My Philosophy…

Earnest is punk rock.

No, I'm not talking about Jim Varney's Ernest... although he was pretty punk in his own way.

I think, somewhere along the way, sincerity stopped being cool. We got really good at irony, detachment, and pretending not to care. I think we've lost something because of it.

The work I make isn't afraid to care deeply. I want people to laugh hard, feel something real, and leave believing that optimism and vulnerability are still worth putting on screen. To me, earnestness isn't the opposite of punk rock. It is punk rock. In a world that rewards cynicism, choosing to care feels rebellious.

Build the room you wish existed.

For a long time, I found myself wishing there were more places to meet collaborators, celebrate movies, and make ambitious things with people who were just as excited as I was.

Eventually I realized I could spend my life waiting for someone else to build that room… or I could build it myself.

That idea has shaped almost everything I do. Whether it's a live table read, a film club, a production company, or simply introducing two creative people who should know each other, I believe the best communities are created intentionally. If the place you want doesn't exist yet, that's an invitation to make it.

Make things with good people.

I've learned that the projects I'm proudest of aren't necessarily the biggest ones. They're the ones where I looked around the room and thought, "I can't believe I get to make this with these people."

Talent matters. Ambition matters. But kindness, generosity, and curiosity matter just as much. I want to spend my career building things alongside people who make each other better.

Details create worlds.

Some of my favorite moments in movies have nothing to do with plot. They're the tiny details that make a world feel like it existed long before the camera arrived.

I obsess over those things. The production design, wardrobe, posters on the wall, music playing in the background, the way a character talks, the tone of a title card, even the experience someone has before they walk into an event.

Details aren't decoration. They're what convince people they're somewhere else. When enough thoughtful details come together, they stop feeling like details and start feeling like a world.

Give people permission.

Movies have always done more than entertain me. They've given me permission.

Permission to make something weird.
Permission to care.
Permission to pursue a creative life.
Permission to be hopeful.

I can't count how many movies have sent me home thinking, "Well... I guess I have to go make something now."

I hope the things I create do the same for someone else. If a film, a live event, or even a silly fake audition inspires one person to finally make the thing they've been putting off, that's a success to me.