“Given the mandate to develop a ‘holiday film,’ I wanted to shy away from the traditional ‘year-end celebration’ motif (particularly as we’d already mined that territory for our film ‘Please Forward’). Instead, in the story-breaking process, I focused on the underlying conceptual elements that define the genre: togetherness, the comfort of family, and a sense of belonging to a larger whole. Putting aside the external yuletide trappings, situating our film at some kind of family gathering still seemed logical; from there, the notion of an Independence Day celebration fell into place. With no desire to get overly sentimental, I developed a decidedly absurdist, dysfunctional family — and built in a clear ‘be careful what you wish for’ turn. Shooting in a Wes Anderson-influenced composition style leapt out as an amusing (and appropriate) challenge, and the offbeat family of ‘Codependence Day’ was born.”