Hollywood is Dead
Hollywood is Dead
4 // Handling Performance Anxiety, Casting, Collaborations, and Creating Your Own Hollywood
Ever experienced anxiety before a big performance? Join me on this journey as I share my own tales of handling nerves ahead of a play, explore my reflections on the movie 'It Follows', and unravel the self-created narratives of failure that may be holding us back.
What if you could collaborate with your admired directors? I share my aspirations of working with industry stalwarts like SpectreVision, Tyler Cornack, Ryan Kruger, and Jim Cummings. We'll also pull back the curtain on the intriguing process of casting, the overwhelming influx of submissions, and the thrill of selecting the perfect actor for each role. A discussion on my vision for future storytelling and roles I want to be part of leaves no stone unturned.
Lastly, ponder with me on the importance of mentorship and self-initiative. Hear about the guiding influence of my mother, my business partner Michael Ryan, and SpectreVision’s Daniel Noah, and why I urge all aspiring actors and filmmakers to create their own projects. Let's explore the future of the film industry together, understand the courage required to make something truly inspiring, and how you can create your own Hollywood in your backyard with the right tools and know-how. Buckle up for an inspiring journey into the world of cinema!
What's going on, man? This week so far has been very interesting. This is Tyler with the Hollywood is Dead podcast, and welcome Hi. I just wanted to jump back in here real quick. This is kind of a this is an unscripted podcast. Today we are going to just talk about talk about life and fun things. I wasn't going to record today and I just wanted to just kind of waiting for that moment where I'm just like let's go, like I need to record, let's go. It's been a week, and so I'm yeah, I'm just, I'm just kind of flying by the seat of my pants today. I am going to finish the little interview questions that I had chat GPT asked me earlier and that was so much fun last week to do that. It was actually a really great time.
Speaker 1:I was surprised by some of the questions, and I don't necessarily I don't have, I don't feel one way or the other about talking about myself. I mean, this is inherently weird and uncomfortable anyways, to just be sitting in room by myself talking, imagining what you all are thinking, and so, yeah, it's all good, it's all good. I have to find that list, though. It's in my phone somewhere in here. But yeah, how are you guys doing, so I've, personally, I've felt just a little bit overwhelmed. I feel like there's a lot of stuff that I got to do. You know, we're we're coming into the home stretch on a play that I'm in and my part so small and I'm having so much fun with it. The only the only thing that, like, stresses me out at all about it is the dancing and the singing. And, yeah, I mean I tend to be my own worst critic and I tend to, I tend to invent scenarios in my head where and I do this, not just an acting I do this, this is like a thing of that I do to myself and I'm really trying to curtail that and and by by reminding myself that I'm doing that, I'm creating these issues that don't currently exist. And you know, yeah, so I'm really trying to not trying to not stress myself out. So I guess I feel really good, so I'm not, I'm not like it's not existential or anything.
Speaker 1:I think we all do that, you know where. We all kind of get overwhelmed by the thought of doing something because of this fake scenario failure that we invent for ourselves, and then we convince ourselves to wait and to not do what it is that we need to do, which, if we did the thing that we were supposed to do, it would make all that stress go away. So I was having a lot of stress and anxiety today because I was like I need to record a podcast, but I don't know, I don't feel like I have something that I could talk about rather than coming out here pressing record and creating the podcast. That's. That's the thing that will directly kill all the stress about creating podcasts, because if you're doing it, you're not stressed about not doing it. It's totally different. Now, what am I going to talk about for 45 minutes? That's the real question, right? But listen, we can come up with stuff. It's not. It's not hard, yeah, so little little life updates. Let's see here.
