Stuck in the Desert (Meatball Mondays)

The Chicon Chapters (Chp 1)

Meatball Mondays: A spur of the moment short film with a unique location at a time of uncertainty in life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koogjoj2uN0

Oh, the beginning of 2024 was a confusing time for me. I decided to leave a program I was in early which ended my housing in Los Angeles, I had no job prospects and I found myself retreating to stay with a friend in the middle of the desert until I figured something out (it was Palm Springs, so it was a very nice desert, but I find very funny to just refer to say I "lived in the desert").

I had no clue what I'd do next, where I'd go and spent my day endlessly applying to new jobs and eventually doing the thing I always do: creating something new. The brilliant gentlemen who I stayed with during this time is none other than my co-star in the short and my good friend, Stasik Winderbaum. Stas gave me a huge helping hand when I was in desperate need of one and after working with him on JULIO: The Julio Irving Story About Julio Irving (Starring Julio Irving) I'd always loved writing for his dry, comedic wit.

I was really struck by the desert areas of Palm Springs and inspiured to use its beautiful, vast areas to film something that would be in stark contrast to all of the city/urban locations I had worked in before. Reminded me a ton of Breaking Bad and Westworld, so either this short was going to be about making meth or cowboy robots...

I didn't have the budget for either. SO....

I cooked up Meatball Mondays an incredibly simple short about two brothers, one of which who wholeheartedly believes he's a a great American cowboy roaming the Old West on an action packed rescue mission -simple right?!

It actually amounted to quite a fun project, one that looks far different than anything I had made before and actually pushed me to rationalize analyze a scene that, on the surface, appears incredibly silly but deep down carries a bit more weight. It's a short about

So? Where did I end up going after this short? How did the time of uncertainty end? Well, I got into a tiny school called USC.