Good News York by Growth Mode Content - GNY EP.71 | Talking with Filmmaker Edward Charrette

Episode Date: July 30, 2025

Interview with Filmmaker Ed Charrette: From Struggling Artist to Indie Film Success In this episode of Good News York, host Mike Brindisi, sponsored by Ads on the Go, sits down with his cousin, filmmaker, author, and lighting designer Ed Charrette. The conversation delves into Ed's journey into filmmaking, his production company Back on Clock Productions, and the creation of his latest feature film 'First Draft'. Ed shares insights on his inspirations, including the Coen brothers, and discusses the personal elements he infuses into his films. The episode also touches on the challenges and joys of independent filmmaking, as well as Ed's work in lighting design for live events. They reminisce about memorable filming experiences and the evolving landscape of the film industry in the age of streaming. 00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message 00:28 Special Guest Introduction: Ed Charrette 01:40 Ed's Journey into Filmmaking 03:18 Challenges and Inspirations in Filmmaking 04:37 Acting in Your Own Films 05:50 Creating 'First Draft' 10:00 Personal Reflections in Filmmaking 13:20 Directing Techniques and Challenges 15:33 Balancing Creative Control and Collaboration 19:12 Writing and Filmmaking Philosophy 26:54 Engaging Audiences with Unique Storytelling Techniques 27:10 The Concept of Minimal Character Appearances 28:14 Inspiration from Real-Life Experiences 30:27 Challenges and Unexpected Moments in Filmmaking 35:42 The Evolution of the Film Industry 43:42 Balancing Filmmaking and Lighting Design 46:52 Final Thoughts and Future Projects

You're listening to a podcast right now, driving, working out, walking the dog. If you're into podcasts, chances are you have something to say too. With RSS.com, starting your own podcast is free and easy. Upload an episode and we distribute it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more. Track your listeners, see where they're from, and start earning from ads just like this. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your sign. Start your new podcast for free today at RSS.com. You're listening to a podcast right now. Driving, working out, walking the dog.

If you're into podcasts, chances are you have something to say too. With RSS.com, starting your own is free and easy. Upload an episode and we distribute it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and hundreds more. Track your listeners, see where they're from, and start earning from ads like this. Even with just 10 listeners a month. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your site. Start free at RSS.com. Welcome to Good News, York.

It's me, Mike Brindisi, sponsored by Ads on the Go, get Ads on the Go.com. Matt is not with me. I don't know. He's off hurtling cattle today. I don't know what he's doing. I never know what he's doing. But I'm here alone. It's just me and you.

Well, kind of, because I have a very special guest today. I feel like that, you know, I guess you guys could call nepotism on me here for a second because we had my sister on last week. And now I would like to welcome my cousin, filmmaker, author, lighting designer, and again, my cousin, Ed Charette, via satellite, via satellite. Ed, welcome to the show. It's funny, we've been doing this since the first of the year, and we've had dozens of guests and it wasn't until the other night when you and I, you were, you were promoting your

latest feature film, um, which is entitled first draft. And, uh, long story short, you would send me the link and I, you know, I wanted to watch it. And as I started the movie, I went, why the fuck haven't I had my cousin on yet? Uh, the show, good news York obviously focuses on awesome people doing awesome things in New York State. And you've been doing it for a long time, man. So welcome to the show. So thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. Of course, man. So I wanted to start off by just kind of giving the people a little bit of background on everything that you've done and you're doing. You know, I did say filmmaker, lighting designer, author. I know you from back on clock productions, which is your production

company and I was lucky enough to be cast in two of your films one of your films first uh the thin line and one of my favorite experiences in in my uh my acting my acting work if you will um but take me back to we never really as much as we're cousins uh we've never had a chance to just sit and and kind of talk about life and and how how things began how did you start getting into film. What was your first, like, you're the first moment where you're like, holy shit, like this is what I want to do.

And who did it for you? Well, I mean, that was, wow, geez. Like two lifetimes ago, right? I might have been, yeah, like 16 years old, maybe seeing Miller's Crossing, Joe and Ethan Coens, you know, that was the one. It was like, okay. And I just fell in love with it.

It was like, it was that time of life where people were like, what are you going to do with your life? I was like, I think I'm going to be a filmmaker. And then, you know, however many years later, you know, I went to school for psychology because I chickened out, you know. Every person that I met was like, you know, what are you going to do? I had people in my life saying, what are you going to do, graduate and be Steven Spielberg? I was like, yeah, I guess not, you know.

So, you know, I believed them, you know, but it's something. And then I tried to do like, you know, I would manage movie theaters. I did a bunch of stuff where they was trying to make money. But at the end of the day, this always kept coming back. You know what I mean? so I just had to keep, I could, I wasn't sane unless I was chasing this demon, if you will. Oh, buddy. I try to explain that to people that aren't in entertainment that, you know, people don't understand.

Like the other day, a buddy of mine was like, why, uh, why was Ozzy just like when he was sick? Why did he keep touring? And I went, I don't think you understand that touring was the thing that kept him alive. When you're a true artist, and it sounds dramatic, but I know you get it. When you're a true artist, if you're not doing what you do, whether that's performing stand-up comedy or acting or directing, I mean, you feel like you're dying, you know? I remember I saw Henry Rowlands do spoken word in Ithaca. He came up like a decade ago. And it was like it was stand-up comedy, but it was spoken word.

And he talked about how like when he would get off the road and he had time between recording or touring, his manager would check on him to make sure he didn't jump off a roof because it's, you know, you do. You feel like you're dying. And you, out of many people I've worked with, have always come across to me as a true artist in every form. And what I did notice is that as much as you love writing and directing, you do kind of, whether it's a bit part or a lead role, you like to act in your own films. Is that something like it's an itch that you want to scratch?