Speaker 1:I'm in a play. I'm in a Christmas play that opens the day after Thanksgiving, and now we're in the middle of the first week of November, which is cool, and so we got a couple more weeks before we go up and I'm very excited this will also be so. We've been rehearsing in this theater and if you're in Northern California, you know which one I'm talking about, but it's the Cascade Theater. It's a 1930s art deco theater that was renovated back in 2003, I believe 2000, 2003, somewhere around there and it's gorgeous, it is. It's by far the the the most visually appealing theater in my town, in my region, and I've been to a lot of shows there, but it's huge. I'm used to playing 99 seats, 150 seats I think the most we had for Rocky was like just under 160, something like that and this theater is like 900. So I'm like, oh my God, how am I going to react to that? I haven't played to 900 people in since, like college or something. Maybe even not. Maybe it might be the biggest audience I'll ever play. I don't know. So you know, these are things where my brain starts to then be like don't mess up, you better know all your lines, which is true for any show, whether it's one person or a thousand. But why? Why would I psych myself out like that? You know, because I know once I hear the laughter, it's going to be euphoric. Once I hear the audience on my side, it's going to be so much fun, because my role is is pretty funny. So I'm really excited about that, really excited about that. Yeah, it's, it's going to be pretty rad, it's going to be pretty cool and I'm just very excited for that.
Speaker 1:Let's see, I watched it follows twice this week, once because we had a movie night last Thursday and so I had a couple of friends and we watched it follows, and then my wife was out of town, so then she wasn't sure if she'd ever seen it. But then we ended up watching it again and, granted, the second time around I was pretty much buried in my phone but yeah, it was still really rad. What a great film. And I know they're coming out with the sequel they follow. And because it follows, I didn't remember this when I first watched it, when it first came out, like 10 years ago. But the ending of it just leaves it wide open. You're like, oh, this world is, oh, it's not.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's definitely going to be more of these and I don't know why it took 10 years to do it. I have no clue. If you know, let me know, because I'd like to know why it took so long, because it doesn't seem like it's that complicated of a story. You know, I'm sorry I yawned and I'm hopefully I didn't make you yawn, but for whatever reason, I'd really need to stretch there and so I don't know why it took so long for that. But anyways, I'm stoked that they are, that they are going to do it.
Speaker 1:Let me see here, dounday, my chat GPT costumes. Okay, yeah, because we're going to get back into this here. Gosh, I have so many. I have so many chat, gpt chats or whatever you call them, and I said this in the first go around of this. But it's such a rad tool for this sort of thing like brainstorming. You know, if you're ever stuck like what am I, especially for podcasts, you know, what am I going to, what am I going to talk about? I mean, it literally can just give you anything to talk about. And I've done this a lot and yeah, it's just really cool. And I mean they're very surface level questions, but at least it gives you somewhere to jump off, you know, to jump into something. So let's go ahead and jump back into the questions here. I don't remember where I left off. Tell you the truth, maybe it's number 12. Okay, let's just start with number 12. And I don't know, like, if I answer this in the first one, then whatever.
Speaker 1:So, okay, part two of Q&A with Tyler begins like this how do you handle the challenges and uncertainties that come with both acting and film production? With trepidation. Film production and acting both come with their fair share of like anxiety inducing scenarios. But one thing I did, especially during Rocky. So for Rocky I play Eddie and Dr Scott. So Eddie comes on right at the end of Act One and has a number singing number which for me it's still just a little bit of an uncomfortable place in my skillset the singing and so that's a little bit nerve wracking. But the thing that really kind of adds another element to it is I ride on a real Harley Davidson, like Superglide, like a 1200cc, gigantic bike, and personally I wouldn't have it any other way because it is so fun to start that thing up right at the end of Charles Atlas song. It's just the greatest thing. And so, and then to hear the audience. Sometimes I can hear the audience, most of the time I can't because the motorcycle is too loud. But and then the music starts and then I jump into my number and I'm usually so wrapped up in that moment that I don't hear the audience.
Speaker 1:But my first few shows like opening night, my first year that I did Rocky, was really I was very nervous, just like you know, just know your first words coming out off the bike because you're going to be so focused on just making sure that the bike doesn't, you know, shut off, and I just didn't want to, you know, release the clutch too much and then it dies or whatever. That'd be so embarrassing. And you know I'm sitting in the back behind a curtain before and you know I'm just like, okay, make sure the clutch is in, make sure the, the, the key is on, make sure that the, the run stop button is on, run, make sure I know where my thumb is for ignition and all these little things. And I'm like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. So I'd sit back there, I'd plant both of my feet on the ground and just I would say to myself you're here right now, you are here in this spot right now. This is it, there's nothing else going on, nothing else has happened. And don't invent scenarios that don't exist. And so I would just have to kind of talk myself down a little bit. You know, and the same thing goes for film production. You know I had conversations with people on set that you know to them the world is crashing down and to me I'm like, well, none of that's happening, that's not currently happening. You're, you have to be really careful to not invent a scenario in your head and get spun out about that because it hasn't happened and it most likely won't happen. So just be careful. And so I. The way that I handle challenges is I just constantly remind myself to be in the moment, to not get get ahead of myself. And whatever has happened in the past has happened, and whatever is happening right now and this exact moment is brand new, it's fresh. So keep cool.
