Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Oh, my aunt, I don't know, got into this crazy car crash, and she'll tell the funniest story about how she got into this crazy car crash. And so that has always been an inspiration to me. Just trying to be funny like them and all my cousins too. Everyone's just, like, funny. They're funny. I don't know. And that's really how we share. It's like family reunions is people will tell the same story. If there's one person that hasn't heard, the one funny story will tell it again because it's just so much fun, and it's just such a uniting thing, and there's just such a. An ability to have humor in such difficult moments in life.
I remember we ended my. Like, this is crazy, but my. My. When my grandpa passed away, like, at his funeral, we all ended up, like, taking shots together, like, cheersing, like, to my grandpa and then just telling stories and, like, laughing so much that it. It kind of feels, like, wrong. But it was actually so beautiful and nice, and we used, like, humor to feel better.
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Welcome to the 5050 podcast, where we've made it our mission to nurture and empower the next generation of industry talent. Through this podcast, we expand the reach of the 5050 film festival by giving an exclusive peek behind the curtain into the creative and business sides of the entertainment industry. We sit down with folks from all corners of the biz, garnering educational insight into process, production and execution.
The voice you just heard was none other than Maria Quesada, whose short film Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday debuted at this year's 5050 comedy fest. Want to know what it's like writing, acting, directing, and producing your own short? Tune in to find out.
Well, Maria, thank you very much for coming onto the podcast.
[00:02:00] Speaker A: Of course.
[00:02:01] Speaker B: My. My first memory of you is you. Were you the first person to arrive out of all the filmmakers at the festival?
[00:02:08] Speaker A: I was.
[00:02:09] Speaker B: I think you were the first person to arrive.
And you beeline to me, gave me a big hug, and I was like, I've never met you in real life, but this is amazing, and this enthusiasm is amazing. And you. You felt. You made me feel comfortable when I'm the one who's supposed to, like, I am the filmmaker liaison. I'm supposed to make sure you guys are okay. But I just felt very. I felt very comforted in that moment. So I really appreciate that. And you are such a great personality at the festival. Yeah.
[00:02:39] Speaker A: Wow. That's so sweet. Thank you. I think it's just the Latina in me you know, like, we Latinos, we, like, say hi. We do, like, the half kiss on the cheek, which Americans think is crazy.
Big hugger.
Very loud.
[00:02:54] Speaker B: Well, you're just how it goes. And you were such a welcome personality at the festival.
And I know Luke has known you maybe a little bit longer just from.
[00:03:03] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, at the festival, Maria was like, I can't believe this is the first time we've met. And I was like, what?
[00:03:09] Speaker A: Yeah, it was. That was so crazy.
[00:03:11] Speaker C: Like, I feel like I've known you for, like, years, because we.
[00:03:14] Speaker A: No, I know we have, but why?
[00:03:17] Speaker C: It's funny because Wyatt talks about this too in the back in his. Or, like, in the assistant world of, like, you email back and forth with people and like, you feel like you get to know them and then you, like, you finally meet them in person and it's like, yeah, like we know each other.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:03:30] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: You've gone through something together.
[00:03:32] Speaker C: I, I used to just send. I don't even. I mean, it feels like a lot of emails to Maria and I, I never apologize for all those emails, but trying to. She, she worked with the comedy department, which we've spoken about. We've given Barnett Kelman a few shout outs on this, on this podcast.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: Oh, really?
Amazing.
Yeah. But, yeah, and so is David.
[00:03:55] Speaker C: I love David Isaacs.
[00:03:57] Speaker A: He's awesome.
[00:03:58] Speaker C: Maria was the Jack Okey fellow at usc, a fantastic. I mean, I'd love to get more into, like, what you want to do because this is my first time seeing you act in your film. Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday.
Which is awesome.
Seriously awesome and, like, hilarious in so many ways that we will get into. And I'm excited to get into all of that shortly.
But yeah, I mean, I was blown away with, with your performance and just how unique of, like, a character you are.
I know I just jumped from sending emails to you too.
He was an actor, but, but I, I, that's how it goes. I feel like we've, we've known each other for a while and it was awesome, I guess, meeting you in person for the first time, but it didn't feel like the first time for me, you know?
[00:04:48] Speaker A: Totally. You know, I actually didn't even know what you looked like until, like a year ago.
[00:04:53] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:04:53] Speaker C: I don't know how I know what you look like though, either. I don't.
[00:04:56] Speaker A: I did not know what you looked like. I was, like, talking to you for hours and I had, like, no idea.
[00:05:02] Speaker B: And what were, and what were your initial thoughts when you saw Luke for the first time?
[00:05:06] Speaker A: Stop that Was not what I. What I thought you looked like. I don't know what I thought you looked like, but you just have, like, really interesting.
[00:05:13] Speaker C: That is really interesting.
[00:05:14] Speaker A: Your hair is, like, so nice. You have, like, crazy hair.
Not expecting.
[00:05:21] Speaker C: Yeah, you're expecting, like, like a mid-40s, like.
[00:05:28] Speaker B: Some weirdo. Some weird weirdo. Slicked back hair, emailing USC students.
[00:05:36] Speaker C: Like a spider man.
[00:05:37] Speaker A: I knew he was, like, a student. I just don't know what I was expecting.
[00:05:43] Speaker C: Well, I'm happy it panned out.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely.
So we were just discussing off air, but you're in Costa Rica right now and you spend. You live there full time. Right. But I know you come to LA a lot.
[00:05:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: You grew up there, I assume.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: I did. Grew up here. I literally only moved for school for USC, so 2019.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: Wow. And was it a culture shock going to USC and being in la? I mean, I'm sure you had views of LA like everybody does, you know. Was it.
[00:06:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:20] Speaker B: Was it. Did it make out to what you thought it was gonna be like, or.
[00:06:24] Speaker A: It was like, insane. Like, I think I have the.
The quality of not being American. So I do get excited about American things. So I wasn't that. You know how people are like, oh, don't go to the west side. Or, like, what? Like, people in LA can be very snobby about, like, different parts of it. I love. I love the Grove, for example. Like, I love the Grove. Like, I love the things that I love. Din Tai Fung. I love, like, Olive Garden. I love things from LA or like.
But.
So I really liked it. But was what was the biggest culture shock, obviously, was, like, college. Just the college atmosphere. Being away from home for the first time was so tough. It was so, so tough. I'm very close to my family and my friends, and I went to the same school my whole life, like kindergarten to senior year.
And we were 60 people or 50 people.
So I knew the same 50 kids my whole life, my friends from my whole life. And then you're just thrown into this huge school, crazy atmosphere, new people, no family.
It was very, very crazy.
[00:07:39] Speaker C: When did you start feeling a sense of comfort or confidence at school? Or was there a moment where it.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Was like, Honestly, it was pretty crazy because I got Covid. I got the COVID outbreak during second semester, freshman year.
So I didn't.
I didn't really have a chance to really get comfortable. I was just starting my first production class when Covid hit and we got sent home and I was feeling a little more comfortable because I had Sort of like this group of Latino friends, and they really made me feel at home because we all sort of were looking for that home aspect. And just this, like, group of Latinos that were still so close today were kind of where I felt most comfortable. And when I was finally getting to meet production people, I was so intimidated and I felt so imposter syndrome, so out of the loop. And then we got sent home, and I don't think I felt comfortable and, like, good about school until I finally got to go back, which was beginning of junior year, because I was finally excited, finally felt more confident, like, in my own skin. I'd grown a lot in Covid personally. A lot of therapy, a lot of, like, me time to figure it out and be a little more comfortable in my skin.
