The Major Shift: From Serving a Nation to Serving a Story

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Hello, and welcome to Missing the Shift podcast. I'm so
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glad that you decided to join me for today's episode.
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My name is Weyburdett Junior and I've missed the shift
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a bunch of times in my life and what is
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missing the shift? In the past, I spent time on
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the NASCAR circuit as I discussed some in Sundays introduction episode.
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And in a NASCAR race, if a driver misses a shift, well,
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it can cause them to get way behind in the race,
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maybe have engine problems, getting a wreck or worse. And
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this missing the shift doesn't just affect them, but it
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could possibly affect those around them as well as their crew. Well,
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this is similar to what happens in life. We think
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we're going in the right direction and everything might be great,
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and then all of a sudden, we missed the shift
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with a bad decision and it throws us completely off
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track and makes our lives go in a direction that
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we never thought it would. Well, this podcast will look
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at stories from people that have missed the shift in
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life and how they got back into the race. Make
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sure you follow this podcast on all social media platforms
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at Missing the Shift or email me with maybe a
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shift that you've missed and you want to be a
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guest on the show at info at Moonlessmedia dot com.
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On today's show, we have Mark Williams. Mark. Welcome to
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the show. Thank you absolutely, and so. Mark is a
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retired US Army major after serving twenty three years as
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a combat engineer before turning to filmmaking, where not only
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are you a writer, but you're also a director, which
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we'll get into a little bit later of how you
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came into doing both. He founded em A Williams Films,
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a disabled veteran owned production company based in Sumter, South Carolina,
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and Mark's focus through that production company is on independent
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film feed with a strong visual storytelling in practical effects.
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William's feature debut, Mary's Lake, which just was released in
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twenty twenty five, is a supernatural camp slasher. The film
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has earned seven festival awards to date, helping establish his
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voice as a filmmaker who blend's character driven emotion with
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crowd pleasing john or craft. Mark lives in Sumter with
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his wife, Lindsay, and their two children. Mark first, a big,
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big thank you for your service to our country. I
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thank you absolutely, and then again, welcome to the show.
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Thanks for having me on and glad to be invited on.
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So we'll just dive right in. So, Mark, you were
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a combat engineer in the army, retired as a major
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after serving twenty three years, and then you just decided
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to become a filmmaker. And not only just become a filmmaker,
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but you decided you would write, direct, edit, and produce
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your own films, which is a pretty big feat, you know.
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I know some people struggled just to write, some people
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struggle when they start just to direct, and you have
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done all of them and captivated some of the local
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horror film festivals, capturing seven awards. So what led you
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to become a filmmaker and decided to just learn all
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the trades?
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Basically, I always wanted to be a filmmaker when I
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was a kid. It was really what I always wanted
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to do, but I was constantly told, you know, to
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go practical and not chase your dreams. So I joined
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the Army instead. Spent twenty three years in the Army,
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and when I got out, I was like, what's now,
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what do I do now? So I started thinking about
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me always wanting to make films, and I talked to Shannon.
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She plays Kelly in the movie Mary's Lake. I was
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talking to her when we were backstage at Sumter Little
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Theater and I said that always wanted to make movies,
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and she said, well, the best time to do it
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is now. So after she said that, I went home,
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I started researching. I started watching videos, especially from Quentin Tarantino.
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Kevin Smith watched an episode of Joe Bob Briggs Last
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Drive In where he said, like, just make your damn movie,
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and the same thing with oy Koff, and He's got
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all these things. So I started watching all of that
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and I was like, you know what, I'm gonna do it.
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I'm gonna make my own movie. So I just went
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headstrong into it. But it's something I always wanted to do,
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and if I wouldn't have joined the Army, it would
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have been something I would have pursued instead of the Army.
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Yeah. Now, from my understanding as well, where do you
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get your inspiration for your stories and your writing?
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The majority of my inspiration comes from the nostalgia of
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eighties horror films. That was really what I absolutely loved.
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I was a huge fan of Joe Bob and basically
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all of his different shows Ronda shar Is on USA
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up all night. I used to sit up, you know,
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and just watch all these B rated horror movies that
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would come out. And then when Blockbuster and all these
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other video rental stores would open, I started. I would
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go down there when I was a kid every Friday
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night and I would just pick out the coolest horror
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dv you know, DVD cover, our DHS cover back then,
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and take it home and watch it. And it was
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just like what I love to do. So all of
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those old eighties horror movies is is really my inspiration.
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And I tried to once say, mimic it. I tried
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to reinvent it in.
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My film I Got You, Okay. And so you also
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said that with some of your writing and your filmmaking,
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for you, it's kind of, you know, therapy. I'm assuming
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that's because of your long career in the army. It.
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I know, for me, the therapy of writing was you know,
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secondary to my background as a paramedic firefighter and not
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being able to help my dad and watching him pass away,
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and so you know, that was that was my you know,
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my kind of go to was writing. And so yeah,
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you said it's kind of therapy and so expand on
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that for us a little bit.
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So, yeah, so writing has always been kind of therapeutic
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to me. Like you said, i spent twenty three years
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in the army. I spent the first ten years of
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my career in Iraq almost so you know, I'm constantly
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thinking of ideas. One of the things that I constantly do.
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You can anyone who knows me if I can't sit still,
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I have to stand and walk in pace. When I'm
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walking in pace and I'm usually thinking, my mind's just
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going and I'm usually coming up with stories and things
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like that. So one day I actually started writing them
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down and found out that I was an actually decent writer.
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So it really helps me work through things. It keeps
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me grounded, and you know, through some of my experiences
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in life, I'm able to take those, especially the bad stuff,
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and basically project it into my writing and it makes it,
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you know, interesting and good. It's It's one of the
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I guess the weird things about artists is that some
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of the best music comes from people who have had
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hard lives, are really horrible experiences in their life. They're
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able to portray real emotion in their writing. So it
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allows me to take some of the horrible things that
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I've experienced and basically put that in motion in my writing.
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So it does help me deal with things because I
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don't like talking to people about any issues I have.
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It's just not something I'm you know, I want to do,
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I ever want to go and just this stuff happened
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to me. But writing lets me basically work through it
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and and not have to deal with it in everyday life.
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Got sa. Yeah, And that's why when I was when
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I was thinking of that question, I was like, well,
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I'll just let Mark expand you know all that, because
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I'm sure over the years, you know, being retired, you've
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had the questions and you know, yeah, we just but
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that's awesome and you're right, I mean, the inspirations when
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when the outside or your personal stuff is interjected into
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it a little bit, it does make I mean, it
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makes great films and great music and absolutely So let's
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talk about your first feature called Mary's Lake, has brought
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you quite the success on the festival circuit, which congratulations,
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and so you talked a little bit about it. But
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what's the inspiration behind the films and did you face
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any difficulties or challenges while making it.
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So the overall inspiration a for Mary's Lake was when
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I did sit down and say I wanted to make
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a movie. I had about five different stories that I
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wanted to do, and the decision to make Mary's Lake
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came back to the fact that of my favorite genre
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is camp slashers. I absolutely love camp slashers. Something about
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a camp slasher, you know, removes, especially a technological advantage
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that we have now because if you put a bunch
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of people in a camp out in the middle of nowhere,
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cell phones can't save them. People can't just show up,
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police can't show up. So it makes a realistic issue
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for the people in the film to actually be scared
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of what's happening because the cops aren't around a corner
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and cell phones and cars and they just can't go
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where they want to go. So I was like, I
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want to do that. It also was easier for a
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independent filmmaker with no money to find a nice little
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place in the woods in order to film instead of
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trying to get fancy sets and everything. And then the
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other thing I wanted to do was I really wanted
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to blend some type of South Carolina culture into it.
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So I started looking at different stories, ghosts and so
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forth in South Carolina, and then the story of Mary,
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which was the first woman accused of witchcraft in South Carolina.
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And I read her story and I, you know, the
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horrible things that happened to her. So one night I said, well,
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what if she was actually a witch and what if
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she cursed the lake? And what if someone built a
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camp on that lake? And then some really bad things
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started happening. And then right when I thought of that,
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I like jumped down and started writing. Eleven days later,
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I had the ninety eight page script done and was
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moving to go shoot the film. So that was the inspiration,
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that was the initial spark, and then from there I
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wrote the film when it comes through difficulties. Being an
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independent filmmaker with no money is a lot of difficulties.
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So yes, one of the things.
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About you know, independent filmmakers, you got to be very creative.
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You got to figure out how to get shots and
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how to do things when it's all diy. Everything's diy.
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You're trying to figure it out because you can't go
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out and buy the fancy gear and equipment and things
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that big studios can throw money at. In order to
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get those awesome shots and those awesome effects. So I
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actually went back to a lot of old fang or
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of books. I had magazines and Tom Savigni's special effects
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books that he wrote back in the eighties and nineties,
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and I really started looking at those and looking at
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the lessons that they used in the eighties, because all
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that stuff, to me, still looked better than special effects
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that they used today. So I started just going back
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and using the lessons that they had found out back
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then and implementing them. Beyond the shooting and everything, the
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next huge problem that an independent filmmaker is you got
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a lot of people that you actually depend on to
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help you make this film. You can't hold the camera, direct,
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hold the boom mic, and move the lights and you
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know everything, you can't do at all, So you have
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to get other people to assist you in that. And
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you can't do all the acting either, so you also
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have to have a bunch of actors and stuff. So
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having all of these people commit their time and energy
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over this you know, three week period, it took twenty
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three days to shoot Mary's Lake with little to no pay.
