Pop-Culturalist.com

To say Tyler Cornack is a visionary would be an understatement. His fearless approach to filmmaking challenges convention, proving that the most compelling stories come from those who refuse to play by the rules. Cornack doesn’t just take creative risks—he fully embraces them, crafting experiences that must be seen to be believed. With Mermaid, he delivers a fish out of water tale that is equal parts poignant, unsettling, hilarious, and immersive—brought to life with precision and an audacious sense of style. Featuring standout performances from Johnny Pemberton and Avery Potemri, Mermaid pushes boundaries, blending genres in unexpected ways while maintaining an emotional core that resonates.

At its heart, Mermaid pays tribute to the films that shaped Cornack’s love of cinema—a nod to the golden age of ‘90s storytelling. The film follows Doug (Pemberton), an awkward Florida drug addict struggling to piece his life together. Divorced and directionless, he shares custody of his young daughter while reeling from the loss of his job at a strip club, where he tended to the aquarium’s fish. With no way forward, Doug takes his boat out into the Gulf, prepared to leave it all behind. But just as he reaches his lowest point, he discovers an injured mermaid clinging to life. Naturally, he brings her home, names her Destiny, and sets her up in his bathtub. If that sounds completely unhinged, well—we did say you have to see it to believe it. As their unlikely connection deepens, word of his secret spreads, forcing Doug to protect his new companion at all costs.

In our conversation with Cornack, Pemberton, and Potemri, we explored the inspirations behind Mermaid—from Cornack’s deep-rooted Florida influences to the delicate balance of absurdity and sincerity woven throughout the film. Cornack shared how elements of Planes, Trains & Automobiles, The Jungle Book, and Free Willy shaped its DNA, while Pemberton and Potemri reflected on the trust and creative freedom that allowed them to fully inhabit their roles. We also discussed the film’s raw, unfiltered aesthetic, the challenge of keeping comedy and drama in harmony, and why Mermaid is a film best experienced with an audience—on the big screen, where it belongs.

PC: Tyler, what you’ve done brilliantly with Mermaid is take this familiar story and put your own unique stamp on it. Like your previous projects, this film is so unexpected, unpredictable, and blurs different genres. How did Florida inspire this project? And how have you, throughout your career, been able to strike the right balance between playing in all these different spaces while keeping it so cohesive?
Tyler: I appreciate the cohesive compliment! This is in my bones. I grew up in Florida, so setting it there was a no-brainer. I’m obsessed with the culture—always have been. Even as a kid, I thought it was funny, weird, and entertaining. I met so many different kinds of people, and it’s always been a part of me. I used to hang out on the same beach where we shot the film. I’d see guys just like the characters in the movie at my family’s bar. I would be sipping virgin piña coladas while these guys blasted Jimmy Buffett in the background. I always thought, “This is ridiculous.” These beach bums live life a certain way, and we found that really funny. I’ve always been fascinated by it, and there’s so much built-in humor. It’s almost unbelievable—so unreal that it actually exists. A lot of the characters in the film, especially Robert Patrick’s character, feel larger than life, but they’re real. These people exist, and they really talk like that.

I’ve always had a weird relationship and obsession with Florida. I expected to feel this romantic nostalgia for my childhood, to be like, “Wow, I’m here.” And for a bit, I did. But then there was the other side of me that thought, “I gotta get out of here.” It’s that constant juxtaposition—I can’t be here, but I love it here. It’s ugly. It’s beautiful. That’s what Florida is to me.

Humor, to me, is a tightrope walk. Can I push it too far in one scene and still keep it grounded in another? If the through line is something people haven’t seen before, then I’ve done my job. That’s what I hope people take away from this.

PC: You’ve absolutely done that. Johnny, there’s so much conviction and restraint in your performance, and it’s that combination of your portrayal and Tyler’s writing that makes Doug a character audiences are going to see themselves in. What initially drew you to him? And how did you find that sense of grounding? Because while there’s a lot of humor in his journey, for him, it’s all so real.
Johnny: Tyler and I started discussing this very early on. I’m not even sure he had finished the script yet when we first talked.

Tyler: I had a rough draft of it.

Johnny: But it evolved into something very different. We talked about it a lot and did a ton of rehearsals together. First and foremost, I’m a huge fan of his work. That’s how we started working together in the first place. I loved Butt Boy so much that I reached out, we got lunch, and it snowballed from there. His work is incredibly specific—it walks this really fine line that’s so fun because it teeters on the edge. If you shift even a millimeter too far in one direction, it becomes too funny and slapstick. If you go too far the other way, it’s so dark that you don’t want to watch it. So, for Doug, it was all about finding that balance.

