Bunch is on the team behind this year’s Family Pride and we’re really, well, proud to be part of it. To kick off Family Pride, we asked Bunch mom Diane Flacks to interview the stars and director of The Baby Formula, a flick about a gay couple’s attempts to conceive one another’s baby, starring Megan Fahlenbok and Angela Vint, who were both actually pregnant during filming.
Here’s Diane’s exclusive interview with Megan, Angela and director Alison Reid, about going into labour at Pride ’07, having gay kids and loving on Angelina Jolie.
Happy Pride to all the families in the Bunch community!
Diane: What was your immediate reaction when Angela went into labour while shooting the water-breaking sequence in the film?
Angela: I remember strange things had been happening in my body that morning and when I was taking a cab downtown to set on Pride 2007, I remember thinking how crazy it would be if I went into labour Since Church and Wellesley was pretty much shut down, it would definitely be a challenge should something come up. Then there I was blocking out the breaking-of the water-scene and when I dismounted from a beautiful vintage Harley Davidson motorcycle my tummy twinged and the fluid flowed. I remember saying that my water had just broke and everyone laughed, it took a few minutes for everyone to register and when they realized that I wasn’t joking– it all pretty much spun out from there….
I went over to the St. John’s Ambulance stand and told them what had happened. They had to golf cart me out to Yonge Street because Church and Wellesley had been sectioned off for the days festivities…
Alison: After the initial OMG! Did that just really happen? My next response was ‘this is going to be great for the film. We can get the labour starting for real’. I asked Angela if she minded me shooting whatever happened next. Understandably she wasn’t keen on that, but I had to ask. As we got her to St John’s Ambulance, and she was taken away to the hospital, I went into re-write mode. The water-breaking scene obviously couldn’t play out the way I’d envisioned it without Angela, but we were there with our cameras in the middle of Pride. I decided to go ahead with the day, and adapt the scenes to play out without Angela’s character. It turned out to be one of our happiest days of shooting. Our thoughts never strayed far from Angela who we knew was in the middle of the miracle of bringing Maggie into the world.
Megan: I was really excited for Angela, worried that we would lose the day at the Parade, petrified to find out we would still shoot the day and I would have to improvise the whole thing…
Diane: Your children grow up and say they are gay. Response…
Megan: “What did I do wrong??? I nursed you too long, didn’t I?” No … I will be thrilled, seriously. I will be even more thrilled if they say they are gay before they have grown up. We plan to raise our kids with the knowledge that the right person for them may be a boy or a girl, not necessarily the opposite sex. I want my kids to know that they can choose whatever path makes them happy. I can’t wait to see what those choices will be!
Angela: If my little girl came up and told me she was gay I would be just as happy if she were to tell me that she was straight. I want her to find love and be made happy by love. I may even try to encourage her to try out both sides to make sure she finds out what she really likes before settling down. It’s about love and respect and those things can be hard to find in either package, I just wish her happiness in whichever one she chooses.
Diane: If you could make a baby with any other woman, who would it be?
Megan: I would make a baby with Reese Witherspoon. She is cute, fun, quirky and intelligent and would keep our lives organized.
Angela: If I could have a baby with another woman in would be Angelina Jolie. She’s beautiful, she’s sexy, she makes beautiful children and is a world ambassador–what’s not to like? My other choice would be Alicia Keys I would really like to spend some time with her–or at least make out and have her sing to me.
Diane: Do you have a GIMMEE? (IE: a person, usually a celeb, who you are allowed to have sex with if the opportunity ever arose and it’s not considered cheating – disclosure – mine used to be Deanna Troi from Star Trek and is now Jennifer Beals)
Angela: Funny enough my GIMMEE is also Angelina Jolie but only under the condition that my husband can get to watch at
least once.
Megan: Of course I do! Angelina, Angelina, Angelina… It used to be Owen Wilson, but he doesn’t look good wet … and Leonardo, well, Leonardo is a close second. But Angelina is just plain hot.
Diane: How has your relationship with each other changed since sharing this extraordinary life-meets-art film together?
Angela: It has been such an amazing experience to share this with Ali, Megan and everyone involved with this film. I think we’ve
done something special with this film and they will always have a special place in my heart. I am excited that it is finally coming to theatres but a little sad not to be seeing everyone on a regular basis anymore.
Megan: We have a level of closeness that you can’t really describe. We have shared such an incredible adventure together so we are really comfortable with each other, and we love each other. We probably always will.
Diane: What are your babies names – and how will you tell them about the experience of their gestation?
Angela: My little girl is Maggie-Anne and I love the fact that I will have her first few weeks forever on film. No matter how old she gets I will always be able to pop in the Baby Formula DVD and remember her. Not to mention how great it will be to put it on and embarrass her in front of friends when they come around and she is mean to me.
Megan: My daughter’s name is Arwyn and I will tell her that she had an incredible in-utero experience, and most of it is documented in an extraordinary film. Hopefully she will be as thrilled as I am …
Diane: Oh and for Alison – Will there be a follow-up? Raising the babies together, both lactating, both cranky, both exhausted, who rubs whose feet? (These were concerns my partner and I had when we decided to both inseminate at the same time – the fear of what might happen if, as in your film, we both had babies at the same time.)
Alison: Glad you asked about that. The answer is yes! We’re developing a television series based on The Baby Formula characters. The actors in these roles gelled so well with each other, and there was such a great dynamic happening that it would be a shame not to continue it in a series. We’ve seen lots of sitcoms with dysfunctional straight families, and I think the time has come to see how that looks in the context of a lesbian family: a family that just happens to be parenting the first stem cell babies (toddlers) in the world.
Diane Flacks is a writer/performer. She has performed in theatres across Canada and the US, including in LA and New York. Her published plays include SIBS, BY A THREAD and RANDOM ACTS. She’s created, written for, and acted in numerous Canadian televisions series, including The Kids In The Hall, Being Erica, Moose TV, Walter Ego, The Broad Side, and PR. She is the author of the book, “Bear With Me – What They Don’t Tell You About Pregnancy and New Motherhood”. Her stage version of the book recently played in Toronto to rave reviews, and was just taped for a CBC comedy festival. Variety Magazine called her solo work, “seamless… she removes and adds characters like a series of second skins… Canada’s answer to Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner…” She writes a bi-weekly column for The Toronto Star. She has a longer list of accomplishments that she either left in the car or put in recycling.
Check Diane out on-line: www.dianeflacks.com!
Check out The Baby Formulaat AMC Yonge-Dundas!
Check out Family Pride this weekend!
