- Information is the currency of life.
- When discussing Wilfred: The Fan Series: In my opinion, I just didn't like the project. I was very new the comedy, that's my thing, so you can tell I was very uncomfortable. But the funny thing is with that his [Jace Elon's] favorite episode is my least favorite episode, which I find that hilarious... It was still a fun project nevertheless.
- In regards to keeping in contact with actors after a casting call: That's the thing with these casting calls, even if you don't cast some of these actors, you can still tell that they're good and maybe you want to use them in the future.
- In regards to the inspiration behind The Date: I was actually very inspired by Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. In the sense where you have this normal looking guy where yea he's maybe a bit socially awkward, but you don't really sense anything wrong with him until you actually start talking with him and you go 'oh, you're kind of creepy. You're kind of strange.'
- When talking about the types of projects he works on: Recently I've seen myself drawn to horror or dark dramas. Originally my first film, The Deal, was more of a crime drama... And from there, I always thought I was going to do that type of stuff, crime dramas. But just the way things turned out, I ended up gravitating more towards horror films.
- When discussing U Driver: I thought that was fun too. But the thing is we're never gonna compare with Taxi Driver because obviously.
- When discussing the inspiration behind The Last Supper: It gets very dark very fast. And I would say that's the most experimental film I've done. It was very heavily inspired by The Lighthouse and The Witch, Robert Eggers films. It's very surrealist in a sense, very experimental.
- When discussing what he looks for in a film festival: You want to have that sense of camaraderie, that sense of community within a film festival. A community that you're trying to build up there with the festival that you have.
- When discussing the inspiration for Quince: This was inspired by Craven and Carpenter, you know with Scream and Halloween primarily. You know, those are your classic [teen] slashers.
- When discussing the inspiration for The Last Fair Deal Gone Down: It's inspired by a song by Robert Johnson, the blues singer, called The Last Fair Deal Gone Down... The main character is a violinist, so I also listened to a lot of violin concerto music to get more inspiration. And that ultimately drove the feel, the sense for that film.
- In regards on the importance of networking in the film industry: I've been in contact with other people and see how they can help me, whether it just be for like some simple advice or for like quick notes on the script, or whatever have you... Whatever helps me build that connection, build that bond and friendship at the end of the day is what helps me further myself in the career.
- In regards on the importance of networking in the film industry: Every creative, whether you be a director, or a producer, writer, actor, you know, even a grip or lighting designer or whatever, you want to connect with as many people as possible to get further work and further recognized.
- In regards to filming Quince: It really wasn't that long, that's the thing. It was maybe two/two and a half hours all things considered because we work kind of fast... We work very fast. We know what we want, just shoot it, on to the next.
- When asked for advice for incoming filmmakers: Network, just network... network, know how to network.
- When discussing the current state of storytelling in film: I mean there's always new stories to be told. I don't think every story has been told yet. I mean some people are gonna take inspiration from one thing, some people are gonna come up with something original; depends what happens in the future... Especially in these past 5-10 years, there's always new stories to be told... I wouldn't say every story has been told. Also, you'd have to define what 'every story' means.
- What he learned while working on the play Church & State: I had a very minor role in it, but it really taught me a lot in terms of what I want to be as an actor, how I want to be as an actor. And of course my skills just kind of developed from there.
- I would say that the first real time I actually delved into acting was when my mother signed me up for some acting classes for the summer at UM [University of Miami] as she didn't want me to be at home and do nothing. It was there that I fell in love with everything about acting; from trying to understand who my character was and what they wanted to finally performing it on stage or on screen and see how people react to my characters.
- [what made me want to be a filmmaker] Primarily I'm an actor. I started getting into acting at the age of 14/15. But I didn't really start perusing the [film] industry itself until I was 16/17. In terms of directing, producing, writing, all that good stuff, I always had an interest for it but I never really perused it until I was 19/20. A lot of the people I worked here in the industry, I just really liked how they worked. I liked their drive. And I'm like 'you know what? why can't I do that?' And I kind of just did it from there.