[00:08:54] Speaker C: And then, thankfully, during COVID were you working on. On your own?
[00:08:59] Speaker A: Yeah, we had to do everything on our own. We had to do the same classes, but everything had to be virtual production at home with what you had. And I came back home to Costa Rica. I was like, there's no reason for me to be in the US which was doing much worse. So I came back home and it was all me with a tripod. I was, like, acting in my own things. I was not very good, but it was me, my family.
That was it.
[00:09:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:26] Speaker A: Yeah. It was crazy.
[00:09:28] Speaker B: That's so interesting. I feel like Covid for a lot of people was weirdly a time, even though there was intense isolation, it was like this feeling of, like, oh, like, I. There's no excuse anymore to not, like, somehow gain confidence in myself, you know, I. I felt that as well, and I felt I had a very similar trajectory. I think we were in college at the same time, or started college at the same time. But coming back for junior year, I was in New York, but it was like.
It was.
I feel like there was no.
There was. It was like I now only have two years left. Like, I. I lost all this time. Like, I can't. I can't go through the BS of, like, being nervous to put myself out there in this way. It was just like, go for it, you know?
[00:10:11] Speaker A: Totally. That's exactly how I felt. And I think it was.
Honestly, I really think I see the COVID experience. For me, I see a lot of positivity in my own life. Like, I think I was extremely lucky about my Covid experience, and I really think. I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't happened, but I.
A lot of things ended up really aligning for me, and, like, Helping me.
[00:10:37] Speaker C: What. What genre were those shorts you were making? I mean, or those films? I mean, were you always kind of thinking comedy or was there a moment of like drama or action?
[00:10:47] Speaker A: They were so dramatic.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: That is. That's shocking in a way, because.
[00:10:54] Speaker A: So dramatic.
So dramatic. Actually, I feel like I've always loved comedy and I've always been like a funny person with a sense of humor. I always joke and I'm kind of like class clown.
But in my work, I was trying to be so serious and deal with my trauma and my anxiety, and it was all about my anxiety, all about just how I was feeling and just really serious stuff.
And then I think I sort of. And then I was taking during COVID so many comedy classes. Actually, I started taking.
I took Intro to Comedy with David Isaacs and then I was taking a lot of screenwriting classes and writing more comedic stuff. And then I took probably my favorite class I took my whole time at USC was writing for late night comedy. Wow. I think only happened one time and it was Professor John Bauman, who was an SNL writer when Conan was there, which was insane.
And yeah, he sadly passed away like a couple years after, which is so sad. But he was insane. He was so good. We had to write monologue jokes. We had to write like Weekend Update type sketches. We had to write sketches. Sketches. It was so much fun. He brought like Colin Jost to the class over Zoom. It was. He wrote so many. He brought so many, like amazing people. And that was just such a fun class. And I was. That's when I really started.
[00:12:37] Speaker C: What was the big takeaway from a class like that, like for your own writing or creativity or filmmaking.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: I think that it really helped me become a better joke writer, which when you're writing anything comedic, you have to write jokes. It's the same.
It's the same thing. It's always the same structure, basically. And I think I really learned that. It's so hard.
It's so, so hard. People don't think it's that hard. It's probably the hardest thing to write good jokes every single week. It's so hard. And at the same time, it's so similar to just normal story structure. It's like set up punchline kind of thing.
Punchline kind of thing. Yeah. It's like a three, you know, it's like a three part thing. It's always the three part thing you always need. Things come in threes. The rule of threes is real.
It's important.
That's why my movie is called Happy, happy, happy birthday. Because I was like, the rule of threes is serious. I need. It has to have three.
[00:13:36] Speaker B: It's establishing a pattern and then doubling down on that, you know, or, like doing.
[00:13:40] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah, yeah. And then at the same time, I learned so much about, like, how incongruity is like the.
The real comedy maker. So do you just, like, think about the weirdest thing, basically, that doesn't match what you already set up, and that is gonna be the funniest thing and really throwing the audience for a loop you have?
[00:14:01] Speaker C: I don't mean to put you on the spot, but is there something you can think of that's like. I mean, I guess, honestly, using happy, happy birthday, right?
[00:14:06] Speaker A: Like, yeah, it's okay. Let's say. Let's think of that. It's like when.
When they're like.
Like the. The joke that most people laugh at, which is the. The paraplegic joke.
[00:14:18] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:14:20] Speaker A: So there's like, that joke is very good. It's very unexpected, and that's why it's funny, because you're so not expecting that.
[00:14:30] Speaker B: What is. What is. Can you explain to us the setup? I mean, I remember the visual, which I was dying at, but, like, what is the reference to it and when it cuts to that.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: Yeah. So basically it's. She's at a job interview for a media company that is kind of parodying companies we know that do a lot of YouTube videos using real people and kind of social experiment vibes. Anyway, so she's in the job interview and it's. It's kind of already making fun with the interviewer about sort of like this, like, millennial type company that is very startupy and now is successful. And it's very diversity kind of vibes, but not really. It's just all very performative.
[00:15:17] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:15:18] Speaker A: And obviously she's pooping her pants, so you're very concerned about that. So you're already like, oh, this is the joke. You know, she.
This crazy millennial interviewer, she's pooping her pants. And then it's like a third joke on top of that. It's like stacking, basically. So it cuts to her being like, oh, we're actually shooting a super revolutionary, like, diverse video right now. And it just cuts to the video they're shooting, and it's like six young people all in wheelchairs, and they're sort of like discussing about something. They're kind of arguing and then just the host goes like, okay, now can the real paraplegic please remain seated and then get up.
[00:16:06] Speaker B: That as A one liner is absolutely genius. Will it like. Because usually it's like, will the real blank please stand up? You know?
[00:16:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: And it's flipping it and reversing it, saying, well, the real.
This feels wrong, what we're laughing at. But it's like, no, I know.
[00:16:24] Speaker A: I do better this so much. I was like, we can't put this.
[00:16:27] Speaker B: No, no, I. And. And I want to get into that too, because I find that's very interesting. Like, you know, with a joke that some people could interpret as offensive, but the choice to keep it in because I think objectively it is funny. Like, not. I don't think the fact that the person is a paraplegic is the butt of the joke. I think it's a. But the butt of the joke is the company who's choosing to do a video this day distasteful, you know.
[00:16:54] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:55] Speaker B: Okay. I think we've gotten out of the cancellation.
[00:16:58] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. No, that. That's the argument that I went through.
Absolutely. We were like, okay, it's making fun of the company. And actually there was like a. And that's where it's a fine line because there was also a second clarification about the butt of the joke being the company. So there was this line that I said originally in the script after we cut back where she goes like, oh, who wants to work at a place called the Tip? And then. And then the Ali character would say, yeah, I don't. And actually their content is super offensive.
[00:17:29] Speaker B: Just to clarify to the viewer that it's.
[00:17:31] Speaker A: Yeah, to clarify. But we. But I like feel like I made the decision to take it out because I was like, I don't like when things are like spoon fed to the audience when you're like, no, no, this is what you should think about it.
And it just didn't feel like genuine that she would say that. So we decided to like cut it out.