No. Well, when I was younger, I was such a ham. And then, like, I shot a bunch of videos with friends. And it was just a thing because me, me, of my friends would have comedy bits and shit that we'd do, and I was pretty funny. I always got laughed, you know. I thought I enjoyed that, but once I got

more into the filmmaking end of things, I kind of made sure to cut myself out. The only reason I'm the star of this feature-like movie is because my lead actor had a panic attack the night before, and had to bow out. So, really? You know, but it was my fault a little bit because I was, like, trying to psych him up. Like, man, this is it.

This is our dream. We're going to do this. We got this. I really psyched them out. You forced him into a parent. Yeah, yeah. So I'm like, all, right? That's fantastic. You hear about directors. They all have different methods, right?

And I think you did the right thing, right? You're like, okay, I got to get my lead actor revved up. You revved him up so much that he went into a full-blown panic attack and you had to play the role. That is a way fucking better story than what I thought it was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you get a phenomenal job. I want to talk about first draft. Now, this is your first and only feature length at the moment?

At the moment. At the moment. Yes. You know, we had shot the three. Sid line back of the day to try to get funding for the full length. Yeah. But that never happened. And it was like not shortly after that that I had already that put this into motion.

You know, it's been a long time. You know, and yeah, I shot. I even shot a little bit of it and then ended up throwing it out because I didn't like what I had and restarted, basically. Yeah. How does the, how did the inspiration and idea? start with first draft. Was this an idea you had for years? Is it something you put the pen to the paper

and it just came out? How did it all come about? And it's really good, by the way. Thank you. I love it. I did. So, and I want to say the 90, late 90s, there was a thing in New York City called the Gotham Writers Workshop. Yeah. And yeah, it was like those little, you see the little yellow

things next to the beef papers that said, yeah. And I took sitcom writing class. And And they taught you how to We had to write a sample script of Frazier. And all these people, students would sit around like with the comedy table and they tried to make it

as real as possible. Like a spec script? Like your own episode? A spec script? You had to write your own episode. So basically there was a lot of like pitching ideas and them saying, no, that sucks or no, you can't do it. You know, just a lot of that.

But one of the things he did was spell out the seven stage story structure that they use. And I was like, you know, what would be cool to do a movie about a writer in a show the seven stage story structure. You mean like, is it the, the hero's journey,

that one, that structure? No, not the, not the circle, like the, like the eight wheel that,

that, Dan Harmon kind of like popularized. That's what I thought. It was a seven stage structure back in the day that was more like sitcom formula back.

Okay. The teacher of the class was a writer on like all in the family, good time, all that stuff, you know. So anyway,

there was that. So I had the idea and it just sat there. And then over the years, I ended up being like a novel, like I wrote novels because, you know, you don't have enough money to make movies or people around.

So sometimes you just, I got to do something. So I ended up writing and kind of fell in love with the process of writing or what that's about. How do you freaking finish, you know, something, you know, how do you finish a novel? You know what I mean? Like how do you do that? So it's like when it's time to come to make a movie,

I might as well do something, do it about something that I'm passionate about and that I spent, you know, a decade doing, you know, I might as well, you know, just do something about that. And, you know, it seemed, you know, easy enough to do like, oh, it's a low budget movie. I could do a, you know, it ended up being a little harder, but a little more money than no budget. But whatever. Yeah. I find that in your movies.

As I said, I got to be a part of the thin line. And I just watched first draft, which I love that you put the Easter eggs in there. I'm actually in first draft because you put the thin line on a television in the background in one scene. and then you put it on a projection screen in probably my favorite scene of the movie. I owe the rights to it, and I can't really use any other... No, it was... Whatever.

I loved it because then I'm watching this movie, and I'm like, it's so strange when you see yourself in a movie that you didn't know you were in. And then, you know, I showed my kids, and I was like, remember the movie dad was in? And I showed him a couple scenes from that, and I'm like, well, check this out. I show them the other movie,

and I say, and that movie's inside this movie. They didn't even know what the fuck I was saying. And I was like, look, I'm in the credits. I'm guy on screen. But anyway, one thing I do know. Somebody saw it and said, there's a theory that because Todd is in the movie and is play in his apartment, that he's actually the crazy guy at the end. Okay.

So, you know what? I see these podcasts now and clips of people that they try to tie a character together through multiple movies that they've been in like it's an ongoing story. So that checks out. You could, he was, he was in both. I love that. But one thing I've known about you, and I hope I'm not revealing anything

I'm not supposed to reveal, but I feel like in both the thin line and in first draft, definitely in the thin line, you've told me that there are elements to the film that is a reflection of maybe who you really are or something you've been through.

It's very personal to you. Is that something that is, is unintentional, intentional. Do you kind of inject, because, look, songwriters write songs about experiences they've had. Do you find that you kind of base your scripts and your films off of you or situations you've been in?

Oh, yeah, without question. I mean, that's, you know, that's in line, especially my whole big thing about mental health and just trying to get it more acceptably, acceptably, trying to get talked about more openly and whatever. and it was a way of dramatizing it and making it something different.

The full length screenplay ended up being a lot different and it's not like that portion that the character you played was loosely based on me. Yeah. And actually in the script, I think your name was Lewis Craft and somebody told me a long time ago that that was the soap opera name

is how you do your middle name and the street you grew up on. So I grew up on Craft Avenue and it was Edward Lewis Sharette. I thought that was, I was always told that's your porno name. Is your middle? Well, I was Anthony Mohawk.