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And in most cases, here's some hot dogs that I
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brought everybody inta you know the fact that you have
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to rely on so many other people, and they're there
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because you know, when it's no money, they're there because
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they just want to be part of the experience. So
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the next thing is being an independent filmmaker. You get
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this whole new level of stress put on you because
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you've got all these people there. They're just happy to
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be there and be part of this. But at the
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end of it, you're like, I hope I don't make
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a piece of crap that everyone ones like I wasted
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my time with you. At first, it was like, oh, yeah,
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this is fun, and then the stress factor hits you, like,
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holy crap, I've got to make a movie that everyone
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here is proud to be of. And luckily we were
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able to accomplish that. And you know, that's the first
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hurdle in filmmaking is if everybody that was the cast
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and crew loves or lights the film, then you at
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least successful because you at least got a film that
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you walk and watch together and be proud of, versus
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you know, something where everybody's like, don't release this piece
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of cartage.
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Did that hits you in the on set or did
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that actually hit you in the editing room afterwards or both?
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That hit me in the editing room. That hit me
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on the last day of filming when I when I
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called a rap and we went right into the rap party.
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We had fun, we partied, everything was great. And then
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I went home and I I loaded my my SSD
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drive in and I had eighty hours of film to
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go through. I was just like, oh god, this is
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this is a lot.
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Yeah. Yeah, especially with all that audio too, so that
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like I said, that's that's really really impressive, you know,
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and I I, yeah, I commend you on that absolutely.
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And so now after all that stress and figuring all
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that out, you decided, hey, I'm going to become an
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official production company, which is entitled em A Williams Films.
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And so with that said, now you've got the rewards
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and the challenges of being a veteran filmmaker who owns
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his own production company. And so you know, what, what's
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it like building it from the ground up?
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Well, I meant first, it's it's very it's a lot
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of pride because this is something that wasn't handed to me.
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This is something that I built on my own. I've
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built it through you know skill. I had a lot
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of help building it for you know, all the people
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that are around me that have supported me into making
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these films. So the first thing is it's it's you know,
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basically a lot of pride because you've built this. It
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wasn't handed to you. It's something you've earned. So that that's,
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you know, an awesome experience. Some of the downsides to it, though,
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is now you had a film that got seven awards,
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so you know, the bar is always higher. I'm always
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one of those people that it doesn't matter how high
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I climb because the second I get to a heel,
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there's always another hill behind it that's even higher. So
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it never feels like the journey is over. I've never
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been able to just sit on the bench and go ohoo.
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You know, it's as soon as I get to the top,
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it's another hurdle you got to climb. And that that's
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what making your own production company looks like. Because made
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the film won awards, I started a production company, and
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every time I accomplish something, it's like, oh, yes, that's great,
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let's you know, slap hands, and then you're like, okay,
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well we got to accomplish this next, we got to
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accomplish this next. So it's like it basically gives you
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the sense that it's it's never ending. You're you're never
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hit the finish line, in my opinion, because there's always
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another hurdle that you got to cross. I mean, we
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just went to the South Carolina Horror Con a few
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weeks ago where we released Mary's Lake for DVD. At first,
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we sold over one hundred copies of you know, everyone
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that's talked to me. It's been well received. So we
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got the awards, We've sold hundreds of DVDs. Now we
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got another showing coming up, hopefully we can sell more,
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and people have been ordering them online. So that part
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is great. But now it's like, Okay, I got to
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make my next film, and I got to find the
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money for it. So I'm sitting here celebrating this success.
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I'm looking at the next hurdle of if I want
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to make this next film, I got to start making
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all this other things happen, so and then I'm, you know,
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looking at all the things that are past that film.
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So it's it's an ever ending climb up a mountain.
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Every time you see the top the crest, as soon
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as you get there, there's another mountain right behind it.
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Yeah, And speaking of mountains, that's funny that you say that,
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because I actually had a gentleman who reached out to
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me to see if I knew a DP that also
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had a sound guy, and and you're you were the
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first one I thought of. I'm like, when are you filming?
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Because I know when he's filming, and so yeah, but
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we'll we'll certainly talk about that one because that would
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maybe one that you might be interested in because it's
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it's it's a faith based film about a guy who
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wants to return a purple heart that defines after a hurricane.
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And so yeah, but moving on to you know, this
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podcast is about Missing the Shift. When I refer to
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Missing the Shift, if you've never heard the show before,
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and you know, missing the Shift is pretty much you know,
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you made a mistake, right, And I certainly made a
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bunch of them back in the nineties with with NASCAR,
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and so that's where the name came from. So you know,
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how throughout your life do you feel you know, because
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the idea is to is to help people, right, and
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that's what you know we're doing, and so you know,
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how do you feel you missed the shift in life
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and what steps did you take to correct that miss
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and you know, just you can expand on it as
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much as you want, but you know, yeah.
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So I think it goes back to like what I
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said earlier about when I was younger, coming out of
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high school, I wanted to make films and one of
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my biggest influences was Tom Savini, and I dreamed of
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going to his special effects school. It's one thing that
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I wanted to do more than anything. But I got told,
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like quite a few people, I wasn't talented enough. I
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got told by a lot of people that you need
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to focus on reality and not stupid dreams. This is
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for things that are These are not for people like you.
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You need to go work, you need to earn a living.
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You are not that you know. And I heard that
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from a few people and a few influential people. So
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I was like, I joined the army instead. And I
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joined the army. And when I got into the army,
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I was in for about four years. And when I
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hit the four year mark, I was like, I want
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to take a break of service. Well, I actually took
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a break of service after the fourth year because I
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joined January of two thousand and one. So as soon
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as I got out of basic training, I was at
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a mission readiness exercise getting ready to go to the
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Eastern Europe to Kosovo. And that's when nine to eleven happened.
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And then as soon as nine to eleven happened, it
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was like bam bam, bam bam. You know, Iraq was
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in the invasion, came out of that. And when before
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I got deployed Iraq, I actually had a really good
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team leader, had a lot of good NCOs actually uh
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back in the fifth Engineers, and they pushed me to
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go to college. And before then I was told, you know,
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college isn't something for you, your your you need to
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go work. So I actually took a short break in
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service and I went to college. But at this point
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I also made the same mistaken and I had an
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opportunity to go to thom Savina School with special Effects.
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But a lot of that stuff that was in the
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back of my mind, You're not talented enough, you're not
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good enough. You are a working class person, go work.
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So I ended up going and getting my bachelor's degree
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in criminal justice. I got my associates and business management
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and then I joined the went back into the military.
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I was never technically out, but I had like a
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break to go to school, so I came back in
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and I ended up switching from a listed to officer,
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and you know, filled out my career after that until
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I eventually, you know, retired. And I was also on
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the same path like that's not for me, go do
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something else. And when Shannon said that to me, and
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then I went home and I watched there was an
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episode of The Last Drive In called the I Forget.
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It's like one zombie cut movie. I forget the name
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of it. But at the end of it, Joe Bob
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Briggs just had this awesome speech about if you want
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to make films, just do it, Like make your film
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and send it to me because I want to see it.
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So when he said that, and then after what Shannon said,
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it clicked, I was like, you know what, I want
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to do this because at least I'll know in ten
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years if I suck or not. It was really what
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I said. I was like, in ten years, I'll know
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if this was the biggest mistake, or at least i'll
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have a DVD I can show my kids one day.
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Look at this piece of crap your dad made, you know,
387
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or something like that. So I took a shot at
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it and I made it and it turned out to
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be extremely successful. So I feel like two times in
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my life I had the opportunity to go into the
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direction of doing something true. I don't have any issues
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with the Army. I loved my time in the Army
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and this probably did twenty three years. But I feel
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like I'm at home when it comes to filmmaking and writing.
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So I've missed the shift twice in my life because
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I didn't think I was good enough, and eventually, when
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I bet on myself, it turned out that I, in
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fact am good enough to make a movie.
399
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Oh absolutely, I've had the opportunity to, or i'll call
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it the honor, to work with you on a film.
401
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And it was a short film, and I went and
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I told at least three people, I said, Mark will
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be an He'll be one of those directors that will
404
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be right up there with at the top because of
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how well you prepared and came out and you know
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it was it was very impressive. So I commend you
407
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on that, because you know, to approach a short film
408
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that was only going to be eight minutes like that. Yeah,
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it's I can see exactly why you were successful. And
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so from my point of working with you, you're absolutely good
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enough to keep going and keep striving. Because yeah, and so,
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one thing you talked about earlier was community, and you
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mentioned the Sumpter Little Theater, and I know that you
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do a lot of volunteering and a lot of time
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spent over at the Sumpter Little Theater. And so how
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important in your filmmaking process so far has been that
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community partnerships and how what advice or how do you
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think they can help the independent filmmaker.
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I think networking is probably one of the biggest things
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that any independent filmmaker needs to do, because if you're
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going around, I'll tell you, when I first started going
422
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to make a film, I went and told a lot
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of people I'm making a movie. Most people went, sure, whatever, guy,
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you know kind of whatever, go make your movie. I
425
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even had a couple of people that I tried to
426
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cast in the movie like look at me, and they
427
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looked at me with the thought that maybe I just
428
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wanted to like chase them around the woods with my
429
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cell phone or something. And I was like, so being
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part of Sumpter Little Theater and being part of that community.
