Interview With Filmmaker Todd Verow And Star Guillermo Díaz For ‘You Can’t Stay Here’

Todd Verow’s new film, the thriller You Can’t Stay Here, piqued my interest almost immediately. I’m a sucker for movies set in the 90s, and the fact that the film is based on a true story, as well as being told through a gay lens, I just couldn’t stay away. Starring Guillermo Díaz (Weeds), it’s a gritty and raw portrait of early 90s cruising in Central Park.

Set in the 1990s, You Can’t Stay Here follows a photographer who witnesses the homicide of a gay man in Central Park. When the police take some interest in the crime, a relationship develops between the photographer and the murderer.

To celebrate the release of the movie, I chatted with Todd and Guillermo (who gave a career-best performance – do not miss this) about how the project came about, LGBTQ representation in entertainment, horror movies, and more!

PopHorror: I really enjoyed You Can’t Stay Here. I’m super excited to talk with you both.

Guillermo Díaz: Right on.

PopHorror: My first question is for both of you. I read that you guys decided to work together on this film before the script was even written. There was no project. You basically just said, “We want to work together. Let’s do this.” So Todd, what inspired the story? And Guillermo, what were your initial thoughts on the script?

Todd Verow: I’ve always been interested in cruising, and when Guillermo approached me about wanting to do a project, I thought it would be a really interesting idea to do a movie about cruising in Central Park in the early nineties before social media and all that. And so I thought that would be a really great, interesting idea, and Guillermo was into it. So that’s how it came about.

Guillermo Díaz: And for me, Todd and I had a cute little meeting in a cafe in the Lower East Side. It was super stormy and rainy outside, and we talked for a couple of hours and next thing I knew, Todd sent me the script. I was like, “Oh my God, you already wrote a script.” And I loved it from the gate. I really did. It was gritty, it was real, it was New York, it was raunchy. It was all the things that I love, and I was super into it. And then of course, we would go back and forth, and tweak things and I had ideas and he had other ideas, and we just kept collaborating, going back and forth until we had a script that we were both happy with. And then next thing we knew, we were on set in Central Park shooting the movie.

PopHorror: My introduction to cruising was the movie Cruising. I had my first experience watching the movie on the big screen a few months ago with a sold-out crowd. And Todd, was there anything that you were adamant about keeping in the film no matter what?

Todd Verow: I think everything is kind of there that I wanted to be there. I mean, we talked a lot about how we should handle the sex, and both of us agreed that cruising is more about being sort of in the sexual environment. So we didn’t want the movie to be too explicit. We wanted it to be more about the hunt and the search and the wanting to be in that space rather than about hooking up with someone and having sex really quickly. That’s not really what cruising to me is about, it’s about being in that state and wanting to stay in that state as long as you possibly can. So yeah, I mean, there wasn’t really anything that I wanted to be in it that I felt like was cut out or I didn’t feel inhibited in any way when we were making this, really.

PopHorror: That’s great. And Guillermo, was there anything that you were adamant about bringing to your character?

Guillermo Díaz: I think I just wanted it to be as sincere and as real as possible. And I think that Todd’s work is that, is the epitome of that. It’s all very real and raw. And that’s also what drew me to him and to want to do a film with him. So I suppose I was adamant about wanting this to be a true, raw, real movie about cruising. And it’s funny you brought up Cruising, the Al Pacino film, because I’ve watched it and I think it’s a good film. Parts of it are very sensationalized, but it doesn’t feel authentic to the experience of a gay man cruising. I think that movie was made by a lot of straight white men. Sometimes it’s like, what is happening? Why is there this big black man in a jockstrap smacking this guy in the police station? I was like, what’s happening? But I digress.

PopHorror: Absolutely. Al Pacino straight white male? I mean, come on. But that was my first introduction to really anything about cruising, whether the movie or just the whole idea of it. I knew nothing about it. So that was my first introduction to any of it. 

Guillermo Díaz: Oh wow!

PopHorror: And it was with tons of people, and it sold out. You know what I mean? That’s why I brought it up, because it was my first experience at all.

Todd Verow: I think the great thing about the movie Cruising is that it is a time capsule. It really captured that time in New York before AIDS. They shot in real locations, the extras were real gay men. So I mean, to me that’s what’s really fascinating about it. And I agree with Guillermo, I have a lot of problems with this sort of cruising aspect of it. It feels very artificial, but at the same time, I really love it. So it’s a love-hate relationship.

Guillermo Diaz: Totally. Totally. Me too. Yeah.

PopHorror: And with this film being loosely based on a true story, and it deals with a lot of sensitive themes as well, how did you both prepare for shooting?

Todd Verow: When I’m working, I like to be as prepared as possible. Guillermo and I both went to the park a few times to research and talk to people. A lot of the stories came out of that, and talking with people and hearing their stories. That sort of got woven into the screenplay. And we used some extras who were people actually cruising in the park. So I mean, I was very adamant about capturing the reality of it. So I went there a lot. I did storyboards. I practiced my camera moves. I really wanted to be as prepared as possible for when we actually shot there. So that was my main focus for that. How about you, Guillermo?