Right. I remember my friend was like William Root 5. And I was like, that's not a great name for a porno. Well, it'd be funny now, now that everybody knows what it, you know, that's the thing. Sure. But yeah. So, but yeah, I did, you know, obviously put myself in there. And then even with first draft, you know, there's scenes where I'm driving,

uh, massage girls around. Like I was driving strippers around, you know, being the bouncer for a little bit, trying to, you know, keep the rent paid. And that's where that kind of inspiration came from. And you deciding I was going to be doing a theme in the movie where it's like, you know, writing is a lonely life. And so every relationship should be like, you know, he's only, Jesus, I got to shut my phone off. Sorry. No, you're fine.

Can't even hear it. Yeah. And it just, you know, it's like he gets life advice from, you know, escorts or he's all his relationships are these like transactional nothingness thing. Because he's the life of a writer. Anyway, went off on a tangent. But yes. I put myself in there. You know, and I want to talk about that more in a second.

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With RSS.com, starting your own is free and easy. Upload an episode and we distribute it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon music, and hundreds more. Track your listeners, see where they're from, and start earning from ads like this. even with just 10 listeners a month. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your sign. Start free at RSS.com. The escort thing because I thought that was brilliant.

But, you know, I remember, I don't remember at what point of filming when I was in the thin line with you that I had heard that my character was based off of you. But I remember it was after we had already started filming, and I think I was grateful because I almost think that would have made me play the character different. Like I was I was really moved that you would cast me to play you-ish. I think the character was portrayed.

I think it was portrayed to me as it could have been you. Had you had lost your handle on your mental health, that could have been you. But either way, I just remember being very emotional about that thinking, wow, this is this is a big responsibility to play. you're playing the director and you didn't even know, but I'm almost glad you didn't tell me because I thought maybe I would play the character right. There are a lot of methods in the way that different directors do.

Do you have certain methods you use that maybe you've learned from other directors or that you do on your own that you've maybe could be considered unorthodox? Are there some weird methods you use when you're filming or shooting? Back then I did. I was a little more like you try to, I mean, you know, I don't know how other directors, really do it. I have seen a handful and a lot of it is live event stuff now, so different, the directors I work with. But back then, I would do some things that were a little more,

I had heard things from different directors. Like there was one where we, there was a scene where we wanted the, I wanted the girl to feel more uncomfortable. She was sitting there. So I took a handful of rocks and put it under her. So when she sat down, she was just a little like, you know, things like that that I just heard about. I was like, let's try it, you know. I think I over talk too much. Like I think I, and I've learned to just let the actor do their thing. And then if I have notes, say something, but I always try to just like, here's the trick I do. Almost every time.

So like, because I set up the lights and I'm the guy, I shoot it. And I'm just like, this is not, I always say this is not, this is not a real take. I just need to adjust the lighting. So please just run it one time. So it gets them super relaxed and they don't care. I often end up using that take if the lighting is good. Yeah, you fucking did that to me many times. Yeah, yeah.

That's the thing, you know. No, but that's exactly what I was asking, what you're talking about. The rocks, that, that was the kind of inside stuff I'm talking about. I think it also helps a real, but I'm like, hell, I'm just doing this to check the lighting, and then I'll play around for a bit. And everybody, maybe they're, like, bored, like, after a while, they're like, when are we going to get to it? But whatever, I'm still shooting and grabbing shit left and right.

Now the digital cameras exist, I'm rolling, catching reactions while people are just on break, you know? Brilliant. Yeah, so. That's brilliant. I love that, man. And you know, I do remember, I always felt bad for you, too, when I've worked with you because you are sometimes the director, the lighting guy, the cameraman. Is that always by design? Sometimes when you're at that level, especially now where you can kind of, you don't need big studios as much anymore.

Is that, was that by design in the way that, like, it was just easier to control everything and budget? Or was it, was this like, I can't help, but I just don't have. the money to pay for extra people, that kind of thing. If I could afford a cameraman, I would. I'd still want to DP it because of the art in it. And that's like I enjoy that, you know. But I would also like to work with a DP. It's just that they get expensive.

I had worked with somebody who would train me originally as a DP, the guy who I worked with, but it was just, you end up like, oh, right, I got to learn how to deal with egos. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, that's a thing. You know what I mean? And like, oh, so there's a very specific, you got to hire the right people.

You want literally the same way you could have an actor who kind of throws a fit, you know, whatever. Same thing happens with crew, which is kind of sucky, you know, and it kind of killed a vibe. So, but also I want to be able to shoot something. And it's hard when you're shooting somebody else or something, like a music video or whatever. And I'm just focusing on the visuals. And I don't really something because like if you do it a music video, you want the band to have their branding and their music video. You don't get to control it. So it's like if I can have creative control, I'd rather be doing that.

It'd be great to have cameramen that, like, something. somebody just hold the camera. I'll tell somebody where to put the lights and all that. But if you could just, you know, but that costs money. It's, no,

but it's, and it's hard because, you know, I also understand from a comedy standpoint, and I'm sure it translates to every genre, but I know in the comedy realm, whether it's video, podcast, film,

TV, whatever, the medium, you know, an editor can, can make you extra funny or make you unfunny, in my opinion. And I've heard that before,

because, you know, with comedy especially, it's timing, it's, it's, it's cutting to the right thing, it's beats, it's everything. So I actually understand that whole, like, I don't want control because I want control, but I also know, like, if I'm the one that's being funny, I know where the cuts go. So do you, do you find it hard to kind of let go of that, uh, of, of different things for, for that reason? Well, yeah, man, wait, for which reason for being a little bit of like, yeah, for the for like in other words

I ask that like shit let me let me rephrase that in other words like I find that sometimes I I am involved in a you know a production where I'm on screen

