WEBVTT

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Welcome to good news York. It's me Mike brindisi

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sponsored by ads on the go get ads on the go

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calm Matt is not with me. I don't know. He's

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off Hurdling cattle today. I don't know what

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he's doing. I never know what he's doing, but

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I'm here alone. It's just me and you well kind

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of because I have a very special guest today.

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I feel like that, you know, I guess you guys

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could call nepotism on me here for a second,

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because we had my sister on last week. And now

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I would like to welcome my cousin, filmmaker,

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author, lighting designer, and again, my cousin,

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Ed Chourette. Via satellite, via satellite. Ed,

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welcome to the show. It's funny, we've been doing

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this since the first of the year, and we've had

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dozens of guests, and it wasn't until the other

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night when you and I, you were promoting your

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latest feature film, which is entitled First

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Draft, and long story short, you had sent me

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the link, and I wanted to watch it, and as I

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started the movie, I went, why the fuck haven't

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I had my cousin on yet? The show, Good News York,

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obviously focuses on awesome people doing awesome

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things in New York State. And you've been doing

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it for a long time, man, so welcome to the show.

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Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

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Of course, man. So I wanted to start off by just

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kind of giving the people a little bit of background

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on everything that you've done and you're doing.

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You know, I did say filmmaker, lighting designer,

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author. I know you from Back on Clock Productions,

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which is your production company. And I was lucky

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enough to be cast in two of your films? One of

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your films. First, The Thin Line. The Thin Line,

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yeah. One of my favorite experiences in my acting

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work, if you will. But take me back to, we never

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really, as much as we're cousins, We've never

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had a chance to just sit and and kind of talk

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about life and and how how things began. How

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did you? Start getting into film. What was your

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your first like the first moment where you're

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like, holy shit Like this is what I want to do

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and who did it? Well, I mean that was wow geez

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like two lifetimes ago, right? I might have been

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yeah like 16 years old maybe Seeing Miller's

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crossing The Joel Edith and Cohen's, you know,

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yeah, that was the one I was like, okay And I

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just fell in love with it. It was like there's

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that time of life. We're like, what are you gonna

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do with your life? It's like you're gonna be

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a filmmaker and then You know, however many years

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later You know, I went to school for psychology

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because I chickened out, you know Every person

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I met was like, you know, what are you gonna

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do? I had people say my life saying what are

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you gonna do graduate and be Steven Spielberg?

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I was like, yeah, just not you know, so You know,

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I believed them, you know, but it's something

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and then I tried to do like, you know, I would

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manage movie theaters. I did a bunch of stuff

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where they're trying to make money. But at the

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end of the day, this always kept coming back.

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You know what I mean? So I just had to keep I

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could. I wasn't sane unless I was chasing this

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demon, if you will, buddy. I try to explain that

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to people that aren't in entertainment that,

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you know, people don't understand. Like the other

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day, a buddy of mine was like, why? Why was Ozzy

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just like, when he was sick, why did he keep

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touring? And I went, I don't think you understand

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that touring was the thing that kept him alive.

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When you're a true artist, and it sounds dramatic,

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but I know you get it. When you're a true artist,

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if you're not doing what you do, whether that's

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performing standup comedy or acting or directing,

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I mean, you feel like you're dying, you know?

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I remember I saw Henry Rollins do spoken word

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in Ithaca. He came up like a decade ago. It was

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like it was stand -up comedy, but it was spoken

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word and he talked about how like when he would

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get off the road and he had time between recording

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or touring his manager would check on him to

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make sure he didn't jump off a roof because it's

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you know, you do you feel like you're dying and

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and you out of many people I've worked with have

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always come across to me as a true artist in

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every form and Thank you. What I did notice is

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that as much as you love writing and directing

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You do kind of, whether it's a bit part or a

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lead role, you like to act in your own films.

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Is that something, like, it's an itch that you

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want to scratch? No. Well, when I was younger,

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I was such a ham. And then, like, I'd shot a

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bunch of videos with friends, and it was just

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a thing, because me and my friends would have,

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like, comedy bits and shit that we'd do, and

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I was pretty funny. I always got laughed, you

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know? So I enjoyed that, but... Once I got more

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into the filmmaking end of things, I kind of

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made sure to cut myself out. The only reason

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I'm the star of this feature -like movie is because

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my lead actor had a panic attack the night before

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and had to bow out. Really? But it was my fault

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a little bit because I was trying to psych him

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up. Like, man, this is it. This is our dream.

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We're going to do this. We got this. I really

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psyched him out. You forced him into a panic.

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Where is he? That's fantastic. You hear about

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directors. They all have different methods, right?

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I think you did the right thing, right? You're

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like, okay, I gotta get my lead actor revved

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up. You revved him up so much that he went into

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a full -blown panic attack and you had to play

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the role. That is a way fucking better story.

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than what I thought it was. Well, you get a phenomenal

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job. I want to talk about first draft. Now, this

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is your first and only feature length at the

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moment? At the moment, yes. We had shot the Sid

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line back in the day to try to get funding for

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the full length, but that never happened. It

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was not shortly after that that I had already

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put... This into motion, you know, it's been

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a long it's been a long time, you know and yeah,

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I shot I even shot a little bit of it and ended

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up throwing it out because I didn't like what

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I had and Restarted basically Yeah, how do you

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how does the How did the inspiration an idea?

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Start with first draft. Was this an idea you

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had for years? Is it something you put the pen

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to the paper and it just came out? What how did

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it all come about and it's really good by the

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way Thank you. I want to say the late 90s, there

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was a thing in New York City called the Gotham

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Writers' Workshop. You see the little yellow

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things next to the newspapers. And it took sitcom

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writing class. We had to write a sample script

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of Frasier. students would sit around with the

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comedy table and they tried to make it as real

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as possible. Like a spec script? Like your own

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episode? A spec script? You had to write your

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own episode, right? So basically it was a lot

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of pitching ideas and them saying, no, that sucks,

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or no, you can't do it. You know, just a lot

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of that. But one of the things he did was spell

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out the seven stage story structure that they

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used for it. I was like, you know, wouldn't it

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be cool to do a movie about a writer and show

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the seven stage story structure? You mean like,

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is it the hero's journey? That one? That structure?

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No, not that not the circle like the like the

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eight wheel that okay, Dan Harmon kind of like

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popularized That's what I thought it was a seven

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stage structure back in the day. That was more

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like sitcom formula back Okay, the teacher of

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the class was a writer on like all in the family

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good times all that stuff. Yeah So anyway, there

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was that so I had the idea and it just sat there

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and then over the years I ended up being like

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a novel it like I wrote novels because You know,

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you don't have enough money to make movies or

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people around. So sometimes you just I got to

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do something. So I ended up writing and kind

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of fell in love with the process of writing or

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what that's about. How do you freaking finish?

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You know something, you know, how do you finish

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a novel? You know what I mean? Like how do you

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do that? So it was like when it's time to come

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to make a movie I might as well do something

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do it about something that i'm passionate about

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and that I spent you know a decade doing you

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know, I might as well You know just do something

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about that and you know It seemed you know easy

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enough to do like oh, it's a low -budget movie.

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I could do a you know, it ended up being a little

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harder, but a little more money than no budget,

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but whatever. Yeah. I find that in your movies,

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as I said, I got to be a part of the thin line,

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and I just watched First Draft, which I love

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that you put the Easter eggs in there. I'm actually

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in First Draft because you put the thin line

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on a television in the background in one scene,

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and then you put it on a projection screen in

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probably my favorite scene in the movie. And

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I owe the rights to it, and I can't really use

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any other... No, it was good. Whatever. I loved

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it because then I'm watching this movie and I'm

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like, it's so strange when you see yourself in

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a movie that you didn't know you were in. And

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then, you know, I showed my kids and I was like,

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remember the movie Dad was in? And I showed them

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a couple of scenes from that. And I'm like, well,

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check this out. I show them the other movie and

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I say, and that movie's inside this movie. They

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didn't even know what the fuck I was saying.

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And I was like, look, I'm in the credits. I'm

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guy on screen. But anyway, One thing I do know

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somebody saw it and said there's a theory that

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Because Todd is in the movie and it's playing

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in his apartment that he's actually the crazy

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guy at the end. Oh, okay So, you know what I

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see these podcasts now and clips of people that

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they they try to tie a Character together through

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multiple movies that they've been in like it's

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an ongoing story. So that checks out you could

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He was he was in both. I love that But one thing

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I've known about you, and I hope I'm not revealing

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anything I'm not supposed to reveal, but I feel

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like in both the thin line and in first draft,

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definitely in the thin line, you've told me that

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there are elements to the film that is a reflection

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of maybe who you really are or something you've

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been through. It's very personal to you. Is that

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something that... is unintentional, intentional,

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do you kind of inject? Because, look, songwriters

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write songs about experiences they've had. Do

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you find that you kind of base your scripts and

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your films off of you or situations you've been

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in? Oh, yeah, without question. I mean, that's,

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you know, that's in line, especially with my

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whole big thing about mental health and just

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trying to get it more acceptably. Acceptably?

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Try to get talked about more openly and whatever.

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And it was a way of dramatizing it and making

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it something different. The full length screenplay

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ended up being a lot different. And it's not

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like that portion that the character you played

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was loosely based on me. But actually, in the

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script, I think your name was Lewis Craft. And

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somebody told me a long time ago that that was

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the soap opera name is how you do your middle

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name and the street you grew up on. So I grew

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up on Craft Avenue and it was Edward Lewis Chourette.

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I thought that was I was always told that's your

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porno name is your middle. I was Anthony Mohaw.

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I remember my friend was like WilliamRoot5 and

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I was like, that's not a great name for a porno.