[00:17:52] Speaker C: You did a really nice job though of like, I mean, the classic showdown tell but like tonally in a very, just real way of like Ally who you play. And I also want you to give like the logline because listeners of this episode might not have seen the actual film yet.
[00:18:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:09] Speaker C: Like your character very much does not fit in that space. Like it's. It's two completely different, very, very opposing perspectives. Like very clearly, like you are an outsider in that space, you know, and they're very foreign.
[00:18:22] Speaker A: Totally.
[00:18:23] Speaker C: So.
[00:18:23] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think that's the incongruity thing that I was like talking about. So what's really unexpected at A on a birthday, pooping your pants. Right.
What's really unexpected when you poop your pants, that there's a surprise party at your house. So you just try to. It's like having a twist, right?
So. Oh yeah, the long line. So Basically it's about 23 year old Ali having the worst birthday of her life, which ends up with her pooping her pants and then getting home to a surprise party and all the chaos that ensued in that day.
[00:19:07] Speaker B: I love that. And I want to get into specifically your inspirations, your comedic inspirations. Because I mean just that one joke that we've been honing in on is very, it's very Tina Fey to me. Like it's very sort of like, I don't know, it reminds me of like 30 Rock or some other very like self referential shows. So I'm curious like what, what your comedic inspirations are and who you're inspired by.
[00:19:36] Speaker A: Thank you. Well, there's so many people, there's so many different things I like and I think I was trying to put a lot of them into this. Definitely.
I really like when there's emotion behind humor and there's still sort of like a personal message to it. So Fleabag was a very big inspiration.
Lady Bird was a very big inspiration and the main characters in that were definitely a big inspiration for like her journey.
In terms of who I like, I love, I love 30 Brock, I love Tina Fey, I love SNL. Was a huge, huge SNL fan for like the Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig era, all of that stuff.
I love Barry.
Anything Bill Hader does, I'm like obsessed. I love Nathan Fielder. Like, I just like so many different styles of comedy, but I definitely really like stupid things like arrested development type of really silly, but so smart. Yeah, I love that. And then definitely like my family, my family is so funny. There's so many people in my family that are so funny. But it's such a different type of humor that you don't really see on screen a lot because it's very sponsored specific to like our culture and our family. And there's I think things to my humor, I guess, like this sort of poop joke situation that's just like.
[00:21:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:20] Speaker A: How you joke around with your family or your friends and it's absolutely silly.
[00:21:24] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
I want to get into that a little bit more. Like was was humor always a thing in your household? And I feel like humor is love. Right. Humor is comfort in so many ways. So I feel like that's what when you, when you tie that into family, I'm like, that is, that's, that's, that's how my dad and I show love to each other a lot of the time. You know, it's like through humor and through doing impressions of people we know or talking about memories in, like a weird way. You know, like, things like that, like, are really comforting and loving.
[00:21:59] Speaker A: No, totally. And I think obviously my family is a huge inspiration to me. They are a big, like, emotional part of the story and the short and just. I don't know. My family. I have a really big family. My mom is one of eight kids and I am one of 11.
Now 12 cousins in my mom's side of the family, so. But it's very different. I think some people in, in America might not know. Like in Latino culture, specifically in Costa Rica, you are your extended family. Is your family, like, you live close to them? I live 15 minutes away from most of them. You see them every single weekend.
They're like your best. My cousins are my best friends. They're like extended siblings. So we're really, really, really close.
And I don't know how, I don't know why, but my uncles, like my mom and her sister and then a couple of my other uncles are just like some of the funniest people I know. They're so funny in such different ways. They're really animated, really big, really expressive, which is where I think I really got my, like, expressiveness and like, willingness to be crazy and look crazy on camera from. Because they're just like that. They're big. They tell stories in the most animated, hilarious ways. And just stories about crazy things that happen to them.
[00:23:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:31] Speaker A: In their lives. So it's like, oh, my aunt, I don't know, got into this crazy car crash and she'll tell the funniest story about how she got into this crazy car crash. And so that has always been an inspiration to me. Just trying to be funny like them.
Yeah. And all my cousins do. Everyone's just like, funny. They're funny. I don't know. And that's really how we share. It's like family reunions is people will tell the same story. If there's one person that hasn't heard the one funny story, we'll tell it again.
[00:24:00] Speaker B: And you'll all be laughing too. Like, it's exactly. Of course, at the beginning you're like, oh, my God, like, we're gonna go through this 15 minute thing.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:08] Speaker B: Then at the end you're like, I get why this is funny.
[00:24:10] Speaker A: But it's so funny that you want to hear it again. And then if they were all part of the same story, they'll all tell it.
And it's just such a uniting thing, and there's just such a. An ability to have humor in such difficult moments in life.
I remember we ended my. Like, this is crazy, but my. My. When my grandpa passed away, like, at his funeral, we all ended up, like, taking shots together, like, cheersing, like, to my grandpa and then just telling stories and, like, laughing so much.
[00:24:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:42] Speaker A: That it. It kind of feels, like, wrong, but it was actually so beautiful and nice. And we used, like, humor to feel better in a really hard day.
[00:24:54] Speaker B: It's the way you cope. And I think under the humor, whether it's. It's, you know, serious and it's your way of coping with grief, or it's just like, this is your dad's personality and he gets stressed out or whatever. And then, like, you're able to make fun of him for doing something absolutely ridiculous, you know, Like, I think there's always. There's always some sort of truth and personality underlying the comedy, especially with family stuff. So I think that's, like, super, super powerful. And what I'm sensing is that ties into your. Your motivation with comedy of. Of, you know, doing. Doing something meaningful and important beyond that. That comedy, you know?
[00:25:34] Speaker A: Yeah, totally. No, and I think I was saying how I was doing so much dramatic stuff, like my early college years and in high school and stuff. And I think it's because I was trying to do something important. You know, I want my. I want to feel like, well, if I'm doing film, I'm doing something that is still important and might help someone. It might, like, you know, change something. And then I think I've started realizing that comedy has done that for me so many times. During COVID I did not watch a single dramatic film. I watched exclusively comedies. I saw like, a hundred comedy movies. Just because I did it helped me feel better.
[00:26:16] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:26:19] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think now I've, like, accepted that and kind of think that it's okay to do that. And I don't even really love super dramatic stuff.
So then I was like, why am I doing it if I cringe every time I watch it?
[00:26:34] Speaker B: You know, I get it. I went through a phase like that, too, but with. I think with some theater stuff, I was definitely trying to write very serious, dramatic, powerful stuff. And it didn't. At the end of the day, it didn't fully, like, I like some of that stuff, but it didn't fully feel, like, authentically me. And there is really nothing better than, like, being on set and like, the sound guy is shaking because he's having trouble keeping the laughter in. And, like, there's literally nothing better than that. It is my life purpose now to just like, try and make people laugh, you know, when I'm involving myself and that sort of onset environment. So I get it. It's really, really powerful.
[00:27:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:15] Speaker C: It's important too, though. I feel like being able to swing that very dramatic route and then find yourself in a place of like, this is way too serious. Like, I'm laughing right now at myself, because this is absurd. Like, this is. What am I doing? Like, this is exactly. It's not that deep. Like, what am doing?
[00:27:37] Speaker B: I'm not good enough to be doing this.
