What is love? Is it this indefinable thing, or is there a scientific explanation for the euphoria that we all feel when we first fall in love? According to writer/director Marc Decena, love can be analyzed. In his new film Dopamine, named after the natural amphetamine our bodies produce when we’re falling in love, he attempts to have a philosophical debate about the origins of love.
When the film’s lead character, Rand (John Livingston) and his two buddies invent a new artificial life form, they are forced by their investors to test their invention out on a kindergarten class, here Rand meets Sarah (Sabrina Lloyd best known for her performance as Wade on the Cult Show, “”Sliders””). The two form an unlikely relationship and the chemistry is undeniable. But is it a chemical reaction or an affair of the heart? “”Dopamine”” is the first film project to go through the entire Sundance process, from the workshops to final distribution. We recently caught up with director Marc Decena and Sabrina Lloyd and here’s what they had to say.[Editor’s note this interview took place at the end of the day, so everyone, including myself was in a goofy tired mood.]EMI’m going to start the interview off with my standard, overly broad question – tell us who you are and why we’re speaking with you today?MD[Laughs] My name is Sabrina Lloyd, just kidding. My name is Marc Decena I’m the writer/co-director of the film Dopamine.SLAnd I’m Sabrina Lloyd, I’m the actress in the movie.EMWhat can you tell us about the movie?SL[Jokingly picks up a booklet and reads from it] “”Dopamine,”” named after the natural amphetamine our bodies produce when we’re falling in love, is a romantic drama for the hi-tech age. [laughs again.]EMWhat was it about the whole theory of “”Dopamine”” that struck you and made you want to explore this topic for a movie?MDWell, I had a fascination with “”why the way we are…””SL[Interrupting with her laughter] I’m sorry for laughing, it’s just that we had so many of these interviews today, that in the beginning, we would have these long elaborate answers and they are getting shorter and shorter as the day goes by, now at the end of the day, it’s like “”well it sounded like a good idea.””MD[Tries gamely to continue] Well “”Dopamine”” is the natural amphetamine that we feel when we fall in love. I felt that giddiness when I fell in love with my son, and my wife. I started to ask myself; what is “”love?”” Is it this biological, physiological thing or is it really something “”magical”” that just happens?EMWhat made you want to ask those questions to begin with? Most normal people just accept love for what it is. But you have to go that extra step and actually analyze it.MDI’m a geek. Every other day there seemed to be a new article that explained what you are feeling when you fall in love with somebody. At the same time, a friend of mine had a father who came down with Alzheimer’s and he could no longer recognize his wife of 40 years. He even became paranoid of her. That sort of thing got me thinking about the nature of love.EMDo you think the chemical nature of love is why couples get the “”7-year itch,”” and a lot of relationships don’t last more than 20 years?MDYeah, there’s actually a line in the film about this. I’ve been married for 16 years, there’s a part of me that still wrestles with this theory, and another part that does believe in love.Part of it is committing to it, and believing in it. EMSo have you and your wife had this conversation before?MDNot to the extent that Rand does. Actually we never have. But she is a co-producer of the film. I don’t think she ever questioned the concept of love.EMDo you think that it’s a gender trait to try and over analyze love?MDTo stereotype, probably a little bit. Men tend to over analyze everything a little bit more, while women are more intuitive. I think it does cross gender lines.EM[Looks to Sabrina] I’ll have to ask you the same question.SL Oh gosh no. I over analyze everything, me and my girlfriends sit around and say “”Can’t you shut up and just feel.””[pagebreak]EMDo you think that by over analyzing love that it starts to affect how you feel about someone?SLI think so. You can over analyze anything. I constantly have to tell myself, “”Sabrina, stop thinking.”” There are people who are just analytical. It’s part of your gene makeup, or too much caffeine.EMHow did you both do research for this?MDI did a lot of research on the web. If you do a search on Dopamine, you’ll be surprised at how much information you get. We had a screening at “”Sundance”” and this Professor gets up and says “”I’m a Professor and researched Dopamine for 20 years and you guys did a great job.””SLI did a lot of research about women giving their children up for adoption.EMWhat was your writing process like?MDWell we took it to the Sundance Film Writing lab, where we were able to refine our story. My writing partner (Timothy Breitbach) and I each took specific characters to work on.EMSo how did that work? Did you each go off and write your own characters, beginning – middle – end, and then come back together at the end and work from there?MDIt’s not cut and dry. We developed the characters, then there are some drafts where we individually would take a shot, and let the other person read it and vice a versa. EMHow does one go about becoming part of the “”Sundance Workshops.””MDOne of the things that “”Sundance”” tries to do is support people who have never done a film before. In my workshop we have playwrights, poets, etc. My entr