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It'd be funny now, now that everybody knows what

00:11:36.570 --> 00:11:38.549
it, you know, that's the thing. Sure. But yeah,

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so, but yeah, I did, you know, obviously put

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myself in there. And then even with First Draft,

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you know, there's scenes where I'm driving massage

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girls around, like I was driving strippers around,

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you know, being the bouncer for a little bit,

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trying to you know, keep the rent paid. And that's

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where that kind of inspiration came from. And

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you deciding I was going to be doing a theme

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in the movie where it's like, you know, writing

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is a lonely life. And so every relationship should

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be like, you know, he only Jesus, I got to shut

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my phone off. Sorry. Can't even hear it. Yeah.

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And it just, you know, it's like, he gets life

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advice from, you know, escorts or all his relationships

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are these like transactional nothingness thing

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that he's the life of a writer. Anyway, went

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off on a tangent. But yes. I put myself in there.

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And I want to talk about that more in a second,

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the escort thing, because I thought that was

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brilliant. But I don't remember at what point

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of filming, when I was in the thin line with

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you, that I had heard that my character was based

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off of you. But I remember it was after we had

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already started filming. And I think I was grateful

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because I almost think that would have made me

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play the character different. Like, I was really

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moved that you would cast me to play... you -ish.

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I think the character was portrayed, I think

00:13:00.100 --> 00:13:02.860
it was portrayed to me as, it could have been

00:13:02.860 --> 00:13:05.480
you, had you had lost your handle on your mental

00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:07.120
health, that could have been you. But either

00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:09.500
way, I just remember being very emotional about

00:13:09.500 --> 00:13:12.320
that, thinking, wow, this is... This is a big

00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:14.879
responsibility. You're playing the director and

00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:16.879
you didn't even know. But I'm almost glad you

00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:19.440
didn't tell me because I thought maybe I would

00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:22.039
play the character right. There are a lot of

00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:24.899
methods in the way that different directors do.

00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:28.399
Do you have certain methods you use that maybe

00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:30.700
you've learned from other directors or that you

00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:33.240
do on your own that maybe could be considered

00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:35.440
unorthodox? Are there some weird methods you

00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:38.500
use when you're filming or shooting? Back then,

00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:43.009
I did. I was a little more like... I don't know

00:13:43.009 --> 00:13:44.649
how other directors really do it. I have seen

00:13:44.649 --> 00:13:47.149
a handful, and a lot of it is live event stuff

00:13:47.149 --> 00:13:49.610
now, so different, the directors I work with.

00:13:51.490 --> 00:13:53.909
But back then, I would do some things that were

00:13:53.909 --> 00:13:57.929
a little more... I had heard things from different

00:13:57.929 --> 00:14:00.009
directors, like there was one where we, there

00:14:00.009 --> 00:14:02.049
was a scene where we wanted the, I wanted the

00:14:02.049 --> 00:14:04.250
girl to feel more uncomfortable. She was sitting

00:14:04.250 --> 00:14:06.570
there. So I took a handful of rocks and put it

00:14:06.570 --> 00:14:09.230
under her. So when she sat down, she was just

00:14:09.230 --> 00:14:11.210
a little like, you know, things like that, that

00:14:11.210 --> 00:14:12.909
I just heard about. I was like, let's try it,

00:14:12.909 --> 00:14:17.389
you know? I think I over -talk too much. Like

00:14:17.389 --> 00:14:19.710
I think I, and I've learned to just let the actor

00:14:19.710 --> 00:14:21.830
do their thing. And then if I have notes say

00:14:21.830 --> 00:14:23.750
something, but I always try to just like, here's

00:14:23.750 --> 00:14:26.269
the trick I do almost every time. So like, cause

00:14:26.269 --> 00:14:28.009
I set up the lights and I'm the guy, I shoot

00:14:28.009 --> 00:14:30.549
it. And I'm just like, this is not, I always

00:14:30.549 --> 00:14:32.629
say this is not, this is not a real take. I just

00:14:32.629 --> 00:14:34.230
need to adjust the lighting. So please just run

00:14:34.230 --> 00:14:36.870
it one time. So it gets them super relaxed and

00:14:36.870 --> 00:14:39.570
they don't care. I often end up using that take

00:14:39.570 --> 00:14:41.570
if the lighting is good. Yeah. You fucking did

00:14:41.570 --> 00:14:44.529
that to me many times. Yeah. Yeah. That's the

00:14:44.529 --> 00:14:46.909
thing, you know? No, but that's exactly what

00:14:46.909 --> 00:14:48.509
I was asking. What you're talking about. The

00:14:48.509 --> 00:14:51.259
rocks, that. That was the kind of inside stuff

00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:53.500
I'm talking about. I think it also helps when

00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:55.019
I'm like, hell, I'm just doing this to check

00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:56.580
the lighting, and then I'll play around for a

00:14:56.580 --> 00:14:58.720
bit. And everybody, maybe they're bored, like,

00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:00.059
after a while they're like, when are we gonna

00:15:00.059 --> 00:15:02.279
get to it? But whatever, I'm still shooting and

00:15:02.279 --> 00:15:04.220
grabbing shit left and right. Now that digital

00:15:04.220 --> 00:15:07.200
cameras exist, I'm rolling, catching reactions

00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:09.740
while people are just on break, you know? Brilliant.

00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:13.399
That's brilliant. I love that, man. And you know,

00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:17.090
I do remember... I always felt bad for you too

00:15:17.090 --> 00:15:20.450
when I've worked with you because you are sometimes

00:15:20.450 --> 00:15:24.870
the director the lighting guy the cameraman Is

00:15:24.870 --> 00:15:28.009
that always by design sometimes at when you're

00:15:28.009 --> 00:15:30.370
at at that level? Especially now where you can

00:15:30.370 --> 00:15:33.529
kind of you don't need big studios as much anymore

00:15:33.529 --> 00:15:36.049
Is that was that by design in the way that like

00:15:36.049 --> 00:15:38.590
it was just easier to control everything and

00:15:38.590 --> 00:15:42.000
budget or or was it? Was this like, I can't help

00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:44.679
it, I just don't have the money to pay for extra

00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:46.659
people, that kind of thing. If I could afford

00:15:46.659 --> 00:15:49.340
a cameraman, I would. I'd still want to DP it

00:15:49.340 --> 00:15:51.220
because of the art in it, and that's like, I

00:15:51.220 --> 00:15:53.320
enjoy that, you know? But I would also like to

00:15:53.320 --> 00:15:55.940
work with a DP. It's just that they get expensive.

00:15:56.419 --> 00:15:58.039
I had worked with a buddy, somebody who trained

00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:00.360
me originally as a DP, the guy who I worked with,

00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:05.409
but it was just... You end up like, oh right,

00:16:05.429 --> 00:16:07.269
I got to learn how to deal with egos. You know

00:16:07.269 --> 00:16:08.669
what I mean? Like, yeah, that's a thing. You

00:16:08.669 --> 00:16:10.309
know what I mean? And like, oh, so there's a

00:16:10.309 --> 00:16:12.110
very specific, you got to hire the right people.

00:16:12.230 --> 00:16:13.570
You want, like literally the same way you could

00:16:13.570 --> 00:16:16.049
have an actor who kind of throws a fit and you

00:16:16.049 --> 00:16:17.970
know, whatever. Same thing happens with crew,

00:16:18.450 --> 00:16:20.529
which is kind of sucky, you know? And it kind

00:16:20.529 --> 00:16:23.509
of kills the vibe. So but also I want to be able

00:16:23.509 --> 00:16:25.370
to shoot something it's hard when you're shooting

00:16:25.370 --> 00:16:27.049
somebody else or something like a music video

00:16:27.049 --> 00:16:29.450
or whatever and I'm just focusing on the the

00:16:29.450 --> 00:16:31.570
visuals and I'm really something because like

00:16:31.570 --> 00:16:33.450
if you do a music video you want the band to

00:16:33.450 --> 00:16:35.730
have their branding and their music video you

00:16:35.730 --> 00:16:37.309
don't get to control it so it's like if I can

00:16:37.309 --> 00:16:39.669
have creative control I'd rather be doing that

00:16:39.669 --> 00:16:42.210
it'd be great to have cameraman that like somebody

00:16:42.210 --> 00:16:43.590
just hold the camera I'll tell somebody where

00:16:43.590 --> 00:16:45.590
to put the lights and all that but if you could

00:16:45.590 --> 00:16:48.929
just yeah you know but that costs money it's

00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:51.639
no but it's and it's hard because You know, I

00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:54.879
also understand from a comedy standpoint, and

00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:57.759
I'm sure it translates to every genre, but I

00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.679
know in the comedy realm, whether it's video,

00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:04.240
podcast, film, TV, whatever the medium, you know,

00:17:04.579 --> 00:17:09.660
an editor can make you extra funny or make you

00:17:09.660 --> 00:17:11.759
unfunny, in my opinion. And I've heard that before

00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:14.559
because, you know, with comedy especially, It's

00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:17.339
timing. It's cutting to the right thing. It's

00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:20.259
beats. It's everything. So I actually understand

00:17:20.259 --> 00:17:22.259
that whole, like, I don't want control because

00:17:22.259 --> 00:17:24.900
I want control, but I also know, like, if I'm

00:17:24.900 --> 00:17:27.180
the one that's being funny, I know where the

00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:31.180
cuts go. So do you find it hard to kind of let

00:17:31.180 --> 00:17:35.599
go of that, of different things for that reason?

00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:40.319
Well, yeah. Wait, for what reason? For having

00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:44.839
a little bit of like, yeah, for the... In other

00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:47.299
words, I ask that like, shit, let me rephrase

00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:52.759
that. In other words, I find that sometimes I

00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:56.359
am involved in a production where I'm on screen,

00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:58.839
I'm also editing, and I'm also doing some of

00:17:58.839 --> 00:18:00.779
the camera work because it's not that I want

00:18:00.779 --> 00:18:03.460
the control, it's that like, but I just know.

