deep focus

In our ongoing column Deep Focus, TrunkSpace is going behind the camera to talk with the directors, writers and producers who infuse our world with that perennial pop culture goodness that we can’t get enough of.

This time out we’re chatting with Jenna Laurenzo, writer, director and star of the new comedy “Lez Bomb,” about the catch-22 of getting a movie made, why the film was so personal, and the reason declaring yourself a vegetarian at a family gathering can be so stressful.

TrunkSpace: You first started writing the film eight years ago. That’s a long journey to see your vision become a reality. Was there ever a point where you thought it wasn’t going to happen?
Laurenzo: Well, yeah. I had about six years trying to attach a star and a director. And you don’t have money and then it’s like, well what comes first –  the cast or the director or the money? Or the money bringing the cast and the director? It’s this catch-22 to fill this kind of puzzle, and I just figured I had to do both if it was ever going to happen. But see, that whole time everybody kept telling me how it was going to happen and sometimes it’s hard to not see those pieces of advice as if they are facts. I think only after a while do you realize that nobody has the answer. You have to figure it out. There’s no set path.

TrunkSpace: No two films are made the same exact way.
Laurenzo: Yeah. And you’re a novice or looking for advice every which way, and then you just have to learn which advice to take and which advice to let go. You just have to do it, there’s really no other way to figure it out except to figure it out.

TrunkSpace: In writing the script, you drew heavily on your own coming out experience. This being your first feature, and because your own story is woven into the narrative, do you feel exposed in that you’re putting yourself out there in multiple ways?
Laurenzo: Oh my gosh, absolutely! (Laughter) I had this moment where I was like, “What have I done?” I really just thought it was important for me to make this. It was so important – I had to do it. I felt like I needed the story and I felt there’s somebody out there that also needed it. That kept my passion very much alive throughout the process.

But then the moment, the day, we released the trailer… that day I texted my friend who has made a bunch of projects and has been in the public eye, and I was like, “What have I done? Is this how you feel?” It just dawned on me that all of a sudden that I don’t… I can’t articulate it. I felt very exposed and vulnerable.

TrunkSpace: It makes total sense. You wore so many hats in bringing the film to life. As far as judgment goes, the audience will be looking at all of these different elements of your creative self. Once the opening is over though, you’ll probably be able to enjoy it all more.
Laurenzo: Yeah. I was having this talk with my friend last week. And we were just talking about life lessons and putting everything in perspective. I was talking about how I was on this ship once and almost died. And she was like, “Look, nothing will be as bad as that.” I was like, “That’s a good way to think about it.”

TrunkSpace: Sometimes success is scary, especially for artists.
Laurenzo: Yeah. And I think that in general, my strength as a writer comes from the fact that I’m a very sensitive and vulnerable person. So yes, that’s my strength as a writer, but that’s also what makes me a sensitive soul in life. (Laughter) I think sometimes our greatest strengths are also our greatest weaknesses. It just sort of depends on which side of the pendulum we’re on.

TrunkSpace: Because so much of Lauren’s story is your own, was it important for you to portray her on camera?
Laurenzo: I ultimately was planning on finding an actress to play that role. It just never happened without the financing or a director attachment. And that’s how I ultimately made the decision to play that role. Now, in looking back, I’m glad that decision was made. I felt like it was invaluable. It was an invaluable lesson on a lot of different fronts, but I had thought very longingly about playing the role, or the girlfriend.

TrunkSpace: Knowing what you know now, would it have been odd to see somebody else take on Lauren?
Laurenzo: Yeah. I think in looking back I’m glad I ultimately played that role because the story journey and the arc of that character’s emotions is very much grounded in my personal journey. I am glad that I was able to bring that to the role.

It was definitely an interesting process, falling back into those emotions that I had gone through years earlier. I even felt my body taking on these habitual tensions that I had gotten over. And all of a sudden I was like, “Oh yeah, I remember when my shoulders used to be tense this way. Oh, isn’t that interesting?” I thought it was an interesting journey as an actor, and spiritually, as I felt like I learned a lot about myself as a person and storyteller.

TrunkSpace: Do you think part of that return to old habits like the tension was because you shot the film at your childhood home?
Laurenzo: I think there is something wonderful about the fact that we shot in the house because it was just so colored with nuance in a way that I think is sometimes challenging to fake, particularly since the actors were playing a lot of real people from my real life. And I wrote this script around the locations I had access to, which made the execution a lot easier.

TrunkSpace: Which is a smart way to do it because then you make your job easier when you get further into the process.
Laurenzo: Yeah. When grandma rounds the corner, I knew what corner I was talking about. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: As far as your director’s vision, did you achieve your creative goals with the film?
Laurenzo: I kept thinking about who the audience was that I was trying to communicate with and make the film for them. I had a mentor of mine who kept asking me how I wanted to push the LGBTQ narrative forward. The tradition of those films… how did I want to push them forward? And it was important for me that the film was funny, that this film had a happy ending and that the aspect of coming out that was being explored was felt in acceptance versus the external pressures. I felt oftentimes the assumption is the external pressures is what make that journey ultimately the most challenging, and it’s self-acceptance that is sometimes overlooked. But the self-acceptance is ultimately what’s relatable to those who have not had to come out.

I really wanted to tell this story in a way that people who have not necessarily had to go through this journey can relate to while also serving as a dysfunctional family comedy that would expand beyond the built-in audience that I had in mind. And that families could potentially enjoy it together and maybe it would spark a dialogue if there was one that was needed. If not, just a lot of laughter. And in looking back and looking at the dreams we had, and the conversations, and Q and A’s, I feel happy because I think that I executed that.

TrunkSpace: Well, placing the story at Thanksgiving was a perfect way to make it relatable because everyone can connect to coming home to a big family function and the stresses that go along with that.
Laurenzo: Absolutely. And there’s just something so relatable, in my opinion, about coming home with any news to the family because you always wonder how the family is going to receive the news. I remember thinking about that when I wanted to switch my major. Or when I wanted to talk about my major or – and I joke about this in the movies – when I came home and was like, “I’m a vegetarian.” That was this whole thing. So sexuality… just coming home with any news is always eventful!

“Lez Bomb” opens in select theaters and on digital HD tomorrow.

This week we’re taking an extended look at the inspirational indie “Randy’s Canvas,” a moving tale about a young man with autism who is on a journey of love and self-acceptance. Starring Adam Carbone, Kevin G. Schmidt, Scout Taylor-Compton, Massi Furlan, Michael Emery, Richard Riehle and Marycarmen Lopez, the film is available now on digital HD.

First up we’re chatting with director and producer Sean Michael Beyer to discuss on-set task management, fighting for his star, and why the Hollywood norm is conformity.

TrunkSpace: You wore many hats to bring “Randy’s Canvas” to life. How do you compartmentalize those various jobs and focus on set?
Sean Michael Beyer: A lot of medication, I think, was probably the best way to go about it.

When on set, for me, even though I’m a producer as well, I’m really hyper focused on directing at that point. During pre-production, development, and obviously in the writing and all that, then it’s a little bit different, but I really have to focus primarily on the directing part of it. I’m an actor’s director. I came from acting and theater, so that’s sort of my approach to the process. Performances are important, and obviously those have paid off given the accolades we’ve gotten, so that’s a good thing.

TrunkSpace: Does being an actor’s director give you a different point of view than other filmmakers during the casting stage of production because you’re so familiar with performance?
Sean Michael Beyer: I think so. I’ve always understood the Hollywood need for star power – that you need the recognizable actor to make your film. I don’t like that, but I know that it exists and I have to respect it, working in the industry. But I want to find the best actor for the role. That, to me, is what I find important.

I had a lot of resistance casting Adam (Carbone) as Randy because some didn’t feel that he was the right choice. I just knew that he would do this justice and he obviously did, but I did have a lot of resistance and was told, “You’re making a mistake.” I just knew he was going to bring what it took. He did such hard work and research… I was very, very proud of all the time and effort that he put into it and it paid off.

TrunkSpace: With all of the various distribution platforms available now, has the need for star power become less important to getting a movie made?
Sean Michael Beyer: To some degree. I think you have to sort of prove yourself before the people will listen. The caveat always is, are they going to put money into promoting the project? Is the distributor going to get behind it? And Vision Films has been very, very supportive of us. We’re a small movie and I’m very pleased with what they’ve done for this film, but you have to look at it from the standpoint of… Ang Lee was perfectly quoted once. “Either you need the 20 million dollar star or a complete unknown.”

TrunkSpace: And in finding the complete unknown, you’re then creating the 20 million dollar star.
Sean Michael Beyer: Right. Exactly. It’s always the catch 22. You need the big star, but then you need the big budget. We certainly didn’t make this movie for 20 million dollars. Not even close! But there is that issue. Look at “Napoleon Dynamite,” for example. That’s going back a few years, but Jon Heder was nobody. He got paid like a thousand dollars to do that film, but Fox Searchlight got behind that movie and it went gangbusters. It was a very unique film and that certainly helps, but if you can get the support behind your cast, then you can cast that unknown. The audiences want to support that. Hilary Swank is a great example. She had done television and then with “Boys Don’t Cry,” all of a sudden, she’s an Oscar winner.