Speaker 1:Next question are there specific directors or producers you admire and hope to collaborate with in the future? There are only a handful of people that I could identify today. Let's see. I mean I would love to have a project like present, a project to spectravision, because I really like their willingness to kind of go there with films and to support films that the otherwise maybe would lack. The, the industry support, you know, like greasy strangler, cooties, you know they kind of add. I mean it helps that Elijah Wood was in cooties in the cast itself is really amazing. So you know that's a pretty big one. But like greasy strangler there's, you know that's a weird movie and to have any sort of support is pretty cool.
Speaker 1:But even beyond that, you know, I've had some correspondence with Daniel Noah, and he's someone that seems like a very genuine human being and you know, so it's like if I ever had something of real cool value that I could present to them. That I think would would elevate their company. You know, I I would love that, you know, and I, you know, beyond that, I mean like big, well, even, I mean there's the smaller guys that I it's kind of the usual crew that I've kind of followed at this moment, but like Tyler Kornak, ryan Krueger, like they're doing really cool shit that I just think are cool films and I would love to to collaborate as an actor with them. You know, I just think it'd be so cool to have something like that on my resume. I find I find their work inspiring. You know, it's very approachable. It kind of makes me feel like it's possible.
Speaker 1:Jim Cummings from Thunder Road fame, I mean, that's really someone that I I want to pick their brain because I think they've they've cracked the code on they've, they've been able to surpass their own perceived limitations. So, like you know, I can't make a movie without millions of dollars, or I can't make money on a movie without a lead actor. And after producing my first feature with with Michael and I was under that impression that like, wow, we really do need names. And so we got names for this upcoming feature film. And then, you know, I see somebody like Jim go out and make something that that doesn't have any big names, and to hear the stories of him talking about how he was able to self distribute, that sort of thing is very compelling to me as an actor, because I ultimately I want to act and if I have to make my own stuff then I'm going to do that, and at the same time I would love for that to, you know, make a few bucks. So to know that it's happening, that it's possible, that's that's really important to me. So I like those proofs of concept.
Speaker 1:We made Dresden Sun in my small town up here in Northern California, and I just I really wanted it to be a proof of concept for filmmakers in my area that it is possible to make movies here, you do not have to go somewhere else, and the fact that you can make a movie anywhere in USA and self-distribute and make money on it, I think is really quite interesting. So I don't know if it's a unicorn thing or what, but you know it's. Obviously it's a lot of work and that's most often the limiting factor. So how much work are you willing to put in? And now that you know I have more knowledge about productions and stuff, doing an ultra low is quite scary to me, not because it can't be done, but it's it's the industry is. So I don't know, I don't feel necessarily, I don't feel right about utilizing someone's skills and not compensating them fairly.
Speaker 1:So figuring out profit share or something like that on a movie even though that's like the oldest trick in the book, you know, come work on my film, I'll give you, I'm gonna give you a percentage of the gross receipts, and it's like you know still be waiting 20 years down the road for that first check because the expenses are so high. So you know, the net expenses or the net income gets gobbled up. So it's like, how do you make small movies? Ethically? That's something that's that's interesting. But I would love to be in a Jim Cummings film. So that's another producer director that I would love to collaborate with.
Speaker 1:Yeah, to be honest, collaborating with other directors is really scary to me, because I've worked with Michael now for 15 years and I've told him many, many, many times. I'm like I wouldn't do this with anybody else, because I I know that he does not stop, I know that he will not accept less than suitable final products, especially now, and I just trust him. So finding someone that I trust that much as a director, I don't know, I don't know, it seems, seems not, not likely, I don't know. But as an actor, yeah, I would. I would work with pretty much any, any director, especially ones I've talked about on this podcast.