00:18:03.710 --> 00:18:05.890
I know what's funny. I know when I'm trying to

00:18:05.890 --> 00:18:08.730
be funny. You know what I mean? Do you find that?

00:18:09.430 --> 00:18:12.470
And didn't lie. What is this one? That was a

00:18:12.470 --> 00:18:13.869
thing, because I knew that I could try to get

00:18:13.869 --> 00:18:15.710
some... I knew I was going to look at the camera

00:18:15.710 --> 00:18:17.309
a certain way. I knew I was just going to be

00:18:17.309 --> 00:18:20.450
able to do... But it's also weird directing yourself,

00:18:20.490 --> 00:18:22.809
and it'd be better if I had... I had people who

00:18:22.809 --> 00:18:24.630
would never touch the camera before being camera

00:18:24.630 --> 00:18:26.890
operators. So I had to go back and shoot it,

00:18:26.890 --> 00:18:28.609
you know, months later. Oh, we got to redo it.

00:18:28.609 --> 00:18:31.930
We got to redo it. And ultimately, I feel like

00:18:31.930 --> 00:18:35.079
everybody else... Has like everybody else's shots

00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:37.420
are great. They look beautiful. My shots are

00:18:37.420 --> 00:18:41.700
like, yeah, you know because I can't be both

00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:43.480
like I'm behind the camera setting up and whoever's

00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:45.039
sitting in for me, maybe they're shorter. Maybe

00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:47.039
you got darker skin. It's not the same setup.

00:18:47.099 --> 00:18:49.019
So by the time I sit here, it's a little bit

00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:52.099
like meh, you know, um, but I'd rather I'd rather

00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:54.500
be camera operator or you know, I'd rather be

00:18:54.500 --> 00:18:57.880
DP at least and director, you know, or have the

00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:01.119
a good say in it. I'm starting. So I over the

00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:04.170
years I've I've probably got four or five scripts

00:19:04.170 --> 00:19:06.609
that are a quarter or half written. And that's

00:19:06.609 --> 00:19:09.089
a whole different story. That's because of lifetime

00:19:09.089 --> 00:19:14.289
and my ADHD and managing that bullshit. But I

00:19:14.289 --> 00:19:16.509
really didn't take the next step until I went

00:19:16.509 --> 00:19:19.390
back to school at Ithaca College for TV, film,

00:19:20.109 --> 00:19:23.950
radio, whatever, and actually took some screenwriting

00:19:23.950 --> 00:19:27.109
classes and things of that nature. As far as

00:19:27.109 --> 00:19:29.269
like director of photography goes, one mistake

00:19:29.269 --> 00:19:31.369
I made when I first started writing scripts was

00:19:31.369 --> 00:19:37.839
that I was writing in the camera direction and

00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:39.640
what the director of photography would do, the

00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:45.619
DP. But I also found that sometimes there's a

00:19:45.619 --> 00:19:48.059
shot that I'm picturing in my head that is detrimental

00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:52.640
to the scene. It has to be that shot. As a writer

00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:55.460
and filmmaker, how do you balance that where

00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:59.519
you're like, when the DP comes on board, or during

00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:02.480
the writing process, how do you balance not doing

00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:05.380
all the work for them, but you want it a certain

00:20:05.380 --> 00:20:09.279
way? How does that work? Well, so, you know,

00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:11.359
they say you're not supposed to write direction

00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:13.900
and all that. Fuck that, I totally do. Okay,

00:20:14.140 --> 00:20:16.359
good. I write the movie I see in my head. And

00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:17.839
I want to get that across to whoever is going

00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:19.720
to be reading it. You know what I mean? A good

00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:21.640
DP will read it and go, OK, well, and maybe they'll

00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:23.660
have their own opinion. I haven't worked with

00:20:23.660 --> 00:20:27.500
world class DPs yet. So I'll see how these conversations

00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:31.279
go when it happens. But at some point, I want

00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:34.200
to have a Tom Hanks famously tells a story about

00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:37.039
when he was doing the The The O 'Needers movie.

00:20:37.140 --> 00:20:38.660
What the hell was it? Oh, that's one of my favorite

00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:42.000
movies. That's literally one of my top 10 favorite

00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:44.160
movies and I have no shame admitting it. I love

00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:45.779
it. It's a good movie. It's a good movie. But

00:20:45.779 --> 00:20:47.779
he talks about how it's like his first time directing

00:20:47.779 --> 00:20:50.539
and whatever and he has a great DP coming up.

00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:53.799
I think it's Tak Fuji. Yeah, whatever. And so

00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:55.859
he comes in, he has an idea of how to start the

00:20:55.859 --> 00:20:57.779
scene. They will start in the chandelier and

00:20:57.779 --> 00:21:00.700
we'll come down and then we'll come on our guys.

00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:03.400
Dad, they're talking to tell the story. And then

00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:06.039
the DP is just like, he goes, hmm. Why don't

00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:08.079
we wait and see what the actors do first? And

00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:09.980
he's like, oh, oh, you mean like every time that

00:21:09.980 --> 00:21:11.460
we always do it, how it always works? And I'm

00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:13.640
like, oh, okay, but I feel like that was a good,

00:21:14.180 --> 00:21:15.740
you should, you know what I mean? Like, if I'm

00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:17.480
on set, I'm gonna have a problem with this DP

00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:19.220
now because I'm like, hey, fuck stick, I just

00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:20.839
said it was what we're doing. You know what I

00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:24.160
mean? But he's a writer -director in that scenario,

00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:27.039
too. You would think, I mean, I guess. Maybe

00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:29.059
he just, he went with it, you know, but I could.

00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:32.519
You made me feel better because that was my thing

00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:34.720
is as I'm writing these scripts, I'm not writing

00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:37.359
the direction in, but I see it in my head. And

00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:39.700
it doesn't mean I wouldn't be open to a DP saying,

00:21:40.140 --> 00:21:41.799
hey, good idea, but I think we should do it this

00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:45.019
way. I completely welcome that in any sort of

00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:47.880
creative project I do. Working with anyone else

00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:50.420
always makes me better. But sometimes you just

00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:52.539
see it in your head a certain way. And then I

00:21:52.539 --> 00:21:54.180
was kind of being told, well, you can't do it

00:21:54.180 --> 00:21:55.559
that way. You got to give it to the director

00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:58.349
of photography. So I'm glad that you you too

00:21:58.349 --> 00:22:01.170
feel that way, that you can kind of, you can

00:22:01.170 --> 00:22:03.990
do it together. It might also be why I shoot

00:22:03.990 --> 00:22:07.029
my own stuff now. You know what I mean? So, I

00:22:07.029 --> 00:22:10.390
don't know how. But, I mean, whatever. But like,

00:22:10.849 --> 00:22:13.210
to be open to collaboration, to have kind of

00:22:13.210 --> 00:22:15.210
discussions, like with the first draft, not to

00:22:15.210 --> 00:22:17.670
get back to that, but like, the beginning of

00:22:17.670 --> 00:22:19.549
the movie, you know, part of my constraint was

00:22:19.549 --> 00:22:21.630
like, I'm gonna be starring in it, and the film's

00:22:21.630 --> 00:22:23.670
gonna be on stick. Basically, just like a lot

00:22:23.670 --> 00:22:26.690
of still, me walking into frame, you know? And

00:22:26.690 --> 00:22:28.410
I could change stuff digitally and have the camera

00:22:28.410 --> 00:22:30.869
push in, but then I was like, well, well, how

00:22:30.869 --> 00:22:33.670
about when there's absolutely no inspiration

00:22:33.670 --> 00:22:36.190
whatsoever, the camera stays on six. And then

00:22:36.190 --> 00:22:37.970
when, when there is a little bit of inspiration,

00:22:38.170 --> 00:22:39.970
now the camera starts to move, like whatever

00:22:39.970 --> 00:22:42.230
that is. And then slowly by the end of the movie,

00:22:42.970 --> 00:22:44.349
the camera shake it all over the place. You know

00:22:44.349 --> 00:22:46.170
what I mean? But like, so to use it to my advantage,

00:22:46.329 --> 00:22:47.430
those are the kinds of conversations I would

00:22:47.430 --> 00:22:51.619
have with DP. And then like, You know like so

00:22:51.619 --> 00:22:53.240
early in the movie when I'm when I first buy

00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:55.000
the car and I'm driving around It's basically

00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:56.559
a camera in the back of the car and we're getting

00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:58.180
all the lighting and making it look pretty and

00:22:58.180 --> 00:23:00.720
you know Inspiration a possible writer. Thank

00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:05.839
you and then later on When he's driving the massage

00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:10.440
girls around it's not it's all shot like the

00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:13.220
background is actually projected onto projector

00:23:13.220 --> 00:23:15.140
is a projector shooting onto screens to give

00:23:15.140 --> 00:23:18.509
like a Subtle we didn't notice I know but it's

00:23:18.509 --> 00:23:20.869
like a little noir thing and it's like even some

00:23:20.869 --> 00:23:22.849
of the The lights in the background a little

00:23:22.849 --> 00:23:24.950
more pixelated because it's a laptop and you

00:23:24.950 --> 00:23:27.109
see the refresh rate a little bit going you know

00:23:27.109 --> 00:23:29.549
I know so I tried things like that you know so

00:23:29.549 --> 00:23:30.730
those are kind of conversations I would have

00:23:30.730 --> 00:23:32.809
with the DP and like if he's gonna come with

00:23:32.809 --> 00:23:34.690
a change It's like it's got to be thinking like

00:23:34.690 --> 00:23:37.230
that. You know you like We're gonna have those

00:23:37.230 --> 00:23:39.990
kind of conversations so and as far as you're

00:23:39.990 --> 00:23:43.569
writing one more dorky question I I you know

00:23:43.569 --> 00:23:47.509
I love this stuff In your writing process now

00:23:47.509 --> 00:23:49.809
another thing I had learned through the you know

00:23:49.809 --> 00:23:52.369
screenwriting in school was you know the hero's

00:23:52.369 --> 00:23:54.190
journey Which I touched on you know those those

00:23:54.190 --> 00:23:57.849
kind of templates you can follow as a writer

00:23:57.849 --> 00:24:01.490
yourself Do you kind of, because it is a feel,

00:24:01.849 --> 00:24:04.549
you know, as much as it's like, I don't want

00:24:04.549 --> 00:24:07.569
to follow a chart. If you do follow that kind

00:24:07.569 --> 00:24:10.349
of format, it all does make sense in the movie

00:24:10.349 --> 00:24:13.849
world, but also a lot of times writing and shooting