We worked closely for a long time to nail down his tone. There were definitely a lot of misses along the way. I think almost all comedy is grounded—that’s what makes it funny. But Doug had so many layers I hadn’t played before. He’s so focused, yet completely weighed down by his own loneliness and the drugs. That combination is so oppressive that we had to find the perfect line, and I think we did. It was a really collaborative effort. I can’t even pinpoint when it finally clicked, but it was a slow, natural process. And then, after the movie wrapped, I realized, “I’m stuck in this character.” [laughs] It was gnarly. He’s so different from me that it was actually hard to shake him off.

PC: There’s a quiet command to your performance. I also think anyone lucky enough to watch Mermaid is going to want to check out Butt Boy.
Tyler: That’s the hope!

PC: Avery, physicality is such a cornerstone of your character. You have a dance background—how much did you lean into that as you stepped into this role? Your character experiences such a wide range of emotions but expresses them primarily through movement.
Avery: I developed Destiny’s movement quality after I got into her suit. It was hard to fully be her and feel her without it. Once I was fully immersed, I’d observe my hands and think, “Does this feel right? Does this placement look and feel natural? Does her torso move the way it should?” I was very mindful of using my dance background—how I understand my body and how it moves—to bring Destiny to life. It was difficult to practice that outside of her skin.

I really valued the time I had with her while going through the makeup application process. Even after taking it off, I felt like she grew within me. Every day, I’d leave set and still see her—her ugliness but also her beauty—reflected in me. The dance training and movement just became instinctual. Every time I stepped into her, it was like we became close friends. I knew how to showcase her in the best light through movement, and that connection made all the difference.

PC: Wow, that’s such incredible insight—something you can only get from truly living in the skin of a character. Tyler, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, The Jungle Book, and Free Willy are three films you’ve credited with inspiring you to become a filmmaker. You’ve also said that you’ve found ways to incorporate them into every film you’ve made. In what ways do those influences show up in Mermaid? And for an aspiring filmmaker who sees this project, what do you hope they take away from it?
Tyler: Did I say that before? I mean, it’s true. Free Willy is 100% in this. I thought about it a lot while making this, especially during the tank scenes and the stuff at the end.

Johnny: [laughs] I did not know that.

Tyler: I love Free Willy.

Johnny: I didn’t know that. I don’t know if I would’ve said yes to this movie if I had. [laughs]

Avery: [laughs]

Tyler: I’m not sure who I told that to, but it makes sense. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles comes in with the dialogue—when it becomes a bit, and you have to bring it back to reality. For instance, the scene at the party door with Kevin Nealon—that has a very Planes, Trains, and Automobiles rhythm to it. He’s asking where Avery’s character is from, and it starts to spiral a bit too far into the joke before reeling it back in. That balance has a John Hughes rhythm to it.

I used to watch The Jungle Book on repeat as a kid. I loved the adventure of it. We pulled that sense of adventure into this film. That movie feels like a comedy-thriller-adventure with horror elements, and that mix of tones is something I’ve always gravitated toward.

PC: Johnny, when you strip away all the genre elements, at its core, this story is about a man trying to build a better life for himself and reconnect with his daughter. We get so much context about him through his interactions with the other characters. How have your experiences as a writer helped you read between the lines and informed the choices you made? And how do those interactions shape your own performance? That scene where he talks about how his daughter sees him like the rest of the world is absolutely heartbreaking. Those dramatic beats land so well.
Tyler: Thank you.

Johnny: I didn’t have to do much because the entire ensemble is so great. I was just reacting to them in the moment. When Julia [Valentine Larson] and I first read that scene together, I felt it so strongly. And when Devyn [McDowell] was reading her speech to me, it was gut-wrenching. Then there’s everything with Robert—I was honestly scared of him. He’s the kind of guy who feels like he could do anything. But all of it was on the page.

Once we got on set, everything came together so fast. And it wasn’t just the set—it was the actual location where the movie takes place. At some point, the line between the movie and reality started to blur. We didn’t have time to second-guess ourselves—we had to trust our instincts. Our crazy schedule actually worked in our favor. I think a lot of times, you can overthink things, especially with comedy. But in this genre, you don’t want to try to do something—you just want to do it.

Tyler: I also didn’t want this to feel stylized. I wanted it to feel like you were just thrown into this world. I thought it would be a cooler way to approach a genre film. You’re in the room. The bathroom’s a little too cramped. It’s not designed to be a set. You’re just in this place, with this guy and this fish. And it’s not pretty—but sometimes, it is.