[00:27:39] Speaker C: Exactly. And you're acting and you're. And you're like getting a tea or whatever. And it's like, what? This isn't me, you know, but you have to. You have to have that. That aha moment, that epiphany on that dramatic scene that you're in the closet and all dark, like, getting ready for and preparing for, you know, and see it on film and see it in the edit to be like, okay, I did that. You know, I scratched that itch. Like, now let's find somewhere. Which you did beautifully and happy, happy, happy birthday. Of like. I mean, you said it perfectly. Of like, humor backed by emotion, you know, and it's like, I love comedy because comedy is life, you know, it's like, it's such a genre with so many little sub genres within it. But like, like, yes, there's drama in everyday life. And we also laugh, like you said, like a. A grandpa passing or something like that and finding that laughter and connecting people through that. But you, you definitely are very grounded as a human and it makes sense. Your work follows suit, you know, like with the family ties and obviously the relationship with your mom, like, in the film. Is that actually your mom?
[00:28:46] Speaker A: Yeah, my mom was. And my dad. And my dad.
[00:28:51] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:28:52] Speaker B: How do they do on set?
[00:28:54] Speaker A: They were not on set. They was like, oh, right.
[00:28:57] Speaker B: It was just.
[00:28:57] Speaker A: No, it was so.
So they killed it. They were both like one take wonders, basically. I was. I was so embarrassed, like, because that's what happens with the. With the serious scenes. Then I just cringe. I don't like doing them, but I know they're necessary. So I'm like, I give my mom the. Just my laptop with the lines written on it, and I was like, here's the phone. Just read it. I'm gonna like, because I don't like it.
And she just read it once. It was perfect. Like completely perfect. Yeah. And she gave it like her own spin. Like I'm telling you, she's like a natural performer. All of my uncles and like my aunt are just natural performers.
[00:29:39] Speaker C: All of your. And all of your Covid films and stuff. Like, have you. Have you had them?
[00:29:43] Speaker A: No.
[00:29:44] Speaker C: No. Okay.
[00:29:45] Speaker A: No. Actually one of my cousins was in my. In one of my Covid films, but I haven't yet. But they are. I've written definitely many scripts about them that just haven't been made. That hopefully someday they'll want to be in the hop.
[00:30:02] Speaker C: And the casting.
[00:30:03] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:04] Speaker C: Is something I'd love to talk about. I mean, even going back to that job interview of like, that interviewer was so fantastic.
[00:30:12] Speaker A: Like so perfect. Amazing. She's so good. Her name is Emma Bridges. She is incredible. Incredible. We cast her through, I think Breakdown Express or backstage, one of those. And we were looking at so many options. I was so open for this. I was just like, there's so many different ways you could go that would fit that. Yeah. We were like, okay. It could be like a really like we hit like a gay guy or like a. Or just like a white guy so that it's like very opposite what the company represents. Or the weird woman or somebody that's like a super woke millennial in their 30s. Like something. Something like that. And then her audition was so funny. She just took a risk. She just was in a swiveling chair and was like her back against the camera so you couldn't see her. She turns around, she has like a bag of Cheetos and she's just eating cheetos while she's doing the scene.
And I was like, that is. We were laughing so hard at her. They were just like, yeah, it's just her.
[00:31:25] Speaker B: That's it.
[00:31:26] Speaker A: Did not have time. Did not have time for a callback. I was just like, it's her and you'll just. Yeah, just do that. It was perfect.
[00:31:33] Speaker C: How many days was actual production? How many. How many shooting days?
[00:31:37] Speaker A: It was three days.
[00:31:38] Speaker C: Okay. Wow.
[00:31:40] Speaker A: Yeah, we had to get a lot done.
[00:31:44] Speaker C: And the rest of casting. I mean, were those friends your friends? Were they. Obviously we know Johnny Marks and. And other familiar faces in there from usc.
[00:31:54] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:55] Speaker C: But I mean, was it. Were they were like, were those all your friends? Was that like again, more casting?
[00:32:01] Speaker A: Yeah, that was down or backstage.
So Johnny was probably my first choice and I had to audition people Because I didn't know Johnny. I had seen Johnny stand up because my.
My boyfriend and his roommate were in the same stand up class as Johnny. So when I went to see them, I watched Johnny stand up. And I was like, guys, so funny. So freaking funny.
[00:32:32] Speaker B: 50, 50. Guest of the pod.
[00:32:34] Speaker A: Oh, my God.
[00:32:35] Speaker B: Former guest.
[00:32:36] Speaker A: So funny. And I was just like, okay, let's, let's, let's do Johnny. And I talked to him. I got his contact and he was unavailable for the shooting dates. I don't remember why. So I just, like, audition other people. There were some other people I had in mind and I talked to them, but they. I just, like, it wasn't clicking and I was trying a different direction where it was someone that's not that flamboyant. And it just didn't work. And because I was like, I don't want to go, like, the crazy flamboyant way. And then it was just like, it just has to be Johnny. And I was like, what can we do, Johnny? What can we do? We need to make this work. And he, he was helpful and he made it work. And I was like, I'll organize the schedule around you. And so we did that.
[00:33:24] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:33:24] Speaker A: And then he took, like a shift off work and he was able to do it. And we didn't. I didn't audition him, didn't, like, see him read it once, didn't rehearse. He just showed up and killed it. And that was the only time I really, really broke. I couldn't do it.
Sweating. When he starts sweating, he's, like, hyper, Melanie. He's having, like, an exercise.
[00:33:50] Speaker B: How did he do that? Like, how I know for a fact he doesn't, like, do that sort of thing, you know, like, he's such a.
[00:33:56] Speaker A: No.
Like, we dumped so much water on him first that it was so funny because I was like, just get him wet, somebody. And then he was just like, it's fine, I'll just. And he had this huge water jug and he was just like, completely dumped it.
And then we would have to look at him when we were doing the take and he was fully going for it. We couldn't do it. Like, the three of us kept breaking so hard that I had to tell him, I'm so sorry, but just don't do it. Just stand there.
Just stand there so I can have the island. Don't do it. He was so funny, you guys. And then he did, like, an even crazier version.
Sorry, what?
[00:34:34] Speaker C: I was just saying, like, you guys have a lot of chemistry. On screen. And obviously there weren't, like, there wasn't that much, like, actual conversation between the two of you, but, like, it, like, I saw that and was like, oh, like, these are friends. Like, Maria and Johnny know each other. They go back.
[00:34:49] Speaker A: Because I think Johnny's just.
No, because I think Johnny is just like that. Like, I didn't know him. And he was so warm, so kind from the get go over, text, over anything, you could just feel his warmth and his kindness. When he got to set, he was already like, oh, my God. And I was like, we're best friends.
[00:35:10] Speaker B: And so he makes you feel like you're his best friend. Definitely.
[00:35:13] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:35:13] Speaker A: He made me feel like, yeah, we're besties, we love each other. And so it just was so comfortable. And then for the other girls, for my best friends. So Elizabeth plays Emma, Elizabeth Lambert. And she's amazing. She. We were so lucky because she auditioned on breakdown also.
We loved her, like, from the beginning, we just loved her. And then she had actually just moved to LA like, a week prior. So we got really lucky that she was just here. She's from Arizona and she had just moved to la. So it was her first job in la, which I'm very proud of, because I think she's gonna be a star.
And then my other best friend is Hollis Brown, who is my real life best friend. She was my freshman year roommate and she is an actress, but she was just my best friend. So I basically wrote that part for her. So that was great. And then it made me feel so much more comfortable. And then everyone at the party is. Is like a friend or a friend of a friend.
