Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
LL: I have always loved movies. From an early age, I connected with the stories and the characters, and began following actors and directors whose work I admired. I began writing in my early 20s, and instantly fell in love with it. I read all the books, and wrote and wrote and wrote, until I decided that I was ready to start showing my work to people. By age 32, writing alone wasn’t satisfying my creative urges, so I tried my hand at directing. It immediately became a passion that still burns stronger every day nearly a decade later.
Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
LL: We are screening the psychological horror film Mental. Logline: “When professional insomniac Ty (Emmy-nominated T.O.N.E-z) Brown’s music career hits a slump, he grows frustrated by his future step-daughter’s erratic behavior, and must confront her in order to bring harmony back to the household.” Mental has been submitted to the Telluride Horror Show and Sundance Film Festival, as well as a number of smaller film festivals. It is also being screened for a select group of Hollywood executives.
Q: What else are you working on?
LL: Dream Hero Productions has three feature films in post-production (Strange Company, Battered, Sinners, Inc.), another in development, and we are shooting the short film Deuces about a hobo clown who confronts the grim reaper the weekend of October 20th, 2018.
Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
LL: Despite being a devout Christian, I have a tendency to gravitate toward the horror genre, where I find the most entertainment and enjoyment from a filmmaking and audience member standpoint.
Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
LL: You can purchase my first film Killer Ink, which features Peter (Chewbacca) Mayhew, on Amazon, and visit the Facebook page for Dream Hero Productions at www.facebook.com/dreamheroproductions as well as mental at www.facebook.com/mentalhorrormovie
Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
LL: The EFP has been a staple in the Denver filmmaking scene for a long time. It was the first place that was willing to screen my short films, and it continues to grow and nurture the local filmmaking community like no other event that I’ve discovered. I am grateful for the EFP, and the encouragement it has brought to my career through the years. Thanks, EFP!
Mental will screen at The Emerging Filmmakers Project on Thursday, October 18th at The Bug Theatre.