TrunkSpace: How important is a film like this and independent films in general to future filmmakers? It just seems right now, more than ever, everything that we’re seeing in theaters is a remake, reimagining, or based on an existing brand?
Sean Michael Beyer: It’s frustrating, as a filmmaker. The Hollywood norm is conformity. I call it the MBA attitude of, “Well, if this formula works, then if we duplicate that formula, but we change a couple of words, then it should work too.” And it doesn’t always work. Sometimes it does, but I think the independent films that stand out, that get noticed, are finding audiences. Audiences don’t always want explosions and Transformers. Those are fun movies. I call them popcorn flicks like a lot of people do. They are fun, I enjoy them, but I also enjoy a good, well acted film. When you don’t have a lot of money to make a movie… and we didn’t have a lot of money to make “Randy’s Canvas”… we relied on good acting, good storytelling.

And shooting in Rhode Island was just amazing, despite the humidity.

TrunkSpace: Being both the director and the producer, is there ever any internal friction between the creative you and the business you and sort of trying to find a balance between what the director wants and what you know you can give him?
Sean Michael Beyer: There’s always that. There’s always the… I don’t want to deal with paperwork. I want to call action and cut. That’s what I want to do. I’ve always said to people that I’ve worked with, “Just give me my allowance and let me be creative and you’ll be happy.” If you start having me looking through contracts and stuff, it’s gonna get messy.

You always have to think about your budget. You have to think about your schedule. You have your location issues or lack thereof. “Okay, is this scene going to be able to be shot the way that I envision it, with our limited resources?” The business side of me does kick in when I do that. And even when I write a script, from a blank page on the screen, from the beginning, I think, “Okay, what budget is this movie going to be?” I have to write with that in mind. I don’t completely limit myself, but you have to be a responsible filmmaker. There’s a lot of directors that just throw caution to the wind and I wish I could do that, but I have to be realistic.

“Randy’s Canvas” is available now on digital HD.

In our ongoing column Deep Focus, TrunkSpace is going behind the camera to talk with the directors, writers and producers who infuse our world with that perennial pop culture goodness that we can’t get enough of.

This time out we’re chatting with Harley Wallen, producer, director and star of the family drama “Bennett’s Song,” which is available now on DVD and VOD.

TrunkSpace: You wore so many hats in bringing “Bennett’s Song” to life, which seems to be the way you’re used to working at this stage in your career. Does it feel odd when you’re on a set and not juggling that many balls at one time?
Wallen: You know what, in the beginning, when I got an acting gig, it was really hard to not want to help, especially when you see somebody make calls that you don’t agree with. But you just have to learn that we all have our own ways. So, I’m able to turn off and compartmentalize what I do pretty well at this point. Even in production, the key to be successful, for me, is generally I’ve been writing the stories – in this case my partner Nancy Oeswein wrote and so I didn’t have to write this one – but I do much of the producing, but the minute that we start being on set, I take off my producers hat and pretty much I hand it to Nancy and I focus on just acting and directing. I just focus on creative parts and when things take negotiating or any of that stuff, I step away from that unless I absolutely have to get pulled in. That way I can maintain creative during the production and put on my business hat in pre-production.

TrunkSpace: As you’re leading up to that point where you can split your business brain and creative brain, do the two sides ever butt heads in terms of what one wants and what the other one knows is possible?
Wallen: Yes, absolutely. I think right now we’re at a really interesting place. We’re really ready for a little bigger of a budget to take things a little bit further and to just demand a little bit more excellence, and that’s not the easiest step to take because you essentially have to earn your spot where you are fully first before somebody’s going to essentially grant you the next step. All of our films are privately financed so that makes it a little bit trickier as well because we have to go back to them and essentially hand them their money back and then start the next project. So, yeah, it’s tricky, but I really feel right now we’re sitting on this cusp of taking a fairly big step with some of our next films.

TrunkSpace: Strictly speaking from creative – from Director Harley – did you accomplish everything you set out to do with “Bennett’s Song?”
Wallen: No. Always, when I visualize, after I read the script, I have 100 percent of my vision and then that location didn’t quite measure up, or we have a performance that’s an eight instead of a nine, or a seven instead of a nine, or whatever it may be. So, you’re always chipping away at what it could be. Also, it was the first family film I’ve done so I felt that it was a little bit tricky because I didn’t want to make a traditional light, straight up goofy type of film. I wanted it to hold its own as a drama, I wanted it to hold its own as a romance, and also be a great family film. I think we succeeded to a degree with that, but I think we can do better and I really think the sequel is going to show that we definitely can do better.

TrunkSpace: You mentioned you’re always chipping away at what a film could be. As a filmmaker, is it hard to put that final stamp on a film and step away from it?
Wallen: Yes, I think a deadline is what keeps you sane as a filmmaker because you really could keep going and play around with it forever if nobody told you to stop. I always talk to my distributors and I like having firm deadlines that are realistic. That forces me to really not sit around and have that… what is it called… paralysis by analysis. I could see that happening. And it’s the same thing with having a good AD for me on set.

I remember reading about “Heat” and I know it’s not a family film, but they took, I believe, 17 takes… or 21 takes… of that diner scene between De Niro and Pacino and they ran dual cameras, which I know that he was not a fan of doing, but he did it for a specific purpose. They would really mirror each other. We don’t have that luxury all the time in these films and without a strong AD, I have a tendency to want another take and I have to learn to know what’s realistic and to keep a good schedule so as not to hurt yourself later. I would think through things if you let me.

TrunkSpace: At the same time, not having the big budgets to do something 21 times… it can lead to gems. It forces you to think outside of the box.
Wallen: Absolutely, and I think, even to take that a step further, the fact that I can’t hire all well-known cast members and have all these people with great expectations, you find amazing gems and people that step up and deliver a performance and give this character life that you just go, “Wow, I didn’t even see that. That was so much better than I even imagined because this took a life of its own.” So, yeah, I don’t dislike where I am at all. I think it has all its own charms just to be here, and I’m enjoying what we’re doing, but, like I said, I still feel we’re at the cusp where there’s a pretty big step in the works. I love what we did with “Bennett’s Song,” but I have a new cinematographer for the sequel, and some other things that I think will probably take us up a notch. This is going to be really exciting to see.

 

TrunkSpace: You sort of touched on this a minute ago, but the idea that it was kind of daunting to take on a family drama. We know you come from the thriller and action space, so what was it that made working in the family genre give you pause?
Wallen: I think the fact that I just haven’t considered this genre at all and when Nancy wrote it, I know she wrote it from the heart. Nancy has adopted kids and so it was just something that hits really close to home. We have a couple of filmmakers in town that do family film, and my first instinct was, “You should probably talk to them.” I had to calm myself down. When I read it, I read a really good romance, I read a really good drama, and then the comedy side of it as well, and I just didn’t want it to be anything less than that.

TrunkSpace: On the business side of what you do, with so much content and so many distribution platforms out in the world today, do you think that makes it easier for people to find a project like “Bennett’s Song” because they’re more open to films that aren’t hitting the big theaters or do you think it makes it more difficult because there’s more competition?
Wallen: I think it does a little bit of both. I think it comes down to, essentially if you get lucky or if you’re fortunate enough to find a good distributor. I remember when I made my first couple of films, I didn’t have any connections and I started reaching out to the distributors that I could find online and a lot of them get so much nonsense that they barely even go through it all because there’s so much garbage, in all honesty. Unless there’s somebody that can connect with a good distributor, half of the time you’re overlooked and bypassed and for me, finding Vision Films has been a really, really good opportunity. Our first batch of DVDs sold out in a flash. It was amazing. I ordered my own when it was in pre-sales and it was out of the warehouse and in back order before it was even out. I was like, “How does this even happen?”

TrunkSpace: That must be such a high to carry you into the sequel – to know that there’s an audience there?
Wallen: Absolutely, and you know, I gotta give Nancy a lot of credit. I wanted a more defined villain. I felt that we went villain-light with Tara (Reid) in the first one. Even though she did a good job, the character was only in six scenes or something like that, and even though she left her mark on it, I would like to see the villain have a little bit more balance and a little bit more power. She was almost not even introduced until the second act, so I feel that’s something that’s going to be a lot better next time.

Also, this is Dennis Haskins genre. This is where he’s golden and he’s going to have a much, much bigger character arc in this next one. I’m really excited to see that because I think that we’re going to see a little bit more of a balanced film the next time around. I love the script, so I hope that I can do this justice and put this on the screen, that’s for sure.

“Bennett’s Song” is available now on DVD and VOD. The sequel is currently in development.

In our ongoing column Deep Focus, TrunkSpace is going behind the camera to talk with the directors, writers and producers who infuse our world with that perennial pop culture goodness that we can’t get enough of.

This time out we’re chatting with Sanjay Rawal, Director and Producer of the captivating new documentary, “3100, Run and Become.”

TrunkSpace: Your film “3100: Run and Become” is about what motivates endurance runners. What motivated you to tell their story?
Rawal: I’d always had a sense of what motivated people like myself to do distance running. There are moments in certain runs where we feel a sense of euphoria and lucidity. Science tries to rationalize that as a chemical high. The endorphins might be a by-product of that, but the memories of those moments also make a lasting impression on our lives. At the same time, I understood that there were a few cultures for whom running was more than a lifestyle choice or a way of life. Running is seen as a tool for enlightenment; complete unity with Nature; or profound connection to one’s ancestral past. These are much deeper concepts than why most of us run. These traditional viewpoints to running are religious or deeply spiritual. I wanted to show modern runners what these spiritual running traditions looked like in practice. And hence, we managed to get access to Navajo spirit runners, to Kalahari Bushmen and to the monks who traverse the highlands of Japan. And we wrapped these ancestral traditions in the modern arc of runners trying to harness their deepest spiritual reserves to try to run 3,100 miles in the world’s longest running race – a race in New York City that was, in fact, started by an Indian Spiritual Master, Sri Chinmoy. This race, now in its 22^nd year, requires participants to average 60 miles a day within the 52 day window. It is mind-blowing, extreme and beautiful all at the same time.

