Ali Cook

You’d expect comedy out of a comedian turned actor and then director, right? Think again. My guest, filmmaker Ali Cook, turns what you’d expect upside down. So far, he’s written two short films, directed one, and is working now on his first few features. He acted in a truly phenomenal Afghanistan war film, KAJAKI (2014), sometimes known as Kilo Two Bravo, and he’s got more insight than we could possibly cover in 30 minutes. 

I tried to keep my laughter to a minimum, but come on. Go watch his films. Ali is talented and funny. 

In this episode, Ali and I discuss:

• What his goals are for an exquisitely filmed short film in THE PEARL COMB (2025) and previously THE CUNNING MAN (2019);
• How a comedian and magician in Britain became an indie film actor, writer and director; 
• His website lists his skills as directing, writing, producing, acting — does he have a favorite?
• What he took away from his first short film;
• Whether a high profile social media account helps his indie filmmaking career — “I think it’s a little bit different in the UK”;
• What to expect to see when they watch THE PEARL COMB and how he structures his films like a magic trick;
• How he brings the showman’s ability to filmmaking;
• What draws him to the Victorian look for his films
• His experience of watching his films in a theater and with an audience;
• The “awful” game you are playing trying to find honest feedback for a film;
• The clues in THE PEARL COMB that explain the ending;
• The best compliment you can give a short film — you have to rewatch it;
• How deflating it must be for a film with a big festival run to just be uploaded to YouTube;
• The brilliance of KAJAKI (2014) as a war film and his reflections on the film;
• what's next for this talented and funny filmmaker.

Ali's Indie Film Highlights: KAJAKI (2014) dir. by Paul Katis; THE SCHOOL DUEL (2024) dir. by Todd Wiseman Jr

Memorable Quotes:

“The structure of a one-man show is very similar to a film, really. And then I just realized there was a lot of inherent skills that I knew, the most brutal one being, having a pretty good sense of when people are getting bored.”

“ I think my least favorite is producing. But you need to be a great multitasker and I'm not, and you have to have excellent people skills of which mine are debatable.” 

“ The game of a comedian and the game of a magician is to paint thoughts in the audience's mind via assumption. So every joke is when you shatter an assumption.”

“I actually watch the audiences. So when the surprises are coming, I like to watch someone two or three rows in front of me, and I like to see if they're gonna jump or not.” 

“ The ending ideally should be surprising yet inevitable.” 

Links:

Follow Ali On Instagram

Follow THE PEARL COMB On Instagram

Ali Cook's Website