All language subtitles for Secrets Revealed - interview with the filmmakers.en

Hey, I'm Nev.
I'm here with
Rel and Henry.

We are here to talk
about funny stories and
things relating to the film.

Ariel, Rel.

Henry...
Henry, Henry.

(BOTH SNICKERING)

Okay. So, we have
question cards
to ask each other.

| have a good one to start.
"Please explain why
you chose this title."

That is
a good question.

Nev, do you want to tell us
about how many other
title options we had?

Oh, man. Yeah, we had
a lot of... We didn't have
a title for a long time,

and basically, we were not...
We didn't want to give
anything away with the title.

We always knew that.

And for a long time
we kind of thought something
with the word "Facebook" In it

might be good.

Facebook Family
or Friend Me,
question mark.

Or It's Complicated?
Well, right.

One title that we really
wanted to go with
was It's Complicated,

IN reference
to the relationship status.

But then shortly after
we kind of started
leaning towards that,

the movie It's Complicated
with Alec Baldwin and...

Rom com.
Right. The rom com came out.

So, we couldn't do that.
That was out.

That was quickly nixed.
Right.

We flirted with the title
Michigan Impossible.

For about 13 seconds.
Right.

Naive Nev.
Naive Yaniv.
Yaniv's Internet Girlfriend.

That was the first title.
| like that one.

That was the working title
for a long time.
Nev's Internet Girlfriend.

But then we showed
an early cut to a fellow
filmmaker and friend.

Ben Younger.
Ben Younger.

Ben Younger.
Walt, together...

Ben Younger.
Ben Younger.

And he saw It
and immediately,
right away he just said...

"Catfish."

... YOU guys got
to call it Catfish.”

And we were like,
"Ben, you're crazy!"

He said, "You guys
will come around.

"You'll come around.
Just give it
a couple of months."

Catfish?

But when we submitted
to Sundance,

It was called
It's All Downhill From Here.
Oh, yeah.

And then it was
a day before Sundance
and we had to...

We had to literally
write In the title.

Yeah,
they called us
and they said,

"We're printing the program.
You guys need
to decide on a title."

We had a late night powwow,
went through the list

and we all just said,
"Fine, Catfish.
Just call it Catfish.”

Because at least
It's one word
and it's mysterious.

| mean, everybody
likes movies where

you don't know
what the title means
until the end, right?

It's like a little bonus.
Dessert.

Yeah.
Like The Wizard of Oz.

Like the... Exactly.

Okay. Another...
Next question.

"How did they convince you
to keep going

"once you knew something
was off and Megan wasn't
who she said she was?

"You had already formed
a deep attachment to her..."

Okay, well... So...

Basically when | first
was suspicious
about the music,

when we found
the songs online
and saw that

they weren't in fact music...
Songs that they had recorded,

| called Megan,
she didn't answer,
and | left her a voicemail

that was very upset.

| actually remember.
It was pretty funny.

Yeah,
| remember that.

| said, "Hey, Megan.
It's Nev. | want to talk
to you about this song and

"I'm a little curious
and upset about something,

"so why don't you give me
a call?" And | left
my number and | said,

"My number is 917...
(BLEEP) L-I-A-R,"
and | hung up.

And they looked at me like,
"Whoa. That's crazy.

"You just called her a liar
on her voicemail.”

Because | was upset...

And then | quickly understood
that being upset and

negative was not going to
get us anywhere because

Rel and Henry
said, "Nev, look.

"We don't know
what's going on
with Megan, but

"wouldn't you like
to find out? Don't you
want to know what's up?

"And not only that,
but also with Abby
and her art and...

"There's so many
different things here,
don't be...

"Kind of quit
on the whole story."

Don't throw a grenade
on the whole thing.

So, | decided, like,

"Okay, yeah. | do want
to find out what's going on.
| want to meet Megan," and

It became more
about the idea of
following through and

sort of going In
head-first, taking a dive,
an adventure, a mystery,

and being a part of a team.

