Writer, Director, Actor, former Teacher and mom, Lauren McCann, has barely gotten started

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We found Lauren McCann, the creative force behind 2021 SPYFLIX series finalist Girl Boxer, to be impressive, inspiring and downright dizzying. After hearing about the many Girl Boxer hats McCann wore, plus her accomplishments before the project came along and her aspirations for the future, we found our faded, underachieving arses looking for a towel to throw.

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Where did Girl Boxer come from? 

I have always loved mob / dark movies, and there is a lack of female leads in those films. I wanted to make the kind of movie that I wanted to see. I pulled ideas from the parts of my life I knew, the Irish community, boxing and all those dark films and fight films I love (I watched Rocky with my dad when I was 10 and was hooked). I had a plot brewing in my mind while pregnant with my son. I never put it to paper because I did not "have the answers" yet or know where to even start. Once I had my son and got him down napping one day, I decided to just take the leap and start writing. I ended up writing the first draft of Girl Boxer during that hour and a half the baby napped!

How did a first time filmmaker (and busy mom) find the courage to spearhead such a project, and do so wearing so many hats?

Support from friends and family and having the right people around me!  I have learned that filmmaking is a team sport. Every part needs to be in place for things to work and work well. I think it helps that I am a mom and a former kindergarten teacher! Like kids, filmmaking is not predictable! If you want things done ask a mom, because they are the ones who know how to multitask and get things done while at the same time making sure everyone is fed, taken care of, etc.

Was your family supportive from the start?

I am from Canada and My husband is from Poland. We told our family that we would not be visiting for a year. The cost of a family of four to fly to Canada and Poland was equal to a good chunk of the film's budget! We made choices like that - as a family - to get the film done and done well. Our extended family was supportive and understanding. My husband and I would stay up after the kids went to bed, and we’d talk about characters and story plot. Talking things out loud together really helped. I involved my husband and both of my kids in the project!

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How did you prepare for the fight scenes? Had you ever fought before? 

I gained a lot of boxing experience during a year that I lived in Arizona. I was writing my dissertation and needed to get out of the house! There were two gyms in the area - a fancy gym for $100 a month, and "Joe's Gym" for $100 a year! A no brainer. The community Joe's Gym was a boxing gym, and was run on a round bell.  I would do an hour of technical training and an hour and a half of conditioning five times a week. I was in the best shape of my life! I was getting ready to start some fights, but then I got pregnant with my daughter. Those muscle memory movements never leave you, however!

Creatively speaking, were you inspired or influenced by any particular films or TV shows rooted in the "genre" of secrets?  

I love the dark stuff... the stuff that happens in the underbelly of the world that we don't know about.  I am a big fan of Guy Ritchie’s films and his quick-paced, stylized esthetic. I think I have watched the film Snatch 40 times, and that film had a huge influence on me. 

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First time filmmakers with limited budgets usually have to be creative in problem solving - take shortcuts, fake this and MacGyver that. What secrets can you tell us about the making of Girl Boxer?

We were all about MacGyvering! The script called for a jail ... and no matter what we tried, we could not afford to shoot in a jail. So we had to think outside the box. The basement in my apartment is not “up to standards” shall we say (gotta love New York living), and I figured that jailers have to do laundry and laundry duty right? We got some orange jumpsuits on Amazon, and bingo we had a jail! We also needed a jail phone. I was able to buy an old pay phone box online. We held it up to the basement wall, and we got our shots quickly because it was heavy! Then we returned that phone!

Do you think timing has played a role in Girl Boxer's resonance, considering today's strong focus on gender equality? Would it have been as warmly received if released 10 or even 5 years ago?

I think it is timely, but I’d also like to think it would have been just as well-received five or ten years ago, simply because of the beauty of Dominick Sivilli’s cinematographic work and the performances of all our actors - Jack Mulcahy and David Sitler are powerful as a duo. I also think the story is so compelling that people would have been interested in it years ago and have been excited about seeing how female-driven it is.

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You produced the project as a pilot. What is the status of Girl Boxer's potential future as a series or feature?

I have eight episodes of a limited series outlined. I have a full one-hour pilot written, based on this proof of concept. Initially I wanted to make it 30 minutes, but for the kind of cinematography that I love, we need more time - for that I need an hour. I am also now combining those eight episodes into a feature. I am in the process of writing it now (whenever the kids are in bed), and it feels so good to enter this world again!

What is your next project? 

I’m looking at possibly making Girl Boxer into a feature, and I’m writing another script about a world where human connection is taken underground. I started it before the pandemic began, and it is amazing to think how timely it is. Our female lead is trying to bring the world back to where people think and feel with their hearts and not follow what “the machine” is saying. I’m looking at maybe getting into acting coaching (I have a Ph.D. in Education and I love working with actors). I’d also love to be an interior decorator and hunt for antiques and thrift finds for clients. I’m good at it. I would love to be a stylist too. I’m an excellent thrift shopper. If there were only more hours in the day!