TrunkSpace: This seems like the kind of film where so much of the story begins to tell itself through the subjects that you’re featuring. You almost won’t know what you have until you have it. What surprised you most throughout the process in terms of the narrative direction that the film took?
Rawal: Your perception is spot-on. We spent a year trying to develop access to the traditional aspect of the film – the Navajo, Bushmen and the Monks of Mt. Hiei, Japan. We had an intuitive feeling that the stories would all go together but we had no concept of how well they would until we were on location. And these were all expensive places to shoot. We basically went for broke. And we filmed most of these well before the 2016 edition of the 3100-miler started.

At the same time, the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race is a race – and the results were totally unpredictable ‘til the end. We couldn’t burden runners with microphones and dozens of cameras so we had to film very judiciously. We were constantly juggling narratives as the race was developing.

The most surprising aspect of the filmmaking process was seeing how well those traditional narrative arcs were syncing with the 3100. And we began to cherry pick aspects of the 3100 that summer that had overlaps with the footage we’d shot. It was a very dynamic and exciting process to say the least!

TrunkSpace: So much of the success of the film also seems to hinge on how engaging your subjects are to the audience. When did you know that Ashprihanal Aalto and Shamita were going to be able to carry the film in a way that would captivate viewers?
Rawal: That’s nice of you to say! We had wanted to make a documentary that felt like a narrative in its visual style and storytelling technique. We knew that with such disparate locations and stories that didn’t overlap, we had to make decisions as to our main characters very early on. I had known Ashprihanal and Shamita for almost 20 years and it was clear to me that we would be able to film scenes to the strengths of the two. And I knew enough of their motivations that we were able to focus on what I felt would be their greatest strengths and weakness during the race as we filmed them months before. In essence, we knew that their conflicts and personal motivations in life would only be heightened by the struggle during the race. We realized we could build arcs through their normal life and their race experience through my own knowledge of their unique personalities.

TrunkSpace: As a documentary filmmaker, is it a balancing act to present the narrative and facts as they unfold, but at the same time, find a way of presenting it all in an engaging way?
Rawal: You’re absolutely correct in highlighting this. In documentary filmmaking we are obviously dealing with real people. And filmmaking concentrates certain aspects of the personalities of our characters in a way that distorts their reality – and remains as a lasting public record. The whole approach is essentially exploitative. Since many of the subjects were friends of mine beforehand and the others became friends, we had to balance facts with the sensitivity of the ramifications that those facts would have on our characters. Our characters were very sharing with us. Perhaps their physical suffering of racing opened them up more than they normally would’ve been. We had to balance what they told us with what we felt they’d be comfortable with us sharing. It was a very delicate process – revealing enough of our characters to engage an audience, but respecting the sacrifice our subjects made in sharing their lives with us.

TrunkSpace: It feels like a film like this would have a lot of visual and technical obstacles to overcome. Is that something you faced and how did you approach those hurdles as they were presented to you?
Rawal: We wanted from the beginning to make a doc that looked like an indie narrative. Our DP, Sean Kirby, is a master at this. The biggest obstacle was the fact that running is incredibly boring to watch. Sean made it a point to ensure that each day he spent on the 3100 mile race course, he’d try to approach the shoots with a different look in mind. At the same time, filming in Japan, Botswana and the Navajo Nation presented unique challenges. Unlike the 3100 where subjects repeat their loops over and over, we had to capture live footage in real time with visual perfection. We wouldn’t get a second chance. In Japan, we rehearsed shots and angles multiple times so that when the monk was on location, we knew what we needed. On the Navajo Nation, we did the same. We rehearsed our drone shots and fixed shots with stand-ins before our main character did a 110 mile tribute run. In Botswana, our cameramen Omar Mullick and Forest Woodward just did what they could to keep up with our characters as we chased large game down by foot over the span of dozens of miles.

TrunkSpace: What was the biggest stumbling block you had to face throughout the process of making the film? Was there ever a moment where you thought that it may not see the light of day?
Rawal: Although I would have liked to believe that I storyboarded the film in its entirety, interweaving these narratives proved much more difficult than I could’ve imagined. Thankfully we had an incredible editor, Alex Meillier, who spent months dissecting the various narrative possibilities of the film and finding ways to make them naturally fit with one another. We studied films together, classic tandem narratives like Robert Altman’s “Nashville,” Haggis’ “Crash” and others. At the same time, with such a mélange of characters in such an unusual film, and without the celebrity that many other sports films have, we have had to work doubly hard to get the film out there. We didn’t make it into any of the classic festivals, all of which films from my team have exhibited in at one point or another. Even after making the film, and feeling very proud of what we had done, there was part of me that thought that we would never be able to get it out there because so many of the gatekeepers in the industry were unsupportive. At the same time, audience members have driven 4, 5, 6, or 10 hours to theaters to see the movie. Audience reactions have been off the charts and very heartening to myself, my producer Tanya Meiller and to Sean and Alex.

TrunkSpace: What are you most proud of with the film?
Rawal: That is very kind question of you to ask. I’m really proud of the reaction our subjects have given the film. While I’m not a Native American and the film isn’t a solely indigenous film, one of our main characters is from the Navajo nation. The reactions that we have gotten in Indian country have been spectacular. We filled theaters in some of the most unlikely locations – and over and over and over. Native Americans seem to see this film as emblematic of the importance they have given to running across millennia. And I’m really proud to feel that we have done their story justice.

TrunkSpace: What did filmmaker Sanjay learn throughout the process of bringing “3100: Run and Become” together, and beyond that, what did human Sanjay discover? What did you learn about yourself or life, which in itself is a bit like an endurance run that we’re all involved in?
Rawal: In this day and age it seems like the divisions between people, particularly in United States, are insurmountable. And I think on a mental or experiential level they are. The fascinating thing to me is that there are a handful of activities that do not depend on race, economic background, or religion. When I run, I’ve never asked anybody their political background. We all have the same tools – our feet, our heart, and our breath. At the same time there are other great uniting forces or activities like food and like music. There is power in these practices they have brought humans so much joy for so many hundreds of thousands of years. On some level, I think we need to find a way to make these types of activities a more regular part of our experiences with one another. Our Navajo character Shaun Martin says that running is a prayer, running is a teacher, and running is a celebration of life. It is one of the most unique activities on earth in the sense. In that aspect, your parallel between running and life is totally appropriate. We have to find ritual and meaning in the small things we do together, we have to realize that life is teaching all of us something unique, and we have to celebrate this journey that we are all on together.

TrunkSpace: Some people love to run. Others hate it. What would you say to the latter group to get them to sit down and watch the film? What will they find in it that goes beyond running itself?
Rawal: Shaun Martin, our Navajo character, taught me something very unique. And it bears repeating. Running is a prayer. When we run our feet pray to Mother Earth and we breath in Father Sky. Running is also a Teacher. It teaches us who we are. When we run we’re also celebrating our own lives and being alive. I think those three things are uniquely human reactions that are worth celebrating.

And, in a sense, our film itself is a celebration of life with Navajo, Bushmen, Monks, Europeans and Americans. Running is just the common thread. But running shows how these totally disparate cultures are united. And, to me, that gives me hope that we’ll recognize on many other levels all the things that can unite us.

TrunkSpace: What’s next for you as a filmmaker? Where is your creative focus these days?
Rawal: I have come across a story that is too good not to tell as a narrative. I think it would be an absolutely stunning documentary but I think it could be a revelatory narrative film. It is the story of a native American female runner that few seem to remember, but in the late ‘70s she was the most dominant runner in the world. She overcame some of the most horrific traumas that anyone could deal with, but the same time she had and still has the heart of a champion. I can’t wait to develop that story into a script and find a way to bring it to the larger world – the story of Patti Dillon.

“3100, Run and Become” opens in NY tomorrow and in Los Angeles on November 9. For more information, click here.

With Game 1 of the World Series set to kick off later tonight, we thought it was a great time to take a look at the new baseball movie “Brampton’s Own,” which is available now on Digital HD. Next up to the plate, we’re talking with writer, director and producer Michael Doneger, who originally wrote the part of Dustin, a minor league baseball player who returns to his hometown after leaving years before to chase his dreams, for himself. The film, which explores those things we sacrifice for our personal goals, stars Alex Russell, Rose McIver, Spencer Grammer, Scott Porter, Jean Smart and Riley Voelkel.

We recently sat down with Doneger to discuss combining grand ambitions with limited resources, the reason he never thinks a project isn’t possible, and why the theme of the film is eerily similar to his own journey.

TrunkSpace: You wore multiple hats in bringing “Brampton’s Own” to life. When it comes to blood, sweat and tears, just how much did you put in order to make the film – your vision – a reality? Where did Your Dreams Road and Compromise Street intersect?
Doneger: In my experiences, compromising is inherently built into the filmmaking process. However I don’t look at compromising as necessarily abandoning your vision, but instead having to find a backup solution to ultimately getting where you want to go. For instance, our story required many locations and a lot of wardrobe changes. Typically film budgets similar to what we were working with try to minimize the number of locations and wardrobe changes, but to me, that would’ve limited the scope of the world I was trying to build. I didn’t want it to feel like an indie film. I just wanted it to feel like a film. So the compromise there was that we were going to have less time and fewer days to film, which meant actors would get fewer takes than what they’re used to, and our production departments would have to work at an accelerated speed to keep up. But we knew going into it that we were combining grand ambitions with limited resources, so we planned for that far in advance, and hired a cast and crew that was game for the type of pace we were asking for. Having said all that, it’s rare for everything to go without a hiccup and the final product turn out exactly how you envisioned. We experienced quite a few hiccups, but overall the film mirrored the vision I had for it as much as I could’ve reasonably expected. That’s not to say there aren’t scenes or moments I’d like to take a second crack at, or more time I’d like to get in the editing bay to nip and tuck a couple of things. But to expect it to ever be perfect is unrealistic. “Art is never finished, only abandoned,” said the wise Leonardo da Vinci.

