I'm primarily an actor in LA, but recently went behind the camera to make my first short film "Kodar: The Primordial God of Light and Ether", starring Maddie Ziegler. Ask me anything!
Hi Will, really liked the short film. How long does something like this take to create? I assume it starts with writing a script and then all the way to when it's ready for release.
Yeah so since the script was only ten pages it was written over the course of a day or so. But then revisions for a few weeks after that. Then pre-production, raising money, casting, hiring ur crew, that all takes at least a couple months. Then the shoot was only two days. And then about 6 month in post production editing, and then a few months trying to figure out how to release it! So all in, about a year and change.
Hello Will, thank you for the AMA!
As a first question, what do you think are the biggest misconceptions people have about the movie industry?
I think a lot of people would be shocked by the amount of "name" actors who still audition for roles. I'm not yet a "name" but have some friends who might be considered one, and they still have to grind and audition for pretty much any decent script/project that's put in front of them. Unless you really break into that top one percent of celebrity status, you're always fighting for the next job. Which is also why a lot of actors have started to make their own content, kind of flipping the power dynamics and giving yourself more control in your career as opposed to waiting for the phone to ring.
Thank you!
The film industry is sometimes considered to have a lot of nepotism, is it correct or not based on your experience?
I’d say it’s the same amount of nepotism as pretty much any other industry. If you know someone or are related to someone important, you’re afforded more access and opportunity earlier in your career. But even still, if you have that advantage, you still gotta show up and do good work!
Who do you think are currently the most influential people in the movies industry?
Filmmakers: Spielberg, Scorsese, Gerwig, Nolan, Cameron, Cohen, Fincher (I also think the Duplass Brothers are always influencing the indie scene, they just produced the first entirely independent full television series that they managed to sell to Netflix for distribution)
Actors: It's always changing but my friends and I have a theory that the only actor in the world who isn't jealous of other actor's careers or worried about someone else getting the offer is Leo
Thank you, interesting list! If you had to name "rising stars" (so people who still have to become mainstream), who would that be?
For actors I think some of you may already know him but I did a movie with Lewis Pullman and I think he could (or might already be) the next big leading man. For filmmakers, Cooper Raiff (who's already had a lot of success) in my opinion could be winning Oscars one day.
Acting wise shooting a pilot in Canada, have a couple films coming out in the fall. Writing/directing wise I’ve optioned a script called “Coffin Club” about a group of elderly people who build coffins in preparation for their death as a means of coming to terms with mortality (it sounds depressing but I swear it’s a dramedy). Trying to get financing for that, and also writing my own feature that still needs some time!
To be honest, I remember watching Toby Maguire's Spiderman when I was like 10 years old and then leaving the theater to go play a little league game and I felt like I was on top of the world and was literally a super hero myself lol. And Toby's Spiderman was such an average Joe of a dude that I felt like being in a movie like that felt more accessible. Since then I've had many more "cinefile" type movies that have inspired me (The Duplass Brothers, Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Nolan), but it was probably that Spiderman that set the wheels in motion.