00:24:13.849 --> 00:24:17.349
is a feel. Do you have that natural feel to the

00:24:17.349 --> 00:24:20.609
dynamic or do you follow that kind of hero's

00:24:20.609 --> 00:24:22.589
journey? You know what I mean? Do you follow

00:24:22.589 --> 00:24:25.710
your own? Kind of a template when you're shooting

00:24:25.710 --> 00:24:28.069
here writing and shooting or do you do you kind

00:24:28.069 --> 00:24:31.509
of stick to that kind of old school? I try now

00:24:31.509 --> 00:24:36.549
because I'm Shooting with no money like and it's

00:24:36.549 --> 00:24:38.690
me you know I mean like I'm not worried about

00:24:38.690 --> 00:24:41.490
somebody else's writing the paycheck. I'm more

00:24:41.490 --> 00:24:45.160
willing to Know the rules before you break them

00:24:45.160 --> 00:24:46.539
kind of thing, you know, I'm writing a movie

00:24:46.539 --> 00:24:49.420
about script writing or writing in theory Like,

00:24:49.420 --> 00:24:51.079
you know, your second act is supposed to start

00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:52.779
exactly in the middle of your movie But mine

00:24:52.779 --> 00:24:54.720
starts actually a little over here and then so

00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:56.619
I tried to you know play around with if I'm gonna

00:24:56.619 --> 00:25:00.440
make these kind of Bold choices. It's gonna be

00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:02.380
on my diamond not somebody else's I mean sense.

00:25:02.579 --> 00:25:05.420
So yeah more like with the thin line. That's

00:25:05.420 --> 00:25:07.880
that short we shot Part of a bigger narrative,

00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:09.940
but that bigger never was like on purposely I

00:25:09.940 --> 00:25:11.579
was like well I'm going to use a structure where

00:25:11.579 --> 00:25:13.839
it's like a nonlinear different kind of thing

00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:15.880
Tend to give you the feel of what it's like to

00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:17.839
be a bipolar kind of fucked up kind of hurt You

00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:19.279
know me like love it fucked up kind of person.

00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:21.660
It's the wrong way to say but um you know those

00:25:21.660 --> 00:25:25.079
kind of things I try to Go out, but then again.

00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:26.779
I've never been in a writer's room. You know

00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:29.019
yeah sat there You know I mean like now you make

00:25:29.019 --> 00:25:30.799
a different ball of wax Yeah, you make a good

00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:34.099
point that it's like if you don't have the budget

00:25:34.099 --> 00:25:37.529
right? and you're kind of doing everything on

00:25:37.529 --> 00:25:39.910
your own dime. I bet it kind of makes you feel

00:25:39.910 --> 00:25:43.049
like it gives you the ability to have a little

00:25:43.049 --> 00:25:45.970
more cushion to go one way or the other off of

00:25:45.970 --> 00:25:48.890
that kind of format and do it your own way because

00:25:48.890 --> 00:25:51.849
it's nobody else's dime. Nobody else is gonna

00:25:51.849 --> 00:25:53.430
review it and go I don't like that. I want you

00:25:53.430 --> 00:25:55.789
to reshoot it So it probably right gives you

00:25:55.789 --> 00:25:57.950
a little more liberty to play around the first

00:25:57.950 --> 00:26:00.029
the first bit remember I said we we threw out

00:26:00.029 --> 00:26:02.049
the beginning when I first started shooting first

00:26:02.049 --> 00:26:03.750
draft. It was a more traditional script It was

00:26:03.750 --> 00:26:06.069
like a buddy comedy. I'm having writer's block.

00:26:06.170 --> 00:26:08.529
My buddy shows up and then hey, you got to go

00:26:08.529 --> 00:26:10.769
live Let's go do our things and then shit happens

00:26:10.769 --> 00:26:12.990
But as I was shooting it we're getting in a bunch

00:26:12.990 --> 00:26:14.609
of scenes and I'm cutting it I'm like I'm bored

00:26:14.609 --> 00:26:16.009
of my own fucking movie, you know, it's like

00:26:16.329 --> 00:26:19.130
And then I pardon my French and then like I'd

00:26:19.130 --> 00:26:21.869
be independent. You know, it's a lot of people.

00:26:22.089 --> 00:26:23.910
I would say this to a lot of people don't see

00:26:23.910 --> 00:26:25.750
real independent movies, you know, because you're

00:26:25.750 --> 00:26:27.690
it's like the film festival circuit in New York

00:26:27.690 --> 00:26:31.990
or like basements of like bars and you and everybody's

00:26:31.990 --> 00:26:33.849
a student filmmaker or young familiar. They're

00:26:33.849 --> 00:26:36.430
always you got it. You should have a format of

00:26:36.430 --> 00:26:38.470
a script or whatever. But it's like when you

00:26:38.470 --> 00:26:41.769
take out the. the name director or the name star,

00:26:42.250 --> 00:26:44.190
now you're seeing it for just the raw thing that

00:26:44.190 --> 00:26:46.009
it is. It's like, well, now I'm just bored and

00:26:46.009 --> 00:26:47.670
see the mechanics. You know what I mean? So if

00:26:47.670 --> 00:26:50.869
I'm gonna be a low budget indie filmmaker, I

00:26:50.869 --> 00:26:53.250
might as well try to take some risks and be different.

00:26:54.250 --> 00:26:58.470
And maybe because we're so used to now, like

00:26:58.470 --> 00:27:00.289
we're just watching everything all the time,

00:27:00.369 --> 00:27:02.650
maybe the difference will be enough to engage

00:27:02.650 --> 00:27:07.500
people and keep them interested. 100%. Like,

00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:09.279
okay, so let me give you an example. I'm gonna

00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:11.339
go way tangent, but whatever. I love it. So one

00:27:11.339 --> 00:27:14.059
thing I did in this movie, so we're all used

00:27:14.059 --> 00:27:16.900
to storytelling and like TVs and the three act

00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:19.880
structure or rule of thirds. Yep. So one of the

00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:22.920
things I did in this movie was I purposely cut

00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:26.759
things like, really nobody appears more than

00:27:26.759 --> 00:27:28.980
two scenes. So everybody, like your coworker,

00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:30.539
you see one scene, you see them again later.

00:27:31.700 --> 00:27:34.400
Or... He hires the escorts that he's doing the

00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:36.640
poetry, only two of them. And then the escorts

00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:38.980
he's driving around, there's only two. And then,

00:27:38.980 --> 00:27:41.640
I mean, the friend shows up twice in, like, big

00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:44.680
chunks, but I did give her a post -credit scene

00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:47.759
because, you know, whatever. But the idea being,

00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:50.769
in theory... You should feel like you want a

00:27:50.769 --> 00:27:53.069
little bit more at the end, because it's missing

00:27:53.069 --> 00:27:55.130
something, because it is the first draft, if

00:27:55.130 --> 00:27:57.309
you will. So after I had that conceit, it was

00:27:57.309 --> 00:27:59.390
trying, let's see what it does. I literally had

00:27:59.390 --> 00:28:01.269
like, it's an experiment, screw it, let's see

00:28:01.269 --> 00:28:04.309
what happens. Dude, I absolutely love that. You

00:28:04.309 --> 00:28:06.329
put so much, and that's what I love about your

00:28:06.329 --> 00:28:09.390
style of filmmaking, is that there's thought

00:28:09.390 --> 00:28:11.710
in every bit of lighting, every bit, you know,

00:28:11.869 --> 00:28:16.109
every shot, everything. You know, I do want to

00:28:16.109 --> 00:28:18.950
talk real quick about the massage girl. So in

00:28:18.950 --> 00:28:21.490
the film first draft, I'm not going to give the

00:28:21.490 --> 00:28:23.650
whole synopsis, because that's your gig. I don't

00:28:23.650 --> 00:28:26.410
want to speak out of turn. But one element of

00:28:26.410 --> 00:28:30.089
it is that here's this struggling writer who

00:28:30.089 --> 00:28:34.750
comes across as kind of a lonely guy. And he's

00:28:34.750 --> 00:28:37.609
meeting with these escorts who think they are

00:28:37.609 --> 00:28:39.569
there to have sex with him when he's actually

00:28:39.569 --> 00:28:43.950
just spending time with them. and bouncing ideas

00:28:43.950 --> 00:28:46.869
off of them for his script, which I just think

00:28:46.869 --> 00:28:49.009
is brilliant. But something you just said earlier

00:28:49.009 --> 00:28:50.549
in this interview, the reason I'm asking this

00:28:50.549 --> 00:28:53.869
is, did you say this was based on a true event

00:28:53.869 --> 00:28:56.210
that happened to you? Were you driving around

00:28:56.210 --> 00:28:58.509
a massage? Strippers. Strippers? I was driving

00:28:58.509 --> 00:29:00.509
strippers, yeah. Oh, that must have been fun.

