Fifteen years ago, a colleague recommended I apply for a position as personal assistant to a high-powered movie executive. These types of positions are typically filled through word-of-mouth and individual referrals—this is a small, highly intense and demanding business, that necessitates trust and professional discretion. While at first I was excited, as I was an […]
NO ALTERNATIVE: Project Semicolon
September 19, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The issue of mental illness must be destigmatized. This is what compelled me to make “No Alternative” into a movie. My sister, Briana, was a victim of mental illness, and she fought against her illness with aplomb. She fought against it through her art—both painting and music. This battle in which she waged is something I […]
Life and Death… and Life
July 1, 2017 by 1 Comment
This annual essay begins with this word and these numbers: Briana.07.01.2017. This is the designation I used to label the file of this document. Each time I attribute another year to my sister’s name, I wish it could somehow bump the one etched on her gravestone. That way I might have a few more days left with […]
NO ALTERNATIVE: “…And That’s A Wrap!”
December 12, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The last time I updated my blog, we had yet to begin production on “No Alternative.” Perhaps it’s a testament to the all-consuming nature of production that you have not heard from me since! I am therefore extremely pleased to write that we’ve finished principal photography and the film is in the proverbial “can.” I want to reiterate […]
An Inside Look Into the Making of “No Alternative”
August 16, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I’m thrilled to announce that Film Slate Magazine will be publishing a series of real time updates on the pre-production, production and post-production of my film, “No Alternative.” “No Alternative” is a personal film that, these days, is near impossible to get made in Hollywood. I’ve written a great deal about how the decline of […]
The Interview: A to Z with Angelica Zollo
July 9, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I am thrilled to be interviewing artist, filmmaker and supporter of “No Alternative,” Angelica Zollo this week. Angelica recently graduated from NYU’s Gallatin School and will be directing her first feature film, the fascinating “Trauma is a Time Machine,” this fall in New York. I have no doubt she is going to be a filmmaker to watch! WD: […]
Triptych: The Three Doors
July 1, 2016 by 1 Comment
July 1st, 2016 marks two years since my sister, Briana, died. It’s surreal to write those words. I promised myself that I would post a piece of writing either about, or inspired by, my sister annually on this date. It is this commitment I honor forthwith. The grieving process is something that does not end. […]
NO ALTERNATIVE: To Be Continued…
May 18, 2016 by Leave a Comment
It has been an incredibly rewarding, and equally exhausting, few months. I launched my first crowdfunding effort for “No Alternative” on Indiegogo, which succeeded in raising over $50,000 for the project. While it missed the mark of my goal, this is a big chunk of the budget that will, no doubt, help the film get […]
All Writing Should Be Eulogies
May 8, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I’m the go-to guy in my family for eulogies. Someone dies, I’m you’re man. In one respect, this may seem flattering, if not comforting; in every other respect, it’s quite the opposite. I remember being in the hospital, sitting next to my sister while she was on life support. She had stopped breathing and was […]
The Beginning of a Movement: THE FIFTH WALL
February 10, 2016 by 2 Comments
“The Fifth Wall” is a response to the modality of contemporary Hollywood. The origins of its manifesto are attributed to my time at the AFI and its message developed along with some of my fellow filmmaking classmates: While we were at the AFI a few of us conceived of a movement we called “The Fifth Wall.” Whether through the use […]