Guillermo Díaz: For me as an actor, I always want to have the lines down like 1000%. So once I have that, then everything else falls into place. But also, with the way we shot this movie and with the way Todd works, you don’t really have a lot of time to prepare and think too much about what you’re going to do, but that’s also what makes it so exciting. The results are so real and exciting because sometimes you’re on a project and you have way too much time to think about what would my character do? And it’s like, fuck that. We just got out there and started shooting. And there’s a beauty to that. There’s a real rawness, and what comes out of that is really exciting to see it on screen.

PopHorror: It’s more authentic.

Guillermo Díaz: Yeah.

PopHorror: You don’t have too much time to think about it. Like, all right, we’re going to do this, and you go right into it.

Guillermo Díaz: Exactly, yeah.

PopHorror: A really authentic performance. And I thought that that really showed in your performance, Guillermo. You seemed very real, when he was nervous and when he was scared.

Guillermo Díaz: Thank you. Thank you. That means a lot.

PopHorror: Yeah, of course. And this question is for both of you. You mentioned a straight white man in a movie about gay men. How do you feel about LGBTQ representation and entertainment today?

Todd Verow: I think there’s certainly a lot more representation than there was when I was growing up, which is great. And I think it’s great that there’s more openly gay, openly queer actors out there working and telling authentic stories and queer filmmakers telling authentic stories. I think that’s really amazing. Mainstream culture is always going to be a little behind us, but they’re moving along. So hopefully things will continue to improve and we’ll continue to have more and more queer stories about all kinds of different people.

PopHorror: I agree.

Guillermo Díaz: Same. Yeah, I agree. For me, growing up, the gay characters on TV and in movies were all buffoons, like clowns. I remember Monroe (Jim J. Bullock) on Too Close for Comfort. I mean, he wasn’t openly gay, but everybody assumed he was gay. Or even Jack Tripper on Three’s Company. Again, they were like clowns, and it was like a caricature of a gay man or a gay person. So certainly now, yeah, I agree with Todd, at least there’s a lot more representation. And listen, we have one of those people in… Justin (Ivan Brown – Goodbye Seventies) obviously is openly gay, and then we brought in Becca Blackwell, who’s an amazing actor. I did Bros with them – the movie Bros, the Billy Eichner movie – and I love them, and they’re just wonderful. So I was happy that we could bring in authentic, real openly gay actors and trans actors into our movie.

PopHorror: I love that. And I feel like I am seeing it more in the indie industry, with indie horror, because I watch more indie horror than I do anything else. I love seeing how it’s growing and hopefully mainstream will catch on, because I do see it a lot more on television now than you used to, because you never saw that in prime time before. I love it so much. It’s getting there.

Guillermo Daz : It’s getting there, yeah.

PopHorror: Were you both horror fans before making this film?

Todd Verow: Yes. My favorite movie when I was a kid was The Shining. I mean, that movie really got to me and has been a huge influence in my whole life. And I grew up in Bangor, Maine where Stephen King is or used to live. So I’ve always been a really big fan of horror movies and horror writing and all things horror.

Guillermo Díaz: Yeah, same. I’m a huge horror fan, thriller fan. I think one of the first books I read that I really connected to and loved was Pet Sematary. So it’s funny that we have that Stephen King connection. I remember only being able to read it during the day because it was so scary. But yeah, I’ve always loved horror. I have two older brothers and they were obsessed with all things horror, so I grew up – at a very young age – watching The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby, all these movies that I probably shouldn’t have been watching as a kid, like Halloween. But now I’m obsessed with it, and I was so glad that Todd was open to doing something in that genre. Ours is a little bit more of a psychological thriller vibe, but yeah, it’s cool. It’s exciting.

PopHorror: I love that. I find that the biggest horror fans are the ones that were introduced when they were young, and they shouldn’t have been watching it usually by an older sibling. It was my older sister that introduced me to Poltergeist II. I had to have been about six or so. She denies it to this day. She’s like, “I never did that.” I’m like, “Yes, you did. You did.” 

Guillermo Díaz: Is Poltergeist II the one in the building?

PopHorror: No, that’s three. Poltergeist II is when they’re living with the grandmother, and he drinks the worm.

Guillermo Díaz: Right, right, right. That’s right. That’s right. Scary as hell!

PopHorror: Oh, absolutely. And then the braces, the son with the braces?

Guillermo Díaz: That’s right!

PopHorror: I have just one last question for you both today. What is your favorite scary movie?

Todd Verow: Well, I mean, I have to say The Shining again, just because it’s a movie that every time I watch it, I get a different experience from it. Even after seeing it like hundreds of times, I still will notice something different. And it affects you psychologically in different ways depending on the mood you’re watching it. So to me, that’s the epitome of my favorite.

Guillermo Díaz: I love The Shining. For me, I would’ve to say Rosemary’s Baby. Such a great story. It’s a great book too. If you haven’t read the book, the book is amazing. And then Son of Rosemary is the sequel to the book. The book is different than the film, but it’s still just as good. I’ll even put Rosemary’s Baby on in the background while I’m doing other stuff. I’m sure you get it as a horror fan. It’s just soothing and it makes you feel good.

Thank you so much to Guillermo and Todd for taking the time to speak with us. Stay tuned for more information on You Can’t Stay Here!