TrunkSpace: Because of the various responsibilities you had throughout the course of the film, did Producer Michael and Director Michael, or Director Michael and Writer Michael, ever butt heads? Did you have to find a balance between what you creatively wanted to put on film and what budget and time would allow?
Doneger: I’ve never been hired to write and direct a movie that I wasn’t producing, so quite frankly I don’t know any other way. I’m sure there are benefits to having fewer responsibilities and not being tasked with overseeing creative and business decisions, but there are also benefits of the buck stopping with you and not being able to point a finger at someone else. My producing partner Mark DiCristofaro does an excellent job of running production and making sure I have everything I would reasonably need to make our day. And again, a lot of that starts in the pre-production phase. I shot listed the film months in advance, so Mark and I were on the same page early on in terms of gathering the necessary film gear and lighting equipment for each scene. For example, my original shot list asked for seven days of a Steadicam operator, but Mark told me early on that we could only afford three days, so given that information, I adjusted and made shot list concessions where I could.

TrunkSpace: It’s always a long road to travel in order to get an independent film to that first day of shooting. At what point in the process did you know that it was going to become a reality and was it smooth sailing after that point?
Doneger: Smooth sailing? That’s a thing? Huh… I’ll have to look into that. (Laughter) In terms of coming to the realization that the film is going to become a reality: I never for one second think it’s not going to happen. Even in the writing stages, I’m never thinking about “if” it happens, but rather “when”. And I believe that as a filmmaker – you need a certain amount of naiveté to thrust yourself into this crazy business in the first place. The industry is volatile on every level, whether you’re on the creative side or business side. So if you’re too practical and calculate the odds, the numbers will tell you that you’re crazy to take the risk of going out and making a movie. So my mindset from the beginning of every project I work on is when we’re going to make this movie not if. But of course you can’t make a movie just because you want to do it. There are lots of factors that rest outside your control. But your mindset is the one thing you can control. And it all starts there.

TrunkSpace: Sacrificing a more traditional life path in order to chase a dream. For your protagonist Dustin, that’s baseball. Did you feel a kinship with the character when writing? Could you relate to those sacrifices based on your own pursuit with film?
Doneger: Absolutely. I conceived the project based on my own journey of navigating the ups and downs of trying to make it as a filmmaker. Dustin’s not a direct replica of me. I don’t have estranged relationships with my childhood friends or ex-girlfriends or family members. But for Dustin, I wanted to give him as many obstacles as I could when he returned home. And those obstacles were these relationships in which he did a terrible job of maintaining while he was off chasing his dream. The plot points of the movie aren’t similar to my life, but the themes revolving around the price one pays to chase a dream are eerily similar.

TrunkSpace: You originally wrote the script with the intention of playing Dustin. What made you step back later in the process and cast Alex Russell in the role?
Doneger: Oh, wow. You’ve done your research. You’re right, I had originally intended to play Dustin, but by the time we got closer to putting the production elements together, I cared less about owning the character of Dustin from an actor’s point of view and cared more about owning the film as its director. Acting and directing are two diverging skill sets. As an actor, your job is to solely focus on your character, your intentions, your choices. As a director, your job is to know every little detail that goes into painting the entire picture. That means being in non-stop communication with every department head. So naturally, that would distract an actor from solely focusing on his or her performance. Ultimately I feared that if I did both on such a limited 15-day shooting schedule, that my performance wouldn’t have been as good as it should’ve been, nor would the film have fulfilled the vision I had for it. And I’m so glad I made that decision because Alex is tremendous in the film as Dustin and an extraordinary person. He’s so detail oriented and every choice he made came from a place of reason, which made it very easy for us to communicate and collaborate.

TrunkSpace: When hiring someone to play a character that was originally intended to be inhabited by you, do you then look for elements of yourself in your actor, in this case Alex? (We realize this question is very meta, but it’s fascinating… the idea that you’re looking for something in a performer that you originally saw in yourself.)
Doneger: I never looked for Alex to tackle a scene or make a choice comparatively to how I would’ve played it. Each actor has their own strengths and weaknesses and it’s my job to help extract and support those for whatever the scene calls for. I believe that most of directing an actor is done in casting. You know right away upon meeting an actor whether they’re right or not to play a role – at least in my experiences. And within five minutes of meeting Alex I knew he was going to be perfect for Dustin. Then the more familiar we got with each other the more we trusted one another. The director/actor relationship is all about trust.

TrunkSpace: What are you most proud of when it comes to “Brampton’s Own?”
Doneger: I’m proud that from start to finish, it’s a production that by all accounts, our cast and crew had an overwhelmingly positive experience on. Mark DiCristofaro and I value how enjoyable it is to work alongside an actor and crew member, just as much as we value their talent. That working environment matters. Chemistry behind the scenes is just as important as chemistry on the screen.

TrunkSpace: Did you have to change plans at all mid-production because of time and budget headaches, only to then take a different creative approach and end up with a gem that you never intended to have in the film?
Doneger: You always have to be on your toes and know to expect unforeseen obstacles. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that every scene calls for a pivot and change of approach in one way or another. You never get exactly what you want. But to answer your question, nothing big or extraordinary stands out.

TrunkSpace: You once wrote and produced a project that featured Bruce Campbell. Couldn’t you have just retired then and been a happy man? There are 100,000 future filmmakers sitting at home right now watching “Evil Dead 2” as we speak!
Doneger: What a great experience that was working with Bruce. We were so lucky to get him. We’re at the same agency and I have to thank his agent Barry McPherson for really making that happen and putting the project in front of Bruce. I hope to one day find another opportunity to work with him.

TrunkSpace: What we love about a movie like “Brampton’s Own” is that it is original. It isn’t “Based On The…” or a “Sequel To…” or a “Remake Of…” It’s just a great original story, which seems to becoming more and more of a rarity in the world of film. How important is independent filmmaking these days to giving audiences more than super heroes and super franchises?
Doneger: The bright side is that there are various outlets, platforms and mediums for different types of stories these days. Sure, the theatrical experience is mostly inundated with superheroes, sequels and pre-existing IP, but the streaming services, cable and networks are home to a lot of great character-driven storytelling. I’ll admit, I really do miss the mid-budget range studio drama that now rarely gets made. The studio comedy is also slowly becoming extinct. But a lot of those stories are being told, just not as a movie, but either a streaming or miniseries. However sometimes I don’t want to watch a 10-episode season of a show to get my character-driven dramatic or comedic fix. Sometimes I want to see those stories told from beginning to end within two hours. And that’s what independent film has to offer.

TrunkSpace: If someone came to you tomorrow and said, “Michael, here is a blank check. Go out and develop any project that you want for yourself.” What would you greenlight and why?
Doneger: Wow, what a question. I don’t have a dream project that comes to mind. I’m so focused on my next step, the next script, the next film, that I haven’t really taken a bird’s eye view look at my career and the specific projects I want to tackle past the ones I’m currently working on. But my goal is to continue to build projects that are bigger in budget and scope than the previous ones while still making the stories feel intimate by nature of putting character development at the forefront of any story I tell. But I guess if someone would like to give me a blank check to make a movie around the theme of love disguised as a 200 million dollar outer space spectacle, then I’m not gonna fight ya… oh, wait. Christopher Nolan already did that.

“Brampton’s Own” is available now on Digital HD, including iTunes.

On your mark. Get set. Let’s go!

We’re celebrating the release of “Death Race: Beyond Anarchy” – available today on Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand – chatting with the individuals responsible for revving our blood-fueled engines. First up, we sat down with writer/director Don Michael Paul to discuss bringing a fresh take to the fan-favorite franchise, the scene he’s most excited to share with audiences, and what he enjoys most about getting to bring his cinematic visions to life.

TrunkSpace: You’ve worked on a number of sequels throughout the course of your career. Is there a balance for you creatively to stay true to the brand you’re working on while also trying to bring your own creative POV?
Don Michael Paul: I try to always respect the creators that went before, but at the same time I endeavor to give the audience a fresh take. I never treat the films I do as sequels, I approach them the same way I’d approach an original. You have to try to stay fresh and fun so you can give the evolving audience a ride. I love movies, I mean really love them. Disappearing in the dark and watching a story unfold is gold to me. I try to honor each film with a different and diverse take. I’ve had some successes and failures, but I’m always reaching, regardless of budget or franchise requirements.

TrunkSpace: With “Death Race 4: Beyond Anarchy,” you wrote and directed the film. When you’re wearing both hats, does one influence the other in the various stages? For example, will Director Don step in and say, “I’m not sure we can pull that off…” to Writer Don while you’re in the process of working on a script?
Don Michael Paul: Director Don always has to remind Writer Don what can and can’t be done. Budgets are coming way down so I’m always cognizant of what I can do. But at the same time I push hard to put every penny on the screen and give the movie more size and sizzle than we can afford. It’s my job. Make a lot out of a little. Audiences want it all; greatness, craziness, fun, drama, comedy and suspense. I will always try to give them more than I have. I squeeze everything out of the tube and torture myself reaching.