431
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There was a ton of people there that loved to act,
432
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love to be in theater. So I made a lot
433
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of connections there and that's where I got every one
434
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of my actors for my film. Was because you know,
435
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they're willing to spend weeks upon weeks doing one stage show,
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you know, with eight scenes, excuse me, with eight different
437
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showings of that play, right with no pay, just because
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they it so much. You know. I was like, well,
439
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this is my audience to make a movie. I can
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get actors who love to act and who will be
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a part of my film, and if I can compensate them,
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I definitely will, you know. But if not, Like I said,
443
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most of them just wanted to be a part of
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the film. They wanted to help. It was an experience,
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they loved the art. So through that networking, I was
446
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able to get a bunch of actors, cashed and crew
447
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to assist and have the same passion that I had
448
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in the project, so that we were able to make
449
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a successful film. The next thing is I think I've
450
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told a couple people because I'm an independent filmmaker and
451
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I don't have a lot of money I can scrape
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up some here. I do a lot of my stuff
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through networking. I do the art of the deal in
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order to get the things I need for the film.
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When it comes to shooting locations, I'll either go and
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talk to the people and try to work out some
457
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type of I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine
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in order to get those shooting locations done. Because I
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can't walk to anybody and be like, I'll pay you
460
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ten thousand dollars just you know, shoot here. I ain't
461
00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:09.279
got ten thousand dollars to do that. But there's other
462
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things that I can do, either marketing or or you know,
463
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just a slew of other things that I can do
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in order to get them to be a part of it.
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I mean, I got several of my shooting locations just
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off of I will put you into special thinks whenever
467
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I do the showings like we're doing this Saturday. I've
468
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got a playbill where all the people that have supported
469
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me have their own little page with you know, whatever
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thing that they have that's important to them, like Sumpter Museum,
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their new military museum that they're building. I have a
472
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little thing so that people can go buy bricks for
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that sumpter a little theater. I have all their shows
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for the rest of the year in it. So all
475
00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:53.079
the people that contributed to my project, I'm now trying
476
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to pay back in this way in other ways. So
477
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if you're an independent filmmaker, you need to get out
478
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and be a part of the community. Because when people
479
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know who you are and they know that you'll come
480
00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:09.000
and volunteer, help clean a theater, volunteer at the local
481
00:27:09.079 --> 00:27:11.400
animal shelter or something like that, they see you are
482
00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:15.200
part of the community, they're more likely to assist and
483
00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:18.039
help you with the things that you need than if
484
00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:20.079
you just walk in and say I'm making a movie.
485
00:27:20.119 --> 00:27:23.599
They'll laugh you out of the room. That's what you say.
486
00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:26.680
Yeah, normally they think the next question is going to
487
00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:29.599
be and I need money from you, So how much
488
00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:31.640
can you write me a check for? So you're right,
489
00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:35.799
they do. They're like, okay, great, see you. But yeah,
490
00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:38.680
So with that said though, too, you know, expanding a
491
00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:43.400
little bit. You do absolutely believe in utilizing, you know,
492
00:27:43.480 --> 00:27:46.839
local talent, and there's got to be a sense of
493
00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:50.759
pride in knowing, you know that you're helping make somebody's
494
00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:55.480
dream of being in the entertainment industry come true because
495
00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:59.480
I know that a couple of your actor and actresses
496
00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:03.440
actually one wards off of Mary's Lake as well. So yeah,
497
00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:06.680
I mean, how satisfying is that for you to see that?
498
00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:10.960
And has anybody just kind of been like, Okay, hey,
499
00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:14.599
you know I saw you a little Sumpter Little theater.
500
00:28:14.759 --> 00:28:16.960
I'll come out and I'll help you. And now it's
501
00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:19.640
kind of been like, Okay, I think this is something
502
00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:20.279
I want to do.
503
00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:25.759
So one of my favorite stories is actually about Keenan.
504
00:28:26.519 --> 00:28:31.400
Keenan plays the Killer David and Mary's Lake, and he's
505
00:28:31.559 --> 00:28:34.039
basically kind of my best friend around here, especially at
506
00:28:34.039 --> 00:28:36.720
Sumter Little Theater. We made the joke that he's my
507
00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:40.319
Bruce Campbell and I'm seeing Raymie kind of in that sense.
508
00:28:40.440 --> 00:28:45.559
But uh, the funny thing about Keenan was he moved
509
00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:48.799
to La Hollywood to try to make a career in
510
00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:52.759
acting and spent many years there, you know, doing what
511
00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:55.559
everyone does, paying their dues. But eventually it was like,
512
00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:59.559
I can't do this anymore. I can't sleep on couches
513
00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:02.559
and cars and stuff like that. So you know, he
514
00:29:02.599 --> 00:29:06.480
moved back and you know, started his life. He did what.
515
00:29:06.720 --> 00:29:09.440
You know, he basically I would have probably if I
516
00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:11.519
before I joined the army, I'll probably have been out
517
00:29:11.559 --> 00:29:13.359
there with him trying to make my life.
518
00:29:13.640 --> 00:29:14.440
Yeah. Absolutely.
519
00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:17.920
But he moved down here and he joined the theater
520
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:20.680
because he just loved acting so much. And then when
521
00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:23.640
because he was such a good actor, such a good
522
00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:27.519
character actor, so good with his face and expressions, I
523
00:29:27.559 --> 00:29:31.720
saw him, you know, just messing around backstage and I
524
00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:33.319
had the idea. I was like, I want him to
525
00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:35.799
be my killer. And a lot of people were like,
526
00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:37.640
oh no, you got to have a big Jason. I
527
00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:39.359
was like, no, no, no, no, no no no. I was like,
528
00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:43.799
I don't want to copy the Jason the Michael Myers thing.
529
00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:45.759
I was like, I want him to be my killer.
530
00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:50.240
So I casted him as my killer. And he ended
531
00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:53.839
up winning Best Supporting Actor at the New Jersey Film Awards.
532
00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:57.559
And I think it was the most happiest in his
533
00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:01.480
life he has ever been because his I think his
534
00:30:01.559 --> 00:30:04.640
family supported him when he went to Hollywood, but he
535
00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:07.559
felt like he let them down because he didn't, you know,
536
00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:10.279
make it into like a big movie or anything. But
537
00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:12.880
then to come back to South Carolina to get cast
538
00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:15.359
in an indie film, and then have that film play
539
00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:18.000
all up and down the East Coast, have him win
540
00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:23.119
some awards, basically kind of solidified, you know, what he
541
00:30:23.160 --> 00:30:26.359
had always wanted to be and do. So you know,
542
00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:29.200
I'm extremely happy for him, and I'm glad that I
543
00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:31.640
met him, and I'm glad that he was able to
544
00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:34.960
be a part of this film. And it's like, I
545
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:38.559
think he is like super happy because of this film.
546
00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:41.839
The other one was Shannon, who you know, inspired me,
547
00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:44.039
and part of that was she told me that it
548
00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:46.759
was her dream to always die in a horror movie.
549
00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:52.880
So I left her absolutely brutally beaten an armed, So
550
00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:57.599
that was that was her big thing. But I absolutely
551
00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:01.039
loved working with everybody at the theater. I don't think
552
00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:06.559
anyone came up to me saying, like, you know, I
553
00:31:06.559 --> 00:31:08.559
didn't know I wanted to be actor until I did
554
00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:10.920
this film, because all of them were already in the theater.
555
00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:13.160
I think they all wanted to be an actor, I think,
556
00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:16.240
but most of them wanted to be a stage actor,
557
00:31:16.359 --> 00:31:19.400
and a few of them probably have, Like I never
558
00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:24.440
even considered being in movies as something that was possible,
559
00:31:24.680 --> 00:31:28.400
especially in South Carolina. If you're not in Charleston or
560
00:31:28.440 --> 00:31:33.960
you know, near Wilmington or Atlanta or Charlotte. But Sumter,
561
00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:37.279
they just didn't think it was even possible or feasible.
562
00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:43.720
So there's a lot of talent around here, unearthed talent,
563
00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:46.880
and I'm just glad that I have so many of
564
00:31:46.920 --> 00:31:48.920
them who now believe in me and want to be
565
00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:50.839
part of my films that are coming up.
566
00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:54.880
Oh, and I can absolutely understand. And speaking of your
567
00:31:54.920 --> 00:31:59.680
films coming up, so you're up upcoming production. The begins
568
00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:05.039
film in November is called Wolf nineteen forty five, and
569
00:32:05.119 --> 00:32:07.799
so tell us a little bit about what was the
570
00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:13.720
inspiration behind that and if I understand correctly speaking of
571
00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:17.960
the Sumpter Little Theater, the original story was crafted by
572
00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:20.640
a member of the local Sumpter Little Theater.
573
00:32:20.759 --> 00:32:24.640
Correct, Yes, that is correct. So Carlos Waters, he was
574
00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:29.000
he played Chris and Mary's Lake. It was we were
575
00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:31.799
close to wrapping production. I think we were like on
576
00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:36.079
her second or third day before production rap and Carlos
577
00:32:36.119 --> 00:32:39.519
approached me and he said, hey, I've got this stage
578
00:32:39.559 --> 00:32:42.880
play that I wrote. I thought it might be a
579
00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:44.960
good film. So he handed it to me and I
580
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:46.839
was like, Okay, I'll go home and take a look
581
00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:49.400
at it, and if you don't know Carlos, he is
582
00:32:49.480 --> 00:32:53.599
a wonderful actor. It's also an extremely wonderful person. He's
583
00:32:53.599 --> 00:32:56.720
a great person. He's written several stage plays that have
584
00:32:56.839 --> 00:33:02.480
won awards also, but he's never written a a screenplay.