Speaker 1:All right, next question what skills do you think are crucial for success in the film industry, both as an actor and producer? Love how it's I put it in here as an actor and producer to ask me questions and so everything is both makes my answers double, doubly long, mm-hmm. So skills that are crucial for success in this industry success, what does that mean? To me, I think success is having a vision and executing that vision under great odds and scrutiny and doubt. Those are the skills that are necessary. Yep, how do you approach the process of casting for your film projects?
Speaker 1:Huh, so on, on our first project, we casted, we put out notices on casting networks, backstage, central casting stuff like that, and we had man, thousands of submissions and that, or hundreds, I should say. And then Dresden, the Sun, we did the same thing and you know, we put down, put out breakdowns, and we had thousands of submissions and so some very recognizable people and you know mostly just journeymen, you know human beings that that just applied to the submission. So the way that we whittle that down is usually by what's available on on someone's profile, you know, if they have an interesting look. It really helps to be able to have some kind of video to look at because it really can help us. You know, whittle down whether someone's appropriate or not, and that definitely helped.
Speaker 1:I think there was only a handful of people that we thought were visually interesting, that didn't have multiple headshots and video, that we still wanted to audition, and so we yeah, I mean we went through it, man, we had a lot to go through for those smaller roles. You know, we got really, really, man, we got so lucky with a few people, just such interesting people, and I'm gonna try to have a lot of these folks on this podcast as we get closer to the film being released, because I would love to know more about their story. You know, it's just it's so hard, it's so hard to get into something that is so artistic and driven by people that really truly care about cinema. So, you know, I just want to, I wanna talk to them about their journeys. You know, as far as, like our named actors, you know, going through reading the script, you kind of visualize certain people in particular roles and then other people you look at like, oh, I didn't really necessarily think of them in this role. And so, you know, we at first we were like kind of being, really, you know, a little bit on the nose with the casting, you know, and then we figured in my head and this is my philosophy is I would personally like to cast someone that hasn't been in that particular role before, like you know, someone who plays a good guy, typically like Linus.
Speaker 1:You know, the only bad role that I've seen him in is Mandy. You know where he's the bad guy and you know he was. He was pretty menacing but it wasn't in action film. You know, he was an angry, an AWM angry white male in Mandy, right, and it was so interesting to watch him in that role because he's been so charming, you know, for his whole career. And then to do Mandy and just knock it out of the park. It was so cool to see. And then we were like, wow, could you imagine him in an action role as a bad guy In this like kind of futuristic setting of a cyberpunk world? That would be killer. And so we were just like this is amazing. And Michael is like this is the guy, this is the guy for the role. And so the way that it works for bigger actors like that is you submit an offer and they either accept it or they don't. We got really lucky he accepted, and that goes for all the actors, you know.
Speaker 1:And the same philosophy went behind Steven Ogge, where he plays our good guy. You know it's like he's been Trevor on Grand Theft Auto V and he's been all these kind of menacing roles on Breaking Bad, westworld and Snowpiercer and you know kind of these menacing bad guys and he gets typecasted as that. But he's a deep human being and so Steven is an artist and if you put him in any role he's gonna kill it. And so to see him with this kind of dark undercurrent you know he plays a character called Krillinger and Krillinger is formally what Linus' character is currently, which is a mercenary, and so he was a bad guy for a long time and so he's got this undercurrent, this dark core that can come boiling to the surface, but Krillinger has done so much work on himself that he's able to keep it under control and he doesn't allow Hyde to come bursting out you can say Dr Jekyll and it creates this dynamic of you know, it would be so easy for Krillinger to kill Linus' character, but he has the self-control because he knows that if he does that, linus wins and it creates a real interesting dynamic on screen and it creates some really cool scenarios that Michael is the filmmaker to play with, and so it was just really quite amazing to witness, you know, and yeah, it was just so cool, you know.
Speaker 1:So we went the route of just trying to figure out a way to create something not only visually interesting but kind of psychologically interesting, where you're watching people that you're not normally thinking are in roles that they've not necessarily been prolific in. And I find that the most interesting is when you cast against type. So that's how we approached it. We approached it by casting out of type. So I hope that you all appreciate that when you watch this movie, because you're gonna watch it right. Oh yeah, we got some time to go before it's out so you'll be able to clear out your calendars for the night.
