Jared Sprouse and Ainsley Seiger both went to the University of North Carolina School for the Arts, but didn’t officially meet each other until October of 2023 when Sprouse reached out to his fellow alum via Instagram about a new project he was working on.
The film was called “Party USA.” Seiger initially put off responding to the DM, but finally thought, “What the hell?” She told Sprouse to send it over. Once she started reading, she couldn’t put it down.
“It’s a pretty good indicator of whether or not a project is worth pursuing, or even getting invested in getting to have an audition for it, if you start reading and about halfway through you’re like, ‘Oh – I haven’t stopped reading the movie,’” Seiger said.
When you watch “Party USA,” you understand why Seiger was so enthralled. The film, which will play at the Atlanta Film Festival on April 29 at the Plaza Theatre, stars Seiger as Taylor, an overworked, underpaid employee at a Party City-esque store who, when she can’t get her shift covered after her dad passes away, makes a terrible, deadly mistake.
When Sprouse initially began working on a feature film, he had the idea of setting it inside the world of fine dining – he had worked in Atlanta restaurants for years, and was interested in exploring the complications that arise when someone’s livelihood depends on having to put on a happy face for customers just to get through the day. But, when that idea proved a bit too ambitious and costly, he went back to the drawing board. His friend Barrett Jay had previously worked at Party City, and the film slowly began to coalesce.
Sprouse said he had the idea for the opening scene of “Party USA” first. The movie opens with Taylor having sex with her boyfriend, Damian (Phillip Andre Botello), and then receiving the news that her dad has died (spoiler alert: they keep having sex while she’s on the phone). Taylor’s dad’s death is the inciting incident of the film, but Sprouse didn’t want to make the movie about someone dealing with grief over losing a parent.
“I was much more interested in personal sacrifice for responsibility,” he said.
Taylor’s dad’s death – and her subsequent attempt to get time off to help with his funeral – starts her on a harrowing, darkly funny journey filled with twists and turns as she digs herself into a deeper hole with each decision. Taylor’s financial responsibilities to her family – including her chairbound mother (Dana Elaine) and her hapless brother Keegan (Ben Weinswig) – color her every move. Making more money means covering up every single mistake – and turning into someone she hates.
“I was really interested in telling the story of essentially becoming your own worst nightmare,” Sprouse said.
When writing, that idea helped give Sprouse and Jay a natural end point to work towards. While some second act character beats changed from the original draft of the script to the final product, Sprouse said the character of Taylor helped keep the writing process on track.
“I really want this woman to sacrifice everything that she loves in order to take care of everything that she loves,” he said. “It was really about becoming what she hated most in the world. That gave me such a strong end point for the whole project, as far as the writing process.”
In developing her character, Seiger said she established a big picture idea of Taylor before she arrived onset, setting parameters around Taylor’s overarching desires that would help her find the character’s day-to-day actions more easily.
“Essentially, [I make] a breakdown of what I want, what I’m willing to do to get what I want, what I’m not willing to do to get what I want,” Seiger said. “It kind of allows you as the actor to move more freely because you have all of these restraints that you’ve placed upon yourself.”
Having now seen the film twice, Seiger said she notices a difference between how Taylor comes across on screen and how she felt when she was playing the part. You have to be the biggest advocate for your character, Seiger said. So, while playing Taylor, Seiger tried to find the good in her actions – no matter how difficult that was.
“Everything does trace back to this idea of sacrifice and taking care of your family,” Seiger said. “But there are so many moments when I was watching the movie where it doesn’t feel as noble in watching it as it did living in it.”
The shoot took place over roughly three weeks, using a fireworks store around Gainesville as the primary location, as well as locations in Acworth and around Atlanta, said Sprouse. “Party USA” premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, Calif. last month, but for Sprouse, bringing the film back to Atlanta represents a special sort of homecoming.
“I’m really glad we’re playing at the Plaza,” he said. “I wrote the movie probably like, three blocks away from there, where I was living at the time. It’s definitely a nice little homecoming event.”
“Party USA” will play the Atlanta Film Festival on April 29.