I'm also editing and I'm also doing some of the camera work because it's not that I want the control it's that like but I just know I know what's funny I know when I'm trying to be funny

you know what I mean do you find that and dinline what is this one in the first draft, like that was a thing because I knew that I could try to get some, I knew I was going to look at a camera a certain way. I knew I was going to be able to do,

but it's also weird directing yourself and it would be better if I had, like I had people who would never touch the camera before being camera operators. So I had to go back and shoot it, you know, months later, oh, we got to redo it, we got to redo it. Yeah. And ultimately, I feel like everybody else has,

like everybody else's shots are great. They look beautiful. My shots are like, yeah, you know, because I can't, be both like I'm behind the camera setting up whoever's sitting in for me maybe they're shorter maybe they got darker skin it's not the same setup so by the time I sit here it's a little bit

like meh you know but I'd rather I'd rather be camera operator or you know I'd rather be DP at least yeah and director you know or have a good say in it I'm starting so I over the years I've I've probably got four or five scripts that are a quarter or half written and that's a whole

different story that's because of lifetime and you know my ADHD and managing that bullshit. But I really didn't take the next step until I went back to school at the college for TV, film, pot, radio, whatever, and actually took some screenwriting classes and things of that nature. As far as like director of photography goes, one mistake I made when I first started writing scripts was that I was writing in, you know, the, you know, the camera direction and

what the director of photography would do, the DP. but I also found that sometimes I there's a shot that I'm picturing in my head that is detrimental to the scene like it has to be that shot as a writer and filmmaker how do you balance that where you're like you know when the DP comes on board or during the writing process how do you balance not doing all the work for them but but you you want it a certain way how does that work Well, so, you know, they say you're not supposed to write, you know, direction and all that. Right. Fuck that.

I totally do. Okay, good. I write the movie I see in my head and I want to get that across to whoever's going to be reading it. You know what I mean? A good DP will read it and go, okay, well, and maybe they'll have their own opinion. You know, I haven't worked with world-class DPs yet, you know, so I'll see how these conversations go, you know, when it happened. But, you know, at some point I want to have a, you know, Tom Hanks famously tells a story about when he was doing the, the, the, the, O'Neaters. movie. What the hell was it? Oh, that's one of my favorite movies. That thing you do. That thing you do.

That's literally one of my top ten favorite movies and I have no shame admitting it. I love it. That's a good movie. It's a good movie. But he talks about how it's like his first time directing and whatever. And he has a great DP coming up. I think it's Tech Fujim. Yeah, whatever. And so he comes in. He has an idea of how to start the scene. We'll start on the chandelier and we'll come down and then we'll come on our guys. Dad, they're talking and telling the story. And then the DP is just like, he goes, hmm, why are we wait and see what the act? do first and he's like oh oh you mean like every time that we always do it how it always works and I'm like oh okay but I feel like that was a good you should you know what I mean like yeah said I'm gonna have a problem with the DP now because I'm like hey fuck stick I just said what was what

we're doing yeah like but I guess I mean but he's a writer director in that scenario too you would think I mean I guess he maybe just he went with it you know but I could you made me feel better because that that that was my thing is as I'm writing these scripts I'm not writing the direction in, but I see it in my head. And it doesn't mean I wouldn't be open to a DP saying, hey, good idea, but I think we should do it this way. I completely welcome that in any sort of creative project I do. Working with anyone else always makes me better. But sometimes you just see it in your head a certain way. And then I was kind of being told, well, you can't do it that way. You got to give it to the director of photography. So I'm glad that you, you too feel that way, that you can

kind of, you can do it together. It might also be why I shoot my own stuff now. You know what I don't know how You know But I mean whatever But like so but like to be open to collaboration To have the kind of discussion Like with first draft Not to get back to that

But like Yeah no The beginning of the movie You know part of my constraint was like I'm gonna be starring in it And the film's gonna be on on stick Basically just like a lot of still Me walking into frame

You know And I was like I could change stuff digitally And have the camera push in But then I was like well Well how about When there's absolutely no inspiration Whatsoever the camera stays on six.

And then when there is a little bit of inspiration, now the camera starts to move, like whatever that is. And then slowly by the end of the movie, the camera shake it all over the place. You know what I mean? But like, sort of use it to my advantage.

Those are the kind of conversations I would have with the DP. And then like, you know, like, so early in the movie, when I'm, when I first buy the car and I'm driving around, it's basically a camera in the back of the car and we're getting all the lighting

and making it look pretty and, you know, inspiration for a possible writer. Thank you. And then later on, when he's driving the massage girls around, it's not, it's all shot, like the background is actually projected onto projector, is a projector shooting onto screens

to give like a subtle, you didn't notice, I know, but it's like a little dwarish thing, and even some of the lights in the background a little more pixelated because it's a laptop and you see the refresh rate a little bit going. You know what I mean? No way. So I tried things like that, you know,

so those are the kind of conversations I would have with the DP and like if he's going to come with a change it's like it's got to be thinking like that you know what I mean like we're going to have those kind of conversations so and as far as you're writing one more dorky question I you know I love this stuff in your writing process

now another thing I had learned through you know screenwriting in school was you know the hero's journey which I touched on you know those those kind of templates you can follow as a writer yourself do you kind of because it is a feel, you know, as much as it's, like, I don't want to follow a chart. If you do follow that,

that kind of format, it all does make sense in the movie world. But yeah, also a lot of times writing and shooting is a feel. Do you have that natural feel to, to the dynamic, or do you, do you, do you follow that kind of hero's journey, you know, you know what I mean? Do you, do you, do you follow your own kind of, uh, a template when you're shooting, writing and shooting? Or do you, do you kind of stick to that kind of old school template? I try, you, you, Now, because I'm shooting with no money, like, and it's me. You know what I mean? Like, I'm not worried about somebody else's writing the paycheck.

I'm more willing to know the rules before you break them kind of thing. You know what I'm writing? Yeah. I'm writing a movie about script writing or writing. In theory, like, you know, your second act is... Hey, it's Cubby. Have you ever had an energy drink that makes you feel like your head is going to explode? Well, liquid death now makes a better for you energy drink.

