A Conversation with Alyssa Marvin, Frank Hall Green, Pilot Bunch, Kal Wilson, Allan Lopez & Margaret Cho (RUN AMOK)

Run Amok is written and directed by NB Mager, expanding from her award-winning short film of the same name which won the Grand Jury Prize at IFF Boston and qualified for Oscar consideration. The film follows Meg (Alyssa Marvin), a high school freshman who lost her mother in a school shooting ten years earlier. When her school plans a commemoration of the tragedy, Meg decides to stage an original musical recreating the event—a choice that puts her at odds with the adults around her, including her aunt (Molly Ringwald) and the school’s principal (Margaret Cho). The ensemble cast includes Patrick Wilson as Meg’s music teacher, Bill Camp, and Elizabeth Marvel. The young cast Includes Pilot Bunch, Kal Wilson (Patrick Wilson’s son, making his feature debut), Alyssa Marvin, and Allan Lopez Run Amok premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, produced by Julie Christeas of Tandem Pictures and Frank Hall Green. I spoke with the cast and producer about this film in the following conversations edited for length and clarity.

 

ALYSSA MARVIN (Meg)

Hammer to Nail: You originated this role in NB Mager’s short film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at IFF Boston and qualified for Oscar consideration. Now you’re the lead of a feature at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition opposite Patrick Wilson, Molly Ringwald, Margaret Cho, and Bill Camp. How has your understanding of Meg evolved from the short to the feature?

Alyssa Marvin: I think it’s evolved a lot because of how I’ve evolved as a person. I started playing this role when I was in eighth grade, and now I’m a freshman in high school. I’ve had my whole high school experience in tandem with Meg. My personal growth got to happen with her in a strange way—she informed me in my development, and I hope that I also informed her.

HTN: You were great in Appropriate on Broadway, playing Cassidy opposite Sarah Paulson, Elle Fanning, and Corey Stoll in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ family drama. That play is also about how families inherit and process dark histories. How did that experience prepare you for Run Amok?

AM: Obviously all those actors in that play are the best of the best. They’re all so brilliant. Getting to watch them work and seeing the specificity that they bring to their approach to these characters was really informative and helpful.

HTN: You’re working with actors who’ve been in the industry for decades. Patrick Wilson has been in the Insidious and Conjuring franchises, Molly Ringwald defined ’80s cinema, Margaret Cho’s a comedy legend. What did you learn from sharing scenes with performers at that level?

AM: They were always so honest and truthful in their work, and that was really inspiring to me. And they’re also just lovely people to be around. Those two things were really great to watch in person.

FRANK HALL GREEN (Producer)

Hammer to Nail: You directed and produced Wildlike. What was it about NB Mager’s vision for Run Amok that made you want to produce? And how did your experience as a first-time director inform how you produce for a debut film like this one?

Frank Hall Green: After I finished Wildlike, I was already doing a lot of producing. It was always my intention to keep producing and maybe do some more writing and directing. The producing has been going really well, so it’s been hard to get back to the script stage and the directing path. But it’s been hugely helpful to have the understanding of being a director, especially when you’re making your first feature, because I was super paranoid about a lot of different things—from prepping, casting, locations, production, to post-production and festivals.

NB is very diligent, very careful, very smart. Fortunately, she likes to listen to advice. I could say, “Hey, I remember when I was a director. We submitted to all these festivals. It was the darkest days while you’re waiting to find that premiere but you’ll be fine.” So really, a lot of it is commiseration. She didn’t need much help in directing the actors—she’s fantastic. She’s an actor herself, so I knew she could do that part.

HTN: You’re working with Julie Christeas of Tandem Pictures, who produced Wildlike. Her production company is known for sustainable filmmaking and championing underrepresented voices. How did that partnership shape the production?

FHG: Julie and I hadn’t worked together since Wildlike, even though we’d been close and sharing ideas on projects. She called me and said, “Hey, I have this really interesting project with this premise. You’re not going to believe it.” She sent it over and I was like, “I’m on board.” We have a very close working relationship. I’ve already been through trials and tribulations, so we agreed to be a team and have continued to do that throughout.

HTN: Wildlike was shot on 35mm in Alaska, and you’ve talked about the importance of locations in your work. Where was Run Amok shot, and how did the setting contribute to the film’s texture?

FHG: In two ways. One, the subject is about kids in high school today, so it has to be in a school setting. The other thing was that NB’s significant other, Shachar, who shot the film, has taught at City College. City College signed on to the premise—they liked the idea of the movie and wanted to give their space to do it. They had also provided that for the short. So as a producer, having a massive location come in at a very affordable price was a huge part of the deal.

PILOT BUNCH (Cast)

Hammer to Nail: You’re working alongside established stars like Patrick Wilson, Molly Ringwald, Margaret Cho. What was that experience like, and did any of them offer advice or mentorship?

