Ever heard of a drunk bus? Well , if you haven’t you’ll definitely find out by checking out the new comedy Drunk Bus based on a real life experience.

Michael (Charlie Tahan) is a recent graduate with a post college plan. But those plans go off the rails when his girlfriend leaves him for a job in New York City.

Stuck in Ohio without a new plan of his own, Michael finds himself caught in the endless loop of driving the “drunk bus”. It’s a debaucherous late-night campus shuttle that ferries drunk college students from parties to the dorms and back.

When the bus service hires a security guard to watch over the night shift, Michael comes face to tattooed face with Pineapple (Pineapple Tangaroa). Pineapple is a larger-than-life Samoan American who challenges him with a kick in the ass. That challenge involves breaking from the loop and start living or risk driving in circles forever.

The film, directed by John Carlucci and Brandon LaGanke is based on Brandon’s real life experiences. Before directing, Laganke drove a campus bus that would drop off and pick up student who are visiting the pubs for the evening. Pineapple Tangaroa was his real life security guard who plays a hyped up version of himself in the film.

Drunk Bus is the feature debut for GHOST + COW, a directing duo comprised of John Carlucci and Brandon LaGanke. Ghost + Cow has had global viral success with several projects. Drone Boning (11M on Vimeo) is a comedic and voyeuristic look at sex and drone surveillance. Vice Motherboard dubbed it as “the world’s first aerial pornography”. The film made world news and garnered the attention of late-night hosts such as Stephen Colbert, Conan and Seth Meyers.

Drone Boning also featured in several print publications, captured on TMZ and posted on Banksy’s YouTube page. They directed music videos like Big Data’s Dangerous (14M on YouTube) and Joywave’s It’s a Trip (2.2M on YouTube). And those videos continue to have massive fan followings. Another short film title they have includes Playhouse (World Premiere at SXSW 2013 and a Vimeo Staff Pick with 146K views). They also directed Bunny Boy (2011 Slamdance, SXSW) and Infinity Tree (Cannes Series) which they created with FOX Digital.

Charlie Tahan made his feature film debut at age eight, sharing the screen with Will Smith in the Warner Bros. blockbuster hit I AM LEGEND. Tahan was most recently seen sharing the screen with Diane Keaton and Jacki Weaver in Poms. He also recently have seen starring in Sean Nalaboff’s Kingfish. Previously, Charlie acted opposite Ben Mendelsohn. Those two actors worked together in Nicole Holofcener’s Netflix feature The Land of Steady Habits.

Tahan worked with director Kevin Phillips in Super Dark Times which screened at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. Tahan got a Saturn Award nomination for his performance in Universal’s Charlie St. Cloud. He also voiced the lead role of ‘Victor’ in Tim Burton’s Academy Award-nominated film Frankenweenie. He appeared in Love is Strange, The Other Woman, and Nights in Rodanthe. Other film credits include Wiener Dog, Blue Jasmine, Burning Bright, Life of Crime, and Blood Ties. 

On the small screen, Charlie got a nomination for a 2019 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. And he got that for his work on Netflix’s Ozark. He has already wrapped production on Season 3. Tahan recurred on Season 1 of Hulu’s Castle Rock, executive produced by J.J. Abrams and Stephen King.

Pineapple Tangaroa is an Austin local since 2005 and owns a small business, Shaman Modifications which he started in 2006. Tangaroa’s business has 3 locations in Austin, one in Dallas, and offers services such as piercings and body modifications. He stumbled into acting landing a role in the movie Puncture (2011) starring Chris Evans when his client needed a heavily tattooed guy for a role. He has also acted as Michael Fassbender’s bodyguard / house guest in Terrance Mallick film Song to Song (2017) which also premiered at SXSW.

Drunk Bus is now available on VOD and is paying in select theatres. 

Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Charlie and Pineapple via zoom about their experience shooting Drunk Bus in the frigid cold winter.