00:29:00.710 --> 00:29:02.369
Was that... You know, you're taking the bachelor

00:29:02.369 --> 00:29:04.589
parties or whatever and then you'd be security

00:29:04.589 --> 00:29:07.109
or you'd be sitting in the car waiting for them

00:29:07.109 --> 00:29:10.740
safely. And then I had an incident happen. where

00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:13.019
like she called me, one of the girls called me

00:29:13.019 --> 00:29:15.400
freaking out. I was like, Oh my God. So I go

00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:17.000
and the guy, you know, it was, there's a whole

00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:20.079
thing, like guy, one guy say, Oh, she won't,

00:29:20.140 --> 00:29:21.799
she said she wouldn't go down on me. And he's

00:29:21.799 --> 00:29:23.440
like, you know, this kind of thing. And then

00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:27.240
literally I did the hotel room and there, they

00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:29.740
won't let her out of the room, you know? So there's

00:29:29.740 --> 00:29:32.519
like five guys in there all very like, well,

00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:34.160
I saw them walk in. I was like, they're trying

00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:36.519
to look at me scary. I'm like, I've seen guys

00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:37.660
that scare the hell out of me when they look

00:29:37.660 --> 00:29:39.839
at me and you ain't it, you know? I'm not a fighter.

00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:41.859
They don't know that. I'm like, whatever, dude.

00:29:42.180 --> 00:29:43.440
So I just banged on the door. I was like, look,

00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:45.700
I can call the cops and report a kidnapping.

00:29:45.779 --> 00:29:47.839
I don't care. I've done nothing wrong here. You

00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:49.559
know, like, well, they open the door and let

00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:52.140
her out. But that wasn't what's happened in the

00:29:52.140 --> 00:29:53.740
movie, because the movie I need, you know, it's

00:29:53.740 --> 00:29:56.839
the old, you know, when you're stuck in a corner,

00:29:57.079 --> 00:29:59.440
screenwriting, screenwriting problem. Yeah. Introduce

00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:03.000
a gun. Yeah. Well, it's like a hitchcock to somebody.

00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:05.880
That scene. I'm obviously not going to give away

00:30:05.880 --> 00:30:08.519
what happens in that scene. Because to me there's

00:30:08.519 --> 00:30:09.720
no spoilers in this movie. It's like nothing

00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:13.619
at all, but dude dude That is the moment like

00:30:13.619 --> 00:30:15.740
when you do the callback of what you said earlier

00:30:15.740 --> 00:30:19.299
in the movie, and it is It is so unexpected because

00:30:19.299 --> 00:30:21.539
it's such a tense scene I absolutely fucking

00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:23.220
loved it, and I loved the wedding ring scene

00:30:23.220 --> 00:30:24.940
in the I thought you were phenomenal in that

00:30:24.940 --> 00:30:26.579
scene I thought that was the best acting I'd

00:30:26.579 --> 00:30:31.019
seen you do a few more questions here Speaking

00:30:31.019 --> 00:30:33.819
of loving what I saw you know one thing I noticed

00:30:33.819 --> 00:30:37.059
about your movies is And when I worked with you

00:30:37.059 --> 00:30:40.160
on set is you are very and I guess every filmmaker

00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:42.400
is in some way but you especially you really

00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:44.440
take your time to work on the right lighting

00:30:44.440 --> 00:30:47.980
and obviously the the perfect shot and I thought

00:30:47.980 --> 00:30:50.680
you're the the montage scenes of you driving

00:30:50.680 --> 00:30:54.819
around I just thought were phenomenally lit and

00:30:54.819 --> 00:30:57.980
That's tough to do by the way driving scene So

00:30:57.980 --> 00:31:01.279
kudos to that is there when you're shooting a

00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:04.500
film or maybe whether it's pre -production production

00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:07.240
or post -production Is there a favorite element

00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:11.019
that just like, it's your favorite thing about

00:31:11.019 --> 00:31:14.680
the movie, making movies? Is it getting the lighting

00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:18.339
right? Is it when a scene comes together? Is

00:31:18.339 --> 00:31:21.259
it the shooting? Is it the writing process? I

00:31:21.259 --> 00:31:23.960
don't know. That's the thing about it. There

00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:26.980
is, A, being on set, there's nothing like it

00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:30.380
for whatever. But making your own movie, it's

00:31:30.380 --> 00:31:33.250
a thousand times better. There is a little bit

00:31:33.250 --> 00:31:36.170
when that magic happens, you know when the perfect

00:31:36.170 --> 00:31:38.509
things come together at the right moment or you

00:31:38.509 --> 00:31:40.869
didn't expect the actor to Oh, whoa, I didn't

00:31:40.869 --> 00:31:42.390
see that coming. Yeah, great. You know, I mean

00:31:42.390 --> 00:31:45.470
like those moments are just amazing Yeah, but

00:31:45.470 --> 00:31:47.910
I'll tell you a quick story going off on a tangent

00:31:47.910 --> 00:31:51.569
process so in this movie like there's a scene

00:31:51.569 --> 00:31:55.190
where I mean, whatever so I lay down the girl

00:31:55.190 --> 00:32:00.349
lays on top of me and Like that was the scene.

00:32:00.450 --> 00:32:02.049
I was like, yeah, let's just do whatever and

00:32:02.049 --> 00:32:04.670
then whatever happens after you wakes up And

00:32:04.670 --> 00:32:06.549
then the girl came to shoot it. We're very awkward.

00:32:06.609 --> 00:32:08.890
Like, okay, whatever put a pillow here do the

00:32:08.890 --> 00:32:11.130
whole thing But I was on the Atkins diet at the

00:32:11.130 --> 00:32:12.950
time and my friends always used to make fun of

00:32:12.950 --> 00:32:15.309
me That I was like eating cheese with mayo and

00:32:15.309 --> 00:32:17.049
there was mayo right there I don't think it'll

00:32:17.049 --> 00:32:19.170
be funny and we started cracking up at the idea

00:32:19.170 --> 00:32:22.490
of how stupid that was. So Oh, you're talking

00:32:22.490 --> 00:32:25.210
about the dream sequence. The dream sequence.

00:32:25.549 --> 00:32:28.150
I got you I was like, oh my God. So we cracked

00:32:28.150 --> 00:32:30.029
up at how stupid and funny that would be. And

00:32:30.029 --> 00:32:33.190
then we did it, shot the scene. And then she

00:32:33.190 --> 00:32:34.509
was with me here while we were screening it for

00:32:34.509 --> 00:32:37.230
some friends. And that part came up, and it hit

00:32:37.230 --> 00:32:39.130
so hard. And me and her just turned around and

00:32:39.130 --> 00:32:41.269
was like, yes, that's what it was about. You

00:32:41.269 --> 00:32:43.430
know what I mean? We came up with this idea together.

00:32:43.470 --> 00:32:45.390
We collaborated on this little thing that made

00:32:45.390 --> 00:32:47.170
us crack up hysterically. We can't wait to share

00:32:47.170 --> 00:32:49.029
this with other people. And we got to be there

00:32:49.029 --> 00:32:51.430
in real time while they laughed and saw it. It

00:32:51.430 --> 00:32:53.990
was great. Dude, those are the most. You're absolutely

00:32:53.990 --> 00:32:56.039
right. And that happens. Because as you know,

00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:59.940
I've also, you know, in addition to acting and

00:32:59.940 --> 00:33:01.700
comedy, you know, I had a band for a while. So

00:33:01.700 --> 00:33:03.700
I've also been involved in music production.

00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:06.140
And those things happen in music, too, where

00:33:06.140 --> 00:33:08.599
you accidentally do something musically, but

00:33:08.599 --> 00:33:10.640
it sounds fucking awesome. And there is no better

00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:13.539
feeling. And that happens in movies, too. And

00:33:13.539 --> 00:33:15.460
that brings me to my next thing I wanted to talk

00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:17.400
about. We have to talk about it. When we were

00:33:17.400 --> 00:33:20.690
shooting the thin line. One of the final, it

00:33:20.690 --> 00:33:24.569
might actually be the final scene we shot in,

00:33:25.190 --> 00:33:29.509
was it Lawn Wood or? Wood Lawn. Wood Lawn. Just

00:33:29.509 --> 00:33:32.650
below Wood Lawn. Just below, so kind of like

00:33:32.650 --> 00:33:36.109
where Yonkers and the Bronx meet, but it's this

00:33:36.109 --> 00:33:40.230
very Irish neighborhood, like off the boat Irish,

00:33:40.670 --> 00:33:44.109
there's pubs, people wearing European soccer

00:33:44.109 --> 00:33:46.450
jerseys everywhere, and it was like a Sunday

00:33:46.450 --> 00:33:48.779
night. but I don't know what was going on if

00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:51.640
it was a soccer game or whatever, but there were

00:33:51.640 --> 00:33:55.299
drunk Irish dudes everywhere. Do you, I would

00:33:55.299 --> 00:33:56.940
love to hear your point of view. Do you remember

00:33:56.940 --> 00:33:58.480
what happened? Cause I have a great - I remember

00:33:58.480 --> 00:34:00.839
them being like right outside a frame at one

00:34:00.839 --> 00:34:02.779
point and you're acting. Like you're doing the

00:34:02.779 --> 00:34:05.740
emotional, like really hard scene and they're

00:34:05.740 --> 00:34:07.440
like right there. You know what I mean? So yeah,

00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:09.260
I remember she was like, it was great. It was,

00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:11.780
we, we had to hurry and get this done. We were

00:34:11.780 --> 00:34:15.139
on a timer and we really needed to get it. And

00:34:15.139 --> 00:34:17.630
obviously it was dark. We didn't have any permits,

00:34:17.690 --> 00:34:19.090
by the way. We didn't have any permits. We turned

00:34:19.090 --> 00:34:21.510
the car around and faked a car accident. Yes.

