#RIP

Not long after we wrapped on my directorial debut, I got the idea for a film, with a concept based on one of the actresses that had just starred in "Love, Simple." Being a fan, and now a student of pop culture, I came up with the concept and consulted with the same writer that wrote "Love, Simple." The original idea was that the sycophantic wannabe Liz Tanner (played by the amazing Beth Shea) was out to use every bit of Lydia Walters' fame (and recent Emmy win) to enhance her own acting career. What I did not initially realize was that this was exactly how this film was going to get made. Beth is old friends with Naomi Grossman whose breakout role as "Pepper" on American Horror Story: Asylum skyrocketed her popularity and it was through her association with Beth that she agreed to be in the film.
With us being located in Texas as opposed to LA, this was kind of a big deal. In Austin, you're not likely to get a name actor in your film simply because we're so far from where many of them live. A few months later, I happened to meet Missi Pyle who had recently worked with Naomi and eventually agreed to be in the film as well. Sadly her schedule got in the way of her VO recording, so we had to cast another actress to voice the role, even though we had already wrapped having used Missi's face in the photos throughout the film. However, because we were trying to replace Missi, I was able to use that to my advantage to get another recognizable actress (Marilyn Ghigliotti -"Veronica" from Clerks) to do the voice. I don't think this film would have turned out to be what it is if it had not been for the same associative connections to which the film speaks.