3 Days
*Let me preface this by saying…I’m in a sentimental mood. A race I’ve been running since 2017 is coming to a close…
As I sit here, the film I’ve been working on since 2017 comes out in 3 days. When I say comes out…I mean 700+ theaters for a one night only showing. I’d be lying if I told you I haven’t been stalking some theaters to see if they are selling some tickets! I’ve been fortunate to have a team of folks, Led by Lori at Biscuit Media and Kim at Cinedigm, working their butts off to get the word out there. I’ve done countless interviews, podcasts, articles and whatever else there is. I’m so appreciative of the time these people have taken to allow me to share my story and a piece of my journey with this film.
I’ve got to be clear…when I wrote this in 2017 I wasn’t planning on this. I was just hoping Netflix would pick it up! When I got word that Tobin Bell was officially going to join us I still didn’t expect this. And I sure didn’t expect it as we were filming in a much hotter October than I thought it would be. I remember looking at Tobin as we are doing a scene and gnats are crawling around on his eyeballs(and mine) as we carry out the scene. But in the movies…no-one swats at bugs so you deal with it!
I didn’t even think about this day as years passed in Los Angeles with barely an audition coming here and there. I felt like a caged animal. Wasting his good fighting years. Wondering how much of a fool people thought I was for choosing the path that I did(of course never letting anyone see that I was sweating!). Renting out my second bedroom on Airbnb to help pay the bills. Finally wanting to control more of my own story so I started writing more. Starting making some short films. Trial by fire. Do it. Make mistakes. Learn. Do it again…hopefully a little better. And again. And again. Learning editing by doing it. Thanks youtube tutorials and books for free from the local library! Learning color from people generous with their time(thanks Mike!). Acting as my own DP and Camera Operator by borrowing some equipment(thanks Tina!). And the goal wasn’t to be an editor or a colorist or DP. I just wanted to know the language of that skill so I could talk to people who were the pros. So I knew what those tools were capable of. Because one day there would be a moment that it would be necessary.
Turns out that moment to apply the lessons was 2018. Yet we finally get to see it in 2021. And in theaters no less! Am I geeking out? 100%. I have no idea what to expect. I’ve been living with this movie for years. And now finally I will set it free into the world. It won’t belong to me anymore. It will belong to whoever sees it. How an individual relates to it or what meaning they get from it…is theirs. I began my journey as an actor in my early 20s because I didn’t want to do the normal job route. I wanted to be a part of the stories that impacted me. And I hope that this story will do just that…impact someone.