Speaker 1:Okay, mm-hmm, what's your vision for the kinds of stories or roles you want to be a part of in the future? I just wanna be in cool, iconic stuff. I don't care if it's a comedy or a science fiction, psychological thriller. I just wanna be in something that where I get to work with cool people and I'd be really proud to show my friends like you gotta watch this, like this is wild, and that's just kind of what I'm really attracted to. So, but I also want to. I also want to. I also want to make movies that anybody could make. You know, like I don't know how to phrase that Like I also wanna make movies that are the future of indie films, kind of like the other filmmakers that I've been talking about here, because Hollywood is not what it was even 10 years ago. So we have to figure out something, or else the new voices are not gonna come. They're not gonna come. You know, the savior is not going to save you. There's no hero in this story, so we have to be our own hero. We have to make movies somehow, some way, and we can't take advantage of each other, and we also can't assume that someone's taking advantage of us. So we have to figure out a way to do it equitably and creatively and synergistically. So, yeah, we just have to. I wanna be a part of those. I wanna be. I want to be a part of the. I want to be a part of the. I want to be a part of the. I wanna be, I want to be a part of the future of movies.
Speaker 1:Can you describe a mentor or influential figure who has guided you in your journey as an actor and producer? Gosh, I've had a couple cool acting coaches that I really appreciated while I was there and my life definitely changed during those acting classes. You know, growing up in a small town that was I call it a Bible bubble. We don't live in the Midwest, that's not the Bible Belt. We live in a small red town in Northern California, which is California is historically very, you know, liberal and redding is a very conservative town, and so growing up here in this little Bible bubble and then moving to Los Angeles at the tender age of 21 was it was a bit of a culture shock. It was also awesome and uh, and my acting coaches really helped me break free of a lot of limitations that I had for myself. I tend to feel like I slipped back into some of those limitations, just like self-governed, you know negativity and stuff. But I feel like Bernard Hiller was one of the acting coaches and Tom Todorov was the other and they both had, you know, they both had impacts on me for sure and I got to meet really cool people that I've. You know this is how I met Michael Was through that acting class with Tom Todorov, so through our good mutual friend Jay Hindle, who's in a bunch of Hallmark movies coming out so super stoked about that.
Speaker 1:And On the producing side, I've had some really great Conversations with, with Daniel Noah. You know I don't know if he wants me to call him a mentor, but I certainly value his Opinion and I value his, his input on stuff you know and you know. So it is really, it is really nice to have that. You know, michael is also a Really wonderful voice. You know we can both kind of Mentor each other through this, this crazy-ass industry, and so we've done that quite a bit. You know my, my mom is also someone who I would consider a Mentor of sorts for, you know, dealing with business and and Humans and being a sounding board for for me, you know, going through stuff, and her offering up perspective or just an ear for me to To talk into, and so she's she was very six, she is a very successful business person and she's dealt with a lot in her life and yeah, so you know, having that sort of Access is really, really, really Profound for me and I really appreciate that. And Gosh, I Think that's. I think that's kind of it, I think that's. I think that's kind of it.
Speaker 1:Let's see here Any advice for aspiring actors and film producers looking to break into the industry Don't wait for someone to open the door for you. Oh, so you're gonna be waiting for a long time, and that's projection, because I definitely waited a long time and I don't have any regrets about that. But I can see now that that there's a lot that I probably could be farther along At this point in my life and that's okay. I'm very cool with where I'm at. But I I have that fire in me and the thing that causes me a lot of stress is that I can't focus on one thing to be able to To make all these ideas come to fruition. And so, you know, link up with good people. If you, if you don't know how to do something, then find someone who can and Try to try to live a symbiotic relationship with that person. You know, that's what I do with Michael. That's how archetype pictures is right now. You know, we we met a long time ago and and we've been each other's Support pretty much from the day we met, you know, and so that's a really cool, cool thing.
Speaker 1:And so, yeah, just don't wait, make stuff, just constantly make stuff, constantly improve yourself. If You're an actor, never stop acting, because you know there is and this is the other thing too Breaking into the industry seems like like this thing, right, like, oh, I'm going to be the next Timothy, shall am a, and I couldn't think of anything worse. You know, it's like there's so many unique voices out there and there's so many stories to tell and we're all so focused on becoming rich and famous that it often it's God. I can't imagine something worse, I can't. To me, breaking into the industry is Whether you're in North Dakota or Maine or Arkansas or something. It's like Just make something.