TrunkSpace: What scene were you most excited to shoot based on what you wrote and why?
Don Michael Paul: I was very excited about shooting the motorcycle death race challenge. It was a unique scene in an interesting location and it really kicked-started the movie in a big way. I loved how the gladiators and the DR Clown participated in the sequence. And I loved all the car action.

TrunkSpace: Is there anything that you had to adjust on the fly due to budget or time constraints, and if so, did any of those moments bring about unexpected gems?
Don Michael Paul: Yes, originally the end race had something like 40 cars in it. I had to cut that down to 11, so we could afford to build the cars and design the stunts. I think limiting the amount of cars made the characters come to life in a stronger way. If there were more cars, we would not have been able to get to know the drivers and appreciate their fates in the way we did.

TrunkSpace: You started your career as an actor. Having been on both sides of the camera, do you think that has provided you with a different insight into how to approach being a director, particularly when it comes to working with actors that perhaps some other directors don’t have?
Don Michael Paul: I love actors. I know the road they travel and how soul-crushing it can be to stand in front of a camera and be disappointed by a performance. I try to give actors a big space to work in and create a mood so they have freedom to discover. I go very fast due to schedules, so I’m charging hard and they feel the relentless pace. It’s my hope their instinct takes over. Instinctual acting is when I get interested and excited by performance.

TrunkSpace: 2018 is a big year in terms of the number of films you have or will see released. All of them are based within an existing franchise. What do you enjoy most about getting to play in a sandbox that has already been established?
Don Michael Paul: I love movies. I love the whole process. I am blessed to do what I love. Again, they’re not sequels to me. They’re films, that will be put out there and blooming like an evergreen tree for years. Long after I’m gone they will be discovered by new audiences around the world. I hope they can be enjoyed whether you’ve seen the previous ones in the sequence or if you’re a first time watcher.

TrunkSpace: Is there a dream franchise out there that you’d like to helm an installment of? What would make your inner 10-year-old jump for joy?
Don Michael Paul: “Death Race” was a dream, but it’s not for 10-year-old Don that’s for sure. I’d love to have enough money and time to mount an epic in the vein of “Gladiator.” I love everything about that movie. I love the context and characters and the visceral struggle of integrity and honor vs. greed and avarice and jealousy. The raw power in the ending after the Spaniard has his revenge and goes to heaven knowing the love of your life is there waiting for him. This is great filmmaking and something I aspire to.

TrunkSpace: Finally we have the trifecta question for you. What job/project did you learn the most from as an actor, which one did you learn the most from as a director, and finally, which one did you learn the most from as a writer?
Don Michael Paul: I learned the most as a director on a movie that almost ended my career called “Who’s Your Caddy?” It was a critical and financial disappointment but I learned so much about myself and where I belong. The actors in this movie taught me a very valuable lesson. “Do you!” I’m blessed to have this epic fail. It built my character and taught me to tell and write stories in my wheelhouse. I learned the most as a writer on scripts that were never produced that I wrote for Joel Silver. He seasoned me as a writer and taught me about story, structure and character. It put me in a studio furnace which enabled me to write under pressure. I’m grateful for those hard knocks. As an actor, I learned the most from a movie called “Winter People.” I got to act alongside legends like Kurt Russell, Lloyd Bridges, Kelly McGillis and Eileen Ryan. I will never forget how clean and simple Kurt Russell’s acting was. Working alongside him 25 years ago was an inspiration to me then and now. Big respect, Kurt!

“Death Race: Beyond Anarchy” is available today on Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand.

Next up, Don Michael Paul directs “The Scorpion King: Book of Souls,” due October 23.

In our ongoing column Deep Focus, TrunkSpace is going behind the camera to talk with the directors, writers and producers who infuse our world with that perennial pop culture goodness that we can’t get enough of.

This time out we’re chatting with Kate Green, Director and Executive Producer of the exciting new web series “NarcoLeap,” starring Chelsey Reist, Madison Smith and Aleks Paunovic.

TrunkSpace: “NarcoLeap” has such a great, high concept premise. Was there a part of you that worried how you would pull it off as a web series, particularly when it came to budget and time constraints?
Green: I wouldn’t say just a part, I’d say my whole being. (Laughter)

No, we’re really lucky in Canada. We have some amazing funding programs. STORYHIVE from TELUS, they had this amazing 100K edition competition, so we got that. We also have the Independent Production Fund (IPF). They came on board first actually, with just over half of the budget. Once I got that one I thought, “Okay, I’ve got a pretty good chance of kind of closing the financing with the other programs.” We’re very lucky here. And also, the project went through rigorous development when I was in the Women in the Director’s Chair program as well. So it’s not only financial support that we have here, we also have a lot of educational components and mentorship programs and things like that now.

Everyday was like, “How are we going to do this?” It was still very ambitious – lots of locations, lots of actors. It was pretty crazy, but we got it done.

TrunkSpace: Here in the States, a lot of creators use web productions as a way to establish a property and then work to get them set up as a full series. Was that the plan with “NarcoLeap” as well?
Green: My background is in documentaries. I started directing and producing in that for many years. I wanted to make the leap, pun absolutely intended, into scripted work. I’ve always loved science fiction, so for me I was looking for a project where I could do something in directing, and with the web series, it seemed like there were opportunities there to make the story happen. Yes, of course, we’d love to have a TV series, eventually that’s the big dream, but I’ve always wanted it to be able to stand on its own as almost like a prequel to the television series. The storyline that’s happening within the web series, it’s all prior to the TV. Once we get to network TV the show will have evolved and grown and be a bit more of a different standalone.

TrunkSpace: As a creator, is it daunting bringing something like “NarcoLeap” into the world knowing that there is so much content available to viewers these days?
Green: Absolutely, yeah. There’s so much great content out there on the web and TV. It’s so hard to have yours rise to the top. You really rely on your fans and for us we have a digital strategy and we’ve been working. The fans are the ones that lift it up. Before we’d even gone into production we had people making fan art and posters, and mainly they loved Chelsey (Reist) and they were followers of Chelsey. They were excited to see her in something different, but they’re the ones that really lift up your project, and we’ve just been overwhelmed and so grateful for their support. It seems to be getting attraction and attention so we’re really happy for that, and grateful.

TrunkSpace: It always seems that there is great support for great ideas, and something we noticed is, there’s a lot of really great original content coming out of the Vancouver production scene these days.
Green: Yeah, absolutely. We have an amazing service industry here. A lot of people work on the big Netflix shows and so that part of our industry is really thriving, but I think in Canada we recognize that can also go away in a heartbeat. The exchange rate could go up and all of that work could disappear. Then what are we left with? We have to create ourselves. We have to have that foundation of home grown talent and that’s, again, why we’re so lucky with things like STORYHIVE and the IPF, but they help support that and they help grow that home talent.

TrunkSpace: Does one sort of feed the other then? Do networks like Hallmark and the CW bringing their productions there feed into creators being able to create on the side when they’re not working on these other productions?
Green: Absolutely. I have a day job as a producer. I work on an HGTV show. In between shows or seasons I have the opportunity to grow my own company, KGP Films, and create content, but it’s a little different. Science fiction is very different than lifestyle television. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: You were both Director and Executive Producer on “NarcoLeap.” Did Producer Kate and Director Kate ever butt heads? Is there something that you wanted as a director that you had to talk yourself out of as a producer?
Green: I was very fortunate that I had two really great producers, Emily Keller and Ross Vivian, and my Co-Executive Producer, Trevor Hudson, and I had a couple of other mentors as well. I surrounded myself with a really great team. There were some decisions that as a producer I just delegated to Emily and Ross and it was great. I didn’t have to butt heads too much with myself. You always want the crane shot and you always want explosions and you’d love to have the fight scene go on for longer. Things like that you have to compromise on, but when you can’t get what you want, the wonderful thing about that is that you have to be creative. You have to find a solution. You have to make a mark. I love that part of filmmaking, when if you don’t have the time or the money, then you have to have a great idea and a great solution. Finding that, that gets my juices flowing.

TrunkSpace: There’s been some talk of a content bubble burst looming. As a creator are you optimistic that your job as a creator is safe long term?
Green: Yeah. I see an opportunity in terms of short form digital content. When I first started my company I was looking at new features and documentary series and all of that, and of course, that would be wonderful to have projects like that, but I feel as a producer when I put the producer cap on, I see way more of an opportunity to be creating dynamic, fun digital content. It’s just getting eaten up right now.

TrunkSpace: In terms of a possible “NarcoLeap” Season 2, is that on the horizon?
Green: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been noodling away on the storylines and possibly putting in characters and what I’d like to see. Again, it’s like that dichotomy of trying to do the day job and do the producing job and the directing job and all of that. But yeah, we’re getting geared up for sure.

Season 1 of “NarcoLeap” is available now on YouTube.

Read our interview with series star Madison Smith here.

Read our interview with Aleks Paunovic here.

In our ongoing column Deep Focus, TrunkSpace is going behind the camera to talk with the directors, writers and producers who infuse our world with that perennial pop culture goodness that we can’t get enough of.

This time out we’re chatting with Daniel Zelik Berk, the director and writer of the new spy thriller “Damascus Cover” (starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, and the late John Hurt) about how the movie-making process differed from his previous directing work, why he broke all of the conventional rules in creating the movie, and the reason you may be familiar with some of the furniture in the film.

TrunkSpace: You didn’t only direct “Damascus Cover” but you wrote it as well. Did director Dan and writer Dan ever butt heads, and did you have to compromise creatively even with yourself at times?
Daniel Zelik Berk: Oh, good question. Okay. The genesis of this is that I purchased a book. I optioned a book called “The Damascus Cover” by Howard Kaplan, which was a spy thriller set in the late ’70s. I was looking for something to direct. I’d done one film before as a director, and that was an assignment. It was a low-budget film, which was made for under a million bucks. What I learned on that picture was how important the script was, because I wasn’t able to change the script on my first film. So I said that I needed to really find something that was personal and something that I wrote myself.

