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There aren't many people I would go out on a Monday night in early January for. But Mickey Rapkin isn't most people. The journalist and author, whose first book of non-fiction inspired that little known movie franchise, Pitch Perfect, has now written and directed a short satirical film called The Anne Frank Gift Shop. It's been shortlisted for an Oscar and earlier this week the inimitable Selma Blair hosted a screening and Q&A at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

I first met Mickey over a decade ago. We were fellow journalists on a week-long press trip in Belize. It's when you're thrown together with a bunch of strangers to do a lot of eating, drinking and meticulously organised, often quite glamorous activities, in a very short space of time. You have the audacity to call it 'work', then go home and complain about how exhausted you are. Or maybe that's just me. 

I left Belize with one hell of hangover, a very full heart and memories that still make me smile now. And much of that is down to Mickey. I gravitated towards him because he was easy to talk to, funny-without-trying-to-be and had the warmest smile I'd ever seen. He was just a really nice guy.

I thought I'd never see him again. But then our paths crossed when I needed someone in LA to interview Rebel Wilson for the cover of Marie Claire, where I was Entertainment Editor. It was, excuse the pun, Pitch Perfect! I loved his writing and would find any excuse to commission him. 

When I moved to LA myself in 2019, he was the first person I called. I still consult his very long email of recommendations for my 'New West Coast American Dream Life!' when I need to shake things up. 

So, of course, when his directorial debut was screening on Monday night I went along to celebrate him. And I'm not surprised the film - starring, among others, Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) and Kate Burton (Grey’s Anatomy, and Scandal) - is currently generating some buzz. Until January 16th you can watch it on GQ.com.

It's everything I hoped - funny, dark, thought-provoking and moving - and if it's a taster of what's to come from his future film career (no pressure, pal!) then we should all be very excited. And so, without further ado, let's hear from Mickey…

Where did the idea for The Anne Frank Gift Shop come from?

Twenty years ago I went to visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam—as all Jews travelling abroad must. It was devastating. I walked through the space in silent devotion. This was pre-smartphones and everyone was respectful. I wept. And then I exited through the gift shop. And laughed. Who would buy a postcard? What would you even write on it? “Wish you were here!” I think the gift shop has since moved down the street. But the image stuck with me. Years later, I read about a disturbing study from the Claims Conference which looked at young Americans and their knowledge of the Holocaust. The findings were scary. Two-thirds of young Americans couldn’t tell you how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Eleven percent somehow believe Jews “caused” the Holocaust. I wanted to make a short film, I wanted it to be funny but I also wanted it to say something. And I hit on this strange idea for The Anne Frank Gift Shop.

The setting of the film is a pitch meeting, where a high-end marketing firm are presenting ideas on how to reach Gen-Z to museum staff from The Anne Frank House. Why set it in a boardroom? 

Making short films—or any film—is expensive. One way to cut down costs is to shoot in one location. Hence the conference room. I’d also done research and found that these kinds of meetings are really happening. Museums and institutions are engaging consultants to help them figure out how to reach young people. The conference room allows these characters to debate big ideas about Anne Frank and the Holocaust. But it’s also a familiar setting. We’re used to laughing at workplace comedies whether it’s The Office or Succession.

The result is darkly hilarious. From the suggestion to digitally alter Anne Frank’s face (“The algorithm really prefers a smile”) to giving the Annex cat its own Instagram. Did you ever worry about taking things too far?

The jokes are not for everyone. And that’s fine. But the comedy has a specific purpose. It is meant to disarm viewers so that the film can make its emotional appeal, which is: We need to tell this story again and again and again—every way we can can—or it will happen again. One of our producers, Jane Oster Sinisi, is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. I was nervous when I sent her the script. There’s a joke in the movie about an escape room, OK? I was very relieved when she said it was not only funny, but something we had to make together.  

That's amazing. As a first time director, what did you find was the biggest challenge?

I think all first-time filmmakers will say the same thing: raising the money. With your first film — and likely with every film — you’re asking someone to take a chance on you. I hate asking people for anything (especially money). Reboot Studios liked the idea and came in with an initial investment. Then I went back to them for more money when we got the cast together. Then thankfully Jane came on board. I put up the last bit, hoping I’d get it back eventually. I knew that if I blinked this film would fall apart. If I waited to have all of the money together, we would have lost the actors and the location and it never would have happened. It was a time to bet on myself.