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With RSS.com, starting your own podcast is free and easy. Upload an episode and we distribute it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more. Track your listeners, see where they're from, and start earning from ads just like this. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your sign. Start your new podcast for free today at RSS.com. Supposed to start exactly in the middle of your movie, but mine starts actually a little over here. So I tried to, you know, play around with it. If I'm going to make these kind of...

bold choices, it's going to be on my diamond, not somebody else's. I mean, you sense. So, or like with the thin line, that short we shot with part of a bigger narrative, but that bigger narrative was like on purpose. I was like, well, I'm going to use a structure where it's like a nonlinear, different kind of thing to give you the feel of what it's like to be a bipolar kind of, kind of person, you know what I mean? Like fucked up kind of person.

That's a wrong way to say it. But, you know, those kind of things. I try to go out. But then again, I've never been in a writer's room. You know, I've never sat there. You know what I mean? like different ball of wax. Yeah, you make a good point that it's like

if you don't have the budget, right, and you're kind of doing everything on your own dime, I bet it kind of makes you feel like you, it gives you the ability to have like a little more cushion to go one way or the other off of that kind of format and do it your own way because it's nobody else's dime. Nobody else is going to review it and go, I don't like that.

I want you to reshoot it. So it probably, right, it gives you a little more liberty to play around. The first, remember I said we threw out the beginning. When I first started shooting first draft, it was a more traditional script. It was like a buddy comedy. I'm having writers block. My buddy shows up. And then, here, you got to go live.

Let's go do our things. And then shit happens. But as I was shooting, we were getting in, I had a bunch of scenes and I'm cutting it. I'm like, I'm bored of my own fucking movie. You know what I'm like? And then I, pardon my French. And then, like, I'd be independent. You know, it's a lot of people, I would just say in this deal with a lot of people, a lot of people don't see real independent movies.

You know, because it's like the film festival circuit into. York or like basements of like bars and you and everybody's a student filmmaker or young familiar they're always you got it you should have a format of a script or whatever but it's like when you take out the the name director or the name star when you're now you're seeing it for just a raw thing that it's like well now I'm just bored and see the mechanics you know what I mean so if I'm going to have if I'm going to be a low budget indie filmmaker I might as well try to take some risks sure I mean and maybe because we're so used to Now, like, we're just watching everything all the time.

Maybe the difference will be enough to engage people and keep them interested. 100%. Yeah. The, like, okay, so let me give you an example. I'm not going to go away tangent, but whatever. I love it. So one thing I did in this movie, so, you know, we're all used to storytelling and like TVs and the third, the three-act structure or rule of thirds. Yep.

So one of the things I did this movie was I purposely cut things like, like really nobody appears more than two scenes. So everybody like you co-worker, you see in one scene, you see him again later. Or he hires the escorts that he's doing the poetry, only two of them. And then the escorts he's driving around, there's only two. And then, I mean, the friend shows up twice in like big chunks, but I did give her a post-credit scene because, you know, whatever. But the idea being, in theory, you should feel like you want a little bit more at the end because it's missing something because it is the first draft, if you will. So I had that concede. tried, let's see what it does. I literally had like, there's an experiment. Screw it. Let's see what

happens. I do. I absolutely love that. You put so much. And that's what I love about your style of filmmaking is that there's thought in every bit of lighting, every bit, you know, every shot, everything. And, you know, I do want to talk real quick about the massage girl. So in the film first draft, I'm not going to give the whole synopsis because that's, that's your gig. I don't, I don't want to speak out of turn. But one element of it is that, Here's this struggling writer who comes across as kind of a lonely guy, and he's meeting with these escorts who think they are there to have sex with them, when he's actually just spending time with them and bouncing ideas off of them for his script,

which I just think is brilliant. But something you just said earlier in this interview, the reason I'm asking this is, did you say this was based on a true event that happened to you? Were you driving around a massage? Strippers. Strippers? I was driving strippers, yeah.

Oh, that must have been fun. Was that, you know, you take them the bachelor parties or whatever, and then you see security or you be sitting in the car waiting for them safely. And then I had an incident happen where, like, she called me, the one of the girls called me freaking out. I was like, oh, my God. So I go and the guy, you know, it was a whole thing. Like, one guy says, oh, she won't, she said she wouldn't go down on me.

He's like, you know, this kind of thing. And then literally, it's a hotel room. and they won't let her out of the room, you know? So there's like five guys in there all very like, well, I saw them walk in. I was like, they're trying to look at me scary. I'm like, I've seen guys that scare the hell out of me where they look at me and you ain't it, you know, but I'm not a fighter. They don't know that. I'm like, whatever, need.

So I just banged down the door. I was like, look, I can call the cops and the report of kidnapping. I don't care. I've done nothing wrong here, you know, like, well, they open the door and let her out. But that wasn't what's happened in the movie because the movie I need, you know, it's the old. you know, when you're stuck in a corner, screen rating, screenwriting problem. Yeah.

Or just a gun. Yeah, well. That scene, I'm obviously not going to give away what happens in that scene. There's those spoilers in this movie. It's like nothing at all. No, but dude, that is the moment. Like when you do the callback of what you said earlier in the movie and it is, it is so unexpected because it's such a tense scene.

I absolutely fucking loved it. And I love the wedding ring scene. And I thought you were phenomenal in that scene. I thought that was the best acting I'd seen you do. A few more questions here. Speaking of loving what I saw, one thing I noticed about your movies is, and when I worked with you on set,

is you are very, and I guess every filmmaker is in some way, but you especially, you really take your time to work on the right lighting and obviously the perfect shot. And I thought the montage scenes of you driving around, I just thought were phenomenally lit. and that's tough to do, by the way, driving scenes. So kudos to that.

