Your new movie Wishing
for a Dream - in a few words, what is it about?
The movie is all about trying to make it in the entertainment
industry, a girl trying to be an actress and a guy trying to be a movie
director. What
were your inspirations for writing Wishing
for a Dream, and was any of this based on personal experiences or
showbiz anecdotes? A little bit of both. But absolutely
there was truth all up in there. You play one of the lead characters
in Wishing for a Dream
- so what did you draw upon to bring him to life, and how much of Jared
Cohn can we find in Louis? Quite a bit, I wanted the
performances to be as real as possible. What can you tell us about
the rest of your key cast? It was a very small cast, Sara
Malakul Lane was the lead, her best friend was played by Nicole Shipley
and the rest of the actors played themselves. David Latt, Richard Switzer
and my producing partner in real life, Gabriel Campisi are all real
producers. Wishing
for a Dream also stars quite a few Hollywood producers you have
made films for before - so what was it like to direct them, in a way be
their boss for a change? Was fun. They are all cool people
in real life and good actors as well.
How would you describe your
directorial approach to your story at hand? I kept the
coverage traditional and focused on telling the story. And also I got some
more interesting guerrilla style shots in there - that part was fun,
stealing shots all over LA. What can you
tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Was
crazy, there was no crew. 99% of the time it was just Sara and I. She was
a real trooper for going along with the shoot because it was shot over 46
days, and we shot in sequential order - completely guerrilla and
unconventional. Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Wishing
for a Dream yet? The reviewers seem to appreciate
the organic quality the movie has… whether or not it will be a
commercial success is yet to be determined. Any future projects you'd like
to share? I have a very cool possession movie that I am
gearing up to shoot. I am producing alongside a couple of great friends,
and the three of us just wrapped a movie that went very smooth.
As far as I know, you entered the filmworld as
an actor - so what got you into acting, and did you receive any formal
education on the subject? I had a college roommate that is
an actor and he was influential in my path. At the time I had no clue what
I wanted to do and figured I’d give acting a shot. I wasn’t too
successful but loved working on sets so I focused more on my writing, took
all my money out, produced a small movie that I directed. I got my butt
kicked and then I went back to film school, got my BFA at New York
Institute of Technology, and learned the technical aspects and went
back to LA and thankfully my skills improved and my writing improved and
my network expanded enough to now I can operate and sustain and grow.
It’s a brutal business and takes quite a bit to figure out. What got you into directing
eventually, and how would you describe yourself as a director? I
like to think my direction is very clear, both to the actors and to my
cinematographer and also I know what I want in advance and can clearly
relay that information to my AD, and also I like to think I know what I
will need well before the day so I feel prepared. Also, before directing a
picture I must read the script many times and attempt to understand it (if
I didn’t write it) as well as the writer. Knowing the story inside and
out is so important to being able to truly tell the story.
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Wishing
for a Dream, in whatever position? I pretty much
wore every hat on a feature set, crewed on commercials, worked on tiny
shoots, shot 2nd unit for Disney, was the cinematographer for
an indie feature, edited, did motion graphic title sequences, color
corrected, worked background, lead roles, assisted camera, gripped for
many car commercials, you name it and I probably did it. I got my hands
dirty. Filmmakers,
writers, actors, whoever else who inspire you?
|
Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
|
|
|
I love Alejandro
González Iñárritu. His filmmaking ability is mind-blowing. I also love
me some Billy Joel, just went to one of his concerts and was blown away. Your
favourite movies? Creed, Lone Survivor, Social
Network, Tombstone, Matrix. ... and of course, films you really
deplore? Not going to say. Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever
else? On Twitter @Traplightmedia – on Facebook, yes
– and on Instagram @jaredcohn1 Thanks for the interview!
|