We are not as open about mental illnesses as we are about broken legs. If we were, can you imagine how much more understanding there would be? People often forget that the brain is a part of the physical body; suffering from a mental illness—whether temporary or chronic—should be as normal to the outside observer, or family member, or employer, as the common cold. The severity differs, but the stigma—or lack thereof—should not. In order to empathize with the mentally ill, we need to have a better understanding of what they’re suffering from, and that understanding requires a proactive effort on everyone else’s part.
Mental Illness In Movies: An Exploration into the Dark Side Hollywood Doesn’t Show You
March 21, 2019 by Leave a Comment
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Suicide: The End, and the Beginning
April 4, 2016 by 2 Comments
I think a lot of people who say they don’t think about suicide, think about suicide. I’m not saying they think about committing suicide, but the idea, the notion, the concept, is pervasive in our culture, and frankly, our DNA. It’s there, bubbling underneath the surface. As I write in the opening lines of my […]
Top Ten 90’s Misfires
April 2, 2016 by Leave a Comment
10. LASERDISCS While an earnest attempt to satiate cinephiles’ appetite for a higher quality home viewing experience of their favorite movies, the laserdisc was a clunky, impractical product. They weighed into the pounds, were very noisy to operate (due to the weight and speed it had to be spun) and not all the analog information […]
Music Is A Drug
March 24, 2016 by Leave a Comment
No, really, it is. Music can significantly increase the levels of serotonin in a listener’s brain, which, as a result, positively impacts mood, sexual desires and the physical manifestation of those desires, overall cognitive function, regulation of body temperature, sleep and memory. Plug in your headphones and prescribe yourself a song. The ability of music […]
“No Alternative” – The Crowdfunding Campaign
March 10, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I launched my first crowdfunding campaign this week. Crowdfunding is its own art form—an art form I’m no expert at, I’m sure—but indie film is at a point where grassroots funding is becoming more and more critical to sustaining its viability. It’s almost impossible to get Hollywood to fund something that’s not a thriller, or a […]
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 […]