Is there, when you're shooting a film, or maybe, whether it's pre-production, production or post-production, is there a favorite element that just like, just it's your favorite thing about the movie, the making movies? Is it getting the lighting right? Is it when a scene comes together?

Is it the shooting? Is it the writing process? I don't know. That's the thing about, It's there is, A, being on set, there's nothing like it for whatever. But being, making your own movie, it's even, you know, it's out of times better. But there is a little bit when that magic happens, you know, when the perfect things come together at the right moment or you didn't expect the actor to say, oh, whoa, I didn't see that coming. Yeah.

Great. You know what I mean? Like those moments are just amazing. Yeah, but I'll tell you to us, do a quick story going off on a tangent. No, it's not a tangent. So in this movie, like there's a scene where, I mean, whatever. So I lay down and the girl lays on top of me. And that was the scene.

I was like, yeah, let's just do whatever. And then whatever happens after he wakes up. And then the girl came to shoot it. We're very awkward like, okay, whatever, put a pillow here, do the whole thing. But I was on the Atkins diet at the time. And my friends always used to make fun of me that I was like eating cheese with mail. And there was mail, you know, be funny. And we started cracking up at the idea of how stupid that was.

So. Oh, you're talking about the. The dream sequence. The dream sequence. I got you. I was like, oh my God. So we cracked up at how stupid and funny that would be. And then we did it.

Shot the scene. Like, oh, that's, and then she was with me here when we were screening her for some friends. And that part came up, and it hit so hard.

And, like, be her to turn and just like, yes, that's what it was about. You know what I mean? Like, we came up with this idea together. We collaborated in this little thing

that made us crack up hysterically. We can't wait to share this with all the people. And we got to be there in real time while they laughed and saw it. It was great. Dude, those are. are the most you're absolutely right and that happens because as you know i i've also you know in uh in

addition to acting in comedy you know i had a band for a while so i've also been involved in music production and those things happen in music too where you accidentally do something musically but it sounds fucking awesome and there is no better feeling and that happens in movies too and that brings me to my next thing i wanted to talk about we have to talk about it when we were shooting uh the thin line, one of the final, actually be the, the final scene we shot in, uh, in, in, was it lawn wood, or, uh, woodlawn, wood, just below woodlaught. Just below, so like, like, uh, like where yonkers in the Bronx meet, but it's, yeah, it's this very Irish neighborhood, like off the boat Irish, there's pubs, people wearing European soccer jerseys everywhere.

And it was like a Sunday night, but I don't know what was going on. on if it was a soccer game or whatever, but there were drunk Irish dudes everywhere. Do you, I would love to hear your point of view. Do you remember what happened? Because I have a great... I remember them being like right out of outside of frame at one point and you're acting. Like you're doing the emotional like really hard scene and they're like right there.

You know what I mean? So yeah, I remember shit. It was great. It was, we had to hurry and get this done. We were on a timer and we really needed to get it and obviously it was dark. We didn't have any permits by the way. We didn't have any permits. We faked a car accident.

Yes. So thank you just saying that because what I was going to say was, not only did we not have any permits, permits, it's a Sunday night in the middle of this, you know, Irish neighborhood. It's a car crash scene where I have to get very emotional over this woman who's possibly dead. And we have these drunk Irish guys hooting and hollering from across the street. But what happened at one point,

I'm in the middle, you yell action, and one of the drunk Irish dudes, there was a pile of garbage like against a building in the scene and he just popped out of the garbage and went, and we're like, what the fuck? And then he started coming up to me

and I didn't know if he was going to fight me and I just thought that was the weirdest but raddest fucking thing that's ever happened to me in any sort of creative production. But, you know, people don't understand that you know you see what you see on film but you don't know all the magic that happens

or in this case, the insanity that happens off the screen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just, I love, man. That whole thing was fun. Yeah, I remember Jasmine has a whole other night. Remember she was, yeah, she came. She wasn't even in the scene.

She came to be around and hang her out. And then she ended up, like, going to the bar with the guys. And she made lifelong friends. Like, she went out drinking the whole night. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She had the whole other life of that night. I'd love to hear that. That point of view.

A couple more questions. I'll get you out of here. So as you know, as we all know at this point, man the industry the music industry the TV and film industry has changed rapidly and it's changing more and more day by day what are your thoughts on on on what do you think has changed the most from your point of view as a filmmaker and like what do you see in the in the future of film any predictions or projections of you know what what's the best way to go about shooting film now i mean i guess that's a three-part question i do yeah well shooting is the is the good part so

you can do it anywhere. You have the technology. You know, people can shoot on their phones. I say get a DSLR where you could use prime lenses. You know, I shot this whole movie for a $200 camera and like $50 used lenses, prime lenses. So that's the good part. And the bad part is, you know, streaming obviously has hit everything really hard. You know, I mean, I guess people can watch stuff at home.

But as a filmmaker, I was just talking about it the other day, like seeing the thin line in a theater full of strangers that we did at the Cotra film series. is like, oh, I actually do know what I'm, like, I know what I'm, like, I know what I, I know my, but that's the thing. That's the mojuice, you know? So getting that communal experience, I don't know as an independent filmmaker, how to do that now, other than film festivals or create your own shit. I mean, I'm in the, you know, I'm in the New York area and I'm in the live event space. So I could, in theory, on my next movie, work and promote and try to get people into some

theaters on my own, like literally stage my own. Have you or a loved one ever suffered from an exploded head due to an extreme energy drink? Hi, this is Larry Deathstein, attorney at law. Every day, thousands of Americans pound extreme energy drinks and literally explode their heads right off. At Deathstein and Partners, we fight for you. So take action today. It's stopped by the Death Steen and Partners' office, where we only serve liquid deaths, new sparkling energy. A better for you energy drink.