- [in regards to Meisner Technique] I have mixed feelings about it. It fucked me up since it made me confront aspects of myself that I wasn't ready for. The thing with that is you have to learn to let stuff go, and that doesn't come easily for me. I tend to hold in a lot of stuff in, so that's where it got me. And yes, the point is to connect with the other person; but also to be able to get out of that head space in the appropriate way, and that's where I struggled the most. Granted, what I learned from it, both the good and the bad, was valuable and I'll see how I can improve past that. In its most simplest sense, in some respects I loved it, in other respects I hated it.
- [when asked for advice for incoming filmmakers] People talk. Forget about the film industry. Just in general, people talk... I've seen a lot of promising filmmakers ruin their careers down here just because they're unprofessional, and it's because they don't know how to behave on set or they're talking smack about other people for no reason... Down here, that's how most of those people who were promising, have lost their careers so to speak. Because they start criticizing people for no reason and them just going at people. People talk. Nothing more, nothing less.
- [on the passing of Nelson Ricardo] Got word that Nelson Ricardo, my director for Diary of a Vampire Stalker, has recently passed away. I'm shocked. Wish I would've known you longer. You were someone who I can tell was always cheerful and energetic based off the little time I knew you. You were always so gracious and humble about everything. We were on these sets for long hours at a time, and yet it never felt like that much time had passed. You were someone who just oozed passion when it came to filmmaking. Like I said, I didn't know you the long but I'd be lying if I said you didn't have some kind of impact on me. Just wish I had a better picture of you to post. You will be missed my man. Rest In Peace Nelson Ricardo.
- [in regards to the message that Corner, Quince, and The Date send in a Post-Covid-19 World] So my films, the three of them, don't really handle or deal with the topic of COVID per say. But they do deal with topics that would be familiar in COVID films so to speak, most notably that of isolation and looking around your surroundings. All three of my films, the lead characters are always on edge. They're always trying to figure out what to do next given the circumstances that they're in, and I feel that's something you can relate regardless if the film takes place during COVID times or at another time and place.
- I would say locally, as in 'SoFlo/Miami-Dade Film Industry' locally, there were indeed a few people who inspired me to peruse filmmaking. Not just acting, but also filmmaking. Like directing, writing, producing, whatever. Eddie Poletto is the first big name that stands out to me in this regard. He was someone who very early on inspired me, like I wanted to be just like him. I loved his drive, his intensity, how he was always working on who knows how many different projects. He seemed like someone who was passionate, who cared about what they were putting out to the world. But then he changed, and that inspired me as well [as in that's someone who I don't want to be like] because essentially his ego got the better of him, and whatever happened happened from that point on. But that taught me 'don't ever be like that'. There other local name that calls out to me is Nelson Ricardo. I only worked on one project with him, but he was passionate. And we were working these long nights, something I [for better or worse] rarely got to do, and yet he had this way of keeping the energy alive despite us being dead tired. But he kept that energy alive because of his passion. He loved the art. So when he died, it was a big hit to me, more than I would have thought. For me, that's I associate him with, and that's what I took away from him; 'passion'.
- [talking about the initial idea for Quince] I'll be honest, when I first got the number 15, I was like 'what the hell am I going to do?' Like I literally had no idea what I was gonna do... I thought for a while and I'm like 'you know what though, I've always wanted to do a slasher, even if it is a short film.' Screw it, it's a slasher. Call the main character Quince [Quince is the Spanish word for Fifteen]. Why is it called Quince? Because he kills on the 15th day of every month and just go from there.