585
00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:05.079
So I took it and I looked at it, and
586
00:33:05.079 --> 00:33:09.799
I saw a lot of potential in it. It was
587
00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:12.400
a stage play, it wasn't a screenplay. So I went
588
00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:13.839
back to him. I was like, hey, look, I think
589
00:33:13.880 --> 00:33:17.039
we can make this work, except I want to go
590
00:33:17.240 --> 00:33:22.640
more psychological thriller. And I kind of told him my
591
00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:25.119
ideas and he said I like him. I was like,
592
00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:27.559
let me take it and let me add some stuff
593
00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:29.240
to it. So I took it a stage play, I
594
00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:33.119
turned it to a screenplay, and I added more psychological
595
00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:35.759
thriller aspects to it, and I gave it back to him.
596
00:33:35.920 --> 00:33:38.160
He did some things, and we kind of passed the
597
00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:41.319
script back and forth for about three or four months
598
00:33:41.799 --> 00:33:43.839
until we got to a point that we were both
599
00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:48.599
happy with what we have. So we're at a point
600
00:33:48.640 --> 00:33:51.400
now where we're going to start our first table read
601
00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:57.720
this weekend and then we start filming late November, and
602
00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:00.160
we're expected to go into about mid gem and you
603
00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:01.400
wary I'm filming for it?
604
00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:05.200
Gotcha? And now what what genre did he have it
605
00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:06.880
as as a stage play?
606
00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:10.119
He had it as a stage play. Is more of
607
00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:14.840
a World War two drama? Okay, started off as it
608
00:34:15.159 --> 00:34:17.480
started off as more of a World War two drama.
609
00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:21.119
And there's some I don't know what it is about me,
610
00:34:21.239 --> 00:34:27.039
but I love not happy endings. So that's right, yeah,
611
00:34:27.239 --> 00:34:29.880
with the bow wrapped on it. And I was like, nah, man,
612
00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:32.320
we got we gotta make we gotta make the audience
613
00:34:32.480 --> 00:34:37.960
cry when they leave the right, So I wrote it.
614
00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:40.639
He ended up liking the ending that I threw in there,
615
00:34:40.719 --> 00:34:42.599
and he was just like, oh, that's pretty good. So
616
00:34:43.239 --> 00:34:45.840
hopefully you know, the ending has the impact that I
617
00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:46.559
wanted to have.
618
00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:50.519
Awesome. And so now when you say late November, what
619
00:34:50.800 --> 00:34:54.880
is that like before Thanksgiving? After it will.
620
00:34:54.679 --> 00:34:58.239
Start filming right before Thanksgiving? Is it's a little bit
621
00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:04.000
just pass. Mid November is when the first session of
622
00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:08.000
filming will start. Of course, the first week will mostly
623
00:35:08.039 --> 00:35:13.119
be given to rehearsals, with immediately following rehearsals, but we'll
624
00:35:13.159 --> 00:35:16.320
go into principal photography and start actually filming the scenes.
625
00:35:16.360 --> 00:35:20.320
But we want to get everyone locked in because unlike Mary's,
626
00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:25.000
like this one is heavily reliant on dialogue, and there
627
00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:30.559
there's a couple of really powerful scenes through dialogue. We
628
00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:32.719
got to make sure that emotion is right and that
629
00:35:32.840 --> 00:35:36.599
everybody understands their their parts, because if it doesn't, I
630
00:35:36.599 --> 00:35:38.440
think the film will miss. But if we're able to
631
00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:41.480
nail those parts perfectly, I think people are really gonna
632
00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:42.920
like it awesome.
633
00:35:43.360 --> 00:35:45.639
And so the reason why I asked that question is
634
00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:49.079
how are you raising funds for it?
635
00:35:50.119 --> 00:35:54.880
So right now I got an indiegog campaign raising funds
636
00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:57.280
for it. In that Indiegog campaign, we have a lot
637
00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:00.840
of perks that people can get the these cool little
638
00:36:00.880 --> 00:36:03.280
perks that help us support the film. It's it's not
639
00:36:03.400 --> 00:36:05.800
us saying we want your money. It's to us saying
640
00:36:06.199 --> 00:36:08.920
we've got these really cool things that we're going to
641
00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:12.079
give you if you give us money to make this film. So,
642
00:36:12.280 --> 00:36:14.920
like you know, some of them are what just simple
643
00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:18.159
people tend to like when it comes to like trying
644
00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:21.440
to build their careers. IMBD credit because it gives you
645
00:36:22.519 --> 00:36:25.360
basically credibility in the film world. The more you know,
646
00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:28.559
credit credentials you have on IMDb, so so we have
647
00:36:28.960 --> 00:36:32.039
just those, but then we also got things like limited
648
00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:36.199
edition DVDs. These will have covers that will not go
649
00:36:36.239 --> 00:36:39.599
with the distributed film. These are completely only for the
650
00:36:39.639 --> 00:36:44.880
indigog campaign. Uh, we got Indigogo specific posters. One of
651
00:36:44.920 --> 00:36:47.400
my biggest things I'm excited about is this new idea
652
00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:51.159
that I have called the Real Book. It's part year book,
653
00:36:51.280 --> 00:36:53.320
part play bill. So one of the things when I
654
00:36:53.320 --> 00:36:56.280
got done with Mary's Lake is someone mentioned it'd be
655
00:36:56.320 --> 00:36:58.880
cool if we had a yearbook for Mary's Lake, that
656
00:36:58.920 --> 00:37:00.440
we could open it up and look at all the
657
00:37:00.519 --> 00:37:02.960
cool pictures of making the film and everything, and I
658
00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:05.880
was like, why the hell didn't we do that? So
659
00:37:06.159 --> 00:37:07.960
I was like, you know, I'm gonna start doing that
660
00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:09.960
with all my films. It's going to be like a
661
00:37:10.079 --> 00:37:12.679
yearbook where we can open it up and we can
662
00:37:13.119 --> 00:37:16.400
look at all the weeks and days of filming, have
663
00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:20.039
some cool quotes from everybody their pictures, you know, let
664
00:37:20.039 --> 00:37:22.000
everybody at the end of it sign it like it
665
00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:25.480
is a yearbook. So we have that Real Book that'll
666
00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:27.480
be available as a perk, and this is the only
667
00:37:27.519 --> 00:37:29.880
way you'll get it, because once the filming is done,
668
00:37:30.599 --> 00:37:32.400
only the people who support the end of Go Go
669
00:37:32.519 --> 00:37:35.000
will get the yearbook Are the real book, and then
670
00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:38.199
that's it. And my hope is that this thing really
671
00:37:38.239 --> 00:37:39.079
starts catching on.
672
00:37:39.280 --> 00:37:40.880
So all my.
673
00:37:40.840 --> 00:37:43.719
Next films people want to support just to get this
674
00:37:43.760 --> 00:37:47.000
real book because I'm excited about it. I want someday
675
00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:51.000
to have fifteen twenty real books where I can go
676
00:37:51.079 --> 00:37:53.159
back and look at all the films that I made
677
00:37:53.199 --> 00:37:55.280
and see all the cool, fun things that we did
678
00:37:55.320 --> 00:37:58.400
and just reminisce about, you know, like you would at
679
00:37:58.599 --> 00:38:00.800
high school yearbook. Are your book?
680
00:38:01.639 --> 00:38:03.519
Yeah, I mean I think that's a great idea. I mean,
681
00:38:03.559 --> 00:38:07.679
if you look at I think they say m night Shyamalan.
682
00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:11.119
I mean he writes all his feature films in a
683
00:38:11.159 --> 00:38:14.480
notebook and then he'll start a new notebook and so yeah,
684
00:38:14.519 --> 00:38:17.519
I mean he can his kids can go back and
685
00:38:17.639 --> 00:38:20.880
look at it and be like this is where dad wrote. Yeah.
686
00:38:20.960 --> 00:38:25.239
So I love that idea absolutely, because that's something that
687
00:38:25.280 --> 00:38:29.199
stays around for a long time. So yeah, I like that,
688
00:38:29.840 --> 00:38:33.000
And so we'll we'll put our links to that Indiego
689
00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:36.840
Go on our website. And I think what people need
690
00:38:36.880 --> 00:38:41.800
to understand too, is is it's not that you're asking
691
00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:45.159
for a large amount of money. I mean some of
692
00:38:45.199 --> 00:38:48.280
the perks start at what fifteen twenty five dollars. I
693
00:38:48.280 --> 00:38:51.719
mean stuff that we blow on, two bottles of water
694
00:38:51.880 --> 00:38:56.480
and you know, a bag of chips. So yeah, I mean,
695
00:38:56.519 --> 00:38:59.400
what's the is that where they start at on their camp.
696
00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:03.079
We have a few perks they're limited at one dollar
697
00:39:03.159 --> 00:39:06.119
and just five dollars, and these are these are to
698
00:39:06.199 --> 00:39:09.559
incentivize people just to if you can give, you know,
699
00:39:09.960 --> 00:39:12.239
and that's all you can give, then that that's that's great.