[00:36:19] Speaker C: Yeah, there's a. There's a shot in there that I was like, wow, how did she get this? And that was the.
You sitting in traffic.
[00:36:29] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:30] Speaker C: How did you.
[00:36:31] Speaker A: I'm so. Oh, my God, I love that you asked about this.
[00:36:34] Speaker C: How did you do that?
[00:36:36] Speaker A: That was so fun. That was.
[00:36:39] Speaker C: And for the. For the listeners, you know, you can give them a little. Set the scene for them.
[00:36:44] Speaker A: Yeah. So basically it's this scene where Ali gets. Finally gets into her car and she's trying to drive back home because she's about to literally shit her pants. And she gets stuck in crazy rush hour, LA traffic. And so it's kind of like this wide shot of her car parked in the. Like in the middle of traffic with a bunch of cars around it.
And that was actually my dp, Trey's idea, which I was like, you're a genius. We were shot listing and I had that Scene. And in my mind, it was just like, we're not gonna show traffic or we're gonna get in traffic with the camera, like, do like a POV or something. And he was like, I actually was listening to a podcast, and it was talking about faking a traffic shot. And so basically what you do, which is what we did, we were in the parking lot of the set where we shot the interview scene.
So that had a big parking lot. And what we did was park all the crew cars sort of like in a kind of like hexagon shape. And so it was like a couple of cars up here, then more cars here and more cars here, and put the car in the middle. The camera was on a ladder, facing, angled down.
And then we put crew members in every car, and once they would call action, we would all just, like, go forward like a.
A little bit.
[00:38:12] Speaker B: Everybody would move forward.
[00:38:13] Speaker A: Everybody would move forward a teeny bit.
Yeah. And so it's all just crew.
[00:38:20] Speaker B: How long did that take? What was that? What was the.
[00:38:23] Speaker A: It was so movie magic. It was the best. It was nothing. Like, probably 30 minutes.
[00:38:30] Speaker B: Crazy.
[00:38:31] Speaker A: Yeah. We had just, like. It was the most. It was like the logistic of parking, the shuffling the cars around. But everyone was so helpful. Like, we would just get like, even, like, Emma, the actor was like, helping, like, her cars in it. Like, anyone that had free hands while we were shooting the.
The interview scene was just helping.
[00:38:53] Speaker C: Okay, I got you.
[00:38:54] Speaker A: Puzzle the cars.
[00:38:55] Speaker C: Yeah, it. It completely worked.
You guys shot this in a. In a really awesome way.
Like, it looks great. The film looks great. A lot of really fun, like, using, like, wide angle lenses and stuff like that.
[00:39:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:39:11] Speaker C: That are just. It's hilarious. Like, a lot of times at our level, you know, it's more about, like, okay, let's just put a camera on sticks and, like, watch Wyatt dance around in a room, you know, with the Cosmo, whatever it is. Or. Yeah, you know, it's. It's not a lot of times the connection of, like, how can we really get intentional with lens choice to, like, you know, we're. We're looking up at you digging in your purse for keys, and it's like just a crazy angle, you know?
[00:39:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:39:42] Speaker C: That, like, makes you. It just is. It's a funny image, period. You know, like, there's no need of context. It's just funny to look at, like.
[00:39:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:39:50] Speaker C: Do you. Do you shoot all of your stuff like that? Are you always kind of thinking about lens choice or was this, you know, a lot of conversation with your dp? Which it sounds like they had a hand in, like, that traffic shot. Yeah, yeah.
[00:40:02] Speaker A: No, I'm super visual. I've always been so, so visual. Super, like, into, like, the aesthetic of things. I like pretty things and things that look good, and I, as much as I love a lot of things that, you know, look fine, you know, most early 2000s comedies look super whatever. Like, very, like, bland. They're still the most hilarious thing. Like, it doesn't matter. But I really appreciate when comedy looks good, and I knew I wanted that just because I like things to look nice.
So I had seen Trey, my DPs work in this really amazing short film that I worked on called Noodles forever.
It's on YouTube if people want to check it out. It's a really great short. And it's actually a birthday party. Like, a dad comes to a birthday party, and he runs over a little wiener dog, and turns out, like, the dog was, like, the special guest of the party. Like, the wiener themed party.
And so he, like, put the dog, like, in the box, and he's just, like, the whole time trying not to get caught.
[00:41:18] Speaker B: Oh, great concept.
[00:41:20] Speaker A: It's so funny. Yeah. This is directed by McKinley Carlin, who's amazing.
And that was, like, one of the most fun sets I've been on. I was art director on that, and that was so fun.
But that's where I met Trey, and I loved his working style. It's the first time that I'd seen a DP on set that was so cool and calm and having fun and good vibes. Sometimes he's already like. And I was just like, that's the vibe that I want. And then when I finally saw the film, it premiered at nifty, like, 2023.
And we were there, too. And I saw it. I was like, this looks amazing. And so I hit him up instantly. I was like, I want you to do my.
My short. Because especially the colors. I'm, like, huge color person.
[00:42:12] Speaker C: Does he, like. I didn't see who colored it.
[00:42:15] Speaker A: Yeah, he colored it.
[00:42:16] Speaker C: That's great.
[00:42:17] Speaker A: Color did amazing. I just love colorful stuff. So I wanted it all to look very colorful.
I definitely. I will always do, like, a Pinterest board or, like, a shot deck.
Shot deck. I just do, like, a shot deck board before I.
Before I even start writing.
Usually when I do, like, my outline, I'll do, like, a, like, an aesthetic vibe of what I'm trying to do.
[00:42:44] Speaker C: It's a really. It's a really great thing to do. And, like.
[00:42:47] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm just curious because typically in comedy, from my understanding, it is a sort of, like, you know, joke first, writing first thing. And then, at least in the stuff I've done in the past, the visuals are not an afterthought, but they're not as much of a priority. And that's just, like, whether it's the way I've been taught or my. My interest. Like, I'm. I'm not as much a visual person, but I do think it's so fascinating to. So what is. What is the order of events when you're actually conceiving the idea of happy, happy, happy birthday? Like, is.
Are you. Was it the mood board first or was it, okay, I have this idea? Or, like, how did it. You know, how did that come about?
[00:43:30] Speaker A: It was so long ago, so I don't.
[00:43:32] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:43:33] Speaker A: Remember super perfectly. This was 20, 23, like, around my birthday or. Yeah, like, around my birthday. And I think I was like, I need to do a short. I want to write a short so I can make it.
I didn't know what. And I just gave myself a couple of, like, guidelines, I would say. I think I knew.
I felt the budget had to be 10k top. So it's like, I need to do something that I can do easily, something that is comedic. I knew I wanted to try comedy first, and then I knew I wanted to be, like, personal. So I think it started with that. And I came up probably with a rough idea of the poop your pants.
I don't even know if it was poop your pants. I think the first thing that I came up with was it's a horrible birthday. It's like a bad birthday.
And then I think I created a Pinterest board, which I could send you guys, like, pictures so you guys can see, like, what it.
Because it has things that are still kind of awesome.
[00:44:46] Speaker C: I'm sure you can share with the. With the listeners, too.
[00:44:49] Speaker A: Yeah, it's like the vibes. It was like the vibes. It's like there was like, a dog with a hat, like, things like that. And I think I tried that for the first time to, like, create a board and then be like, what comes up?
[00:45:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:01] Speaker A: Based on these images. I like.
