What's New?
The Edge of Town
This short has been in the making since 2013. I wrote the first draft back in college, and it was the first thing I’d written that I was proud of. My teacher told me, “You know; you could film this". This surprised me since I wrote it without thinking that would be possible. Times have changed though.
I wanted to write something similar to the shows I was watching at the time (Supernatural, Breaking Bad) while also capturing a feeling I was struggling with; irrelevance. I felt like I was becoming a background character in other people’s lives without a strong enough purpose. I’ve since gotten over that.
The story is of James Morris, a young veteran that was forced to leave the army because of a TBI. Bruce Thompson, an older veteran, takes him under his wing and convinces him to go on vigilante drug busts. The short is about the bust where things go wrong.
I didn’t write it with current events in mind, but as the years have gone on, the story seemed more and more relevant. As I retooled the script late 2019, I added more of that context. I wanted it to reflect the people and places that are being hurt by unemployment, wealth inequality, and isolation. How the vulnerable can be taken advantage of by those with bad intentions.
We filmed in March of 2020. The weekend before COVID-19 shutdown the world. We had a joke on day one of filming that this was “the last movie of all time”. By the day three it didn’t seem like a joke. We thankfully managed to get everything filmed in time.
Post production has been on going. I took a break from the project for a few months. I felt wrong to not focus on current events. I started up again in August and managed to finish a cut of the short I liked. Sound, music, and color are next.
-Matt
For the Benefit of Mr. Winston
It has been too long since I have updated…but the big news is For the Benefit of Mr. Winston has been made! Not as a feature, but a short as of now. Our goal is to get the interest of investors to make the feature. I was the executive producer, co-director, writer (duh), and star (I also did a lot of editing and music). I tend to live by the saying, if you want something done right do it yourself.
The short has done pretty well so far. It was selected to screen at the Big Apple Film Festival, made it to the semi finals of the LA Film Awards, and was a finalist at the New York Cinematography Awards. I also won honorable mention for best acting at the LA Film Awards, and they picked our cover of “Rockin’ Robin” as best song.
It hasn’t been without setbacks though. So far none of the major festivals has accepted the film. That has been understandable, knowing how hard it is to get in, but frustrating none the less. There’s still a lot of festivals to come though. Expect more news soon!
-Matt
Drafts...
The first draft of my feature script, For the Benefit of Mr. Winston, is finally complete. I'm currently in talks with several producers about getting it filmed, and I'm excited (and a bit scared) to see where everything goes.
I'm not ready to share much about the plot yet. All I'll say is it's about a songwriter and his mentor.
-Matt
On the Set
Assistant directing the short film The Impulse of Being.
Cleaning Up
Very proud of the cast and crew of Dacher Meiner Stadt, my good friend Maya Jasmin (the writer, director, and star of the film) in particular. It's been included in all kinds of film festivals getting nominated for numerous awards. It recently won best film at The Lee Strasberg Film Festival.
This was another project I worked on as the assistant director (I also make a small cameo if you're watching closely).
-Matt