700
00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:13.920
And then what you do is you get on the
701
00:39:14.000 --> 00:39:15.719
email list, so you get to see all the behind
702
00:39:15.760 --> 00:39:19.119
the scenes pictures. You'll get some video that we take
703
00:39:19.199 --> 00:39:21.519
while we're filming that we don't put on social media
704
00:39:21.599 --> 00:39:24.760
or anything like that, so that you're part of the
705
00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:27.079
filmmaking process so you can see it. And you're also
706
00:39:27.199 --> 00:39:31.039
will be tip in touch with the development once it
707
00:39:31.079 --> 00:39:34.559
goes to editing and posts, so that you know when
708
00:39:34.599 --> 00:39:37.480
the film is finished, when the film is getting ready
709
00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:40.239
to go to which film festivals, and eventually when we
710
00:39:40.320 --> 00:39:43.400
have what I'm calling our hometown premiere where we're going
711
00:39:43.440 --> 00:39:46.079
to put it into one of the theaters around here and
712
00:39:46.840 --> 00:39:48.960
have a red carpet and try to get as many
713
00:39:49.039 --> 00:39:52.719
people in to watch it. And you know, there's also
714
00:39:52.800 --> 00:39:56.920
some perks where you can get onto a private viewing
715
00:39:56.960 --> 00:40:00.360
of the film before it even goes to theaters, where
716
00:40:00.519 --> 00:40:03.280
we'll be online, so that way, no matter where you're at,
717
00:40:03.360 --> 00:40:06.079
you can just log on watch it and then me
718
00:40:06.199 --> 00:40:09.679
and probably Carlos who wrote the film, and a few
719
00:40:09.719 --> 00:40:13.239
cast members will be online with you to answer questions
720
00:40:13.239 --> 00:40:14.800
and do a Q and A when we're done, so
721
00:40:15.079 --> 00:40:18.039
you know, you can ask whatever questions. But we have
722
00:40:18.119 --> 00:40:21.840
a lot of cool perks, from the helmets, the replica
723
00:40:21.920 --> 00:40:26.119
World War Two helmets, to the canteens and a bunch
724
00:40:26.159 --> 00:40:28.679
of other items that you can get signed by the
725
00:40:28.719 --> 00:40:31.840
actors who actually wore them. And one of the one
726
00:40:31.880 --> 00:40:33.800
thing that I would like to say when you know,
727
00:40:33.840 --> 00:40:38.800
if anyone doesn't know what indigogo is, I know everybody
728
00:40:38.880 --> 00:40:41.280
most people know what the movie Terrifier is, you know,
729
00:40:41.280 --> 00:40:45.320
with Art the Clown. But when they made Terrifier the
730
00:40:45.360 --> 00:40:48.559
first time, the first film, it was off of indiegog
731
00:40:49.199 --> 00:40:54.800
and the film didn't even make its goal on indiegog
732
00:40:55.679 --> 00:41:00.440
and he ended up getting money from a producer thirty
733
00:41:00.440 --> 00:41:04.679
five thousand dollars and that's how much Terrifier was made
734
00:41:04.679 --> 00:41:08.800
off of with thirty five thousand dollars. Art de Clown
735
00:41:09.039 --> 00:41:11.880
is now seen on the same level as Freddy Krueger
736
00:41:11.960 --> 00:41:17.719
or Jason forhe'es like he's huge, right. So what people
737
00:41:18.320 --> 00:41:21.599
should understand when when you're looking at donating the indie
738
00:41:21.599 --> 00:41:25.679
film is you know, you want to get in on
739
00:41:25.719 --> 00:41:28.480
some of these films before these these people blow up
740
00:41:28.519 --> 00:41:30.119
because you can be a part of it at the
741
00:41:30.239 --> 00:41:33.840
at the earlier level. Don't just look at independent film.
742
00:41:33.840 --> 00:41:35.519
And I'm not just talking about Wolf, I'm talking about
743
00:41:35.519 --> 00:41:39.039
all of them, because I've even donated to other Indigogo
744
00:41:39.519 --> 00:41:44.960
campaigns that I think filmmakers. I believe in them, so
745
00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:47.920
I'm giving them twenty you know, twenty five thirty bucks.
746
00:41:48.559 --> 00:41:52.079
Crimson Harvest just donated to that a few months back
747
00:41:52.119 --> 00:41:56.199
because you know, that's got Felicia Rose. You know, it's
748
00:41:56.239 --> 00:41:59.360
a really cool movie. So I donate to other filmmakers
749
00:41:59.400 --> 00:42:04.360
because I've leave in helping these people reach what their
750
00:42:04.360 --> 00:42:09.800
potential could be. And you know, there's a lot of
751
00:42:09.800 --> 00:42:12.519
great filmmakers out there. So if you do go to
752
00:42:12.559 --> 00:42:15.079
Indigogo to donate to us, you know, also look at
753
00:42:15.079 --> 00:42:20.159
some of the other ones. Too support amazing. Yeah, it's important.
754
00:42:20.320 --> 00:42:23.039
Yeah, because I think I think he put Terrifier two
755
00:42:23.159 --> 00:42:26.440
on there too, right, and maybe I think raised like
756
00:42:26.440 --> 00:42:30.000
two hundred and fifty grand the second time, and that's
757
00:42:30.039 --> 00:42:35.719
when the big distributor distributor came in. And yeah, but
758
00:42:35.920 --> 00:42:38.559
it is interesting, as Mark said, to look at it
759
00:42:38.599 --> 00:42:42.119
because you can actually click the button to see the
760
00:42:42.159 --> 00:42:48.760
most funded projects of anything on indiegog. And I believe
761
00:42:48.800 --> 00:42:52.440
it was the movie Super Troopers that was on there
762
00:42:52.480 --> 00:42:55.480
as well, and I couldn't believe that when I saw that.
763
00:42:55.639 --> 00:42:58.559
And there's a couple of more that have actually a
764
00:42:58.760 --> 00:43:02.800
list actors and actresses that were funded through that. And
765
00:43:02.880 --> 00:43:06.360
so Mark, you know, Mark's right, just because he's raising
766
00:43:06.440 --> 00:43:09.760
money that way doesn't right. I mean, you know, Lionsgate
767
00:43:09.760 --> 00:43:11.639
could come in tomorrow and say we want it, you know,
768
00:43:11.719 --> 00:43:15.800
Bloomhouse who I mean, who knows, right, because as markle Taya,
769
00:43:16.159 --> 00:43:20.000
I mean, I've tagged them both in posts, so I'm
770
00:43:20.039 --> 00:43:22.079
not sure whether they think I'm stalking them or what.
771
00:43:22.360 --> 00:43:25.360
But hey, it doesn't matter to me, right, I mean,
772
00:43:25.760 --> 00:43:29.880
you know, but another thing too is if you're if
773
00:43:29.880 --> 00:43:32.400
you're local and listening in the you know, the Sumpter
774
00:43:32.480 --> 00:43:36.039
community to the show. There's ways to give too, I
775
00:43:36.039 --> 00:43:39.559
mean that'll help with that, such as feeding the cast
776
00:43:39.800 --> 00:43:42.400
or you know, there's all kinds of ways too. So
777
00:43:43.119 --> 00:43:46.559
you know, absolutely when we'll put some links on there
778
00:43:46.719 --> 00:43:49.280
to reach out and you know, if you just want
779
00:43:49.320 --> 00:43:52.679
to help him, be part of it. Absolutely. So looking
780
00:43:52.760 --> 00:43:55.079
down the road because you you said in the beginning
781
00:43:55.119 --> 00:43:59.199
you like to look down that horizon and you know,
782
00:43:59.400 --> 00:44:02.840
so what other projects do you have that you're working on,
783
00:44:03.039 --> 00:44:06.400
because I know you're not just like you know, you're
784
00:44:06.800 --> 00:44:09.159
you're probably as bad as me. You've got project and
785
00:44:09.199 --> 00:44:11.599
then do you have any more down there?
786
00:44:12.320 --> 00:44:14.800
Yes, I have a few more projects. So one of
787
00:44:14.840 --> 00:44:17.599
the things I learned in the army, because I actually
788
00:44:17.679 --> 00:44:19.239
learned a lot of good things in the Army that
789
00:44:19.280 --> 00:44:22.519
I've actually been able to translate into filmmaking and spending
790
00:44:22.519 --> 00:44:25.000
a lot of time in the S three shot. All
791
00:44:25.039 --> 00:44:27.280
the guys in the Army will cringe when they hear that,
792
00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:30.360
But I learned what's called, you know, near term and
793
00:44:30.400 --> 00:44:34.159
far term planning. So I'm I'm I'm currently looking at
794
00:44:34.159 --> 00:44:36.119
the near term and I have a couple other people
795
00:44:36.199 --> 00:44:38.079
that are that are starting to help me, and they're
796
00:44:38.119 --> 00:44:42.039
looking at the far term planning and the next film
797
00:44:42.079 --> 00:44:46.639
after Wolf. I'm also looking at a movie called Open Casket,
798
00:44:46.679 --> 00:44:50.239
which I'm hoping to film over the summer, and that
799
00:44:50.280 --> 00:44:53.400
one is written by Ad Jason. He's a good friend
800
00:44:53.400 --> 00:44:56.199
of mine. I met him at Crimson Screen Horror film
801
00:44:56.199 --> 00:45:00.400
Festuh he's gonna come down from Ohio to be Wolf
802
00:45:00.400 --> 00:45:03.599
in nineteen forty five. He wrote the screenplay for this one,
803
00:45:03.639 --> 00:45:05.760
and this one actually won a few awards in the
804
00:45:05.760 --> 00:45:09.639
film festival circuit, so he just wanted to get it
805
00:45:09.679 --> 00:45:11.920
made into a movie. He handed it to me and
806
00:45:12.079 --> 00:45:13.800
asked me what I thought, and I thought it was
807
00:45:13.840 --> 00:45:16.480
a great script and it was also something that was
808
00:45:16.639 --> 00:45:19.480
done written in a way that it can be filmed
809
00:45:21.000 --> 00:45:26.239
cheap but not look cheap. So working on that next summer.