PC: That environment really allowed the ensemble to feed off each other. That lack of time forces you to trust yourself more. Avery, this is your feature film debut—congratulations, by the way! What was the most surprising part of this experience? And what was your biggest takeaway?
Avery: The biggest takeaway was definitely the connection I built with the people who made this film. I got to see firsthand how everyone poured their full effort into this project, how we all supported each other, and how much we believed in it. I love that feeling.

I was able to throw myself into this completely, even without much experience. At the start, I barely knew the special effects artists, and now they feel like family. Mark Villalobos and Heather Mages are incredible—they’re even starting their own company now, Gorgazma. We also had Trudie Storck and Dan Rebert with us in Florida. Their trust in me to create and fully embody Destiny was such a gift.

And honestly, it all went by so fast. I would love to do this again.

PC: Tyler, this might be a strange question, but as someone who’s seen the film, it feels like it was made for the big screen—to be shared in a communal setting. But the industry has changed so much. How much does the way this story is presented, whether in a theater or through a streamer, play into your filmmaking process?
Tyler: It does, in a way. I want to go back to what it was. I sound like an old man saying that, but I mean it. I shot this on anamorphic lenses because I wanted it to feel like a movie. So many films now are starting to look like television shows, which is fine, but I love the filmy stuff. I like when it’s a little rough around the edges.

I keep saying this about Mermaid—that it’s a bit rough, but that’s part of its charm. That’s an important element of the film. Some people may not even realize it, but to me, it matters. It makes it a time capsule, and those are my favorite kinds of movies. It’s the difference between film and television.

I definitely think about how it’s going to be presented, but ultimately, I focus on what I want to see. I love late ‘80s and ‘90s films. That era, especially the ‘90s, was the golden age for me growing up. I try to infuse that as much as I can into everything I do because, to me, that’s what makes something feel like a movie.

PC: I feel the same way. Watching it this morning, I knew I wanted to see it on a bigger screen. There are so many twists and turns that will spark reactions from the audience. Johnny and Avery, Tyler wrote and directed this. How different is that filming experience when the person who created these characters and this universe is also at the helm directing? And how has the trust he’s instilled in each of you allowed you to take more creative risks?
Johnny: It’s the best. Tyler didn’t just write and direct it—he also scored it. He did storyboards for it. He’s very humble about it, but he had a true vision for this. That made it easy for me to relax because I knew he knew exactly where it was going. There was one day on set when we were about to shoot a scene, and he just said, “You know what? We don’t need that.” That ability to recognize in the moment when something is unnecessary and cut it—that’s exceptional.

There were a couple of times when it was just the camera, sound, DP, Tyler, and me—and that’s all you need. I’ve worked on some massive TV shows, and sometimes it can feel like a factory. This was so different. We were making a film, not just a piece of commerce. And sure, I think this is very commercially viable, but beyond that, it’s something special. It’s crazy cool, it’s the kind of movie I want to see with a bucket of popcorn, but it also exists as a testament to something. That’s something you don’t get unless you have someone like Tyler. He’s a true auteur.

Tyler: That’s very nice.

Johnny: The score was incredible. I’m such a big music guy, and Tyler would send me tracks while I was reading the script. That completely informed how I approached the story. You can listen to a movie and sometimes get even more out of it than watching it because you pick up on all these little nuances. The score drives such a huge piece of this film, and because he did it himself, he was able to tell exactly the story he wanted to tell.

Avery: It was also so easy to trust Tyler because he knew what he wanted, and we could feel that. I’d do a take, and he’d just say, “Great, keep going.” It felt like such a mutual respect and trust, even though I had no idea what I was doing.

I knew how Destiny should look and feel, but she goes through so many emotional twists and changes. I’d try different things, and then I’d look at Tyler, and he’d tell me yes or no. It felt so good to have someone who had such a clear vision but also gave me the freedom to find my own version of Destiny.

Make sure to follow Tyler (Instagram), Johnny (Instagram), and Avery (Instagram).

Mermaid Screenings at SXSW:

• Mermaid at SXSW Film & TV Theater @ The Hyatt Regency – Mar 8, 2025 (2:45pm — 4:30pm)
• Mermaid at Alamo Lamar 5 – Mar 11, 2025 (11:15am — 1:00pm)
• Mermaid at Alamo Lamar 6 – Mar 11, 2025 (11:15am — 1:00pm)
• Mermaid at ZACH Theatre – Mar 13, 2025 (2:45pm — 4:30pm)