Speaker 1:And now you've broken into the industry if you, you know, if you make something and you pay the money to put it on Amazon or iTunes, or you know Apple TV, or you know, if you pay for an aggregator to put it up on these different streaming services, gosh, you've broken into the industry. You don't need to wait for anybody to tell you Whether you've broken into the industry or not. So, because chances are, you're not gonna feel like you've broken into the industry Even even after that. But that's that's our perception is is incorrect, you know. I mean, if you want to go work for a studio, then go be a PA at At a studio. That's if that's what you want to break into the industry, then then do that. But if you want to be a filmmaker or an actor, then Go do that. You do not need to go to LA or New York, you don't. You can do it, yeah, at home, just just do it.
Speaker 1:Nike was on to something how do you keep up with the latest trends and developments in the world of film and acting, imdb, deadline Publications, like that? But I don't, I don't care, I don't, I don't care, I Don't care what Hollywood is doing, because it's not. I'm not Hollywood, you know. I want us to make the best movie that we can so that we get a nice chunky budget for our next one. But I Don't care about Hollywood, you know. I mean, I guess, the thing that I am most interested in, our personal experiences.
Speaker 1:So, like with Jim Cummings, I Listened to podcasts where he talks about his experience as a Sundance winning film director and actor and despite winning Sundance For the short film and then when the feature film won South by Southwest, the, the offers that he was getting were so pitiful that he then went and decided to self-distribute a film that he that he made and it went on to gross hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions of dollars, more now Than his budget. That is interesting. So podcasts, social media, I Watch a movie and I see a director that I really, or I see a movie that I really like, and then I look up on IMDB Pro who the director is and I find their social media and then I DM them For Conversations and so that is really how I stay up on trends. So I think when I originally read the question, it kind of Immediately, the first thing that popped in my head was like trends in Hollywood, yeah, I could care less. I don't. I encourage you to not care about Hollywood. It's a. It's a largely clicky Place and I, I, you know LA is a good place to go meet people and to do some networking stuff, but the vast majority of people that you meet are not going to impress you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so are there any books, films or resources that have had a significant impact on your career? I mean growing up. Watching films inspired me. Jim Carrey, chris Firely inspired me to be a goofy kid that enjoyed the reaction that he got from his parents when he would get them to laugh. That was pretty cool. Books and resources I can't think of anything offhand. It's mostly young Tyler watching movies and then just doing some of that and then getting into theater and stuff. My first acting coach was in Redding. Her name was Rebecca Olson. I don't know where she is now, I don't even know if you're still around, rebecca, but you had a tremendous impact on me as a young, you know, 16 year old, 16, 17 years old First getting into like organized theater and stuff. That had a tremendous impact on me. Yeah, the internet is going to have a massive impact on my career. Our ability to make really high quality films because of artificial intelligence and the assistance that that lends small filmmakers is going to be tremendous.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you're worried about your job being taken over by AI, figure out a way to be kind, courteous and hardworking and people will want to work with you. Because that's one thing I've noticed that is really lacking in this industry so full of egotistical, narcissistic, borderline personality people that it's really disheartening sometimes and it's like man. If we could just have a robot come in and do this job, gosh, it'd be so much easier. But we, I don't want that, nobody wants that, you know. So, yeah, hire human beings, put it that way. But if you want to be the human being hired, then just be a really good one, stand out, excel at being human, and you'll never work day in your life. Well, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:How do you, how do you balance the demands of your work in the entertainment industry by varying degrees of stress and and when the the analysis paralysis wells up inside me, it snaps like a rubber band, and then I have to run out to my office and press record and then make the podcast. That's how I. That's how I deal with some of the demands of this stuff. But, gosh, I really do need to work on balancing a lot of this Because I just I get overwhelmed very, very easily, it seems, and I don't like that, Because I have so much that I want to do and it feels like so little time to do it that it just kind of just kind of feels, yeah, a bit overwhelming. So, you know, I've begun to use Mila notes. You know it's like a note, a note taker, but also an organizer where it can help organize teams and it can help organize ideas. I've been using that a bit to kind of get my thoughts in order, you know, and but then I feel like I'm learning how to use this program and I'm not focusing on using the program for its intended purpose, which is to organize my life. So then I feel like I get further into the weeds on that stuff and I'm not making progress on, on the things I need to make progress on. You know, it's very frustrating, I don't like it. So I need to work on balancing the demands of my professional career, my work.