00:34:21.829 --> 00:34:23.329
So thank you for saying that because what I was

00:34:23.329 --> 00:34:25.329
going to say was not only do we not have any

00:34:25.329 --> 00:34:29.090
permits, it's a Sunday night in the middle of

00:34:29.090 --> 00:34:32.590
this Irish neighborhood. It's a car crash scene

00:34:32.590 --> 00:34:34.789
where I have to get very emotional over this

00:34:34.789 --> 00:34:37.730
woman who's possibly dead. And we have these

00:34:37.730 --> 00:34:40.030
drunk Irish guys hooting and hollering from across

00:34:40.030 --> 00:34:42.610
the street. But what happened at one point, I'm

00:34:42.610 --> 00:34:46.579
in the middle, you yell action. And one of the

00:34:46.579 --> 00:34:49.440
drunk Irish dudes, there was a pile of garbage,

00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:52.940
like, against a building, in the scene. And he

00:34:52.940 --> 00:34:55.940
just popped out of the garbage and went... And

00:34:55.940 --> 00:34:58.679
then he started coming up to me, and I didn't

00:34:58.679 --> 00:35:01.039
know if he was gonna fight me. And I just thought

00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:03.519
that was the weirdest but raddest fucking thing

00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:06.420
that's ever happened to me in any sort of creative

00:35:06.420 --> 00:35:09.579
production. But people don't understand that,

00:35:09.579 --> 00:35:11.280
you know, you see what you see on film, but you

00:35:11.280 --> 00:35:14.260
don't know all the magic that happens or... In

00:35:14.260 --> 00:35:16.699
this case, the insanity that happens obviously.

00:35:17.159 --> 00:35:19.760
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just, I love, ah, man. That

00:35:19.760 --> 00:35:21.880
whole thing was fun. Yeah, I remember Jasmine

00:35:21.880 --> 00:35:24.880
has a whole other night. Remember she was, yeah,

00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:27.440
she came, she wasn't even in the scene. She came

00:35:27.440 --> 00:35:29.480
to be around to hang out. And then she ended

00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:32.619
up going to the bar with the guys. And she made

00:35:32.619 --> 00:35:34.320
lifelong friends. Like she went out drinking

00:35:34.320 --> 00:35:36.559
the whole night. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She had a

00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:39.059
whole other life for that night. I'd love to

00:35:39.059 --> 00:35:41.119
hear that. That point of view. A couple more

00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:44.550
questions, I'll get you out of here. So as you

00:35:44.550 --> 00:35:49.230
know, as we all know at this point, man, the

00:35:49.230 --> 00:35:51.650
industry, the music industry, the TV and film

00:35:51.650 --> 00:35:54.150
industry has changed rapidly and it's changing

00:35:54.150 --> 00:35:57.429
more and more day by day. What are your thoughts

00:35:57.429 --> 00:36:01.349
on what do you think has changed the most from

00:36:01.349 --> 00:36:03.769
your point of view as a filmmaker? And like,

00:36:03.809 --> 00:36:06.409
what do you see in the future of film? Any predictions

00:36:06.409 --> 00:36:09.309
or projections of, you know, what's the best

00:36:09.309 --> 00:36:11.539
way to go about shooting film now? I mean, I

00:36:11.539 --> 00:36:14.320
guess that's a three -part question. Yeah, well,

00:36:14.320 --> 00:36:17.000
shooting is the good part. Because you can do

00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:18.920
it anywhere. You have the technology. You know,

00:36:18.980 --> 00:36:20.760
people can shoot on their phones. I say get a

00:36:20.760 --> 00:36:23.039
DSLR where you could use prime lenses. You know,

00:36:23.039 --> 00:36:25.420
I shot this whole movie for a $200 camera and

00:36:25.420 --> 00:36:28.840
like $50 used lenses, prime lenses. So that's

00:36:28.840 --> 00:36:32.679
the good part. The bad part is, you know, streaming

00:36:32.679 --> 00:36:37.989
obviously has hit everything really hard. Eh,

00:36:38.369 --> 00:36:39.730
you know, I mean, I guess people can watch stuff

00:36:39.730 --> 00:36:41.449
at home. But as a filmmaker, and I was just talking

00:36:41.449 --> 00:36:43.949
about the other day, like seeing seeing the thin

00:36:43.949 --> 00:36:45.869
line in a theater full of strangers that we did

00:36:45.869 --> 00:36:48.610
at the Kotra film series is like, Oh, I actually

00:36:48.610 --> 00:36:50.989
do know what I'm like, I know what I write for.

00:36:51.070 --> 00:36:53.070
You know what I mean? Yeah, no, my, my that's

00:36:53.070 --> 00:36:57.070
the thing. That's the mode. You know, so Getting

00:36:57.070 --> 00:36:59.570
that communal experience, I don't know as an

00:36:59.570 --> 00:37:01.429
independent filmmaker how to do that now, other

00:37:01.429 --> 00:37:03.030
than film festivals or create your own shit.

00:37:04.210 --> 00:37:06.929
I'm in the New York area and I'm in the live

00:37:06.929 --> 00:37:09.929
event space. So I could, in theory, on my next

00:37:09.929 --> 00:37:12.590
movie, work and promote and try to get people

00:37:12.590 --> 00:37:14.550
into some theaters on my own. Like literally

00:37:14.550 --> 00:37:17.190
stage on my own? Yeah, I'm gonna have to, you

00:37:17.190 --> 00:37:20.480
know? Because I don't know any other way to do

00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:22.719
it, you know Like there's there's it just seems

00:37:22.719 --> 00:37:24.840
like a it's not the same as used to be even just

00:37:24.840 --> 00:37:27.139
for this film The original idea though was to

00:37:27.139 --> 00:37:29.699
go on Amazon Prime Okay, it was supposed to be

00:37:29.699 --> 00:37:32.579
good. They would do it like a 60 40 split and

00:37:32.579 --> 00:37:36.659
like a month or two ago I got an email from them

00:37:36.659 --> 00:37:38.300
saying your account's been active good been working

00:37:38.300 --> 00:37:40.019
on the movie still editing the sound and doing

00:37:40.019 --> 00:37:43.480
what I can and like so we're not we're cancelling

00:37:43.480 --> 00:37:47.469
your your You're canceling your account, and

00:37:47.469 --> 00:37:48.949
we're not accepting any new submissions from

00:37:48.949 --> 00:37:51.449
anybody we haven't already taken submissions

00:37:51.449 --> 00:37:53.250
from. Like, oh, okay, thanks for nothing. But

00:37:53.250 --> 00:37:55.530
I appealed. They ended up sending me a link to

00:37:55.530 --> 00:37:57.070
a bunch of aggregators, which is what I could

00:37:57.070 --> 00:38:00.110
do before anyway. So as you go, you shoot your

00:38:00.110 --> 00:38:02.659
movie. You go to film festivals, you try, but

00:38:02.659 --> 00:38:04.619
that's expensive, you know, it can get pricey.

00:38:04.739 --> 00:38:06.920
Try to get some laurels and then you can go to

00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:08.880
film aggregators to try to get on platforms.

00:38:08.960 --> 00:38:11.280
But I would try to find some way to screen it

00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:13.460
at least to get that feeling for yourself as

00:38:13.460 --> 00:38:15.500
a filmmaker. Try to get a little bit of money

00:38:15.500 --> 00:38:17.260
back if you can, but I don't know that that's

00:38:17.260 --> 00:38:19.960
going to happen. Like unless somebody finances

00:38:19.960 --> 00:38:23.079
your shit. So, you know, it might be the kind

00:38:23.079 --> 00:38:25.780
of thing now as a future, the filmmaker, you

00:38:25.780 --> 00:38:29.179
can, you'll get paid. Like, you'll work out your

00:38:29.179 --> 00:38:31.400
rate for the days that you actually work on set,

00:38:31.579 --> 00:38:32.920
or, you know, the things you do, and then that's

00:38:32.920 --> 00:38:35.199
it. You know, there's no backend. I can't see

00:38:35.199 --> 00:38:37.800
it happening. I don't know. I don't see it. Yeah.

00:38:38.219 --> 00:38:42.360
I got to say, though, you know, it's almost a

00:38:42.360 --> 00:38:45.840
blessing in a way that you hadn't graduated yet

00:38:45.840 --> 00:38:48.500
to that level of working with studios and having

00:38:48.500 --> 00:38:54.360
a full crew, because now, even major films, everybody's

00:38:54.360 --> 00:38:56.760
doing things on their own, and you've... always

00:38:56.760 --> 00:38:58.599
done things on your own. So you're kind of a

00:38:58.599 --> 00:39:00.539
step ahead because you're like, this is how it's

00:39:00.539 --> 00:39:02.800
always been for me anyway, where I had to do

00:39:02.800 --> 00:39:05.280
everything. So that's the that's why I feel a

00:39:05.280 --> 00:39:06.980
little bit better, like knowing AI is coming

00:39:06.980 --> 00:39:08.239
and people can do their own shit. But you're

00:39:08.239 --> 00:39:09.840
right. But I could still do everything on my

00:39:09.840 --> 00:39:12.059
own. I don't worry about, you know, I mean, that's

00:39:12.059 --> 00:39:16.099
the good part. Yeah. So one thing I wanted to

00:39:16.099 --> 00:39:19.079
ask before we go is that so when you had sent

00:39:19.079 --> 00:39:21.159
me the link for the movie First Draft, your feature

00:39:21.159 --> 00:39:23.059
film, which please check that out as well as

00:39:23.059 --> 00:39:26.010
his movie, The Thin Line that I'm in. A little

00:39:26.010 --> 00:39:30.530
plug there. When I was watching, one thing I

00:39:30.530 --> 00:39:33.230
learned too over the last few years was there's

00:39:33.230 --> 00:39:35.269
a difference between watching a movie and screening

00:39:35.269 --> 00:39:37.949
a movie, right? And what I learned is that like

00:39:37.949 --> 00:39:39.829
a lot of times people in the industry, they screen

00:39:39.829 --> 00:39:41.409
a movie, which means they pay more attention

00:39:41.409 --> 00:39:44.969
to like the kind of shots, the lighting. So because

00:39:44.969 --> 00:39:48.579
I knew, because I'm... this is part of my life,

00:39:48.800 --> 00:39:51.380
is this industry. I was screening a little because

00:39:51.380 --> 00:39:53.440
I was dorking out, looking at all. I wanted to

00:39:53.440 --> 00:39:54.940
talk to you about the lighting and things of

00:39:54.940 --> 00:39:58.000
that nature, but I also wanted to enjoy it. For

00:39:58.000 --> 00:39:59.880
someone like you who's a filmmaker and has done

00:39:59.880 --> 00:40:02.679
it his whole life, how do you balance that when

00:40:02.679 --> 00:40:04.699
you watch movies? Is it impossible for you to

00:40:04.699 --> 00:40:06.539
not screen a film when you watch it, or can you

00:40:06.539 --> 00:40:10.260
sit back as just a viewer? My own film or other

00:40:10.260 --> 00:40:12.260
people's? Other people's films, or yours, both.

