Second Nature
Written by Michael Cross, JC Ford, Edi Zanidache
Directed by Michael Cross
Starring Collette Wolfe, Sam Huntington, Carollani Sandberg, Carolyn Cox, Riley Shanahan
80 Minutes
Cross Films | Mirror Images LTD
Release date: November 10, 2016 (Napa Valley Film Festival)

In the small town of Louisburg, WA, Mayor Gleason is having a drunken joyride with his mistress, complete with bonus fellatio and some not so bonus driving right off a cliff. This leaves his position open for election.

Queue Bret and Amanda, who both decide to run for Mayor. Bret and Amanda are not a couple. They were childhood political rivals where he won (of course), and now they work together (he’s the boss, of course). They’re initially presented as stereotypes of their gender — she does yoga and listens to affirmation audio, while he watches sports while having sex — but then things go haywire after they each make a wish about how men and women should act. This is the set-up for Michael Cross‘s gender-swapping political comedy Second Nature, starring Sam Huntington (Sully, Superman Returns, Detroit Rock City) and Collette Wolfe (You’re the Worst, Hot Tub Time Machine).

Long-time director Michael Cross will see the world premiere this week of his feature debut with the gender-swapping political comedy Second Nature. The film stars Collette Wolfe (Hot Tub Time Machine) and Sam Huntington (Superman Returns, Detroit Rock City) as small-town mayoral campaign rivals whose lives are turned upside down after they’re magically transported to a mirrored reality where gender roles are reversed and women are in power. It’s not your typical body-swap comedy, but it definitely deserves an honored place in the subgenre.

We got a chance to talk to Cross about his inspiration for the long-gestating movie, a project funded through Kickstarter; what it was like to film it in his hometown, and to direct his famous photographer cat; how he pulled off such a well-crafted comedy on a limited budget and schedule; what the world would be like if women ruled, and much more.

The director has also given us an exclusive first-look at a pertinent clip from Second Nature, which you can watch here below at the end of the interview.

The Foot Fist Way
Directed by Jody Hill
Starring Danny McBride, Mary Jane Bostic, Collette Wolfe
Paramount Home Entertainment
Release Date: September 23, 2008

Fred Simmons (Danny McBride) is king of all he surveys, a man in total control and brimming with the wisdom and confidence of the greatest senseis. Fred is a master of the art of Tae Kwon Do (English translation: The Foot Fist Way) and the “demo” — the demonstration of his abilities — and a self-serving, egotistical prick who is completely oblivious to the feelings of those around him. Since Fred won the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational he’s been coasting on the minor celebrity the title brought won and he managed to parlay it into a small dojo located in a North Carolina strip mall. Even though his raging ego tends to steamroll over his impressionable students, they still respect him enough to heed his lessons and defer to his authority. When it comes to the foot fist way, Fred Simmons knows his shit.

But soon Fred’s modest kingdom off the interstate begins to crumble when he discovers that his blowsy wife Suzie (Mary Jane Bostic) has been unfaithful. Fred’s boiling-over rage and aggression begins to manifest itself in his attitude towards his students. He even makes a pathetic attempt to hit on his new student Denise (Collette Wolfe). A chance meeting with his idol, martial arts master and washed-up movie star Chuck “The Truck” Wallace (Ben Best), leads to a guaranteed appearance from the Truck at the upcoming ceremony for Fred’s students where they test for their new belts that recharges his mojo. As good as things seem to be getting for our resilient black belt-sporting hero, they are destined to get much worse and Fred Simmons must put his knowledge of the foot fist way to its ultimate test.