[00:45:04] Speaker B: It's the idea that it's like birthdays. Birthdays are so commercial, you know, and they're so like. When you think of a birthday, it's like lots of pinks and balloons and stuff. And I'm sure that was on there. But then, like, there's this element of, like, messiness too, you know?
[00:45:17] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, and I actually. You know why I think I decided to do that? Because I'd never done that. I don't think I'd ever done that where I try to associate based on like a brainstorm or like images. I think it was because whenever I see a Jordan Peele movie, and especially after I watched. Nope.
I thought, how does this man come up with these ideas?
Because his visuals are so crazy. It's like a house with a, like a, A blood cloud on top. And then like the little like, like gas station thing is in a field or whatever. Oh my God, I'm so sorry. My dog's about it.
[00:46:02] Speaker C: Motorcyclist with the cr. Chrome helmet. It's like such a.
[00:46:05] Speaker A: Exactly like such. Or the, or the, the hand. Like the ape hand. Like so many weird visuals. So I was like, I wonder if he has the idea first and then comes up with this or things of images and then figures out how to put them together.
But yeah, so I think I was like, I wonder if he comes up with these visuals first because he's definitely a visual director. And I was like, I wonder if he looks at the visuals first and then figures out how to connect them.
So I did the same thing. I wrote in like flashcards, like pooping.
[00:46:39] Speaker C: Like an interview of him, you know.
[00:46:41] Speaker A: No, I didn't, I didn't.
[00:46:43] Speaker C: More of like, let's watch a ton of Jordan Peele movies and like see structurally or format wise.
[00:46:47] Speaker A: No, I didn't and I don't, I don't know. Like he had. I, I couldn't find an interview, but I was just like, I'm assuming it's a mix of both.
And so I was like, let's try that. Like, I have a vague idea, like bad day, birthday, blah, blah. And then I wrote down like visuals. I thought of like a dog pooping.
[00:47:09] Speaker B: Which is in it.
[00:47:11] Speaker A: Yeah. And then I wrote like a cake in a bathtub or like.
Yeah. And then you.
[00:47:19] Speaker B: Yeah, you found those connections because. Yeah, those definitely do have connections.
[00:47:24] Speaker C: I was, I was having this conversation the other day with a writer and we were talking about this kind of process, but of like the idea of spilling just like everything out of you to like almost with the intent of like a writing a 300 page book, like, this is the universe, like this is the world in which this story is going to live in.
And then once that is like breathing and alive, you kind of are able to go in and reach and like pull out like the dog pooping and the, the cake in the bathtub. And then you're slowly, like you said with the note cards, like, how is this gonna fit? And maybe this interview happens here and this. What's so nuts about writing? And I. I think a lot of people say that the magic's in the editing and there's magic in all of it. Like on stage, set to whatever. But, like, in writing, like, it's nuts when all of a sudden you're like, wait, no. Like, it makes so much sense that, like, Johnny's rolling at this scene or like, that's a. Maybe a tough example, but, like, she's stuck in traffic and then like, it's right after the interview and, like, thinking about, like, how scenes interact with one another and actually just like the. The placement of those scenes.
[00:48:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:48:43] Speaker C: But what I was getting at was the vibes thing is such an awesome way to do that of, like, Instead of a 300 page book, it's like images, visuals that very much define, like, the vibe of this universe. And you can look at it.
[00:49:00] Speaker B: And finding humor through those images too, I think is an important part of it.
[00:49:04] Speaker C: Totally.
[00:49:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:49:05] Speaker B: Do you search for humor in images? Is that something you do?
[00:49:10] Speaker A: I think it, like.
Like, for example, for this, it was just so much.
It was Pinterest. And I'll. I'll, like, when you guys see it, I'm gonna send you guys screenshots. But when you see it, there's certain pictures that are just, like, funny. It's like a girl crying and then it's like my life sucked or something. Like, like from, I don't know, like Seinfeld or Sex in the City.
[00:49:31] Speaker C: Just like.
[00:49:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:32] Speaker A: Sort of things that I was like, yeah, that's funny.
[00:49:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:36] Speaker A: And I think it was a. It was a.
A tough medium for me because, yeah, I, I, like, I said I am very visual and very, like, aesthetics are very important to me that I wanted things to both look funny and nice.
So, for example, that. That shot that Luke was talking about where she's like, picking, trying to find her keys, and it's like a low angle.
I'm like, well, yeah, I'm gonna look bad from this angle, but if we use this, like, really nice wide lens, it'll look. I. I will look bad. So that'll be funny, but it'll be interesting.
Same thing with, like, the. The cake in the bathtub shot. Like, I look. I hate that just with the still in everything and I look so stupid, and I made myself look stupider. Like, I was like, okay, this shot is pretty.
It's funny because there's a Cake. And she's in a bathtub. How do we make it funnier? She's wearing a stupid pink shower.
[00:50:38] Speaker B: That is so interesting because you directed it, right? You directed an end start. You, you are making yourself look bad. Like, it's not like, like, as an actor, I know I trust the director. If they have a vision where I look bad, even if I got it, like, I gotta take my ego out of it. Like, they just like, yeah, they make me look bad. Like, I can't tell you how many times Luke has dressed me up in an insane, insane way and put me on camera. Like, let's just be honest here. But like, but that's nice for me because I'm not. I would never get those shots. Like, I'm never like, oh, I should be in this crazy costume, you know? But it's Luke. Luke having his perspective be like, no, no, we want you holding that magnifying glass. Like, whatever, you know, like, making me look insane.
[00:51:24] Speaker A: I did it to myself. And the amount of time, like, if I look through my imessage, if I searched, I. Why did I do this to myself? The amount of times that would come up is crazy. With my, like, editor. Like, with my editor, with my producers. Yeah, with anyone.
My editor, she's like one of my best friends. And we all have like, this, like, we're all part of the same, like, friend group. My producers and my editor and like, other people. And the amount of times she would send the ugliest freaking still from the movie and I would be like, oh, my God, why did I do that?
[00:52:03] Speaker B: I hate that. But we're putting it in it.
[00:52:06] Speaker A: Yeah, but I'm like, why did I do this to myself? People are gonna see this on a big screen.
[00:52:13] Speaker C: How, how, how lined up or how exact was the final product edit, editing wise, compared to or in relation to that script?
[00:52:28] Speaker A: I would say very.
I think it was very.
Yeah. Honestly, I feel like I'm proud of how close it was because I. I'm not scared of, of like completely transforming something in an edit.
And I love editing. That's probably my favorite part.
[00:52:50] Speaker C: But like, you. I know you have an editor, but like, you editing or you like. Because do you like working with an editor or just that entire process?
[00:53:00] Speaker A: The entire process. I have a. I have a big editing background.
I really like editing. I think I'm a good editor. I had like, a lot of. I had like, editing internships. Like, it's something I really do enjoy. But obviously I feel like this is probably a lot of editors. The technical Part of it I don't love. Like, it's annoying to deal with the software to organize the footage, blah, blah. So this was my dream come true. To have an editor who is an insane editor. Like, Destiny macassar is my editor. She's insane. She's such a good editor, and we're such close friends that I would just go to her house. She has, like, a little couch in her room, and then, like, the. The laptop. So I would literally lay down on a couch with a blanket and be like, know this? No, let's try this. Move it. Like, two things. I was. It was the best.
[00:53:52] Speaker B: It was like, yeah, that's pretty nice.