00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:15.000
Oh, it depends on other people's films. I mean,

00:40:15.139 --> 00:40:17.429
I charted... Just Spencer to disbelief I check

00:40:17.429 --> 00:40:19.630
out but if it's something that I can't help but

00:40:19.630 --> 00:40:21.550
notice like I can't help but notice it Yeah,

00:40:21.670 --> 00:40:23.690
especially like when I see trends like now the

00:40:23.690 --> 00:40:25.650
blues and yellows which I even been doing here

00:40:25.650 --> 00:40:28.489
but the blues and yellows and the Ambers and

00:40:28.489 --> 00:40:31.090
like certain color tones Take me out of movies

00:40:31.090 --> 00:40:32.789
now because it's like somebody got a memo or

00:40:32.789 --> 00:40:34.489
they learned a YouTube tutorial and everybody's

00:40:34.489 --> 00:40:36.969
doing it You know, yeah, so things like that

00:40:36.969 --> 00:40:38.329
to kind of get on my nerves a little bit But

00:40:38.329 --> 00:40:40.670
mostly I try to go in especially if I'm in a

00:40:40.670 --> 00:40:43.070
theater. I want it Enjoy it. I want to be taken

00:40:43.070 --> 00:40:44.610
would take me where you want to go You know I

00:40:44.610 --> 00:40:46.550
want to I want to have a good time Sometimes

00:40:46.550 --> 00:40:48.730
I feel walk out feeling like crap because wow

00:40:48.730 --> 00:40:51.610
I can't I'm nowhere near that good You know what

00:40:51.610 --> 00:40:53.690
I mean like I think I'm not there yet, or I don't

00:40:53.690 --> 00:40:56.090
have that budget or you know I mean like and

00:40:56.090 --> 00:40:59.090
sometimes. I'm like what the fuck why am I not?

00:41:01.250 --> 00:41:05.010
Real quick two or three rapid -fire questions

00:41:05.010 --> 00:41:08.610
your Your favorite director of all time your

00:41:08.610 --> 00:41:11.989
your biggest inspiration. Do you have one? Or

00:41:11.989 --> 00:41:16.369
two or three Yeah, I mean I mean I have to say

00:41:16.369 --> 00:41:18.869
the Coen's but link letter because he was like

00:41:18.869 --> 00:41:21.489
a direct response I mean a direct influence on

00:41:21.489 --> 00:41:24.869
this movie and Charitino every time before I

00:41:24.869 --> 00:41:28.309
direct I watch two movies either night for the

00:41:28.309 --> 00:41:30.909
two nights before Pulp fiction and good will

00:41:30.909 --> 00:41:32.750
hunting. How about hell? Yeah, good will hunting.

00:41:32.849 --> 00:41:36.190
The last half is like Oh perfection. It is it

00:41:36.190 --> 00:41:39.570
really is is there a perfect movie? In your eyes,

00:41:39.710 --> 00:41:41.489
was there ever a perfect movie you watched where

00:41:41.489 --> 00:41:42.869
you're like, that was as close to perfection

00:41:42.869 --> 00:41:45.449
as possible? I mean, I love, I mean, Pulp Fiction

00:41:45.449 --> 00:41:49.309
to me is great. I don't know, Shawshank? Yes!

00:41:49.530 --> 00:41:52.349
I was just gonna say that! Shawshank really is,

00:41:53.269 --> 00:41:55.690
man. Defy perfect, cause that mill is crossing

00:41:55.690 --> 00:41:57.090
for me. I could watch, you know what I mean?

00:41:57.289 --> 00:41:59.309
Like, it's something that nobody, not everybody

00:41:59.309 --> 00:42:02.150
likes, but I'm like, ooh, yeah. Alright, and

00:42:02.150 --> 00:42:03.969
this one's kind of, this is a tough one to ask

00:42:03.969 --> 00:42:06.650
because I guess it depends on... the style of

00:42:06.650 --> 00:42:08.329
movie and what you're going for, but just for

00:42:08.329 --> 00:42:13.010
the sake of fucking doing this, dream one or

00:42:13.010 --> 00:42:15.170
two actors or actresses that you would, like

00:42:15.170 --> 00:42:16.750
if someone was like, you can pick whoever you

00:42:16.750 --> 00:42:19.650
want, no problems, whoever you want to be in

00:42:19.650 --> 00:42:22.269
your film. Is there an actor or actress or a

00:42:22.269 --> 00:42:25.949
couple that you, who would it be? On my next

00:42:25.949 --> 00:42:28.570
movie, you mean, or? Sure, like on your next

00:42:28.570 --> 00:42:31.210
movie. If you could just pick of the litter.

00:42:31.559 --> 00:42:33.380
Are you fishing? You want me to say you? I'll

00:42:33.380 --> 00:42:36.219
say you. Oh, God, no, don't say me. I would be

00:42:36.219 --> 00:42:38.619
honored, but don't say me. You know, I honestly

00:42:38.619 --> 00:42:41.159
don't dream that big at the moment because I

00:42:41.159 --> 00:42:43.639
don't want to get disappointed. The last one

00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:46.900
I did was the next film I was going to be doing,

00:42:46.960 --> 00:42:51.059
which I wrote. I still haven't approached a girl.

00:42:51.139 --> 00:42:53.500
She's literally like an internet pop star person.

00:42:53.679 --> 00:42:55.920
But because the idea originally was, and it's

00:42:55.920 --> 00:42:58.679
not probably going to happen this way now, because

00:42:58.679 --> 00:43:01.550
of the Amazon Prime split, there was a... She

00:43:01.550 --> 00:43:03.429
had like three million followers on TikTok. I

00:43:03.429 --> 00:43:05.429
can get funding for a movie and whatever and

00:43:05.429 --> 00:43:08.230
she's gorgeous and she could sing and she's got

00:43:08.230 --> 00:43:11.349
a thing. And that was the last time I had somebody

00:43:11.349 --> 00:43:12.889
in my head, but it was because they were reachable.

00:43:13.130 --> 00:43:15.250
I knew somebody who knew somebody that I could

00:43:15.250 --> 00:43:18.289
talk to her. So I can't even imagine like in

00:43:18.289 --> 00:43:20.690
terms of, you know, what I want to work with

00:43:20.690 --> 00:43:23.510
Brad Pitt, probably because Tyler Durden fucking

00:43:23.510 --> 00:43:25.769
rules, you know, what I want to work, you know,

00:43:26.110 --> 00:43:28.469
with. I don't know, anybody. There's just too

00:43:28.469 --> 00:43:30.670
many. I would just go out to whoever, you know.

00:43:30.989 --> 00:43:32.730
I know, it's kind of a hack question, but I just,

00:43:32.869 --> 00:43:34.849
I'm curious. I wanted to know. Listen, I would

00:43:34.849 --> 00:43:36.670
love to work with you again at some point for

00:43:36.670 --> 00:43:38.449
real, though, but... Dude, you know I'm in. You

00:43:38.449 --> 00:43:40.349
know I'm in. Let's do it. When I have a budget.

00:43:42.070 --> 00:43:45.429
Absolute last thing. Talk about, so you're involved

00:43:45.429 --> 00:43:47.269
in lighting. I see a lot of times on social media

00:43:47.269 --> 00:43:48.889
you're posting, it seems like you work at like

00:43:48.889 --> 00:43:51.590
a nightclub or some sort of venue where you're

00:43:51.590 --> 00:43:53.530
light designing for shows. How did you get involved

00:43:53.530 --> 00:43:56.559
in that and what is it that you do? Well, I do

00:43:56.559 --> 00:44:00.159
lighting well, I got into it just by happenstance

00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:02.199
I knew somebody was a bar back at the Gramercy

00:44:02.199 --> 00:44:05.599
theater and I got they got me an into an interview

00:44:05.599 --> 00:44:08.199
and because I was a filmmaker when I did get

00:44:08.199 --> 00:44:10.500
some stagehand work and then as I was there I

00:44:10.500 --> 00:44:12.619
was I gravitated toward lighting guys because

00:44:12.619 --> 00:44:15.019
I knew lights I knew how to point lights at things

00:44:15.019 --> 00:44:17.300
and that was like my you know, my area of expertise

00:44:17.300 --> 00:44:20.619
and then it became like I would you know You're

00:44:20.619 --> 00:44:23.150
basically there you're operating For different

00:44:23.150 --> 00:44:25.750
shows that everything in Gramercy theater. You're

00:44:25.750 --> 00:44:29.630
like one day is Dave Chappelle the next day is

00:44:29.630 --> 00:44:32.750
Any comedy people or a metal band, you know?