And It was really
the team vibe
and the feeling that

we were working on
something together
and going, all of us,

out of our comfort zone
to discover something
we didn't know about

that trumped my feelings of
uncertainty and nervousness

and a little upsetness
with Megan.

And in a way,
the making of the film
delayed your reaction.

It did. It did, actually.
| think.

| mean, it wasn't until
after we came back
from Michigan and...

| was back at home
and the trip was over,
and | realized,

"Man! That sucks!" You know?
This girl that |, kind of,

was in love with
turned out to be a

40-year-old mother with

a very strange,
dark reality.

And then | realized that
| was sad and lonely.

It was tragic.
Anyway...

Okay.

"One of the scary things
about social networking
IS what people present

"and how much Is true.
Shifting identity.

"The you presented
In everyday life

"and the you on the Internet.
Same person.”

Question mark.

NO.
NO.

Definitely not.
No. Definitely not.

| would say
definitely not.

| would say
we each present...

Yeah...

A Facebook profile
gives you the ability
to present yourself

In the way
you would like to be seen
by other people.

Which is really different
from real life.

It IS.

And actually
a lot of people
have asked me,

"How do you feel
about being out there
for everyone to see,

"having this film about you
and this thing that happened?”

And secretly, up until now,

I've withheld from saying,
"Well, you know,
the movie was edited

"just the way that
your online profile
IS edited."

And | thank our editor
every day for making me
a sweet,

charming, friendly,
caring person because...

Yeah, that stuff's all true,
but I'm also other things
that may not be as...

Like what?
Well, | can get...

| can be irritable and say
things that are a little
Insensitive occasionally.

Accidentally, perhaps.

| get cranky
when I'm hungry.

Tired.

That's not in the movie.
All that stuff isn't in there,

but it could have been.

So, that's the reality
of media. It's not
a 24-hour webcam.

It has to be...
There have to be cuts.

And It's the same thing
with a Facebook profile.

You don't put every picture
of you from last night's
party because

one or two of them suck,
and you look terrible.

It's true. | actually do,
consciously, put up some
of the really sucky ones

to prove that | am not vain
and that my Facebook
profile Is objective.

Equal opportunity.

Equal opportunity
for all photographs.
Good and bad photos.

But there Is an
Interesting point here,

which 1s that we all
lie a little bit online.

You put your
best foot forward.

You put a foot
forward, and so

by choosing a foot,
you're ignoring
the other foot.

| always thought it was funny
how there's one scene where

they're cooking breakfast
for the four or five of us,
Vince included,

and Angela asked Nev
to take care...

Take the responsibility
of half the meal.

He's like, "Well, Angela.
| don't really cook much.”

And she's like,
"What do you mean?

"I thought you said
you love cooking.”

He's like,
"When did | say that?"

And she said,
"Well, it's on your
Facebook profile.

"It says, 'Cooking.
| love cooking.™

And you're like...
(EXCLAIMS)

She's like,
"Oh. You just said that
to get girls, right?”

And you were like,
"Yeah."

| think that speaks more
to her obsession with me

than it does to
our friendship, but...

You lied about cooking.

| lied about cooking.

"Angela created this
living novel with Nev
as her main character."

Nice. "Did you
ever feel used?”

You know,
it's interesting.

Through...
During the experience

and while | was
interacting with the family,

It always felt
very inclusive.

There was so much going on,
there was so much
Interaction between them,

with each other and then
with me and some of
my friends and my family,

and | was just grateful
that this entertaining, daily

sitcom was happening
and | had access to it

and | could tune In
and tune out and

be a part of it
and Interact and really
just enjoying it and,

sort of, escaping through It.

And then we got there and
It became very clear that

It wasn't at all that
upbeat, cheery, fun-loving,
artistic group of people.

| Immediately focused
on Angela and

the reality of who she was
and what was going on
in her life, and

we developed
a friendship with her,
and this...