- I don't care if this makes people mad but if you haven't given it a shot, then that's all you have, a dream. If you've actually given it a shot, then you don't have a dream of becoming an actor, you have a goal of becoming an actor. Regardless of your situation, if you do not take any steps in becoming an actor, all you have is a dream. Chris Pratt had a goal of becoming an actor despite being homeless, RDJ [although granted established] dealt with drug addiction and still became one of the most successful actors we've had, Hattie McDaniels was a black female in a time where segregation and sexism was basically commonplace and yet was in one of the biggest movies ever [Gone With The Wind] and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. So to answer your [condescendingly inane] question, No I do not think that people 'have things to work through' is a valid excuse to not peruse your goals, regardless of what the goal is.
- [Talking about film festival with Derrick Similien] Pay attention to all the rules of the festival. You don't want to submit to a festival, and potentially lose time & money submitting to a festival because say the festival is only teen filmmaker and you got rejected because you're not a teen.
- [Talking about film festival with Derrick Similien] Not every film has to go straight to film festivals. Some can go straight to Youtube. Now of course that's your call. And it doesn't necessarily have to do with the quality of the film nor the type of film it is, but there are some projects that will succeed better on YouTube than on a festival circuit.
- [Talking about film festivals with Derrick Similien] See if there are any niches that your film could fit into. Niches can include genre, cast, crew, run time, etc... There are a lot of niches that can be exploited to your advantage, thus allowing you to submit to many festivals. Also, a lot of these niche festivals tend to cost very little to submit, if they're not already free.
- [Talking about film festivals with Derrick Similien] The reason I've been able to submit to so many festivals is because on FilmFreeWay I can search up free festivals. The chances of me getting in are 50/50 but at least in that case I have nothing to lose. I have spent money on submissions as well, but for that I am more selective in the festivals I submit to... Because of that, make sure to include film festival costs into your initial budget of the film.
- [on film festivals with Derrick Similien] Once you start to submit to festivals, I recommend that you look at every review they have. And really pay attention to the reviews. Something I've noticed is that a lot of filmmakers will give a festival 5 Stars just because their film got into that festival. That tells me nothing about them. Look for reviews, positive and negative, that discuss what actually happens in the festival. That's what I do when I review a festival. I comment about my experience with the festival and talk about what I liked and/or disliked, that way people know what they're getting themselves into.
- [Talking about The Visitor] It wasn't until I did The Visitor with Jordan Roa that everything clicked for me and I realized that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to act.
- [When asked about his personal style] I would describe my style as classic with a modern sensibility.
- [Talking about Within It] The first role I got as a professional actor was for this short film called Within It. I was ecstatic because not only was this my first film since I started to pursue acting, but I was also the lead in it. I enjoyed making the film. In retrospect, there's stuff that happened that were undesirable. I knew it was happening, but I was naive to how bad it really was. Because of that, I now know what to look out for in regards to what is and isn't appropriate and professional on a set.
- [Talking about the audience reaction La Familia: A Web Of Lies & Spies] I was genuinely surprised, because, because of the issues we had, we legitimately thought that the film wasn't going to be up to par, and to a certain degree everybody on the production did still think that it wasn't up to par, but regardless of that fact, a lot of people still seem to enjoy the film which I was surprised.
- [Talking about the audience reaction La Familia: A Web Of Lies & Spies] Some of the compliments we got for the film I was genuinely surprised because I was thinking 'Hey if you just knew what happened behind the scenes, we're lucky we even got that much'.
- [Talking about the state of the South Florida Film Industry] The industry right now in South Florida is ever changing. There's a lot of new faces, especially after the pandemic, so I'm trying to network with new people and have those new opportunities I can work with.
- [Talking about what he learned while making La Familia: A Web Of Lies & Spies] It doesn't matter if you're making a psychological thriller or a fun comedy, whether it be a slasher or, you know, a romance or whatever. You need to have a tight story regardless of the fact. And again, this project helped further reinforce that notion.