00:44:32.849 --> 00:44:35.489
Cypress Hill, you know, you're there sometimes

00:44:35.489 --> 00:44:37.469
they have guest LDs come in and you help them

00:44:37.469 --> 00:44:40.750
patch in and Like they're bringing their their

00:44:40.750 --> 00:44:43.150
set or you're the guy doing it. So you got to

00:44:43.150 --> 00:44:47.690
sit there and do a show and then When I found

00:44:47.690 --> 00:44:49.670
out was like the real money's in corporate work

00:44:49.670 --> 00:44:53.599
where you're It's like fundraisers or ballroom

00:44:53.599 --> 00:44:55.539
crap and you just set up some lights and some

00:44:55.539 --> 00:44:57.820
up lights and make it look pretty And that's

00:44:57.820 --> 00:44:59.480
where the real money's at. So that's what you

00:44:59.480 --> 00:45:01.940
got to do But the fun good stuff is still in

00:45:01.940 --> 00:45:04.840
these clubs now I'm doing the hip spot is Brooklyn

00:45:04.840 --> 00:45:07.460
where it's like Artists that I don't even know

00:45:07.460 --> 00:45:08.780
that all when I tell young people they're like,

00:45:09.119 --> 00:45:10.539
oh, I'm like really I don't know they have like

00:45:10.539 --> 00:45:13.380
a guitar a laptop and they're killing it But

00:45:13.380 --> 00:45:15.460
I some of that music like that techno music.

00:45:15.460 --> 00:45:18.320
That's not my cup of tea But I fucking love lighting

00:45:18.320 --> 00:45:20.239
it now. It's like it's like an art of its own.

00:45:20.340 --> 00:45:22.760
It's like, you know I'm sitting there like doing

00:45:22.760 --> 00:45:24.519
my thing. That's what that's what's great because

00:45:24.519 --> 00:45:27.079
you know your passion is filmmaking But when

00:45:27.079 --> 00:45:29.980
you can find a job that is still in the same

00:45:29.980 --> 00:45:32.280
industry that pays the bills, that's it right

00:45:32.280 --> 00:45:33.679
there. Because it gives you the time to still

00:45:33.679 --> 00:45:35.920
do what you, you know, your craft outside of

00:45:35.920 --> 00:45:37.860
that. And you're still kind of doing stuff that

00:45:37.860 --> 00:45:40.059
is involved in the entertainment world. You're

00:45:40.059 --> 00:45:41.500
in production. You know what I mean? You have

00:45:41.500 --> 00:45:44.039
some production work. Absolutely. And it keeps

00:45:44.039 --> 00:45:46.780
you in that road shit. Is Brooklyn still like

00:45:46.780 --> 00:45:50.500
the hip spot, like Williamsburg? Yeah, although

00:45:50.500 --> 00:45:54.929
we just had, I mean... No politics, but let's

00:45:54.929 --> 00:45:58.090
say when tariffs happened, our business got hit

00:45:58.090 --> 00:46:01.849
hard. And maybe in the last couple months, a

00:46:01.849 --> 00:46:03.949
cluster, I just saw an article, a cluster of

00:46:03.949 --> 00:46:06.329
clubs over there shut down. Not the ones I work

00:46:06.329 --> 00:46:10.630
at. But I think it's a Bebs and Flows kind of

00:46:10.630 --> 00:46:13.750
business always. I'm starting to see live venues.

00:46:14.690 --> 00:46:17.789
There's a concert up here at a venue in Canandaigua,

00:46:17.909 --> 00:46:21.480
it's called CMAC. And I was trying to get credentials

00:46:21.480 --> 00:46:24.099
for us to go there and shoot. And when I looked

00:46:24.099 --> 00:46:27.059
at who the promoter was, it was the Bowery. So

00:46:27.059 --> 00:46:29.320
I'm like, holy shit, it clicked. I'm like, so

00:46:29.320 --> 00:46:31.079
these venues, not just in New York City, I'm

00:46:31.079 --> 00:46:34.199
sure everywhere, venues are actually... Branching

00:46:34.199 --> 00:46:36.599
out and not only hosting shows, but they're like

00:46:36.599 --> 00:46:39.119
promoting shows that aren't even within 150 miles

00:46:39.119 --> 00:46:41.719
of them just to make money So I mean, yeah, they

00:46:41.719 --> 00:46:43.940
they promote out to other even this the mop and

00:46:43.940 --> 00:46:45.579
I'm calling the moment mom and pop venues They're

00:46:45.579 --> 00:46:48.519
not the Bowery. They're not live nation or even

00:46:48.519 --> 00:46:50.460
that they started doing that. Yeah, that's where

00:46:50.460 --> 00:46:52.940
you know, you got to get out there So yeah, so

00:46:52.940 --> 00:46:55.920
listen give me give me the plugs as we head out

00:46:55.920 --> 00:46:59.599
here Where can we find the thin line first draft

00:46:59.599 --> 00:47:02.079
back on clock productions? Give it to me. Well

00:47:02.170 --> 00:47:05.730
Firstly a first draft is and really all of it

00:47:05.730 --> 00:47:08.690
right now. It's just Edward charrette comm edward

00:47:08.690 --> 00:47:11.670
Edi to have that up on the sea H a r r e t t

00:47:11.670 --> 00:47:13.989
e comm and it's really right now a private link

00:47:13.989 --> 00:47:15.690
like I'm doing it's really kind of the honest

00:47:15.690 --> 00:47:17.889
system I hope nobody steals my identity or screws

00:47:17.889 --> 00:47:21.070
me over, but you know I have like a you know

00:47:21.070 --> 00:47:24.969
my phone number my email up there whatever your

00:47:24.969 --> 00:47:27.199
five bucks to rent it Which is really just a

00:47:27.199 --> 00:47:29.579
YouTube link 10 bucks to rent it and download

00:47:29.579 --> 00:47:32.019
it Which is to download Google link and the rental

00:47:32.019 --> 00:47:34.300
and then 20 bucks gets you that plus good karma

00:47:34.300 --> 00:47:37.519
Um, and really that's it and but it's to keep

00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:40.360
it private because I am still submitting to festivals

00:47:40.360 --> 00:47:42.320
like yeah So i'm basically trying i'm doing like

00:47:42.320 --> 00:47:44.719
a fundraiser to I mean it's a I mean people get

00:47:44.719 --> 00:47:46.239
to see the movie and that's cool getting some

00:47:46.239 --> 00:47:49.420
feedback and then I can help you know, it's like

00:47:49.420 --> 00:47:52.019
You know 90 bucks a shot to submit each time

00:47:52.019 --> 00:47:53.579
and there's thousands of film festivals around

00:47:53.579 --> 00:47:56.960
so it's helpful, but well Ed, I love you, man.

00:47:57.159 --> 00:48:00.239
You're my cousin. I forget how. Are you my second

00:48:00.239 --> 00:48:02.519
cousin? You're my mom. To be honest, I don't

00:48:02.519 --> 00:48:05.320
know. That's a date. All I know is my mom was

00:48:05.320 --> 00:48:06.699
like, you should work with Mike. She kept saying,

00:48:06.760 --> 00:48:08.480
you should work with Mike Brindisi. He's like

00:48:08.480 --> 00:48:10.800
a singer and an actor. My mom was like that back

00:48:10.800 --> 00:48:11.940
in the day. She's like, you should work with

00:48:11.940 --> 00:48:14.659
your cousin, Ed. I was like, OK. You know, I

00:48:14.659 --> 00:48:19.079
think it was your mom was my grandmother's sister.

00:48:20.199 --> 00:48:24.489
Right? Your grandmother is Anne? Anne. And sister.

00:48:24.829 --> 00:48:26.650
Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. So we're

00:48:26.650 --> 00:48:28.969
like, whatever cousins. Once removed, twice removed.

00:48:29.250 --> 00:48:30.869
Yeah, how does it work? I don't know. You're

00:48:30.869 --> 00:48:32.829
my nephew cousin, my cousin nephew? Sure. Yeah,

00:48:33.690 --> 00:48:36.590
I'm your nuzzin, your kethu. I don't fucking

00:48:36.590 --> 00:48:40.710
know. Your kethu. No, but it's an honor to be

00:48:40.710 --> 00:48:42.929
related to you, man. I love you. I love what

00:48:42.929 --> 00:48:46.090
you do. Edward Charette, filmmaker, author, lighting

00:48:46.090 --> 00:48:49.289
designer, and my cousin. Check out The Thin Line.

00:48:49.429 --> 00:48:53.190
Check out First Draft. And I will... I'll talk

00:48:53.190 --> 00:48:54.789
to you off the air to make sure what we can put

00:48:54.789 --> 00:48:56.530
on the screen, but we'll put the correct links

00:48:56.530 --> 00:48:59.110
there to go check him out. Back on Clock Productions,

00:48:59.349 --> 00:49:02.050
Ed Chourette, Edward Chourette. Ed, thanks so

00:49:02.050 --> 00:49:04.230
much for your time, buddy. I love you. Thanks.

00:49:04.469 --> 00:49:06.110
Thanks for having me. Peace out. Love you, too.

00:49:06.150 --> 00:49:08.309
Yeah, man. Peace, guys. All right. Mike Brindisi

00:49:08.309 --> 00:49:11.050
from Good News York, sponsored by ads on the

00:49:11.050 --> 00:49:14.610
go. Get ads on the go dot com. We will be back

00:49:14.610 --> 00:49:18.679
tomorrow. We have a very special guest. Coming

00:49:18.679 --> 00:49:21.699
in the studio and I will leave it at that. It

00:49:21.699 --> 00:49:25.340
is somebody that Matt wanted and She is phenomenal.

00:49:25.500 --> 00:49:29.860
So we will be having her on tomorrow and Enjoy

00:49:29.860 --> 00:49:32.139
the rest of your day. Thanks for watching Good

00:49:32.139 --> 00:49:32.699
News York