know now. The thing is, I’m afraid to say some of this stuff because I feel like there would be a backlash. I see it and I feel like I know the politics of someone if they have it at their house or that they’re trying to take a stance about America when I don’t think that’s the America that my friends my family stand for. It is a commentary I would say on the male toxicity of America and about violence against women.”
Your movie takes place in a parking garage. I found that interesting because let’s face it. In LA there are a lot of creepy parking garages. And I think just as a woman we were always kind of told that when you walk to your car always have your keys in your hand. Just in case. And then when you finally make it to your car you feel secure. So is that something that you tapped into? Is this kind of why it all takes place in a parking garage?
“Part of the reason that it takes place in a parking garage is I got locked in a parking garage with a friend of mine. We were eating ice-cream and chatting about boys one Sunday and the security guard locked us in. There was a sign and you could barely read it. We called them and they wouldn’t let us out. There were stairs but we got locked in. So that’s what sparked this idea.”
“But I also think as a woman, that’s what I’m tapping into is the terror of what it means to be a woman. The terror of simply walking to your car at night, that that is scary. That there are men who will hurt you. I’m 5’1” so for me, I’ve been told my whole life, ‘You need to be careful.’ My dad would say things like, ‘You’re very kidnappable. You could be picked up.’ And I’ve been in terrible experiences where men have literally picked me up to get me to stay in their homes. And so I do feel like I’ve pulled through the experience that has happened to me and the experience that has happened to many women that I know. It’s just that when you’re alone at night, in an empty space and you hear something, as a woman you’re going to probably have a different experience than maybe a man.”
“For me I think a lot of what Nicole goes through is that she misses the signs. She misses the signs of her husband. She misses the signs of the abuse the manipulation, being maybe a sociopath a narcissist. You miss those signs. And so that’s why I have her distracted. She’s on her phone. I don’t know about you but I’m on my phone way too much. And I’m easily distracted and I think that’s the reality is that we are so much more susceptible to being victimized because of our distraction, whether it be an emotional one or being distracted by your phone. So I think that that’s kind of the reason why I have all that in there. “We do this and we are so vulnerable. I believe that women are so strong and so powerful but there are limits and there’s a vulnerability and I think that it’s something that I wanted to express.”
When you were with your friend how did you end up leaving?
“They said they couldn’t let the car out and that I had to get it in the morning. There was a staircase, so I was able to get out. It was the Rite-Aid parking garage in Larchmont Village. It used to have a sign about the parking restrictions, but all of the letters were falling off and you could barely see it. There wasn’t a parking attendant around when we went in. I got my car the next morning and it took multiple Ubers to do it. It was very annoying. None of my friends were murdered, so that’s a plus.”
And it inspired a film.
“And it inspired a film yes.”
And you’re here today.
“And I’m here today. So I now look back at that and think, ‘What if I hadn’t been in that parking garage? And I think of the happy accidents that didn’t seem like happy moments at the time and unbeknownst to me was kind of altering the path of my life”.
I know you have a background in stand-up and there is actually some comedy in this movie.
“Yes! The Groundlings, UCB and IO West is where I studied and performed for years and years.”
How were you able to get Alyssa Milano and French Stewart in your movie?
“I got Alyssa Milano because I asked her. Because I strove to get someone who I felt was above my pay grade. I got Alyssa Milano because I had spoken to a casting director, Bruce Newberg. I told him that I wanted Alyssa Milano because she’s a fantastic actress, she has great comedic timing, she’s a total badass and I also appreciated and respected her human rights advocacy. I thought that this was important because of what the subject matter of No Overnight Parking is about. That it is about abuse. It is about breaking free from abuse. It is about women’s empowerment. I knew those things were important to Alyssa, so I had Bruce reach out to her.”
“I wrote a letter, a fan-girl letter, and talked about my former relationship, trapped in something where there was emotional abuse and gaslighting. She read the letter, we met on Zoom and she said yes. People always ask, ‘Were you friends with Alyssa?’ No, I was not. I am now but no I went to Alyssa because I respected her and she is a champion of women and she is a champion of female filmmakers, female directors and she isn’t someone who just says she is a champion of women. This is the absolute truth of who she is.”
It’s great that you had the audacity to ask and she said yes.
“What I’ve learned from my mother who is an entertainment journalist is if you don’t ask, you won’t get it. So I asked someone who I also believed would want to give and she did.”