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7-Eleven. Or learn more at LiquidDeaf.com. Where? Liquiddeath.com. You're listening to a podcast right now. Driving, working out, walking the dog. If you're into podcasts, chances are you have something to say too. With RSS.com, starting your own is free and easy.

Upload an episode, and we distribute it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and hundreds more. Track your listeners, see where they're from, and start earning from ads like this. Even with just 10 listeners a month. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your sign. Start free at RSS.com. I'm going to have to, you know, because I don't know any other way to do it. You know, like it just seems like it's not the same as used to be. Even just for this film, the original idea, though, was to go on Amazon Prime.

Okay. It was supposed to be, because they would do it like a 60-40 split. And like a month or two ago, I got an email from them saying your account's been active. because I've been working on the movie, still editing the sound and doing what I can. And you're like, so we're not, we're canceling your, your,

um, you're canceling your account and we're not accepting any new submissions from anybody we had already canceled, uh, had taken submission from it. Like, oh, okay,

thanks for nothing. But I appealed, they ended up sending me a link to a bunch of aggregators, which is what I could do before anyway. So it's you go, you make, you shoot your movie, you go to film festivals,

you try, but that's expensive. You know, you can get pricey. Try to get some laurels. And then you can go to film aggregators, to try to get on platforms. But I would try to find some way to screen it at least to get that feeling for yourself as a filmmaker.

Try to get a little bit of money back if you can, but I don't know that that's going to happen. Unless somebody finances your shit. So, you know, it might be the kind of thing now as a future, the filmmaker. You can, you'll get paid for, like you'll work out your rate for the days that you actually work on set or, you know, the things you do. And then that's it. You know, there's no back end. I can't see it happening. I don't know.

I don't see it. Yeah, I got to say, though, you know, it's almost a blessing in a way that you hadn't graduated yet to that level of working with studios and having a full crew because now even major films, everybody's doing things on their own and you've always done things on your own. So you're kind of a step ahead because you're like, this is how it's always been for me anyway, where I kind of had to do everything. So that's the that's why I feel a little bit better like knowing AI is coming and people could do their own shiz like you're right but I can still do everything on my own I'm not that's right about you know what I mean that's the good part yeah So one thing I wanted to ask before we go is that so when when you had sent me the link for the movie first draft your feature film which please check that out as well as his movie the thin line that I'm in Little plug there You when I was watching one thing I learned too over the last few years was there's a

difference between watching a movie and screening a movie, right? And what I learned is that like a lot of times people in the industry, they screen a movie, which means they pay more attention to like the kind of shots, the lighting. So because I knew, uh, because I'm, this is part of my life is, is this industry. I was screening a little because I was dorking out looking at all. I wanted to talk to you about the lighting and things of that nature, but I also wanted to enjoy it. It, for someone like you, who's, who's a filmmaker and has done it this whole life, do you, how do you balance that when you watch movies. Is it impossible for you to not screen a film when you watch it? Or can you like sit back as just a viewer? My own film or other people. Other people's films or yours, both.

Oh, it depends on the other people's films. Like, I mean, I try to dispense it to disbelief. I check out. But if it's something that I can't help but notice, I can't help but notice it. Especially like when I see trends. Like now the blues and yellows, which I even been doing here, but the blues and yellows and the embers and like certain color tones take me out of movies now because it's like somebody got a memo or they learned a YouTube tutorial and everybody's doing it, you know? Yeah.

So things like that to kind of get on my nerves a little bit. But mostly I try to go in, especially if I'm in a theater, I want to enjoy it. I want to be taking, take me where you want to go. You know,

I want to have a good time. Sometimes I walk out feeling like crap because, wow, I can't, I'm nowhere near that good. You know what I mean? Like, I'm not there yet or I don't have that budget or you know what I mean? Like, and sometimes I'm like,

what the fuck? Why am I not? You know what I mean? Yeah, no, I know. Real quick, two or three rapid fire questions. Your favorite director of all time, your biggest inspiration. Do you have one? Or two or three?

Yeah. I mean, I mean, I have to say the Coens, but Link Letter, because he was like a direct response, I mean, a direct influence on this movie and Charantino. Every time before I direct, I watched two movies either the night before or two nights before. Pulp Fiction and Goodwill Hunting How about that? Hell yes Goodwill hunting

The last half is like Oh perfection It is It really is Is there a perfect movie In your eyes Was there ever a perfect movie You watch where you're like

That was as close to perfection as possible I mean I love Pulp Fiction to me is great I don't know Shawshank Yes I was just gonna say that Shawshank really is man But Define perfect Because that mill is crossing for me

I could watch You know what I mean It's something that nobody Not everybody likes, but I'm like, ooh, yeah. All right, and this one's kind of, this is a tough one to ask because I guess it depends on the style of movie and what you're going for, but just for the sake of fucking doing this. Dream one or two actors or actresses that you would, like, if someone was like you can pick whoever you want, no, no problems, whoever you want to be in your film. Is there an actor or actress or a couple that you, that you, who would it be? On my next movie, you mean?

Sure, like on your next movie, who, if you could just pick of the litter. Are you fishing? Do you want me to say you? I'll say you. Oh, God, no, don't say me. I would be honored, but don't say me. You know, I honestly don't dream that big at the moment because I don't want to get disappointed. I did.

The last one I did was the next film I was going to be doing, which I wrote, I still haven't approached the girl. She's literally like an internet pop star person, but because the idea originally was, and it's not probably going to to happen this way now. Because of the Amazon Prime split, there was a, shit, like three million followers on TikTok. I could get funding for a movie and whatever. And she's gorgeous and she could sing and she's got a thing. And that was the last time I had somebody in my head, but it was because they were reachable. I knew somebody who knew somebody that I could talk to her.