I found Howard’s book, which I liked very much because I liked that it was in the Middle East. I liked that it had an ending, which was very organic and wasn’t kind of a trick ending, which is pretty typical of the genre where you work really hard to get through a film and it’s very confusing. You get to the end, and you’re like, “Who’s the mole?” It’s like the guy in the blue shirt. You’re like, “What? Who’s that?” You don’t even know who that is. This ending has a very nice, organic ending. You find out who it is. Usually it’s a surprise, and it seems in retrospect that it was an inevitable kind of thing. I like that, so that’s why I got this.

Then, I added some themes that I liked about children and hope and moved it to the time of the Berlin Wall to reflect that. As the writer, I really enjoyed doing the adaptation. What I liked about Howard was he recognized the script would be something completely different. In fact, in the process that you make various movies, there’s the novel, which is one thing. There’s the script, which is one thing. Then ultimately, you have to deal with the reality of who the cast is and where the locations are, and that becomes the movie you shoot. Then, you go to the editing room, and that’s another whole movie because now you’re working with what you actually got. Each one of these things at each level is a different process, which is part of the fun of it. I guess you try and stay as open as you can in each section, realizing you don’t want to be limited by your imagination and what the change is.

As the director… the thing about this is is that because I was also the writer, I didn’t… this is a very interesting film. I wanted to do what basically is a classic spy thriller, almost from the ’60s. Unfortunately, we keep getting compared to James Bond, which is really… we can’t even attempt that. We had basically a few million dollars to do this, and by writing the script… obviously, it breaks all the rules.

TrunkSpace: Well, certainly, you get to a point where you can create your vision on the page, but then budget and time constraints change that vision.
Daniel Zelik Berk: Yeah, that’s right. The thing about this script, which was insane, which actually comes from the book, is that when you do a low-budget film, there are certain rules. There are certain things you just know that are conventional wisdom, and one is is that you do a limited number of locations, preferably one location. Like, you want to do it in house, and some people are trying to break in. Or, you’re in a car, and a guy’s talking on a speaker phone. We have, I forget the number of locations, but it’s like 40 or 50 locations. You can see it’s cutting all over the place. So, that’s rule number one you’ve broken. Then, the other rule is you have a limited number of people. There are two people in the house, and there’s one guy trying to break in, or, one guy sitting in the car on the speaker phone. We have a huge cast, so I kind of created my own nightmare here by writer Dan and director Dan. Those are some basic rules I broke, which is why you don’t see a lot of low-budget thrillers of this kind – spy thrillers. What you see are low-budget horror films, and low-budget films where it’s a guy in a room, and he’s talking to his mother about wanting to kill himself or something. That’s what a low-budget film is. They’re more like plays. So, that created a lot of problems for me.

TrunkSpace: Well, and a lot of times, you hear people refer to something as a low-budget film, but really it’s still a 20 million dollar movie.
Daniel Zelik Berk: You know, that’s a really funny comment because my daughter heard a lecture from a filmmaker that I won’t mention, complaining that they only had 20 million bucks. They were really pissed off because they wanted 50. My daughter’s like, “My dad, he only had a few million.” (Laughter)

I’ll tell you something, the truth is is that… and I understand this and I’m not complaining… the standard of the public is the same. I don’t think they know the difference.

TrunkSpace: That’s true.
Daniel Zelik Berk: I’m very proud of the look of the picture. I hired a first-time DP named Chloë Thomson, a female DP who had never done a feature before. We wanted to do this kind of classic look, and I think she completely accomplished it. I think that the picture looks really good, and that creates this expectation of it being a studio picture. I mean, the fact that she performed a miracle… it’s almost like somebody should make it look rougher, then you could kind of introduce a lower expectation. But I understand. We’re trying to run with the big boys even though we have much, much less money.

TrunkSpace: From a personal satisfaction standpoint, to be able to pull off what you did for only a couple million dollars… that has to be a feather in your cap?
Daniel Zelik Berk: Yeah. I’m telling you, I am extremely proud of what we pulled off. I couldn’t be more proud of everyone that worked on the film because people did it as a labor of love. I just was on a call where a guy said, “What would you have spent more money on?” I was like, “First day, what I would have done is given everyone better food.” (Laughter) Soup gets boring after a while, right?

Everything is on the screen, I can tell you that. And that becomes part of the fun of it is that you can’t solve your problems with money, so you solve them with ingenuity and hard work. You have to take risks.

TrunkSpace: We have had conversations with filmmakers who have said that having more money meant more problems for their production. You start to think bigger, outside your means, and you have more cooks in the kitchen.
Daniel Zelik Berk: Well, that was not an option for us. (Laughter) That was never an option. Literally there was a scene where we didn’t have money for the furniture for the next scene. The line producer said, “Look, we’re sitting at the Sheridan.” He says, “Do you like that furniture you’re sitting on?” And I said, “Yeah, I guess so.” Next thing you know, we carried that furniture over to the set and then brought it back the next day – literally just used the furniture of the hotel. In retrospect, that story’s fun. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: You mentioned how your first directorial project, which was back in 1998, was an assignment. Did the process of directing feel new again, or, was it a bit like riding a bike?
Daniel Zelik Berk: The thing that I had on the second film that I didn’t have on the first film, and this is related to your first question, is I really understood the script. One of the things I think a director does is he has the big picture. Everyone’s trying to help you. You have all these people trying to help you. There are people all over the place in different positions with different things and different focuses, but the director is the only one that really has the grand view in line. Even with the actors. The actors know their individual parts. It’s all compartmentalized. The only one that really has the biggest picture is the director, and by writing the script… it’s a complicated script… that was actually an advantage from the first time in that I really knew this character should be scared here because of what’s happened four scenes before, and people might forget that, but this happened. You really do have this kind of overview. Because when you shoot an individual shot, you’re very focused on just that shot.

Every film is different, every film is a miracle, and every film has massive problems, but they’re always different. So, I had different problems on this movie than I had on my first film. I felt good. I still remembered basically how to say, “Action,” and all that kind of stuff wasn’t as dramatic. I learned a ton on this, too. My first film was much simpler. Even though I had never directed before, and it was a big learning curve, it was much simpler. This film was very, very complex.

Dive into the complex storytelling of “Damascus Cover” today!

In our ongoing column Deep Focus, TrunkSpace is going behind the camera to talk with the directors, writers and producers who infuse our world with that perennial pop culture goodness that we can’t get enough of.

This time out we’re chatting with makeup artist Allison Giroday about her career origin story, the role makeup plays in personal branding, and why she never spends as much time with her own face as she does with those of her clients.

TrunkSpace: What first drew you to pursue a career as a makeup artist and did you always anticipate having an entertainment industry spin to your approach?
Giroday: It’s funny, I always dreamed of becoming a makeup artist. When I was a young kid, I was always doing makeup on anyone willing and I’d imagine my older self as a makeup artist. I remember sitting in my room listening to Kylie Minogue and picturing myself traveling and being backstage with artists. It’s kind of crazy to look back on that but I remember it so clearly. Reasons like that are what make me a firm believer in manifestation. I’d also look for signals at the time from the universe. For example, one time when I was about 10 years old, a flyer came in the mail and it was from Blanche Macdonald Makeup School in Vancouver, BC, and I thought “Oh my God, how do they know?! It’s a sign!” I didn’t realize at the time they were mailing them to every single house on the entire block in every neighborhood. (Laughter) But I like to think that it isn’t just a sheer coincidence that my career in many ways, mirrors those early childhood dreams. I never let go of that vision.

TrunkSpace: Was there a particular project or style of makeup that inspired you and put you on this path?
Giroday: I grew up in the ‘90s, which I’m so grateful for because it’s legendary in many ways, especially in terms of style. It was the supermodel era, and I was mesmerized by those beauties. I’m almost sure they used skincare supplements to look that good, makes me want to collect some dermal repair complex coupons to keep my skin in tip-top shape as they do. They were on every magazine cover and featured on the show “Fashion File,” which I would watch religiously. The show featured the top designers and stars of the beauty world including one of the world’s most influential makeup artists to this day, the late Kevyn Aucoin. That’s what inspired me initially. Glamour was a focal point and makeup was on the heavier side; matte foundation, quite a bit of contouring, lots of lip liner and eyeshadow, but it was often done with earthy tones. I think that’s where the term “natural glam” comes from, a common term in the makeup world today. It’s a concept I still love and it’s popular with a lot of my clients. I always say that if you want to achieve a more natural look, you have to take care of your skin. Keeping it nice and moisturized, as well as using products like this Multi-Action Sculpting Cream to sculpt any loose skin that you have, you can create any makeup look you wish, whilst looking beautiful at the same time. However, I now like to create a modern version with a dewier, fresher skin texture and with a lighter hand in general. I feel like this is a better way to take care of the skin too. If you’re the type of person to use Beverly Hills MD coupons then you may want to make the switch to sculpting cream too.

TrunkSpace: Actors and writers can often point to a “big break” that altered the trajectory of their careers. Have you had a defining moment like that in your career thus far and how did it change things for you moving forward?
Giroday: I wouldn’t say that there was one single thing that changed my career. It really was a steady progression. Success is like an iceberg. The tip of it is visible but you don’t see the mass of what’s under the surface. All the work that’s been put in over the years, many people don’t get to see. In the beginning, you have to “pay your dues.” By that I mean, you may have to work for free just to make yourself seen and to get your name out there. You have to first build a great reputation for yourself, and then over time, connect with the right people.