810
00:45:26.679 --> 00:45:29.400
Also have the script for Mary's Lake two pretty much
811
00:45:29.519 --> 00:45:33.559
done I have. I just need to polish it a
812
00:45:33.559 --> 00:45:35.440
little bit and make it look nice, maybe do a
813
00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:37.960
couple of revisions how some people look at it, do
814
00:45:38.039 --> 00:45:40.519
a table rate in the near future, see what people think,
815
00:45:40.920 --> 00:45:42.960
and then I'll probably enter that into a couple of
816
00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:45.840
film festivals, and then I hope to film that one
817
00:45:46.159 --> 00:45:51.639
probably early spring of twenty twenty seven. But I've also
818
00:45:51.719 --> 00:45:54.840
got a project I'm gonna do with the Something to
819
00:45:54.840 --> 00:45:59.000
Little Theater youth class where I'm letting them write and
820
00:45:59.199 --> 00:46:02.480
act and they're own short film, and I'm just gonna
821
00:46:02.480 --> 00:46:04.239
walk in and come in and teach them how to
822
00:46:04.360 --> 00:46:07.360
direct and edit and to film it, and then we're
823
00:46:07.400 --> 00:46:09.320
going to try to submit them into a lot of
824
00:46:09.360 --> 00:46:13.239
film festivals coming up, also hoping to get the more
825
00:46:13.320 --> 00:46:16.880
people into the Sumpter Little Theaters a youth class for
826
00:46:16.960 --> 00:46:20.199
not only stage play, but also dip their hand a
827
00:46:20.239 --> 00:46:25.159
little bit of filmmaking. And then I had someone say
828
00:46:25.159 --> 00:46:28.239
something to me, another South Carolina filmmaker, about making an
829
00:46:28.280 --> 00:46:32.840
anthology horror film and where me and a few of
830
00:46:32.960 --> 00:46:36.079
other South Carolina filmmakers will get together and we will
831
00:46:36.119 --> 00:46:40.960
each take a short film and direct it on our own,
832
00:46:41.079 --> 00:46:43.679
then come together and then put it together into one
833
00:46:43.760 --> 00:46:47.760
anthology film where all the short films are kind of
834
00:46:47.760 --> 00:46:50.599
connected together so that we're all doing a piece of
835
00:46:50.639 --> 00:46:53.320
the pie, and then we come together to frank fullpie
836
00:46:53.320 --> 00:46:55.800
and then have a feature film that will we'll kind
837
00:46:55.840 --> 00:46:59.480
of push forward. So that that's also something that I
838
00:46:59.559 --> 00:47:02.199
kind of got teased me, and I like the idea
839
00:47:02.239 --> 00:47:06.239
of doing it. So I'll probably cool, absolutely los to
840
00:47:06.280 --> 00:47:06.679
do that.
841
00:47:07.719 --> 00:47:13.960
Yeah, and so if I'm just starting my career out,
842
00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:17.360
you know what, what advice would you give somebody that's
843
00:47:17.400 --> 00:47:21.199
starting to start their career or looking at it because
844
00:47:21.679 --> 00:47:23.679
you know, as you know, and I'm sure you've heard
845
00:47:23.719 --> 00:47:27.599
in the entertainment industry, it's sometimes is very difficult to
846
00:47:27.639 --> 00:47:31.679
get a call back if you even Yeah, and so
847
00:47:31.760 --> 00:47:35.599
that's kind of sometimes, you know, where we might think
848
00:47:35.639 --> 00:47:38.679
that everybody needs to respond to us, they won't do it,
849
00:47:38.840 --> 00:47:42.320
and then you know, you're chasing a dream that's not there.
850
00:47:42.440 --> 00:47:44.679
So you know what, what advice would you give somebody
851
00:47:44.679 --> 00:47:46.719
who's just starting out.
852
00:47:47.039 --> 00:47:50.559
So the biggest advice is you got to learn to
853
00:47:50.760 --> 00:47:54.280
just not quit. That's kind of the first thing is
854
00:47:54.679 --> 00:47:56.840
you're going to get told no a lot. I got
855
00:47:56.840 --> 00:47:59.599
told know a lot. You're you're going to have to
856
00:47:59.639 --> 00:48:03.760
be for assistant but not annoying. You know, be professional
857
00:48:03.840 --> 00:48:09.519
but not annoying. Basically, So if you want to be
858
00:48:09.559 --> 00:48:11.880
a filmmaker, my best thing is you can use your
859
00:48:11.920 --> 00:48:15.079
camera off of your your cell phone if you need to,
860
00:48:15.239 --> 00:48:17.599
and then just kind of practice and work with it.
861
00:48:17.679 --> 00:48:19.920
Look at making a short film with just a couple
862
00:48:19.960 --> 00:48:23.480
of people and get the practice together and then submit
863
00:48:23.519 --> 00:48:25.599
it to some film festivals and see how it does.
864
00:48:25.639 --> 00:48:28.679
But just don't lose hope if it does it. If
865
00:48:28.719 --> 00:48:30.880
you want to act, one of the best things that
866
00:48:30.960 --> 00:48:33.800
I say to do is go to your local community theater.
867
00:48:33.920 --> 00:48:36.239
Find there's a lot of them in the South in
868
00:48:36.239 --> 00:48:39.760
this area. Go to those local community theaters and get
869
00:48:39.800 --> 00:48:43.960
in there and start because it just is going to
870
00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:47.000
make you a better actor, and try to get into
871
00:48:47.159 --> 00:48:53.199
roles that you necessarily don't see yourself fitting in. When
872
00:48:53.239 --> 00:48:55.800
I started a theater after I got out of the Army,
873
00:48:55.840 --> 00:48:58.519
my first role was to stand the bartender. I literally
874
00:48:58.599 --> 00:49:02.159
just played me. I got behind the bar to you know,
875
00:49:02.280 --> 00:49:06.480
the bar, and I was just Mark. That's basically who
876
00:49:06.480 --> 00:49:08.320
I was, So I killed it. I was perfect. I
877
00:49:08.360 --> 00:49:11.320
can play me like nobody else. But then after that
878
00:49:11.559 --> 00:49:15.480
I got asked to play basically a gay character, so
879
00:49:15.559 --> 00:49:19.480
I had to really hone my acting skill and I
880
00:49:19.519 --> 00:49:20.960
went in there and I did the best job I
881
00:49:21.039 --> 00:49:24.079
possibly could. And that role was actually the role where
882
00:49:24.119 --> 00:49:29.079
I ended up meeting Shannon and all the people who
883
00:49:29.320 --> 00:49:33.400
inspired me to start making films. So if I would
884
00:49:33.440 --> 00:49:36.760
not have taken that role, I probably would have never
885
00:49:37.079 --> 00:49:40.239
started making the film of Mary Slate because that was
886
00:49:40.320 --> 00:49:42.800
kind of one of the defining moments of my career.
887
00:49:42.840 --> 00:49:45.239
So don't don't ever turn a part down because you
888
00:49:45.239 --> 00:49:47.199
don't think you can do it, or always just go
889
00:49:47.239 --> 00:49:55.159
after it and try it. But uh, go audition, be persistent,
890
00:49:55.239 --> 00:49:58.760
but not annoying. That's probably the same.
891
00:49:58.880 --> 00:49:59.119
Tell you.
892
00:49:59.199 --> 00:50:02.079
I get a lot of emails. I get a lot
893
00:50:02.119 --> 00:50:05.360
of messages from people wanting to be in my films.
894
00:50:06.360 --> 00:50:09.079
If someone sends me a message, I try to always
895
00:50:09.239 --> 00:50:11.440
respond to them. But I have to tell you sometimes,
896
00:50:11.519 --> 00:50:13.880
and I'm not even that big of a person. I'm
897
00:50:13.920 --> 00:50:17.360
popular of a person. I get so much sometimes I
898
00:50:17.400 --> 00:50:21.440
can't respond to everybody immediately or right away, so I
899
00:50:21.440 --> 00:50:24.679
can't imagine what. You know, some of the bigger people
900
00:50:24.800 --> 00:50:27.559
that get thousands of messages a day, they you know,
901
00:50:27.760 --> 00:50:30.119
if they would actually respond to you, because they might
902
00:50:30.159 --> 00:50:32.760
just not see it or might have just went to
903
00:50:32.800 --> 00:50:36.280
their spam folder. But I try to respond to people,
904
00:50:36.320 --> 00:50:39.800
but it's the people who are persistently annoying are the
905
00:50:39.800 --> 00:50:43.440
ones I go I will not work with and put
906
00:50:43.480 --> 00:50:45.280
them to the I was like, no, I don't even
907
00:50:45.320 --> 00:50:48.280
want to deal with you. So you've got to find
908
00:50:48.320 --> 00:50:51.440
that fine line of professionalism versus annoyance.