Pilot Bunch: Working with all of them was such a pleasure. I grew up watching specifically Molly Ringwald more than the others. My mom and dad got me educated on Pretty in Pink. I used to reenact Duckie’s record store scene all the time—it was one of my favorite movies. So being able to share moments with somebody I really look up to like that is incredible.

Patrick has taught me a lot. I got to talk with him a lot. His son Kal is a very good friend of mine now. But these young actors right here—when I first watched them perform, I was stoked out of my mind. I was lit up. Because there’s something inside of me that can’t be put out. I want to do this until I die. I will do this until I die. Having people like that around me is more important than anything else. They’ve taught me the most.

HTN: NB Mager is making her feature debut after winning festival awards for the short. What did you observe about her directorial approach that was distinctive?

PB: She’s very patient. She’s extremely empathetic. She values you as a person and a human that she’s working with more than anything else. She always made sure we were all safe. She always made sure we were all comfortable with anything that was happening. I think that is more important than anything when it comes to directing. NB has always had our best interests at heart. To have a good performance, you have to have an environment where you feel comfortable enough to let that vulnerability out. She did that for us, both her and her husband. There’s nothing more important than that when it comes to running a set.

HTN: School violence has become a generational trauma for young Americans. Do you think Run Amok gets at something that other films about this subject haven’t?

PB: Yes, it’s about school violence. Yes, it’s about gun violence. But it’s more about what it’s like to band together and be a kid while all of this is happening. I’m 19 years old. I’m scrolling through the endless doom pit of death on TikTok, Instagram, whatever. You feel helpless. What do you do? What are you supposed to do? Everybody’s yelling in your face: “You got to do something. You should be doing this. And if you’re not, you’re unproductive.” Then you end up doing nothing.

But this film shows you that you can do something. You don’t have to have 43 million followers or some crazy outreach. You don’t need to make some crazy film. It’s musical theater at a high school. But it changed the world of this little school and these kids. It changed the world for everyone else around them, especially the adults who thought they knew everything—but they don’t, because they don’t know what it’s like to live that. This film targets what it’s like to really be a kid during these times and live through that.

KAL WILSON (Jeremy)

Hammer to Nail: NB Mager is making her feature directorial debut after a celebrated short film run. What was distinctive about her approach?

Kal Wilson: This is what my dad says a lot, but I feel like there are a lot of movies that touch around this issue—school shootings and gun violence—but it’s never really seen through the lens of a child. It never really covers the grief and how children have to deal with it. Everyone in this cast, we’re all young. We all grew up in this generation where you go through lockdown drills. It’s a real thing. Parents are aware. I think it’s just really important that someone touched on this in this specific way. You’ll see in the movie—it’s incredible.

HTN: You’re working opposite actors like your father, Molly Ringwald, Margaret Cho—people with decades of experience. What did you learn from watching them work?

KW: This was my first actual experience on a set. I mean, I was in some of my dad’s movies for a day or two, but I actually worked for a couple weeks on this. It was amazing seeing how smoothly everything flowed. I wasn’t in any scenes with my dad, but there’s one scene he’s in where I’m in the background as one of the students just sitting there. Seeing him from the opposite side of the camera, seeing him work—I’ve been on sets with him, but I’ve never actually been part of it. It was pretty awesome.

ALLAN LOPEZ (Cast)

Hammer to Nail: You’re working opposite actors like Patrick Wilson, Molly Ringwald, Margaret Cho—people with decades of experience. What did you learn from watching them work?

Allan Lopez: Just the level of professionalism and preparedness that they came to set with. Patrick, I got to shoot quite a few scenes with, and he just brought a calm, professional energy. He was happy to be there, I was happy to be there. I was just so grateful.

HTN: NB Mager is making her feature directorial debut. What did you notice about her approach to directing that was distinctive?

AL: There was so much trust put into all of us actors. We had the script, and she really turned it over to us when it came to filming and developing our characters. That was so appreciated and made us feel so comfortable. We really got to explore what these students were feeling.

HTN: School violence has become a generational trauma for young Americans. Do you think Run Amok gets at something that other films about this subject haven’t?

AL: I hope so. I hope this is a reminder that we need to focus on the youth and the emotions that we face, because I feel like we get so caught up in politics and rules when we just need to focus on the core of it. I think that’s where we start.

MARGARET CHO (Principal)

Hammer to Nail:  In a Choligarchy interview, you said ‘When I look back at my body of work, I hope people laugh and feel connected. I want them to hear something that resonates. A deeper truth that not only makes them laugh but also reminds them they’re not alone.’ Run Amok uses dark comedy to approach school violence. Is there a version of truth that comedy can access that drama can’t?

Margaret Cho: I think so. What’s important to realize is that we have a generation of kids who have grown up with gun violence since before kindergarten. I want audiences to look at this and say, “Is it worth it? Is it worth it to raise our children in this kind of trauma? Is it worth it for now a couple of generations in—is this still OK?” We’re the only country in the world that has to cope with this. So anything we can do to fight the fact that this exists, I think is important. If it’s humor, then so be it.

– Jack Schenker (@YUNGOCUPOTIS)