So I can't even imagine like in terms of, you know, what I want to work with Brad Pitt. Probably because Tyler Durdon fucking rules, you know, what I want to work, you know, with I don't know, anybody, there's just too many. I would scout whoever, whoever, you know. I know, it's kind of a hack question, but I just, I'm curious. I wanted to know. Listen, I love to work with you would get at some point, for real, though. You know I'm in.

You know I'm in. Let's do it. Absolutely, absolute last thing. Talk about your, so you're involved in lighting. I see a lot of times on social media you're posting. It seems like you work at like a nightclub or some sort of venue where you're, you're light designing for shows. How did you get involved in that?

What is it that you do? Well, I do lighting. Well, I got into it just by happenstance. I knew somebody was a bar back at the Gramercy Theater. Oh, nice. It got me into an interview. Because I was a filmmaker, when I did get some stagehand work. And then as I was there, I gravitated toward lighting guys because I knew lights.

I knew how to point lights at things. And that was like my, you know, my area expertise. And then it became like I would, you know, you're basically there. You're operating for different shows that Irving and Gramercy Theater. you're like one day is Dave Chappelle the next day is any comedy people or a metal band you know a Cypress Hill you know you're there sometimes they have guest LDs come in and you help them patch in and like their bring in their set or you're the guy doing it so you've got to sit there and do a show and then what I found out was like the real money is in corporate work

where you're it's like fundraisers or ballroom crap and you just set up some lights and some up lights and make it look pretty. And that's where the real money's at. So that's what you got to do. But the fun, good stuff is still in these clubs. Now I'm doing, the hip spot is Brooklyn, where it's like artists that I don't even know that when I tell young people, they're like, oh, I'm like, really? I don't know.

They have like a guitar and a laptop and they're killing it. But I, some of that music, like that techno music, that's not my cup of tea, but I fucking love lighting it now. It's like, it's like, it's like an art of its own. It's like, you know, I'm sitting there like doing my thing. That's what, that's great. Because, you know, your passion is filmmaking. But when you can find a job that is still in the same industry that pays the bills,

that's it right there because it gives you the time to still do what you, you know, your craft outside of that. And you're still kind of doing stuff that is involved in the entertainment world. You're in production. You know what I mean? You have some, you know, production work. Absolutely. And it keeps you in that, that, oh, shit.

Is Brooklyn still like the, like the hip spot? Like William Bird. Yeah. Although we just had, I mean, no politics, you know, but. Let's say when tariffs happened, our business got hit hard. And maybe like in the last couple months, like a cluster. I just saw an article, a cluster of clubs over there shut down, the ones I work at.

But, you know, it's, I think it's a ebbs and flows kind of business always. Yeah, I'm starting to see live venues. There's a concert up here at a venue in Canon Degua. It's called CMAQ. And I was trying to get credentials for us to go there and shoot. and when I looked at who the promoter was, it was the Bowery. So I'm like, holy shit, it clicked.

I'm like, so these venues, not just in New York City, I'm sure everywhere, venues are actually branching out and not only hosting shows, but they're like promoting shows that aren't even within 150 miles of them just to make money. So I mean.

Yeah, they promote out to other, even the mom and pop venues. They're not the Bowery. They're not live nation. They're even that, they started doing that. Yeah. That's where, you know, you got to get out there. Yeah.

So listen, give me the plugs as we head out here. Where can we find the thin line first draft back on clock productions? Give it to me. Well, first day, first draft is, and really all of it right now is just Edward Sharette.com. Edward E-D-H-H-A-R-E-T-E dot com. And it's really right now a private link like I'm doing. It's really kind of the honor system. I hope nobody steals my identity or screws me over.

But, you know, I have like a, you know, my phone number, my email, there, whatever. You're five bucks to rent it, which is really just a YouTube link, 10 bucks to rent it and download it, which is to download Google link and the rental, and then 20 bucks gets you that plus good karma. Really, that's it. And, but it's to keep it private because I am still submitting to festivals. Like, yeah.

So I basically try that. I'm doing like a fundraiser to, I mean, it's a, I mean, people get to see the movie and that's cool, getting some feedback. And then I can help, you know, it's like, you know, 90 bucks a shot to submit each time. thousands of film festivals around the world. So it's helpful. Well, Ed, I love you, man. You're my cousin.

I forget how. I think my second cousin? My mom? I don't know. That's a day. Oh, I know is what my mom was like, you should work with my. She kept to say, you should work with Mike Brindisi. He's like a singer and an actor.

My mom was like that back in the day. She's like, you should work with your cousinette. I was like, okay. You know, I think it was your mom was my grandmother's sister. Right? The grandmother's dad. Anne and. Yeah, okay, and sister.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. So we're like, whatever, cousins. Once removed, twice, removing. Yeah, so I'm technically, yeah, how's it work? I don't know. You're my nephew cousin, my cousin's nephew.

Sure. Yeah, we're, we're, I'm your nuzzin. You're kefew. I don't fucking, you. You're kept you. No, but it's an honor to be, to be related to you, man. I love you. I love what you do. Edward Sharette, filmmaker, author, lighting designer, and my cousin.

Check out the thin line. Check out first draft. and I will I'll talk to you off the air to make sure what we can put on the screen but we'll put the correct links there to go check him out back on clock productions

Ed Scherett Edward Sharette Ed thanks so much for your time buddy I love you thanks for having me peace out love you too yeah man peace guys all right Mike Brindisi from Good News York

sponsored by Ads on the Go get ads on the go.com we will be back tomorrow we have a very special guest coming in the studio and I will leave it at that. It is somebody that Matt wanted, and she is phenomenal.

So we will be having her on tomorrow and enjoy the rest of your day. Thanks for watching Good News York.