Your first book, Pitch Perfect, inspired the movie franchise. What kind of insight did that give you into the Hollywood film industry?

No one is more surprised that there’s a franchise about a cappella music than me. I sang in one of those groups in college and made some incredible friends and memories. But the world was not crying out for an a cappella comedy. It took Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman to see the potential. They brought in the amazingly funny Kay Cannon to write the script and Jason Moore to direct. I went to the set of the first movie. And it was inspiring. The joy, the music, the camaraderie—I wanted to run away with the circus. I was working as a journalist. When I got home, I tried to write a romantic comedy, just to see if I could do it. And to see if I even liked doing it. I loved it. I loved how creative it felt. And I set about trying to make that leap.

You can now call yourself a journalist, author, screenwriter and director. How do you discipline yourself to start writing something?

Sometimes I think all I have is discipline. I wrote this short film and set about directing it because I was tired of having my heart broken. I’d sold other projects and one in particular got close to getting made. It was set up at a streamer and we made offers to actresses and then it fell apart. These projects almost always fall apart. Each time is heartbreaking. I don’t want to shut that part of me off, ya know? Being sensitive and empathetic is one of the reasons I became a writer, I think. But it still hurts. I wanted to take some power back. I was tired of waiting for the gatekeepers to say yes. I decided to raise the money myself and put this thing together and just go make it. 

That is so inspiring. One of the other things I love about you is that you sing in a choir. How did that start? 

During the pandemic, I was really struggling. Work had dried up, I was really mourning the loss of my dad (who died in 2016). There was something about him missing the pandemic entirely that made me feel like he’d been gone forever. My therapist told me to “seek joy.” She’d noticed a certain lightness when I talked about singing (which I had not done publicly since college). She told me to do that. So, I Googled “adult choir” and found the Angel City Chorale. And in some ways these people nursed me back to life. They’ve become my unlikely L.A. family. And I’m forever grateful to them.

What first brought you to LA?

I was freelancing for magazines in New York. I didn’t need to be in an office anymore. And I felt like being in L.A. was important as I was trying to break into this business. My husband [actor, Jason Butler Harner] and I moved here for six months to “try it out,” which is a joke. You can’t figure much out in six months. Especially in a town that moves this slowly. That was 11 years ago. 

You live in Los Feliz. What's so great about the East side? 

I like that it’s a walkable neighbourhood. (My dog, Toupee, agrees.) Sometimes I think we moved across the country to basically live in Brooklyn with nicer weather. But it’s a nice place to live. I flirt with moving to the ocean. But I’d probably never see my friends again.

What was your first impression of LA?

It’s the loneliest place on Earth? It’s also beautiful. 

What's the best thing about living here?

The smell of jasmine at night for those few months where it really blooms. It’s magic.

What is the most 'LA' thing you do?

I send my dog on group hikes with a pack called Troop Canine. They pick him up and drop him off. I feel like I’m sending him off to school. He loves it. And they take such good care of him.

Cute. My dog Sebastian's daycare does pick up and drop off but he was banned from the bus for nipping the driver. Have you ever spotted a celebrity more than once?

I see Jack Black three times a week while I’m out walking my dog. 

What's your favourite hike?

I’m contractually obligated to say Griffith Park. But I ran the L.A. Marathon last year and did a lot of my training on the L.A. River and around the Silverlake Reservoir. It’s hard to find a long stretch of flat ground.

Best coffee?

I’m not a snob about coffee. I drink iced coffee year round and I’m not particular about it. I write at Dinosaur Coffee and Broome Street Coffee. 

Where should I go for a cocktail tonight? 

The Black Cat in Silverlake. Or the Tower Bar at Sunset Tower. I order a shrimp cocktail and pigs-in-a-blanket. It’s a DIY bar mitzvah.

Which restaurant do you take out-of-towners?

Bavel. So many restaurants in L.A. are overpriced and overrated but Bavel is worth every penny. Also my mother-in-law bought me the Bavel cookbook for Hannukah and I can tell you it’s much easier to have the talented staff at Bavel do the work. Though I now have dehydrated orange zest in my cupboard if anyone needs some. 

The Anne Frank Gift Shop has been shortlisted for the Academy Award in Best Live Action Short. You can follow Mickey on Instagram.

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