Director Michelle Danner recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about her new drama “Hello Herman.”
In “Hello Herman,” which is now available on video-on-demand, Norman Reedus plays a famous journalist who interviews a 16-year-old boy (Garrett Backstrom) who is awaiting sentencing after entering his suburban school and killing 39 students, two teachers and a police officer.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Danner by clicking HERE. The following in an except from the interview in which the director discusses what she hopes “Hello Herman” will instill within its viewers.
“I think it is just a very interesting conversation that we need to keep having as to why this happens. I just thought the subject matter was very provocative and something that needed to be explored. There is this perception that there is a certain kind of kid that would snap when in fact that is not true. It can be a kid on the honor roll. We have always known that there is cruelty and bullying in our education system but now there are certain weapons that the kids have, like the Internet.
“We watch our youth become completely addicted to certain aspects of the Internet and become more and more desensitized. And we keep wondering why these tragedies keep happening – especially in schools. As parents, we think that we have it all under control but there are times when we don’t. It can happen to anybody. Nobody can be immune. I think that we are all part of this and we have to keep raising the awareness of these problems and what they lead to.
“This movie is about connection. It is about reaching out to someone else – especially as the world of technology increases. In several test screenings, people have come up to me and said, ‘I want to go home and hug my child.’ Someone very famous came up to me and said, ‘I am canceling my business trip tomorrow and staying home to cook breakfast for my children. When people came up to me and said those things, I felt that the things that I wanted the movie to be about were coming through.” – Michelle Danner