The nine months
leading up to that
quickly evaporated.

| completely forgot that
| had been dealing with
all these things, and it...

The focus immediately
became what was really there
and who Angela was

and this family that she had.

And It wasn't until
almost a year later,

when the film started
to take shape and
| started watching it

and | started noticing my...

How | had been manipulated
and how much
she had led me on

and how many feelings
| had had that | had
Kind of blocked out.

And yeah, | guess
| felt like | had been
misled, obviously, and

not necessarily used,

but | was amazed at how deep
she had brought me In
to this world

and how easily | had
let myself go down
that rabbit hole.

But | think we both
used each other.

She represented
a fantasy that | had

of a different lifestyle,
In the country,

living on a farm,
working with my hands,
being more outdoors.

And for her, | was the
New York City lifestyle.

The art and culture,

the fast-paced
metropolis lifestyle.

So, we both used each other,
| think, equally.

The big difference being
that her reality was totally
false and mine wasn't, but

online it is like
the equalizer because
what's the difference?

There's no way
to prove one's real
and one's not.

The Internet acts as this

leveling scale where

reality and deception
just meet and

new things sprout out of that.

Yeah. Had we
never gone there,

we would have
never found out
that she was lying.

You could have remained
In that perfect
fantasy forever.

Online is
a limbo of truths.
Yeah.

| think about the...
The idea of a living novel...

It was really only
after we got back

that we started looking
at all the correspondence
In detail

and all of the wall posts
and the characters.

And it was then,
reading through all that
a few times,

and there were thousands
and thousands of messages
and voicemails and chats,

that we realized
that it really was
like a living novel.

It was this thing
that she created that

adapted to Nev and
adapted to how he was
feeling and when...

For instance,
when Nev's interest was...

Flagging?

When Nev's interest was...
Waning.

Waning. That's when
Megan started sending
naked pictures.

And everyone Knows
that that's a good way

to get a 24-year-old guy
Interested again.

And there was a jealous
boyfriend character,

and there was a
rival photographer character.

And then there
was actually Joelle.

Joelle, right.

Who was another girl,
Megan's age, who was
Abby's babysitter,

who was this, sort of,
very forward, provocative girl
who was also very pretty,

sO she had this
strange relationship with me
where she teased me

and led me...

She tested you.
She tested me. Yeah.

She'd, sort of, give you
the skinny on what Megan
was really feeling.

Right. And Alex would
give you a hard time

If you weren't
calling Megan back.

Yeah. Right.

It was fascinating.

It was like a soap opera

starring...
Created for you.
Right.

Which you could...
You had front row seats.

And it went on
for hours and hours
every day.

Yeah.
It was a living
soap opera.

The Truman Show.

Yeah. It's sort of
like The Truman Show.

Schulman Show.

The Schulman Show,
just for you.

This doesn't have a card,
but is It true?

We...
Yes.

A lot of people
have asked us,

"Is the film real?
Is It a real documentary?”

Because...
Did you fake anything?

Right. Was anything
shot intentionally
or after the fact...

Or anything staged?

Staged.

Did you know It was her
and did you go In...

Did you guys know
more than you let on early
and then you kept going

because you knew it was going
to be Angela in the end?

Yeah.
And the answer
to all these questions is...

The answer IS no.

What you see Is
what actually happened.

And it's strange, too,
for all of us because...
Especially for me.

When | hear people say,
"I don't think
it's real," or,

"How could that have
really happened to you?"

| don't know how to answer.
| basically just say,
"Well, look. It happened.

"I went through that.
| didn't think | was
particularly vulnerable or

"a target for deception.”
But | was.

And flattery and

flirting and... Well, yeah,

those two things
played a big part in It.

And It's amazing how far
those things can take you

when you're getting
positive attention.

Who wants to give that up?
Who wants to question
the reality?