Aside from talent, it’s just as important to be personable, genuine and professional. There isn’t much room for ego. Of course, there have been some moments in my career that I’m very proud of and it’s because I’ve put a lot of time, as well as passion and heart into what I do. Every big job I’ve done has felt like a stepping stone and has helped put me on the map. But I know how important it is to not ever get too comfortable so that I always continue to grow. I’m always fueled by those exciting moments and they have me thinking about what my next move might be.

TrunkSpace: For those casual pop culture fans who may not notice how makeup impacts the various visual stimuli they’re absorbing, what would you say to them? How do the tools of your trade directly affect how people see things in the finished product?
Giroday: Most people in the public eye have a signature look or a particular image they like to project. The importance of stylistic image and branding has a major impact on their careers. I’d love to point out some great examples such as Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, David Bowie, and Kim Kardashian. The commonality between these people is they’ve all used makeup to create a very particular look, and although each artist’s style is so different, the average fan could easily describe it. It’s a major player in what makes them iconic and whichever the case, their success has so much to do with how they’re visually perceived by their fans and it goes far beyond talent alone.

TrunkSpace: What type of work most excites you and why? Is it editorial? Commercial? What jobs do you look forward to the most?
Giroday: There’s such a wide variety in the work I do and in the types of jobs I’m on because makeup is required for many reasons. I love meeting new people and going to different locations all the time because it keeps things interesting but I also love my repeat clients. One of my favorite things to do is house calls. I have some regular clients that often need glam before an event. I love making a woman look and feel the best she’s ever looked. You get to know their face very well and that way, you get to experiment with many different looks. I just love when someone puts their full trust in me and they themselves are makeup enthusiasts. It’s so fun. We’ll usually get ready at their house or their hotel. It’s a relaxed environment and it almost feels like you’re helping a girlfriend get ready for a night out. Building great relationships is definitely one of my favorite parts of the job. I’ve gotten to know some fantastic people.

TrunkSpace: As you look back over your career thus far, what are you most proud to have been a part of and why?
Giroday: I’m especially proud to be working with such highly creative people who inspire me every day. I really look up to a lot of the people I get to work with and knowing that I am a chosen piece of the puzzle is so rewarding. Especially when it comes to working with performing artists. I think we all admire and value each other’s work equally and the synergy in those situations feels electric. Being the makeup artist for someone who is putting their face in front of thousands, even millions, is an honor and makes me not only proud of my work but proud of that person as well. Watching them perform, I feel almost as a parent would watching their child. (Laughs) It’s just so exciting. I really care about my work but I also really care about people and how they feel. I want people to look and feel their best. I’m proud but also humbled that my work is being recognized by big players but I’ll never stop striving to out-do myself each time. Taking risks and going outside of your comfort zone is a must in this business. You can never let yourself get too comfortable in one place. A few years back I made a move across the country to Toronto to expand my network and it was so beneficial, not only to my career but for my own personal evolution as an artist. It was scary at first because I didn’t know anybody but it led me to great new contacts and fueled my confidence. There were challenges I had to overcome which resulted in major benefits.

TrunkSpace: As you look ahead, where do you hope your career takes you? If you could write your own future, what would it look like?
Giroday: I’d really love to travel to places I haven’t been before. I’d also love to be an ambassador for great makeup brands, and teach more master classes. Knowledge should be shared, and I’m not afraid to give away some of my best tips and tricks because no two people will ever do makeup exactly the same way. everyone’s skill and technique is unique to them and no two hands are the same. I’ve always enjoyed teaching and I like to pay it forward. As for future clients, there are so many faces that I would absolutely love to get my hands on! The inspiration is endless.

TrunkSpace: As a makeup artist, does that put you in a position where you feel like you always have to be on your game with your own makeup? In a way, does your makeup act as a business card or billboard for your work?
Giroday: You would think so, although that’s hardly ever the case. I tend to work such crazy hours that I don’t usually do all that much with my own makeup before work unless I know I’ll have to be on camera or if I have an event. In those cases, I do consider myself as a walking business card. But my clients are my top priority and I think my work speaks for itself.

TrunkSpace: Is it easier or more difficult to work on yourself than it is to be face to face with someone else and working on them directly?
Giroday: I’m so familiar with my own face I could do it with my eyes closed. I tend to put more focus and passion into other people’s faces because I’m inspired by all of the different types of beauty out there. I wouldn’t say that one is more difficult than the other, it’s just a very different experience and a different process. For example, on someone else, you can stand back and look at them from all different angles and on my own face I don’t need to be as gentle. It’s very different.

TrunkSpace: Has technology changed the landscape at all for makeup artists? With everything becoming even more and more high resolution, does that force a different approach to how makeup is applied and blended on camera?
Giroday: I would say yes, although I have always done makeup in a way that is 100 percent flawless under a microscope, no matter what the lighting is like, whether it’s a closeup or a full body shot, in person, for photos, and on any type of camera. That’s always been my approach. Everything must be perfect at all times!

Here are a few samples of Giroday’s work.

In our ongoing column Deep Focus, TrunkSpace is going behind the camera to talk with the directors, writers and producers who infuse our world with that perennial pop culture goodness that we can’t get enough of.

This time out we’re chatting with the writing/directing duo – and twin sisters – Kailey and Sam Spear about their new short film “CC,” whether or not they have super powers, and why one of them is haunted by a “Supernatural” curse.

TrunkSpace: You both shared writing and directorial duties on your new short film. When you go into a project, do you have a clear understanding of who will be focused on what or is it more fluid? How do you ensure that you don’t veer into each other’s creative lane?
The Spear Sisters: It is definitely more of a fluid process. We don’t have specific jobs to stick to that we assign to each of us. Rather, we will float back and forth between covering different pieces of what needs to be done. For example, when we are writing we don’t start by saying, “Okay, you take structure, I’ll take dialogue.” Nor do we sit side by side and write everything together line by line. We talk about what we want to do with the script, the ideas for the characters, plot, tone, etc, and then go off and write scenes separately – sometimes in a different room, sometimes across the table from each other. We send the script back and forth, writing new material and revising the pieces we have received from the other. We discuss new ideas or characters that arise as we go so that we are always on the same page with what is being added to the story. When we come to the time where we have a script that we are both happy reading all the way through without feeling any bumps or irks, then we know it is good to go.

It is similar for directing. We float back and forth between being in different places; one behind the monitor giving notes to the camera and one closer to the actors. If there are a few actors in a scene, we might divide and conquer so that each actor will be talking about the scene with us separately, but at the same time. If we see an adjustment that could be made, there are many times where we don’t have to talk to each other about it, we just give each other a look to see which one of us is going to go and deliver the adjustment.

We are lucky that we always have a unified idea of where we want to go with the project. We can use our two different minds to get us there. We trust that even if we’re trying out different ways to get there, the desired outcome will be the same. We have differences of opinion, absolutely. We bring different ideas to the table. But we have always been good at talking them through and determining which direction is best for the project. This can be in any part of the process: writing, directing, editing, etc. Think of it like this: When traveling, we both decide on the town we would like to visit. We decide that we would like the trip there to be fun. We both go out and find different roads of how to get there. Then we take a look at the roads that each of us has found and decide which one is the best one to take. We might choose to take Kailey’s road because, although Sam’s may take us down a nice winding road by the ocean, Kailey’s takes us past the world’s biggest squirrels. So far we have been cruising down the same creative lane. We just make sure that the lane is big enough to fit the two of us.

TrunkSpace: Would you say that you both share a similar creative POV? And if you don’t, where do you venture away from each other?
The Spear Sisters: We do share similar sensibilities, yes. That might come from growing up together and having many of the same influences.

We have many twin friends, and it is not always that case that those creative sensibilities are shared. We remember growing up and having people urge us to take different paths, to try aiming for different careers. “You both want to take the film class in high school? Why don’t one of you take dance?” But we both wanted to take film, so we did. We didn’t choose to go into film because one of us wanted to and the other followed. We both happened to be drawn to the same thing. We did not want to give up our dream just because we had a twin sister who happened to want to do it too. It is a similar case with the types of stories we are drawn to and the vision we have to bring them to screen. We happen to be drawn to similar stories and come at them with similar ideas of how we would like them handled.

Unless we are actively trying to throw wild ideas into the pot as a creative exercise, there are not many times when we dramatically venture away from a similar creative POV. Of course, we bring different ideas of how to tackle the project (we need a new character here, this needs to be darker, this line is too cheesy, this would be better in a lower angle, we should leave more breathing space in this edit, etc), but we are playing in the same realm.

TrunkSpace: What do you hope “CC” says about who you are as directors, not only to a general audience, but to those people within the industry looking for the next generation of writer/directors to spearhead future projects?
The Spear Sisters: “Spearhead.” (Laughter) Love how perfect that word in context!

We hope that this film will show that, no matter how much time and money we are given, we are dedicated to giving it our all in order to bring a story to screen that delivers dynamic characters, engaging visuals and thought provoking questions that carry beyond the film itself. We want people going to see a Spear Sisters film to know and expect that the film they will be watching has been crafted with intention and care. There will never be a Spear Sisters film made where every aspect from casting, to lighting, to shots, to sound, to color, etc, has not been meticulously thought out in order to better serve the story.