[00:53:54] Speaker A: My dream come true. And I'm sure it was, like, annoying, because I am.
Because I do love editing.
[00:54:00] Speaker B: You're specific.
[00:54:01] Speaker A: Particular and specific about my timing and especially comedy. It's like the timing and like a second, like, trim it like a. Like a one frame, two frames, like, blah, blah. And.
And so that was so much fun. So I do think most of it structurally was the same.
I think probably what changed was, like, just lines, like timing or lines that got added or.
Yeah. Or just.
It just looks different in your brain than it does when you.
When you actually.
[00:54:37] Speaker C: Of course.
[00:54:38] Speaker B: Right.
[00:54:39] Speaker A: Did.
[00:54:40] Speaker C: You were there. I know we were talking about pickups at the beginning of this conversation. Were there any pickups or anything like that? You had to go back in the edit and say, oh, my goodness, we're missing this shot, or we're missing this line.
[00:54:53] Speaker A: No, thank God.
[00:54:56] Speaker C: Right?
[00:54:57] Speaker A: Yeah. Pickups are so. So it's tough.
No, thank God. No. And then I don't think we were missing anything. Honestly. Truly, this was the smoothest set that I've been a big part of that I've ever been on. It was so. It went so smoothly. Like, the angels were with me, I think it went so smoothly. Yeah.
[00:55:25] Speaker B: Was it. Was it preparation or what? What about the set that made it so comfortable to work in? Because I think, especially with comedy, like, preparation is so important. Right. So that you have the freedom on set to explore and to find new things in the moment. So I'm curious, you know, what was. What was that like? And. And what do you think was the most successful pieces of the set?
[00:55:48] Speaker A: Totally. I think.
Well, there's different parts to it. Right. There's one part that's just luck. That's always a part of a set.
[00:55:58] Speaker B: Mm.
[00:55:59] Speaker A: It is. I. To me, it is luck. It's just circumstances. Sometimes you're the most prepared. And producer. Because I'm also producer, like you have to be ready for something to go wrong. Things just go wrong. We were talking about this set that I produced that had a Covid outbreak. Like, who can prevent that? Who can plan for that? Like, there's too many things that could happen.
And so you gotta be prepared for that. And things do happen. And I'm sure things did happen. Like, we had like a little parking situation with in Happy Birthday and like.
But it was. It was nothing. Like, nothing in terms of luck was. And then obviously I did prepare a lot. I tried to prepare as much as I could in every aspect we had. It obviously really worked. My shot list with my dp, I did storyboards because like I said, very visual. I know what I want the friend to look like.
We did rehearsals with the main actors, with most of the main actors. And then since it was my first time acting, I. And obviously directing, I like rehearsed by myself with my boyfriend, who's the director.
So he was really crucial in shaping the performance too. We would just rehearse the weeks before. It was like, this week we're doing this scene and then this scene and then. So I was very ready for the scenes when it came to set. But to me, the biggest thing is. Well, another thing, the circumstances weren't that difficult. I think we were very prepared to.
To, you know, production wise, everything was kind of in order.
And then the main thing for me in so many sets is like working with your friends. That is just.
To me, that is just has no price working with your friends. If they're good, right?
If they're good. Thankfully, I have so many friends that are so good. And so having an atmosphere on set where everyone gets along, everyone knows each other, everyone's rooting for you, everyone is trying to help where I trust the people. And I was able to ask and be like, what do you think? Like, do we like this shot? Like, should I do another take? What should I try? My producers would come in and be like, okay, try this and then have an amazing idea. Try something different.
So many things that are probably in the end result were somebody else's idea on set. And I think to me, that is always. As a producer, that is always my number one.
I think Moto is. I would rather work with someone that is a little less good if they are a nicer, more accommodating person.
Because one bad egg can derail an entire set and kill morale. And morale is the number one thing on a set.
[00:59:05] Speaker B: Agreed. I. I think this would be a good time to pivot into producing and your production company, because, you know, Luke and I were talking before this and we do want to emphasize that you do have a production company and you are traveling around and supporting other people through that. And we, we've heard how many people supported you on this set and the sort of community that you've established.
So I'm curious, you know what? Well, first of all, what is your production company? How did it come to be and what sort of projects do you. Do you like to platform and do you like to support?
[00:59:38] Speaker A: Yeah, well, it's called One Out Films.
Three O's. Very cute.
It started in 2023. It got like actually founded 2023, but we didn't launch it until 2024.
This is me and my production partner Gabby Fisman, who produced Happy Happy, Happy Birthday, which was actually our first project. So it's very sweet.
But we decided to start the company because when we graduated in 2023, the writer strike had just started and. And the artist and the actors strike. So it was a tough, tough, tough time to graduate and try to get a job in the industry.
And especially as an international person, which is part of the plot of, of my film.
It's hard to. To get a company to agree to hiring an international person at a very entry level.
[01:00:40] Speaker C: Was it. Were you. Were you looking for or you didn't have?
[01:00:42] Speaker A: No. I mean, I. Of course that would have been like the, the ideal scenario because.
But basically when you're an international student, you graduate with a year of opt. Which is basically you can work for one year legally out of graduation. So. But you kind of have to have a job.
If you're like unemployed for more than like 90 days, then you have to go.
And so it was super tough. That's why basically that film happened because I was really having like an existential crisis mental breakdown. I was so. Felt so much pressure, like I couldn't get a job. I applied to hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of jobs anywhere, everywhere. And I had a good resume. Like I had like good internship, a lot of experience.
[01:01:28] Speaker C: Like the Jack Okey fellow too. Why? That's like one of the craziest things you can get at usc. Like, no.
[01:01:36] Speaker A: And it was. And it's like assistant experience, you know, so it's like, hello, I had a UTA externship. I had an HBO internship. Like, I was like a good candidate and I would get not even interviews because the second they see they. Most of the big companies have like, are you international? Will you require a visa, sponsorship at some time in the future?
As soon as you say yes, it's like, no, this isn't a PA job. There's a billion other people that can apply for.
[01:02:05] Speaker B: It's easier for them to hire someone else.
[01:02:07] Speaker A: Yeah, totally. So it was horrible. And I was struggling so much, and I was like, I need to figure something out. And then Gabby, who is my production partner, but she's also my best friend from school, she.
She was also struggling with her current job. She. She did have a job, but she was having a tough time, and she saw that these people from school had started a production company and were actually getting work. They were a year older than us and they were getting work. And. And so she was like, if they can do it, like, we can so do it.
And she's way more confident and, like, go, go get her than I am. So I'm very grateful that I have her because I was like, no way. What do we know about business? What are we gonna do? Like, we can't do this. Like, no, no, no. She was like, what else are you doing?
And I was like, you're right, I have nothing to do. I have nothing to do. I was, like, sitting in my room panicking. Applying to jobs on LinkedIn. That was it. And so I was like, okay. So I started looking into it, and we just decided to make it happen and just start doing projects under our own banner.
You know, we knew it was going to be hard the first year. We knew we weren't going to get paid, and we made this decision that I think really has worked, which was, thankfully, I was in a good.
Like, I had support, like, from my parents at that time. And so I was like, I. I have the capability to focus on this and still do some other side gigs and.
And be good. Because we knew we weren't going to get paid a lot, and we really focused on doing passion projects and helping our friends out, because a lot of our friends wanted to do shorts post graduation.
And I'm just lucky that it's people that we truly believe in and truly think are really freaking talented.