So, yeah. | got duped.
| got totally suckered
Into something, but

It was something
that | was looking for

and wanting and hoping
was real, and so

| let myself go and...
Yeah. It happened.
And so...

These guys just happened
to be aware of It.

I'll sign up and say
that | got duped, too.

| have nothing...
Yeah. We all did.

Yeah. I'm not
ashamed of that.

I'm actually kind of
proud of it because
we were open-minded

and maybe we were naive
and maybe we thought...

Maybe we weren't
defensive enough, or...

Cautious.
Suspicious enough.

But cautious.
We made it out alive.

We have new friends
to show for It.

A story to tell.
| would...

Yeah.

One of the things | think
we discovered was that

when you really want
something to be true,

you're willing to overlook
any detail that
does not agree with that.

And It's easy to go back
and look at it in detall
and In hindsight, but

at the time,
you really wanted
that girl to be real.

And you were willing
to overlook what
now seem like

very obvious details
about why she wasn't.

ARIEL: Yeah.

And people always ask us,
"Well, were you
guys suspicious?

"And were you pushing
him on knowing that

"there was something twisted
behind that door?"

And the answer to that is no,
but we were seeing him

where you were
at your happiest.

Because you wanted her
to be real so badly

we wanted her
to be real so badly
for your sake because

you'd never been
sO happy before.

There was the possibility
of living on a farm
with a beautiful girl

that thinks
you're the best.
Yeah.

And anytime
we had doubts, it was...

We were talked
out of it by Nev.

Yeah. | was completely...
And also,

Angela anticipated any doubts
we could have had, | think.

To her credit, we were never
completely suspicious because

there was always
the exact right
proof or evidence

of a question that
was hatching in our minds.

Right?
Yeah.

If it was, "That painting
IS by an 8-year-old.

"Yeah, right.
How could she paint that?"

Next day,
time lapse video of Abby
In front of the painting.

| should do it this way.

Of that painting
coming to life.

There you go.
Suspicion assuaged.

Nev, are you sure
this 1s not about
money somehow?

Then Nev gets
a check for $500.

There's a scene that
we took out of the movie
at the end,

right before
we went to Sundance,
which was

Abby had won a local
competition with a painting
she did from one of my photos

and insisted,
or Angela insisted on
sending me half of the $1,000

as a thank you,
| guess

for letting Abby
paint from...

As part of the deal.

Right. And also,
any paintings

that Abby sold that
were from my photos,

they were going to send me
half of the money.

And that was the first time
that there had been
any money, and so

they, sure enough,
sent me $500 and so...

Right.

At that point | was
like, "They're not trying
to scam me, | guess.”

So, it's not
a financial scam.
Right.

It's not an art scam
because we see
the little girl painting.

| mean, which
was proof enough.

What other kind of scam...

A romance scam?

Well, that doesn't exist.
With 15 characters?

It turned out to be the thing
you don't think of, which is
just someone reaching out

and wanting a connection with
another person. That's It.

It's just emotional.

Yeah.

And Facebook just
allowed it to snowball.

That's right.
Right.

Because, even Angela
said, "| didn't mean
for it to get this big.”

And that she just
started making
new characters

when she thought
| might be losing interest.

Right.
And you can see,

or | could see when
| was there that this is,

while that is not something
| probably would do,

you can see how
one little lie turns into
a bigger lie

and then you have to
support this huge world.

Right.

And there are
only two options.

You either make it
more complicated
or you tell the truth.

Question is...
Great question.

How did you
handle Angela...

Comforting Angela as...
Going in to this knowing
that you were going to

ask her to reveal
all of these lies?

Well, the big conversation
that | had with Angela,

where she told us the truth
about everything,

came on, | think
it was day three or four.

It was one of the last days
we were up there.

At which point
we had spent a lot
of time with Angela,

Abby, Vince, their sons,

some of their friends...
And had really developed

the beginnings
of a friendship.