909
00:50:52.880 --> 00:50:55.559
But I think you make a great point too, because like,
910
00:50:55.960 --> 00:50:57.800
the one thing that I learned when I got into
911
00:50:57.880 --> 00:51:01.320
it is the understanding of why you don't just send
912
00:51:01.320 --> 00:51:05.039
your screenplay to them and they're your idea, because if
913
00:51:05.079 --> 00:51:08.119
they even read that email, this is what I was
914
00:51:08.159 --> 00:51:11.400
told and I never even realized this, But if they
915
00:51:11.440 --> 00:51:15.199
read that email and respond to you, and they've already
916
00:51:15.320 --> 00:51:19.400
had that idea mulling over, then you could say they
917
00:51:19.440 --> 00:51:21.880
stole it from you. So that's why too, I had
918
00:51:21.880 --> 00:51:24.760
to learn that that. That's why sometimes too, the bigger
919
00:51:24.880 --> 00:51:27.360
names like Lionsgate and all of them say hey, don't
920
00:51:27.400 --> 00:51:29.559
send it to us. We're going to delete it automatically.
921
00:51:29.880 --> 00:51:32.760
We don't want to see it. Because yeah, I mean,
922
00:51:33.440 --> 00:51:35.599
I was like, wow, I can't believe somebody would just
923
00:51:36.039 --> 00:51:38.599
send in a screenplay, but you know, and you never
924
00:51:38.679 --> 00:51:41.039
know when someone might take it to either, So yeah,
925
00:51:41.159 --> 00:51:42.320
I can see the other side too.
926
00:51:43.159 --> 00:51:45.960
I would definitely not send my screenplay to anyone that
927
00:51:46.000 --> 00:51:49.840
you didn't trust, Like the two people who sent me
928
00:51:49.880 --> 00:51:53.000
screenplays only two screenplays that I've read, were two people
929
00:51:53.039 --> 00:51:57.880
that I met and I knew, so I would not
930
00:51:58.079 --> 00:52:01.400
send a screenplay. I would try to rip trade a
931
00:52:01.440 --> 00:52:05.119
relationship before you start getting screenplay. But your biggest thing,
932
00:52:05.239 --> 00:52:08.920
if you want, is to submit your screenplay to film festivals,
933
00:52:09.480 --> 00:52:11.639
and the film festivals will read it and then they
934
00:52:11.719 --> 00:52:14.119
will put it out there. And a lot of times,
935
00:52:14.360 --> 00:52:16.280
I wouldn't say a lot, but you have a better
936
00:52:16.400 --> 00:52:20.400
chance of getting picked up at a film festival then
937
00:52:20.440 --> 00:52:25.199
you do sending it blindly to multiple people, because if
938
00:52:25.239 --> 00:52:27.519
someone ends up making something even close to some they
939
00:52:27.559 --> 00:52:30.039
may have stolen it. They may they may have not.
940
00:52:30.400 --> 00:52:31.679
I just had to.
941
00:52:31.840 --> 00:52:34.039
And I can tell one thing I start. One thing
942
00:52:34.079 --> 00:52:38.119
I started doing too on just a couple of films
943
00:52:38.960 --> 00:52:43.159
is stage thirty two, like for thirty five dollars, which
944
00:52:43.199 --> 00:52:46.480
is near the cost of a festival. Will allow you
945
00:52:46.559 --> 00:52:50.760
to send a pitch to some pretty high producers and
946
00:52:50.840 --> 00:52:54.239
they'll read it, and for that money thirty five dollars,
947
00:52:54.280 --> 00:52:57.559
they'll give you feedback. They'll tell you whether they pass
948
00:52:57.639 --> 00:52:59.639
or whether they want to see the script. And so
949
00:53:00.360 --> 00:53:02.719
you know, I kind of, you know, I look at
950
00:53:02.760 --> 00:53:04.800
them a little bit because it's kind of like a
951
00:53:05.039 --> 00:53:08.440
you know, sometimes they sell people and so it's but yeah,
952
00:53:08.480 --> 00:53:11.599
I mean, that's that's a great idea too. Is absolutely
953
00:53:11.599 --> 00:53:13.800
the film festivals, because you never know who might be
954
00:53:13.880 --> 00:53:16.840
on that jury that they don't you know, they don't
955
00:53:16.920 --> 00:53:20.679
let you know, right, I mean, and you know because
956
00:53:20.679 --> 00:53:24.920
one time I insert answer entered a script to the
957
00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.840
New York Film Awards, and I would just thought, Okay,
958
00:53:29.880 --> 00:53:32.320
I'm I'm entering and I'm new, I'm you know, to
959
00:53:32.400 --> 00:53:35.440
the entertainment industry, and I got no idea. And next thing,
960
00:53:35.480 --> 00:53:37.800
you know, I got a free script writing software and
961
00:53:37.840 --> 00:53:42.440
I got some other prizes and I got five free
962
00:53:42.480 --> 00:53:45.679
pitch pitches on pitch fest and I'm like, wow, okay,
963
00:53:45.719 --> 00:53:48.599
you know. So yeah, And that's one thing I will
964
00:53:48.599 --> 00:53:51.840
tell you, Mark, I'm very much impressed about as you
965
00:53:52.320 --> 00:53:55.000
have it down to a te of the film festivals
966
00:53:55.039 --> 00:53:59.039
and looking at them and understanding which ones are you
967
00:53:59.079 --> 00:54:01.280
know that you should enter, which ones you should avoid.
968
00:54:01.400 --> 00:54:05.599
So yeah, that's definitely one thing I will say is
969
00:54:05.800 --> 00:54:09.199
when you do start submitting to film festivals, look at
970
00:54:09.239 --> 00:54:11.840
the film festivals. Take time to read it. Because there's
971
00:54:11.840 --> 00:54:14.039
some festivals you you don't even need to submit to,
972
00:54:14.159 --> 00:54:16.280
and it's not because they're a bad festival. It's just that,
973
00:54:16.960 --> 00:54:19.719
you know, I have a horror movie. Why am I
974
00:54:19.760 --> 00:54:23.320
gonna submit my horror movie to a religious festival? You know,
975
00:54:25.199 --> 00:54:27.679
I went through and I read it, and I said,
976
00:54:28.000 --> 00:54:31.039
I have a good chance. I knew Mary's Lake was
977
00:54:31.119 --> 00:54:34.039
not Sun Dance material. I knew Mary's Lake was not
978
00:54:34.239 --> 00:54:38.440
Kane's material. I know Mary's Lake is what it is.
979
00:54:38.519 --> 00:54:42.880
It's a good, campy slasher film that independent horror people
980
00:54:42.960 --> 00:54:45.760
or be love b rated horror movie people will love
981
00:54:45.800 --> 00:54:48.639
that to who the movie was designed for. So I
982
00:54:48.639 --> 00:54:53.880
specifically targeted film festivals that cater to that crowd, and
983
00:54:54.039 --> 00:54:57.079
that's where I found my success often.
984
00:54:57.599 --> 00:54:59.519
And so you touched on it a little bit about,
985
00:54:59.760 --> 00:55:02.159
you know, of giving back to the Sumpter Little Theater
986
00:55:02.599 --> 00:55:07.639
and you know, and their their youth program, and that's
987
00:55:07.760 --> 00:55:10.519
very commendable. But how else are you giving back? Are
988
00:55:11.360 --> 00:55:14.280
you focused on certain areas where you're giving back or
989
00:55:15.039 --> 00:55:17.880
you know, is it is it the youth or you know,
990
00:55:17.880 --> 00:55:19.639
how do you house are you giving back?
991
00:55:20.119 --> 00:55:23.760
So I've done one of the big things in the
992
00:55:23.800 --> 00:55:26.840
military is volunteering is always something that you're you're you're
993
00:55:26.960 --> 00:55:31.039
kind of incentivized to do. So I have two major
994
00:55:31.119 --> 00:55:34.440
areas that I like to volunteer in and help out.
995
00:55:34.599 --> 00:55:38.159
One was animal rescue. I did a lot of volunteer
996
00:55:38.239 --> 00:55:43.599
work with Windy Ridge Animal Rescue here in Sumter. I
997
00:55:43.679 --> 00:55:47.239
even helped throw together a couple charity events for them
998
00:55:47.360 --> 00:55:51.440
to raise money to save animals. Because I love animals.
999
00:55:52.000 --> 00:55:54.320
I want to help animals as much as I can.
1000
00:55:54.440 --> 00:55:59.400
My house is full of animals, so I, you know,
1001
00:56:00.119 --> 00:56:02.840
way anything I can do to help, you know, animals,
1002
00:56:03.039 --> 00:56:05.119
I'll usually try to do that, so that that's kind
1003
00:56:05.119 --> 00:56:09.119
of my selfless, you know. Volunteer service is when I
1004
00:56:09.159 --> 00:56:12.880
do help the animal rescues. You even can go down
1005
00:56:12.920 --> 00:56:17.960
to the saving something strays on Monday to Friday, and
1006
00:56:18.119 --> 00:56:19.480
what you can do is you go down there just
1007
00:56:19.480 --> 00:56:21.599
to volunteer to walk dogs. And what you do is
1008
00:56:21.599 --> 00:56:25.239
you walk the dogs and that lets the crew there
1009
00:56:25.280 --> 00:56:28.639
that works there have the opportunity to clean their cages
1010
00:56:28.719 --> 00:56:31.719
and do everything, and then the dogs get out and
1011
00:56:31.719 --> 00:56:33.599
they get to walk around and you know, get a
1012
00:56:33.599 --> 00:56:37.199
little human interaction. So you can go and do that
1013
00:56:37.280 --> 00:56:40.039
for like an hour or two on like Monday to Friday.
