Josh Hopkin – If The Price is Right

We were able to chat with Josh Hopkin about his latest movie If The Price is Right which will be screening on Saturday January 7th at the Towne Hub in American Fork Utah as part of the Utah Film Festival. 

Fresh out of college, with a world of possibilities, Seth invites his best friends over for a smoke filled evening of celebration. They catch up, swap stories, and contemplate whether the price they paid was right.

What was the inspiration to make If The Price is Right?

It all started with a funny bit that Keaton (Wes) had about how it would suck to be the guy on The Price is Right who keeps getting outbid by $1 every time. We brainstormed and developed a story around that and I (Josh) wrote the script.  I’ve always loved coming of age stories and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to make my own with direct ties to my life.

From idea to completion, how did If The Price is Right change?

The original idea was just about how bad it would suck to be continually outbid on The Price is Right, but it developed into a coming of age story that I’m proud of. We definitely had to cut some things along the way due to budget and time, but the core of it is all still there.

What was the biggest challenge in getting If The Price is Right made? 

The biggest challenge in getting this made was finding time to edit. We shot the entire short in one night, but it took another year to find time to edit between busy work schedules and my son being born soon after we shot it. Pre-production and production went really smooth, Post was a challenge to make it into my vision.

What do you think is the most important takeaway from your film?

It’s never too late to make a change in your life and chase your dreams, unless your dream is to win the Price is Right and you fuck that up.

If you could have a do over with If The Price is Right, is there anything that you would have done differently? If so, what would you change?

There’s definitely some things I would do differently, but I’m ultimately happy with what we were able to make. I’d obviously take a bigger budget, but the biggest thing I would change for the next one would be planning. Having a more detailed plan for shooting as well as a specific plan with deadlines for post production. We ended up having to cut a party scene at the beginning because of scheduling and time constraints.

What do you have in the works?

I’ve started working on another script about the struggles of becoming a new father. I love using scriptwriting as a vehicle to work through and explore things in my life. Keaton’s band Poet Bones, whose music is featured in the short film, is releasing their third album “The Comatose Tones” in 2023. You can also stay tuned with Keaton on his weekly podcast “The You Guys Shred Podcast” on Spotify and everywhere else you can find podcasts.