Speaker 1:Can you share a particularly challenging or unique project you've worked on and how you handled it? The Dresden Sun is probably the most unique and challenging project that I've ever worked on. You know we had a lot of really good people in roles that helped fulfill the film, and we had some that that were not right but which was challenging to deal with. And you know, yeah, I mean, when you're filming 27 different locations and you've got gosh, probably around 36 or 40 days that you filmed, total, and you have just this huge footprint, it adds a whole element that you, that you're not prepared for, if it's the biggest thing you've ever done. And so, you know, for Michael and I, when we were making our first film, interpreters, you know, our, our mantra was trucks and trailers, because we felt that if we had a sidewalk or like a street blocked off because we had to park our trucks and trailers there, then we've made it, you know. And then on Dresden Sun, we did, we had that, we had trucks and trailers, we had a bunch of trucks and a bunch of trailers and it created a whole slew of challenges that that were just frustrating. You know you're moving at a snail's pace and it's just frustrating and it's like, do I, do I really want trucks and trailers? You know, so oftentimes, yeah, I mean, I don't know, opportunity brings more challenges. So you know, as they say, mo money, mo problems. Yeah, it's true. It's true.
Speaker 1:What values or principles guide your choices as an actor and film producer? Um, valuables or principles? I have none of those. No, just joking as an actor. I think I'll take this as an actor, telling the truth and not judging the words is my. It kind of encapsulates, encapsulates the my values as an actor. If, if I'm judging the words, you know, if I have to play a child molester, I I cannot judge that. I have to tell the truth. Um, I cannot be like, oh well, I would never do this. You know, if you do that, don't play the role. You know, don't. If you're not comfortable telling the truth of a real human being, then don't play that role. You know, go go be something else. And so that's the most important thing for me is just being truthful and doing my best to to tell the story.
Speaker 1:How do you see the future of the film industry and your role in shaping it? Ah, we, we almost talked. I mean, we kind of touched on this earlier. The future of the film industry is not looking good if you are a studio, a big studio with AI and and these super affordable cameras and editing systems and fiver where you can hire designers and editors and all this stuff. You know, I think the film industry is going to implode on the. Their tentpole films that they've used to prop up their business models are failing.
Speaker 1:And it's kind of sad, you know, because young, young viewers are being only exposed to what they see in the movie theater and they're not, they're not seeing potentially life changing stories. You know the thing that that, you know, made Tom Hanks and Tom Cruz and Jack Nicholson, and you know, all these people that we see, like Michael Keaton, all these big actors that we see, were founded on stories of they. They told stories about humanity and you know, they, I mean, I don't know. I just I don't feel like it's headed in the right direction, because when you're not willing to take chances and you're you're only making films that an algorithm told you is most likely to succeed with a particular demographic that goes to the theaters, then you're not going to progress, you're not going to impress, you're not going to make anything that is inspiring, that inspires young people to become filmmakers. So then you're you're going to have to just utilize a computer to an AI program to make movies because there's no longer filmmakers. You know, it's like really silly.
Speaker 1:So unless the studios start investing in independent filmmakers. They're gonna, they're gonna fail and they deserve to, you know. You know they do not want for us to know how to make money on our little projects, and I can tell you how to make money on your small little projects. You do not need a huge actor. You do need a fantastic story, and that's the hardest part. You don't need a million dollars. You do need a work ethic that rivals Jeff Bezos or someone who's you know constantly working, and and if you don't have that, you need to pair up with someone who does, you know, because you don't have to do everything. Obviously, if you do have the ability to do everything, then you're gonna, you're, you can move at a pace that others can't, and that naturally puts you at an advantage.