We worked on a short film called Rocky Road, which is directed by Mikayla Davik. It's a stoner comedy.
It's super fun. It's super different.
Happy Birthday is very stylistic, like Scott Pilgrim vibes. It's just fun. And then we did this other short film called the Running Kind, which I was telling you about. It's directed by Kefrin and Nori Palmer. And that is a very big scope, dramatic character study, kind of like dark comedy thing. And it's very cool. And yeah, those were like our main projects and we ended up doing some music videos as well. And now this is our second year and we're starting to get more work, so I'm very excited about that.
[01:04:46] Speaker B: That's amazing.
[01:04:48] Speaker A: Yeah, we're working on this super cool project that I'm really excited. It's called Dana Never Had a Brother. It's a short film from Dusty McCaster, who directed the short film Cabbage that we produced.
And it's like an awesome, like, queer horror story, like thriller, very Jordan Peele vibes. And yeah, that's shooting in September. So very excited.
[01:05:13] Speaker C: What, what does producing or having a production company at this stage actually look like?
Like, what are you.
How involved are you guys? At what stage of the process are you most involved?
[01:05:30] Speaker B: How do you find work?
[01:05:31] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, you do everything.
Like, like I said, honestly, this situation that I'm in right now where I'm back home is actually really working because I get to do jobs here, which I get more easily because I have a lot of connections and the industry is very small. And then from connections we have in la, it's sort of how we find work the easiest. I think we all know, especially you guys, like, wired with assisted, you know, experience with agencies. It's like, this is a connections town. It's like if you don't know the people, it's very hard to get the job. So a lot of the work we get is from just connections that we've had, obviously friends, people that recommend us, producers that I know that recommend us for things.
But I, because I am here and I kind of have the. The ability to not have to pay rent. I'm very much like a very lead focus on, like the whole business aspect of things. Obviously we have to do our taxes, do our accounting, we have to, like, manage everything. We have to have a brand, social media, like, keep reaching out and manage all the projects at the same time. So it is a lot of work. But it is really cool because it's kind of like I have my own. I create my own schedule. I.
I know that I'm doing things that I'm passionate about. And I would definitely say, obviously it's hard and I am in a very privileged position where I don't need to be making an insane amount of money and like working insane, insane hours or, you know, my. Like, we both work two jobs, Gabby and I. You know, we have like a day job and then like a.
The company.
So it's definitely hard. But I think I really hope that it will.
I think it'll pay off. And even if, you know, if.
If worse comes to worse, we've done things that we're proud of, and that's absolutely.
[01:07:38] Speaker B: It will pay off. And it seems like you guys are so many steps ahead of. I mean, it's so impressive just how, like, young you guys are, and. And you're killing it. And it seems like you have, like, a great slate with diverse, you know, voices and. And a wide variety of content and everything.
Yeah. I feel like the sky's the limit with this company. It's very, very exciting.
[01:08:00] Speaker A: I hope so.
[01:08:01] Speaker C: If you had to choose.
If you had to choose being a producer or a writer or director or an actor right now, in this exact moment, if someone had the golden ticket, which, down the road, you can do all of them, obviously, but in this.
[01:08:20] Speaker A: Oh, I can do it down the road.
[01:08:22] Speaker C: Down the road.
[01:08:22] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
[01:08:23] Speaker C: You'll get.
[01:08:24] Speaker A: Okay.
[01:08:24] Speaker C: But in this exact moment, we have the golden ticket. What. What is the one that you're most excited about right now?
[01:08:33] Speaker A: I think right now, if you have the golden ticket, I would say acting. Just because I really like it.
It's so. I've done it the least. I have fun. I've always wanted to do it. And if you get successful, it has the most perks.
[01:08:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:08:52] Speaker A: So I'm like, you know, actors get the deal. It's more easily. And once you're an accurate. I can do everything well, keep acting. Like, it's harder to be, you know, to be a producer and be like, I want to act, you know?
[01:09:04] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. That. That doesn't.
[01:09:05] Speaker A: But if you're an actor.
[01:09:06] Speaker B: Yeah. You don't see producers, actors, really.
[01:09:10] Speaker A: There's literally, like, three big actors having, like, their featured debuts at Cannes this year.
[01:09:17] Speaker C: The Harris Dickinson is.
[01:09:20] Speaker A: Yeah. Apparently, it was amazing. And then Kristen Stewart.
[01:09:23] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:09:24] Speaker A: And Scarlett Johansson.
[01:09:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:09:26] Speaker B: Directing or producing?
[01:09:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
Wow. Yeah.
[01:09:31] Speaker C: It's really cool.
[01:09:32] Speaker B: I didn't know that.
[01:09:32] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That.
[01:09:34] Speaker B: That happens all the time.
[01:09:35] Speaker C: Keep acting.
[01:09:36] Speaker B: Keep acting. It's good. It's good for everything.
[01:09:39] Speaker A: Catch me. Cast me.
[01:09:40] Speaker C: Okay.
[01:09:41] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay, cool.
[01:09:45] Speaker A: Thank you. Cool.
[01:09:46] Speaker C: Well, you're hired.
[01:09:47] Speaker B: Thank you. Really, thank you so much for coming on. This was so exciting to get to chat with you more, and I'm sure it's the first of many, many conversations for us and. And guys. Thankful.
[01:09:57] Speaker A: So fun.
[01:09:58] Speaker B: Yeah. Thanks for supporting 5050 too. It means a lot.
[01:10:02] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Are you kidding? Like, I was telling. Look, I think I was telling your dad the festival.
I was like, I Don't know if I told you, but I was genuinely, like, so shocked because I didn't know you. Right. And we've talked. We talked on the phone about the festival when it was an idea, and it just blew my mind to the level that you've taken this in such a short amount of time. Like, same thing that you guys are saying with, like, my company, whatever. Like, this is such a professional, well done, real legit, amazing thing that you, like, managed to do. And when you told me about it, I mean, I didn't know you, so I wasn't like.
I didn't think it was gonna be like this, but I'm like, you're the real deal. Like, this is like. So, yeah, you absolutely, like, are killing it. And I think, yeah, this can go super far.
[01:10:54] Speaker C: Thank you. Thank you very much.
[01:10:56] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think you guys are gonna need to move venues soon.
[01:10:58] Speaker C: Like, it's like, it's all in the cards. It's all in the cards.
[01:11:01] Speaker A: Love it. I love it.
[01:11:03] Speaker C: Keep making.
[01:11:03] Speaker A: And this was so fun.
[01:11:04] Speaker C: I'm like, yeah, keep submitting, you know, like, these. These films from your production company, too. Well, obviously, of course. Set up a little pipeline, perhaps, you know.
[01:11:14] Speaker A: I love it.
[01:11:15] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:11:15] Speaker A: Amazing.
No, thank you so much, guys. This was so fun. And, like, let's have a. Not even podcast. Let's just have talks.
[01:11:22] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
[01:11:23] Speaker A: Every once in a while.
[01:11:25] Speaker C: We're here.
[01:11:25] Speaker B: Perfect.
Thanks, Maria.
[01:11:28] Speaker A: Thank you, guys.
[01:11:36] Speaker C: Did you learn something? I'm like your mom. Did you learn something in this episode? I hope so. Or not. That's okay. Thanks for hanging. Make sure you follow us at the 5050fest on Instagram. And I think we have a tik Tok. I don't know. Go check it out. Okay, bye.