And | saw who she was
and why she was doing
what she did, and

there wasn't any
anger anymore, or

| didn't have
any negative feelings
towards Angela, as a person,

because | had just
met her and | saw her life
and met her family and

they were
a wonderful family.

And so, | really
was just now curious
and looking for an answer

as to why she had done this.

But again,
people forget that

| wasn't meeting the woman
who had lied to me
and deceived me and

led me down
this dark, twisted.
nine-month relationship.

| was meeting a woman
| had never met before.

She happened to be
this creative, strangely
deceitful woman who

made all these characters,
but the characters
were their own people.

They were real to me still.

And It was too fresh
to really understand that
those people didn't exist.

They were still real people,
and | still talk about them,

and Angela was
a new real person.

And | didn't have
any negativity towards her.

You actually knew
her better than...
Yeah.

Better than
you realized.

Yeah. And it kind of
became clear that

all of these characters
that she created
were pieces of her.

And | immediately
sympathized with her

and subconsciously
understood that

what she was doing was,
In a sense,
what | was doing, except

she was on one side of it
and | was on the other and...

But we were both looking
for a connection and had
found one with each other.

The romantic side of it,
the friendship side,

the creative artistic
collaboration side,

those were all real
to me and still are,

and that was there and
| couldn't ignore that
and be angry at her.

Those were real feelings
that | had, and

It would have
been difficult
to be angry at her.

So, | just tried to stay
neutral and let her
tell her story because

| knew that it was important
to hear and she had something
important to say.

AS soon as she came clean
at Abby's riding lesson,

where you first confront her,

you say, "Okay.
We know something
IS amiss here.

"Just come out with it."
Everything became so relaxed.

Do you remember?
And everyone was just like...

Great tension
had been lifted.

Yeah. (EXHALING)

And we all just
started hanging out.
Yeah.

Because | think
she recognized...

Because If we ever
had a plan going in,

the plan was like
you say in the movie,
"Let's treat them fairly and

"not accuse
anyone of anything."
Right.

And gently enable her to...

Tell the truth.

Tell the truth, and

it was pretty interesting
because we were
still filming, obviously,

and It was very clear
that you and Angela
had a chemistry,

sort of like
an old friend chemistry,

as If you guys
had reunited

but yet had never met,

which was weird
because you actually did
know her very well,

she knew you better
than you realized,

but It was through
the guise of all
these characters.

And like you said,
she Is all these characters.

Right, and you'd
talked to her
on the phone for...

Hundreds of hours.

Yeah. You guys
had a real friendship,

which was interesting.
Yeah.

"Any regrets?
What doesn't kill us
makes us stronger.

"Anything you would have
done differently?"

| agree.
| agree. Yeah.

| think that's the...
That's what the Catfish
story Is about, too.

It's about these people who
you think are negative people
In your life at one point

turn out to be
positive people

and they keep you
on your toes.

The hurt and the pain.
That's the good stuff.

| mean, if you had
just met Megan and...

Well, had you guys
fallen in love and
had she been real,

that would have been great.
Sure.

And had you moved on
to her horse farm
and gotten married

and had a whole
coop of chickens,

then that would
have been better.

But if it's hard and painful
then it's probably
more human and dramatic.

It might say more
to more people about
what it means to be alive.

And so, that...
So, it did make us
stronger, right?

And we met someone
that has a totally different
lifestyle than us and

we became real friends.

Yeah. That's right.

| guess what | hope most
when people watch
the movie is that

they look at
their real friends,

decide and understand
who they are

and make an effort
to really go
and have a more

personal and
a real connection to
who their real friends are.

Sharing the story,
my story, this story,
our story,

Angela's story, is important.

JOOST: All we really hoped
for this film was just that

It would start great
conversations for the people
who watched it, so

we hope that you continue
the conversation we've been
having for a long time and

enjoy the film.

Hi, Mom.