Gonna Be a Soldier
Six-year-old Joey wants to be a doctor when he grows up, but his parents explain that he has to be a soldier instead, and kill people. When Joey protests this dark future, they explain that we only kill people in other countries, and only the ones wearing uniforms. "What if they take the uniforms off?" Joey asks. Confused as to why he should grow up to kill people, Joey keeps asking more questions, as his parents doggedly explain the "logic" of war. When his father admits that it's very sad that so many innocent civilians also get killed, Joey asks, "So, it's *not* okay?" But his mother cheerily explains, "Of course it's okay--as long as we're *trying* to kill the ones with the uniforms. Will Joey's innocence prevail? Or will his parents' indoctrination finally wear him down?
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Jonny LewisDirector
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Jonny LewisWriter
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Kevin HuieProducer
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Kobe HumphriesKey Cast
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Luba ChanKey Cast
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Mike BashKey Cast
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Tony Woo JounDirector of Photography
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Greg JonesSound
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Bobby FeverGrip
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Neil WagnerPA
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David RaiklenComposer
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Ryan KaplanEditor
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Frederick BourbonAssistant Editor
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:6 minutes 9 seconds
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Completion Date:September 15, 2016
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Production Budget:4,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Chandler International Film Festival
United States
September 28, 2016
Arizona Premiere
Best Actor Under 18
Jonny Lewis started acting in 2001, at age 45. He starred in three stage plays in New York, and won an award for the first short film he ever acted in, before moving to Los Angeles in 2003, where he acted in 150 student and independent films. In 2009 he wrote and shot his first short film. Since then he has shot 21 more (including some in Spanish), and written about a hundred. He has completed one feature film (a “spiritual comedy”) and is working on others. Jonny’s current project consists of a series of 8 antiwar comedy shorts.
War is simply average people trying to kill each other because someone "higher up" told them to do so. Seems kind of crazy to me. Yet we accept it as natural and right. I don't. So I've written several short comedies highlighting the many ways in which war is pointless. Let's have a good laugh, and then think again.