Falling Flat on My Face (Crossing)

The Chicon Chapters (Chp 2)

CROSSING: The web series pilot I thought would be my welcome party to Hollywood almost broke one of my best friendships.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URW3Kma9nNE

This was it. I had shot 5 short films under my belt, I had honed my comedic voice and I had the perfect idea for the episodic series I could create that would go viral, and put my name on the map! And better yet, one of my closest friends would be there to put it together with me.

The concept for Crossing was simple: Me and my co-creator (Jack Beaumont) wanted to tell a story about six young men, rushing for a tyrannical college fraternity that would put them through absurd challenges to force the group to bond. Jack and I had an eerily similar sense of humor, a long list of people who wanted to get on board and a vision that this would be the project that would get both of us the recognition we so desired... It didn't work out that way...

Despite my mistakes, this cast was STACKED with incredible talent I was lucky enough to be in the same room with.

My inexperienced, 22 year old ego was in full effect for this project, coming off of a fellowship that paid me to make a film that I directed, acted in, edited and produced. I thought I was hot shit that could melt your toilet. I was set to co-write, direct, produce, star in and edit this film that called for a massive cast and far too many variables to shove into a five minute web series pilot.

And amongst it all, I was arguing with my good friend, Jack Beaumont, about what directions to take. Jack and I had known each other for years, but here I was throwing a wrench in a relationship I had valued for years all so I could maximize the amount of credit I received. I wanted to be known as an auteur, I wanted people to look at me and say "Holy sh*t! How does he do it all?!" While the process of writing of the script went like a dream and had Jack and I laughing our asses off, when it came time to shoot... I fell flat on my face.

I undershot it, I failed to watch the frame, I missed important details in the script that hurt the story because I stretched myself to thin and refused to share the work with the talented people around me. I was so convinced that this project would be such a huge deal, that I was more concerned with creating a documentary and its marketing than its actual story. And when Jack couldn't see it my way? I pushed to get more creative control.

The ball gags were the very first idea we had because of course they were. But turns out... Real ones are actually quite expensive. So I bought bag of colorful foam balls (apparently they sell those), plucked holes into them and strung shoe lace through them- VWALA!

The result? I undercooked the film, undershot it and it took me FOUR YEARS in post to figure out how to pull a compelling story from it.

But I learned a valuable lesson from this project: "You can't do it all yourself". Film is a medium that calls for collaboration and demands egos be put on hold. This project taught me that lesson the hard way. It's no surprise that my next two projects saw me taking a break from acting, remaining completely in the director's seat and completely switching the way I worked.

After Crossing, it was no longer about bringing a "genius" vision to life. It was about collaborating with talented individuals to create something we could all own. I'm glad I learned that lesson, I'm glad Jack and I made up (I still call him once a month) and I'm glad I finally found a way to tell this story.

Poor Alex really was the champion of this project. Stripped down, tied up, forced to eat an onion and wheeled around in a shopping cart all before breakfast... This man deserves to be in your next project based off sheer dedication.

It was fun to find the moments that did work, to tell the story in a non-linear way with what we had. Mahdi Rahman was a fantastic Director of Photography who captured some great performances by insanely funny actors, bringing their own spin to a script Jack and I had so much fun writing. You probably won't see a full season anytime soon but... Word around town is Jack Beaumont and Danny Chicon have reunited for a new project ...