1014
00:56:40.079 --> 00:56:43.000
If you got that in the morning, just walk the
1015
00:56:43.039 --> 00:56:45.800
dogs out, let them clean, and do everything. Put their
1016
00:56:45.800 --> 00:56:48.679
food together and you bring the dogs back. So doing
1017
00:56:48.719 --> 00:56:51.280
like little things like that is kind of something I
1018
00:56:51.360 --> 00:56:53.800
like doing from time to time because you know, I
1019
00:56:53.840 --> 00:56:58.239
love animals. The other one is helping youth, And it
1020
00:56:58.280 --> 00:57:01.480
really comes down to basically how I saw myself as
1021
00:57:01.519 --> 00:57:05.000
a kid. You know, I came from a broken household
1022
00:57:05.119 --> 00:57:07.880
my family. My mom and dad were divorced. I spent
1023
00:57:07.920 --> 00:57:09.960
some time with my mom some of my dad. My
1024
00:57:10.000 --> 00:57:11.760
parents were great, you know, nothing.
1025
00:57:11.519 --> 00:57:12.239
Was wrong with them.
1026
00:57:12.440 --> 00:57:16.360
I wasn't like an abusive house. But like when you're
1027
00:57:16.360 --> 00:57:19.599
in a house where your parents don't live together, you know,
1028
00:57:20.039 --> 00:57:24.480
it's you really don't get that mentorship sometimes that you need.
1029
00:57:25.360 --> 00:57:30.400
So it's one of those things where if I maybe
1030
00:57:31.719 --> 00:57:33.639
I don't want to say that, but like the reason
1031
00:57:33.679 --> 00:57:37.199
I joined the Army was because I was I was
1032
00:57:37.239 --> 00:57:41.639
looking at the world practical because you know, when my mom,
1033
00:57:41.800 --> 00:57:45.119
being a single mother, we were in a very type
1034
00:57:45.239 --> 00:57:49.599
financial budget. So I didn't see money as something that
1035
00:57:49.840 --> 00:57:53.519
was you know, nice to have. It was essential you
1036
00:57:53.599 --> 00:57:56.800
needed to go work, you to go earn. So that
1037
00:57:56.880 --> 00:57:59.119
kind of really is one of the reasons that also
1038
00:57:59.199 --> 00:58:03.360
pushed me in that. So I also don't ever want
1039
00:58:03.400 --> 00:58:06.920
to tell a kid that you're not good enough to
1040
00:58:06.960 --> 00:58:12.039
do this because practice makes perfect. You know, the first
1041
00:58:12.039 --> 00:58:14.239
time you try something and you you're you're going to
1042
00:58:14.320 --> 00:58:17.039
fail if you if you didn't fail, then you didn't
1043
00:58:17.039 --> 00:58:19.760
try hard enough or what you were doing wasn't hard enough.
1044
00:58:20.280 --> 00:58:24.360
So if you want to do something with enough time,
1045
00:58:24.840 --> 00:58:28.719
energy and dedication, you gotta be dedicated. You will get
1046
00:58:28.760 --> 00:58:34.679
good at it. So it's really giving kids that momentum
1047
00:58:34.719 --> 00:58:38.440
and that drive and inspiration that if they actually want
1048
00:58:38.480 --> 00:58:40.880
to do it, then they can do it. And sometimes
1049
00:58:40.920 --> 00:58:43.639
in a lot of times it's off. It's often where
1050
00:58:43.639 --> 00:58:46.239
the kids love the idea, but as soon as they
1051
00:58:46.239 --> 00:58:48.360
see the work ethic that has to go into it,
1052
00:58:48.400 --> 00:58:53.719
they're like, that probably isn't for me, so because filmmaking
1053
00:58:53.880 --> 00:58:55.719
is hard. Otherwise everyone.
1054
00:58:56.880 --> 00:58:58.960
Yeah, and I agree with you too, because you gotta
1055
00:58:59.280 --> 00:59:01.920
you know, I remember or the first the first screenplay
1056
00:59:02.360 --> 00:59:08.559
I wrote. I was told it's awful, and I'm like, well, thanks,
1057
00:59:08.679 --> 00:59:12.119
and she said no, she said, I love the and
1058
00:59:12.159 --> 00:59:14.679
I'll never forget it. She said, I love the story,
1059
00:59:15.360 --> 00:59:18.679
but you have twenty different characters who we have no
1060
00:59:18.800 --> 00:59:21.920
idea where they are because you jump from here to
1061
00:59:22.079 --> 00:59:24.800
here to here, and she says, in the way you
1062
00:59:24.840 --> 00:59:27.760
wrote it as an independent filmmaker, I'm not sure where
1063
00:59:27.760 --> 00:59:29.840
you're going to get the twenty five million dollars you
1064
00:59:29.920 --> 00:59:32.519
need to make it, because I had the character on
1065
00:59:32.599 --> 00:59:35.119
a yacht and then he was going here, and then
1066
00:59:35.199 --> 00:59:38.360
the coast guard was coming in and she's like, hey,
1067
00:59:38.360 --> 00:59:40.440
if you got twenty five million dollars in the bank,
1068
00:59:40.480 --> 00:59:43.159
we will write it, you know, but come you know,
1069
00:59:43.280 --> 00:59:46.039
so yeah, I think too. You got to, you know,
1070
00:59:46.239 --> 00:59:49.360
have that open mind, like you said. And so if
1071
00:59:49.360 --> 00:59:53.400
I'm listening to the show and I'm nationwide, worldwide, and
1072
00:59:53.440 --> 00:59:55.360
I want to find you, where can people find you?
1073
00:59:56.360 --> 01:00:00.159
The easiest place is to go to m williamsfilms dot com.
1074
01:00:00.440 --> 01:00:03.719
That's my website. You can find all my social media
1075
01:00:03.760 --> 01:00:06.400
stuff there. You can just click the little buttons. It'll
1076
01:00:06.400 --> 01:00:08.920
take you right to my social media. It's got my
1077
01:00:09.480 --> 01:00:12.280
most recent news. It has the links to both my
1078
01:00:13.320 --> 01:00:17.519
Indiegogo campaign for Wolf or any other future projects that
1079
01:00:17.599 --> 01:00:20.000
I will have. It also is where you can go
1080
01:00:20.039 --> 01:00:24.000
to buy Mary's Lake DVDs if you want to purchase.
1081
01:00:23.719 --> 01:00:27.280
One of those awesome and we'll of course put those
1082
01:00:27.320 --> 01:00:30.400
links on our website as well, and we'll put a little,
1083
01:00:30.760 --> 01:00:32.719
a little. We got permission earlier to put a little
1084
01:00:32.719 --> 01:00:36.800
teaser trailer for Mary's Lake up on there, and yeah,
1085
01:00:36.840 --> 01:00:42.519
if you like that slasher you know film, and absolutely
1086
01:00:42.559 --> 01:00:47.320
it's it's a great film to watch. And you know, Mark,
1087
01:00:47.400 --> 01:00:52.239
we greatly appreciate it. And this is you know, thank
1088
01:00:52.280 --> 01:00:54.280
you for being on the show with us. We appreciate
1089
01:00:54.360 --> 01:00:57.679
you coming on again. We appreciate your service and we're
1090
01:00:57.719 --> 01:01:01.679
looking forward to your next films and you know, just
1091
01:01:02.039 --> 01:01:03.000
we appreciate it.
1092
01:01:03.559 --> 01:01:05.440
All right, Well, thank you for having me on. It's
1093
01:01:05.440 --> 01:01:05.960
been fun.
1094
01:01:06.599 --> 01:01:09.840
Absolutely, thank you so much for listening. And Mark, thank
1095
01:01:09.840 --> 01:01:12.159
you so much again for being on the show. We
1096
01:01:12.320 --> 01:01:15.239
look forward to some great things from Mark and m. A.
1097
01:01:15.400 --> 01:01:20.119
Williams films, starting with Wolf nineteen forty five and then
1098
01:01:20.239 --> 01:01:24.119
next year the sequel to Mary's Lake. And be sure
1099
01:01:24.119 --> 01:01:27.119
to subscribe so you know when the episode drops each Thursday.
1100
01:01:27.400 --> 01:01:30.400
Follow me at Missing the Shift on all social media platforms.
1101
01:01:30.639 --> 01:01:32.760
And if you like this podcast, please tell your friends
1102
01:01:32.760 --> 01:01:34.760
about it. Word of mouth is the best way to
1103
01:01:34.760 --> 01:01:37.400
help a new podcast grow. And if you want to
1104
01:01:37.440 --> 01:01:40.079
reach out with any Shifts you've missed at info at
1105
01:01:40.079 --> 01:01:44.239
Moonlessmedia dot com. That's info at Moonlessmedia dot com and
1106
01:01:44.320 --> 01:01:46.960
with that this has been a Moonless Media and Entertainment
1107
01:01:47.000 --> 01:01:51.880
podcast production. Have you ever made a mistake that you
1108
01:01:52.000 --> 01:01:54.400
thought you could never come back from. Have you ever
1109
01:01:54.440 --> 01:01:57.000
made a bad business decision that costs you everything you've
1110
01:01:57.039 --> 01:01:59.559
worked for. It could happen to anyone, and it happened
1111
01:01:59.559 --> 01:02:01.679
to me. I missed a shift in a lot of
1112
01:02:01.719 --> 01:02:03.400
areas of my life, and I've had to spend the
1113
01:02:03.480 --> 01:02:06.400
last twenty five years trying to fix the mistakes I've made.
1114
01:02:06.800 --> 01:02:08.880
This podcast is here to try to help you to
1115
01:02:08.960 --> 01:02:11.320
not miss the shift in your life, but to learn
1116
01:02:11.360 --> 01:02:16.000
from other people's mistakes. This is missing the shift.