“With French Stewart, I talked to my casting director. I hadn’t filmed that part and it was months and months later and it was the only thing we needed to do other than the color grading and sound and he suggested French Stewart. They had known each other for a long time. My casting director sent him the edit without the video and that day French called me and he was in for the ride. I directed him via Zoom because he was in Atlanta . I had a friend shoot him there while I directed him and he was wonderful. It’s been very fun because in the theater, every time I’ve seen a screening, people gasp when they see his name because he looks so different than he did in 3rd Rock and his character is obviously so different than the character in 3rd Rock but it’s one of the biggest gasps. It’s so funny. People don’t realize it’s him because he is such a dick bag in this film. And French Stewart- he’s a lovely, lovely human being. He’s such a lovely man. I had to re-shoot it two times because we didn’t get Wi-Fi and he went to my friend’s house. He went above and beyond for this little thing. I’m so thrilled to have him in this short, in this kind of role.”
That was a nice surprise. This role is definitely not the way we’re used to thinking about French Stewart.
“No, it’s not the way we know of him and he’s obviously a very hilarious person. But he was able to tap into that dark side which was very fun to see.
Ok so I know the challenge with short films is that, well, they’re short. The limit is 40 minutes. Yours was 10.
“Eight minutes without credits. I have long credits.”
You packed a lot in ten minutes and there were some genuine moments when I jumped. And that ominous whistle-what the heck!
“It’s so creepy! Yes. It’s a cat call. In the script it’s a wolf whistle. And to me I feel like a cat call is so aggressive. It’s voyeuristic. It makes a woman who doesn’t want it-and what woman ever wants a cat call really? A wolf whistle to me is a terrifying moment if you are a woman and you are alone. It is aggression, it feels in a way like violence. It is scary and to me it also the epitome of what this is about. A man’s aggression on a woman.”
You mentioned that you’re going to move forward with this in terms of possibly turning it into a full-length feature. And so we’re going to get more of a back story about the American? I’m guessing.
“So…the feature screenplay which has already been written follows the four women who are at the end of the movie. So it’s really about their journey and it’s about the character who’s dressed as Wednesday Addams. It’s about her journey getting out of a relationship that’s just beginning to be toxic.”
So we’re not going to be getting as much of a back story on The American?
“Something about him, but it’s really about that friendship. The back story of those women and ‘are they going to get out?’ So that is what I’m focusing on for the feature. There is more of ‘The American’ in it and that screenplay was just picked by K Period Media and Blumhouse for their inaugural screenwriting lab. So, I’m going to re-write based off Couper Samuelson, the head of Blumhouse Pictures and Kevin Williamson’s notes on the screenplay. Currently re-writing but it’s a bit in limbo right now. With that, we’re waiting until the WGA strike ends so we can hopefully get it out there.
Right? I know, the Emmy Awards were pushed to January and so many shows that were supposed to start up have also been pushed to next year.
“It’s very depressing.”
Yes, it is. This is our town. It’s an industry town and it’s been pretty much shut down. Obviously, the genre of your film is horror. What one movie have you seen that scared you? That had you thinking, ‘Wow! This person does horror really well!!’
“I think the most formative horror movie for me is Scream.”
The first one?
“Yes, the first Scream, Wes Craven, Kevin Williamson. If you noticed, French Stewart’s character is named Wes. It’s a homage to Wes Craven and Alyssa’s hairstyle is actually the Drew Barrymore hairstyle, Casey’s hairstyle in Scream. Scream was a really formative movie for me as a teenager. They were teenagers. I was a teenager at the same time. It’s what everyone in my high school talked about. It was so fun. I was so shocked by all the twists and turns and it kept me on the edge of my seat, and everyone talked about it. Everyone loved it. And it felt like a cultural moment and that is the thing-I would love to create just a modicum of that. Of that magic.”
It had a huge influence on you.
“It was very influential. So, I think it’s an outstanding film in its own right and then kind of what it sparked.”
Was last night here at HollyShorts the world premiere of your film?
“The world premiere was actually in Brazil at Fantaspoa. This is the West Coast Premiere. And it was really amazing to be here at the Chinese Theater. I’m from Los Angeles. To be here at this iconic theater feels really special as an LA native. “
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
This interview has been updated to include a still from No Overnight Parking as well as clarification regarding the re-write of the feature length version of this film.
No Overnight Parking, screened on Friday, August 11, at the 2023 HollyShorts Film Festival as part of the horror genre slate.
No Overnight Parking
Director Megan Swertlow
Writer Megan Swertlow
Executive Producer Craig James Pietrowiak
Cast
Alyssa Milano Nicole
French Stewart Wes
Chelsea Edmunson Dahlia
Brandon Loeser The American
Cinematography Noah Rosenthal
For more information on the HollyShorts Film Festival, please visit their Instagram.
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