Speaker 1:So the film industry is in trouble. You know it's in big trouble. From the studio standpoint, from an indie standpoint, I think it's in trouble because you're making a small movie, but where's the heart in it? Where's the vision? Where is the passion for the story? You know, where's the truth? What? How are you scaring me? How are you turning me on? How are you making me uncomfortable? How are you making me inspired to make something, to go out and shake someone's hand. You know that's what cinema does Like. It inspires us to be humans, it inspires us to think outside of our normal stuff.
Speaker 1:And if you're not willing to go there and take a chance I mean this is an interesting point If you're not willing to go out and tell a story that kind of scares you a little bit, why would a studio do it? You have to be willing to be that that you want to see. God damn it, it's so cliche, but you have to. You really do. You have to tell stories that are, you know, that are uncomfortable. And if Hollywood deems a story too uncomfortable and you get canceled or whatever, I mean that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Obviously there's some limits, but if your, if your name is Lars Von Trie, then there are no limits, so you can do whatever you want, you know. But I mean it's art, man, it's art. If you're not willing to. You know art is not going out and just making a very safe, structured film. Art is going out and making something that's a little bit dangerous, that's a little bit outside of your, your comfort zone, that that's a little bit outside of I don't know that we can pull this off. That's art, you know.
Speaker 1:I would love to have been able to interview Da Vinci, you know, or Michelangelo, these sculptors and painters. It's like when you're painting the the inside of of the Vatican, what's going through your? Did you know that you were, that you were going to succeed? Or did you ever feel doubt that you could do this? Or, you know, did you ever feel anything like that? And maybe, maybe he didn't, but I guarantee you, if he's a human being, there's always a little bit of doubt in something so grand, and there's probably a lot of frustration and anger, you know, in creating something transcendent, and that's something that we have to come to terms with. And, admittedly, this is projection. I'm I'm basically talking to myself, you know, but for reals, we have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. We have to do that which we do not want to do in order to, to, to see something through. And you know I have wonderful examples of that all around me. It's like again, michael, you know, you think he wants to be sitting in front of a computer for eight to 12 hours a day, you know, putting putting a movie together. I'm sure there's exciting moments, but I know for a fact that there's a ton of of frustration and anger and resentment, doubts and just existential dread, you know, and that that certainly takes a toll on a person. Okay, um, I think this is going to be the last one for this episode, guys. Uh, let's see. I want this to be a good one, where some strategies you use to maintain your well-being, creativity and demanding field Uh, uh, how important is networking and building relationships in the world of film and acting?
Speaker 1:Uh, pretty important. Do you have any projects on the horizon that you're especially excited about? Um, dresden's son, and we have another film right after that that we'd love to do. It's called Fear Division. Um, it's kind of a working title and set in the same world as Dresden's son. It's like a Blade Runner meets Mad Max. Yeah, it would be sick, sick. Um, can you share an anecdote from your career that left a lasting impression on you? What does anecdote mean? Just a story from my career that left a lasting impression on me? Uh, no, making movies is hard. It's just really hard.
Speaker 1:If there's one message you'd like to leave with your audience, what would it be? Make your movie, make your music, write your blog, record your podcast, make it. Don't wait for perfection. Don't wait for someone else to be like let's, let's do this, just do it yourself. If you don't know how to do something, then go out and find someone. If you've tried to do something and you can't, you just you hit these, these walls then go out and find someone to complete that task. But do not wait. You do not have time. Humanity needs you, but you have to. You have to make your stuff. You know if, if I'm the catalyst for that, then I'm telling you right now nobody is coming to help you. No one is coming to help you. You have to go out and create something and if you need help, you go and find the help Period. If you want to act, act.
Speaker 1:You have a phone that has a camera on it 10 times better than anything Stanley Kubrick ever had, and you have the tools for free to edit anything you record. You have better audio than most movies in cinema history have ever had and you have the ability to utilize artificial intelligence to help you brainstorm stories, learn how to tell stories, film you and your friends doing that, edit it yourself and put it out on social media, on Vimeo. Have another friend help record some behind the scenes stuff. Release that on YouTube. Build an audience. Get better at telling stories. Attract talent. Create more art with that talent. Release it to your audience. Ask them to donate money to you so that you can support your drive to make better stuff with better equipment. Keep learning how to tell good stories and Hollywood. Do not wait for Hollywood to come to you. Create your own Hollywood in your backyard and that is it. Have a good day.