- [Talking about what he learned while making La Familia: A Web Of Lies & Spies] I think if we're just talking about the 48 [Hour Film Challenge], yes you do need to get your point across in that short time because we only get 7 minutes tops. But I think if we're talking about filmmaking in general, you know because some of us make feature films, as long as you get to that point of the story, whatever the point of the story is, you need to have it come across by the end.
- [Talking about the biggest challenge of making La Familia: A Web Of Lies & Spies] The biggest challenge if i'm being honest, and I know a lot of people are gonna say 'Oh it's the time that's the biggest challenge, or figuring out the script or whatever'. But I think the biggest challenge for us was making sure every single person on the production, both cast & crew, was on the same page. And that their idea, yes we wanted their ideas to be heard, but we also didn't want said ideas to distract us from the main narrative that we were trying to put forth with. And I think that was collectively our biggest challenge.
- [Talking about what he learned while making La Familia: A Web Of Lies & Spies] My priority in general is have a game plan, and I think we simply didn't have the clearest game plan in that regard. And it just doesn't come down to the script, it comes down to, I mean in this case for the 48 [Hour Film Challenge] it comes down to the script, but in general it also comes down to making sure you have your locations, making sure you have your proper cast and a proper crew, making sure you have your props, your resources, the budget, etc., etc., etc.. And that's how I was like working on, making sure I have a proper game plan from finish to end.
- [on A CanvasRebel Interview] My goal as a creator & entertainer - as an actor, director, writer, producer, etc. - is to bring forth the art that me and my collaborators are working on to the appropriate audiences so that we garner the recognition we deserve.
- [Talking About Twilight Of Dreams] My parents usually are not on set when I film, usually they're closed sets so it's one of those things where only those who need to be there are allowed. But she [my mom] came early to pick me up, and she saw me die. Although I'm not sure if she got the concept of the project even after I explained it to her, she liked how it turned out.
- [Talking about Within It] It's one of those projects that was a very toxic environment to be in. In an odd way, I liked the fact that I went through such a toxic set very early on, even if I didn't pick up on all the details of how toxic it was, because now I'm able to look back and see how certain situations played out and how they could have been handled better.
- I'm basically South Florida's Sean Bean.
- [Talking About Nelson Reicardo] Nelson was a great guy to work with, and he's someone I do think about often, whether it be how we filmed the film or how we acted in our scenes together or how he just took control of the set that could sometimes become unruly. He is someone I miss dearly, and wish I could have worked more with him.
- [Talking About Pericles] I got the role of King Simonideas, a very powerful role. Playing Simonides did help me familiarize myself with Shakespeare a lot more, especially since it threw me into the deep end in certain regards as I did have a hell of a monologue towards the end of the scene. It's also a character where he's hiding his true intentions for most of the scene and playing with those intentions was very fun.
- [Talking about The Visitor] It was the first time I, alongside my director and fellow actor, actually developed and fleshed out a character. Especially since my character is much more villainous than he initially lets on, exploring the complexities of that was so exciting to do.
- [Talking about Debts Unpaind] Finding the complexities [of the character] in that was amazing, moreso since it was done during the 48 Hour Film Challenge, so now you have to remember that this film was written not less than two hours ago and we have 24 hours to film everything we need so it can be completed by tomorrow. I've done a lot of 48 Hour Film Challenge projects, but this one for sure is the most rewarding one out of the bunch, and it's a role and film that people still ask me about.
- [Talking About Primal Fear] And one of my favorite things to do is develop the character, something I feel I've lost doing in many recent projects. Like I still try to develop the character regardless, but it's me developing the character alongside the director and/or co-stars that I feel I've lost, and that's something I was able to do on this project, and for that I was very thankful for.
- [Talking About The Deal] As this was my first film in general, I was very keen on wanting to do everything, so I directed, wrote, produced, acted, edited, cinematographed, sound mixed, and casted it. Now, directing, writing, producing, and acting in my own projects, that is something I would continue doing in tandem. Everything else, no way. But that just goes to show how excited I was to do this project, how excited I was to finally direct a project.
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