We are also hoping that this film helps communicate our interest in, and our ability to do, genre films. Often women are pigeonholed into drama. Now, don’t get us wrong, there are many dramas that we are interested in doing! But where we really have the most fun is telling a story that has something extra to play with in terms of story world and tone: a supernatural murder mystery set in a 1920 asylum, a dramatic thriller involving a ghost of a murdered king, a swashbuckling steampunk action/adventure, an AI nanny robot mystery. Genre films give such a great opportunity to explore important questions about the human experience from different angles. They have the ability to not only let us have fun being creative as storytellers, but to push the audience to expand their creative minds as well. We would love “CC” to remind people that there are many female directors like ourselves out here who would love to, let’s say, take on a “Black Mirror” episode or a “Star Wars” film. The Spear Sisters would love to spearhead a “Star Wars” film. Young Leia film, we’re lookin’ at you.

TrunkSpace: Is there a concern that you will be pigeonholed as a creative duo as opposed to individual creators? Do you see a day when you’re directing projects separate from each other?
The Spear Sisters: We are not worried about being established as a creative duo. We plan to continue co-writing and co-directing. We realized a long time ago that we can take advantage of the fact that we happen to share similar creative sensibilities and are both passionate about making films. We want to do the same types of projects and joining forces just makes us stronger when it comes to making them happen. Right now, as we begin our careers, it is beneficial for people get to know us as a creative duo as that is what we foresee continuing into the future.

Now, we don’t know what the future holds. There may be a time where we both have projects we want to do that the other has no interest in. If that happens, we will go ahead and do our separate films. If people get thrown by that, well, it means The Spear Sisters are established enough for people to get thrown when we do something different. So I think we’ll manage! Right now though, we can’t see the day where we would be directing projects separately from each other. We have too many shared projects we still want to get on screen!

TrunkSpace: What are you most proud of with the film?
The Spear Sisters: Honestly? That we got it made!

Every film has its challenges in getting onto the screen and this one had some unique ones for sure. “CC” was made through the Crazy8s film competition in Vancouver. The winners of the competition are given eight days and $1000 to make a film. But there were several competitive phases to get through before even getting to the challenge of making the film. First, we sent a video pitch for “CC” alongside over 200 pitches from other filmmakers wishing to make a Crazy8s film. We were narrowed down to a group of 42 to come in and pitch our films to a panel of industry professionals. We did our pitch and were narrowed down to a group of 12. These 12 wrote and submitted their scripts. Of those 12, six were selected as winners of the competition. “CC” was one of the six! So, as winners, we had eight days to start and finish our film! That’s from the start of shooting to handing in the edited film complete with sound, visual effects and color. Yep, it was tight for sure!

Which brings us to what we are second most proud of (a very close second): our freaking fantastic cast and crew! They not only worked hard to get it done in the time we were given, they made sure that every aspect was executed with intention and care. We feel incredibly lucky to have had each one of them on this film.

TrunkSpace: Time always seems like the one commodity that is lacking on a set, but did having a fixed deadline help you to stay organized and shoot exactly what you needed?
The Spear Sisters: Yes, the timeline really did make hone in and become super aware of what exactly we needed to tell this story. There was no time for anything extra. We had every shot planned out very specifically, and we used every one of them. When it came to editing (which we had an incredibly short amount of time to do), our choices were already narrowed down for us as we didn’t have any extraneous shots. We knew when a moment was going to be covered in a close-up, and that is the only way we shot that moment. We had a futuristic phone that required visual effects anytime the device was seen while it was on. We determined when exactly the phone was needed to be seen on screen, and hid it from camera anytime it was not giving us new information. That made the epic task of finishing VFX in time a little easier.

TrunkSpace: You’re also both working actresses. Do you think understanding how both sides of the camera works makes you stronger directors, particularly in getting what you need from actors through their performance?
The Spear Sisters: Yes. We came from a theatre background originally, then moved into film and TV. Coming from an acting background helps us do our work as directors for sure. We approach a project character first. Knowing what the character is going through helps inform our other choices for the film. How the camera is moving, what the color timing is, what the sound choices are, etc. They are all chosen specifically to support and enhance the character’s journey. When we are writing, reading a script, or editing, there is always a part of us that is playing the characters through as well. Making sure that we know what is important to focus on. We feel like directing is, in a way, playing all the characters at the same time.

When it comes to getting what we need from the actors, having been on their side of the camera helps us know what they are going through, what they need to help them, and what could prevent them from doing their job to the best of their ability. We know what it is like to get a confusing piece of direction, to get a page of new dialogue right before we are supposed to start shooting, or to try to settle into an emotional state when the set is loud. The more that you know about what the other person’s job requires, the more you will know on your side what you can do to help that process and get what you need.

Having worked as actors, and among fellow actors, we also understand that everyone responds to different types of direction in different ways. What might work for one might throw someone else off entirely. Some actors want you to tell them their character’s entire backstory, some just want to know where to stand and when to move. Different actors need different things from us. It is part of our job to get an understanding of what works best for each actor in order to get what we need. We like having conversations with our actors before we start shooting to get a better sense of how they like to work and how we will best work together. This can be rehearsal (we love rehearsal!) or just chatting over coffee.

TrunkSpace: We have an unnatural obsession with “Supernatural” around here and we couldn’t help notice that both of you have appeared on the series. Is it a bit of a rite of passage for actors from Canada to appear on that show at some point in their careers and what was that experience like for you?
The Spear Sisters: Yeah, “Supernatural” to Vancouver must be what “Dr. Who” is to London. At one point or another, if you are an actor in the city, you’ll be on the show. And what a great show to be on! We both have had so much fun working on “Supernatural.” We have both worked as actors, background performers, and in the casting room as videographers for “Supernatural.” There is such a wonderful team of fantastic folks on that production! We’d love to work on it again.

Kailey has had a fun string of characters on the show. First she played an attendee of a chastity group meeting. That was a funny scene. She had to learn a lot about chastity groups and abstinence before playing this character, which was interesting. She learnt all about No Nut November, which is the perfect chastity challenge where you are not allowed to masturbate, have sex, or ejaculate. Why November? Well, apparently it’s a spin on the popular No Shave November charity challenge where you are banned from trimming your beard. It’s amazing the sort of things you learn when you are researching for a role or character! Then she played Beth, a research assistant who gets her throat slit by a demon. Not such a funny scene. But it involved some awesome practical effects to get that blood going. Kailey wore a prosthetic neck so that a tube of blood could be pumped up through it to pour out after the slice.

Then we both got cast as twin demons sent by Lucifer to deal with Crowley. That was great! One part involved dropping huge knives out of our sleeves in unison before going to attack Crowley. It was the first time that we were cast as twins on TV and it was a really fun scene to do.

Now, funny story about Sam’s appearances on “Supernatural.” Funny… is that the right word? You can decide. The first TV role Sam ever booked was a role for “Supernatural.” It was the role of a waitress at a diner. It was two lines, but you know, first role on TV – big deal! The scene was cut for time. The character of “waitress” was never seen. The casting director said, “Don’t worry this just means Sam can work on the show again.” So, when we booked the demon roles, there it was: the time Sam was going to make it to screen on “Supernatural.” And the scene was cut out of the final edit. Those twin demons were never seen. Sam has still never had one of her “Supernatural” characters make it to screen. (Unless you keep your eyes super sharp, you might spot her as a nun in the background of the episode “Mother’s Little Helper.”) But that means Sam still could show up as another character on the show! So, let’s all cross our fingers and hope that Sam’s “Supernatural” curse will be broken this season. Come on Season 14! Maybe they could bring back those demon twins, eh. Wouldn’t that be fun?

TrunkSpace: What is your best case scenario when it comes to your careers moving forward? Do you hope to find a balance between acting and directing? If you could write your own professional future, what would it look like?
The Spear Sisters: Absolutely. We would love to move forward keeping both acting and directing in our lives. We can’t imagine giving one of them up or doing only one of them.

We have our own projects that we would like to direct, but are also very interested in taking on adaptations or working with someone else’s existing script. Our current dream project to direct is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”. This is a film that we have been wanting to do for years. Our version will keep Shakespeare’s original dialogue but set the story in our modern media-crazed world with a female Hamlet as the young royal.

We would love to see some great dynamic roles for us in the future. We love that acting gives us the opportunity to work on projects separate from each other, but we would also LOVE to join a project together playing twins. Now, not as a gimmick (as is painfully common to see when adult female twins appear on screen), but as fully developed characters that just happen to be twins. It is not something that we have seen much of and we would love to be part of bringing those characters to screen. And, while we are writing our dream future, let’s make them pirate twins!

TrunkSpace: We’ve all heard stories about the connections that twins have, but can you give us some insight into how being twins impacts your creativity? Does the one of your creative outputs inspire the other? Does having a creative twin make you a stronger creative person?
The Spear Sisters: Oh yeah, well, we come with the regular set of twin powers: we can read each other’s minds, feel what the other one feels, have our own secret language, etc. So that is useful.

(Laughter) Nah, we lie! No superpowers here, sadly.

We do think that we are lucky though. We don’t take for granted the unique situation that being twins who happen to have similar interests has put us in. We are wonderfully primed to join forces to get things done. We do think that it makes us stronger. We always have that person there to bounce ideas off of. Someone to tell those weird story ideas that pop to mind. We can bring our own ideas to the table, and build on what the other has brought. Having someone else there beside you who is equally as dedicated to making things happen is a great motivation. We give each other energy to keep going. Choosing to work together means that we are both accountable to the other, and supported by them. Having someone there who both supports you while pushing you to do the best, sometimes in that brutally honest way that only family can get away with, keeps us creating. It keeps us motivated to keep moving forward, to keep trucking ahead, even when the path ahead may be a treacherous uphill climb.

For more information on “CC” and Crazy8s, visit here.