The first set of questions relate to 'Getting Started'.
Was there a particular event or time that you recognized that
filmmaking was not just a hobby, but that it would be your life and your
living?
I was studying abroad at Cambridge
University in England… and there was all of this life outside of the bubble of
the North East around me. It was the
first time I realized that there was more out there in the world than just the
world of finance, being a cop or teacher – which is what you do on Long
Island. And at Villanova University
everyone was pretty much clones of each other.
I fit in socially, but I knew I just didn’t fit in for some reason. And I was bursting at the seams to do this –
reading voraciously everything I can get my hands on film related. When I came back I dropped out of Villanova
and started to pursue film.
Is it harder to get started or to keep going? What was
the particular thing that you had to conquer to do either?
For me, the initial act of getting
started was by far the hardest thing I had to do. In many ways I made this decision alone. I actually went back to Villanova the next
semester – after three days I was completely miserable and wanted nothing to do
with being there. It felt like the whole
scene passed me by. So I walked to the
bursar’s office and told them I would like to withdraw. I remember being white as a ghost and I must
have been shaking – cause the woman behind the counter knew something was
wrong. Me doing that and not telling my
parents was the no turning back moment of my life. It was right then that I decided I was going
to choose happiness over money. Over the
fallout my decision would create. Keep
in mind, I was a pretty high ranked finance/accounting student at one of the
better north east schools in the country – which is a feeder for Wall
Street. Fresh off studying economics at
Cambridge. My parents weren’t too happy.
Once I made that decision, I jumped
in pretty full force. It was pretty
liberating. Going to school and actually
caring about learning – not caring about what grade you got. It turned a light bulb on for me. I did really well from the start, all the way
through USC’s Peter Stark Program. So it wasn’t a huge struggle. The struggle happened as I was producing
Battle for Terra and then left Snoot Entertainment. Because you realize quickly – making money at
this is very hard. It’s been a real
grind. But I made a decision that day I
left Villanova – I was going to choose this over money. So my choices have been dictated by that
(much to my parent’s dismay). It makes
my life much harder – but if I wanted to make money I would have worked on Wall
Street. I’m not in this for that or
meeting with stars, etc… There are stories I want to share and my goal is to
share them exactly how I see them in my head.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to have a
life creating film?
Make sure this is truly what you
want. Because real filmmaking isn’t
glamorous. Writing is a lonely art. Editing is a lonely practice. Being on set is laborious and the days are
long and taxing. You’re not curing
cancer, but it can be stressful. Ask
yourself – are you doing this because you absolutely love film/tv/storytelling
– or are you interested in meeting famous people or being famous yourself? If the answer is the latter – go get rich
doing something else and then invest in movies.
We need you too.
What was the most important lesson you had to learn that has
had a positive effect on your film? How did that lesson happen?
That you can’t control everything. Once you understand that film is a
collaborative medium and let go – you can focus on what you can control.
It happened at a screening of a
short I directed. It was okay, but it
wasn’t exactly what I wanted. And it was
there that I thought – I need to stop hiring my friends.
You are a collaborator. How have you discovered members
of your team and how do you keep the relationship with them strong?
This is way too broad of a
question. As a filmmaker you have many
members of your team, and thus many different avenues to them.
A few of my collaborators have come
through school (USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program), or through functions at
the school. A large majority of my
collaborators have come through the internet.
Seems weird to even type – but I found my artists on all my books
online. And they are scattered around
the globe. Mark Newbauer from Mike the
Pike (The Skin Trade, White Space and the company financing my next 3 graphic
novels) found my email online and just shot me an email. I met Ken Locsmandi and the team at Filmworks
the following way – Dane Smith, a Producer on Battle for Terra, knew I was
looking to direct something… he set me up with a DP for one of the short films
he produced, Kev Robertson. Kev had just
DP’s a feature directed by this guy Rufus.
I met Rufus at Kev’s house randomly.
He emailed me and I went to meet him and a partner of his on a project
called Island of Diablo Madre. That
partner was Ken. We met and started
talking about fighting, etc… and kept in touch and then our relationship grew
from there. Since then I just produced
White Space which he directed. The
production designer on that film is someone I hope to use on everything I ever
do, Jessee Clarkson. He responded to an
ad I posted on Mandy.com. It turned out
he worked out for a company that shares space with Filmworks/FX called New Deal
Studios – and they gave him the thumbs up.
You are here at the Universe’s Grand Temple Of
Cinephilia. You are here because of your work and how you do it.
What are personal attributes that make for a good filmmaker, and what do you do
to foster them?
The first is perserverance. You are going to be told no a lot. You are going to be rejected a lot. People, lots of them, are going to pass on
your scripts/work. You can let that get
you down, or you can keep getting better.
The best revenge is success.
The other two are somewhat
conflicting – an iron will and open mindedness.
You need to believe that what you are doing is right. Correction, you need to know that what you
are doing is right (difference is – go in educated. Always be the smartest person in the
room). Someone like James Cameron
doesn’t break or bend. But with that,
you need to accept that film is a collaborative medium. Here’s where it gets tricky – how does any of
what I said make sense? The first part
is surrounding yourself with people who are good at their job. Even on low budget films – they are out there. Don’t hire friends. Hire good people. Hire knowledgeable people. Hire people who are better than you at their
position. You’re the producer/director –
you should know how to talk about lighting, production design, wardrobe – you
should know exactly what you want – but you need people to carry that out. And sometimes, often times if they are good –
they will have great ideas in terms of adding or enhancing your original
idea. I just had a talk with Jessee
about production design for my next project – he pitched me something awesome
that completely changed the way I saw the script, not even just that
scene. He also pitched me something I
didn’t buy because it didn’t fit with what I was trying to accomplish. I explained to him why and he accepted
that. Which I guess makes for a number
four – be able to express yourself. If
you disagree with someone or something, explain why. If you’re an asshole, you better be the next
coming of Orson Welles or you will have a shitty career.
When I wanted to devote my life to making movies, my first
decision was NY or LA. How does where you live influence how and what you
make, and how do you think NY currently effects your work and process?
Funny this is a question for Ted,
because I have faced this decision my entire film career. Being from NY, my entire family is from NY so
that is my home. It will always be my
home. Obviously there is a lot more
going on in LA in terms of movers and shakers – but you can definitely do this
from NY. I have to be honest, I
personally feel more creative in NY. In
LA, everyone is in entertainment – all of your experiences are based around
entertainment or people involved in entertainment. You aren’t experiencing unique/different
people, doing different things. I draw
from the real world and being in NY just opens that world up. Being outside of LA also keeps you a bit more
grounded. No one is blowing your head
up, and you’re surrounded by non-industry people. Industry people tend to think what they’re
doing is the greatest and most important thing in the world. Let’s be real – we are doing movies/tv. We aren’t curing a disease or saving lives,
etc… It’s a big universe and we are small specs in it.
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