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Milkshake Series

Lance Johnson and Drake Swanson are unlikely friends. Lance, a lost soul on perpetual unemployment has no idea what he wants to do with his life, while Drake has his sights set on being the best low level drug dealer in Hollywood.

It was The Milkshake that brought them together, and it was the alcohol that made them forget where.

Now, in a weekly ritual, they search for life's deepest, shake related problems, and the meaning of it all in a city that values today over tomorrow. A place to be lost in the moment. A place where everyone comes to get away... LA.

  • Philip Abatecola
    Director
    Rounding Home, Deceit, The Chase, Hell's Kitchen, Big Brother
  • Philip Abatecola
    Writer
    Deceit, The Chase
  • Mark Gonzales
    Writer
    N/A
  • Philip Abatecola
    Producer
    Deceit, The Chase
  • Danny Lutman
    Key Cast
    Pepsi
  • Ned Fulmer
    Key Cast
    BuzzFeed
  • Steve Humphreys
    Key Cast
    Cocked, Justified, New Girl
  • Colleen Boag
    Key Cast
    Dark Series, Help Yourself, Shit You Wish You Didn't Say in Bed
  • Claudia Graf
    Key Cast
    Iris, Dirty People
  • Kali Cook
    Key Cast
    The Screening Room
  • Nikketa Scott
    Key Cast
    N/A
  • Andrew Krukowski
    Key Cast
    N/A
  • Sean Samuels
    Key Cast
    The Goldbergs
  • Lance Paullin
    Key Cast
    Copper Slug
  • Elizabeth McIntire
    Key Cast
    A Perfect World, Two Peas No Pod
  • Charlie Rossman
    Key Cast
    Superbad, This Way Up
  • Ken Stewart
    Key Cast
    Coca Cola
  • Project Type:
    Web / New Media
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Canon Raw and Black Magic 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Cast and Crew Screening
    Los Angeles, CA
    December 18, 2014
    Worldwide
    N/A
Director Biography - Philip Abatecola

A graduate of The College of Santa Fe’s Moving Image Arts program, award winning producer Phil Abatecola has also worked extensively as a director and writer in Los Angeles, California.

His short films The Chase and Over the Wall have played at several acclaimed international film festivals including AFI Dallas and The Tel Aviv Sci-Fi Film Festival. After completing the feature film Rounding Home, he went on to co-write and direct H.G. Wells: Time Machine, a full length, ambitious stage play that was called “modern, cinematic and intoxicating” by LA2Day.

Phil has recently distributed his new short film Deceit on Xbox, Roku and Indieflix.com and co-produced Changing Lives: From Seattle to Ethiopia, a documentary about the international effort to modernize Ethiopia’s largest hospital and its staff.

After transitioning away from his long-standing role as multi-camera director on CBS’ Big Brother and Hell’s Kitchen, Mr. Abatecola has moved on to help produce Travel Channel’s hit show, The Dead Files.

He is currently promoting Irreplaceable, his first novel with Mark Gonzales, gearing up to produce a feature film of the same name, and currently his first webisode series, Milkshake, on Indieflix.com, Xbox, Roku, Vimeo, VHX and YouTube.

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Director Statement

I wanted to make Milkshake to try and tell stories that I wanted to see and jokes I wanted to hear. I've always written stories and scripts that were deeply personal, with all the eccentricities I possess, but I found it difficult obtaining funding to place those quirks on screen. I missed odd comedies and independent film of the 70's, and that's what I wanted to try and create in my own way.

That said, I had watched American Graffiti a thousand times over and how it celebrated cars, youth, and optimism. It was here that I drew most of my inspiration, as well as from the ethos of young George Lucas, who more or less said, if you want to make a film, you need to just go out and make it and stop seeking permission.

So I did, and thought online, self distribution was the perfect and final expression of that philosophy. These online communities, like YouTube and Vimeo, are exciting spaces and I wanted to be a part of that future while telling the stories I wanted to tell.

Now, because I listened to one of my heroes, I am.