Interview with Dan Lashley
by Stephanie Stebbins
Recently I had the great pleasure of speaking with the always hilarious filmmaker, Dan Lashley, about his upcoming film, ROSE COLORED MILES
I met Mr. Lashley a few years ago and have kept up with the progress of his film, so I was thrilled he turned out be such a self-proclaimed “publicity whore” and quickly agreed to speak with me about his film.
For someone seeking an interview as their first assignment, I quickly found that those are my FAVORITE types of filmmakers.
For those who are not yet aware of your film, could you give us a brief overview?
ROSE COLORED MILES is about an TMZ type tv producer who tracks down a reclusive (and slightly insane) former child star to a small town. In exchange for the interview, the producer must spend a few weeks with the former star to see how he lives. It’s got comedy, it’s got romance, it’s got drama. All the kids should see it when it comes out.
That definitely sounds interesting! What was your inspiration for the film?
I always wanted to do a story about an eccentric personality, and I didn’t get a real good handle on Miles (the former child star) until I started putting my own characteristics in him. Then it became simple. As for inspiration, well my then girlfriend/current wife Erin played a big part in how I shaped up the Miles and Sara (the better half of Miles) relationship. It brought a new dimension in what is usually the stereotypical girlfriend/boyfriend type role.
It sounds like you two had a lot of fun during the screenwriting process. Did you always know that you wanted to be a filmmaker?
I remember in kindergarten they asked us what we would like to be when we grew up. I put down basketball player and actor. As my b-ball skills are rather lacking (why won’t the WNBA call me!?) acting became the thing I wanted to do. Then somehow I discovered that I have a knack for screenwriting…modest is my middle name of course.
From there I worked on a few film sets doing various odd jobs and got a good idea of how the process was done.
How was the production process? Did you encounter anything unexpected?
It was difficult in one sense because as with any production that doesn’t have a lot of money, people will just not show up. That meant rewriting scenes right then and there, and thankfully with the talented cast and crew we had, we were able to pull it off. The schedule could have been a bit tighter, but that’s a lesson I learned from this. Outside of some minor issues that always come up on shoots (wind, props,etc) I think the process went more smoothly than I could imagine.
Do you have a favorite character? Can you tell us a little about the people involved (ie; actors, crew, etc)?
Well since I played him, I won’t say Miles because that’s the obvious answer. I really liked Sara though because she turned out to be the perfect person to handle Miles. I was worried I couldn’t find an actress that could do the role the way I wanted, until Jayne Thomas came in to audition. Her take on Sara is exactly what I saw in my head, and that’s rare. Thankfully, I didn’t have to play the role myself…although I have great legs.
I was extremely lucky in that I had such a professional group of people around. Steve Stussey (Director of Photography) brought experience to the set and basically saved my butt on more than one occasion. Actors like Michael Melendex (Rex), Amanda Elizabeth (Janine/Caroline), Catherine Trail (Periwinkle) and Jerry Wallace (Dr. Hill) brought their best for me. Also, people like Jayne Thomas and Robert Bubnis, who hadn’t acted in a film before this, were complete naturals.
And of course, Al Snow. Al is a fantastic actor, and pretty damn dreamy too.
I am definitely excited about its release! When and where can we see it?
We’re currently in post production now. I have the talented Michael Sandefer cleaning up the audio on it at the moment. Michael is also a hell of a musician and is providing the score to the film as well. He also plays a role in the movie. The man’s multi-talented.
I don’t have a schedule on when it’ll be complete, but we hope to start putting the film in festivals as soon as possible.
Are you also involved in any other projects?
Yes, although I can’t really discuss them yet…I’d have to kill you. Well ok, not kill, but stomp you on the foot but good. I’m currently shopping some screenplays around, a couple of reality show ideas I’m working with various people on, and hoping to find funding for a horror/comedy I’d like to direct next.
Please don’t stomp on my tiny little piggies…unless it is part of the horror/comedy and then I suppose I can forsake them in the name of art. A lot of industry people are all over the web these days. Do you have a website and/or presence on teh magical inturdweb as well?
I am a press whore. I have a comedy website (which has a nice mini-documentary on Rose Colored Miles) at www.mymomthinksimfunny.com/index/.
My facebook is http://www.facebook.com/mymomthinksimfunny.
My myspace is http://www.myspace.com/KashFlagg , and my twitter is
http://ww.twitter.com/realdanlashley.
Some of my comedy videos and other related projects can be seen on my youtube page as well: http://www.youtube.com/user/plasticman4eva.
Oh, and my imdb page (I told you I’m all over the place): http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1508037/
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a press whore, ha! Do you have any advice for other writers/directors/filmmakers?
Work on films. Even if you’re working for a slice of pizza at your friend’s house for a Star Trek fan film, get a working idea of how a production is done. It also doesn’t hurt to know how to run as much of the equipment as possible. A good film can be done on a shoestring, you just have to know how to plan correctly.
Oh, and be prepared to talk to a LOT of people. If you don’t like people or are anti-social, get over it or you won’t ever get anything done.
Definitely fine advice, Mr. Lashley. I thank you very much for taking the time to participate in this interview with me. Anything else you would like to share before you flit away back to fancy filmmaker land?
I believe the children are our future. Treat them well and let them lead the way…cause my feet hurt.
It most assuredly is from walking those Rose-Colored Miles, my friend.
*Dan Lashley is a native of Bowling Green, Kentucky and I have it on good authority that he enjoys taking silly pictures of himself in wrestling masks.
*Stephanie Stebbins is a native of Virginia Beach, VA but is currently living in the land of poofy bangs and bitchin’ Camaros that is Fort Worth, Texas. She is married to a United States Navy service member and has two children she affectionately refers to as Thing One and Thing Two. She has also been known to take silly pictures of herself in wrestling masks.
-Stephanie Stebbins
http://stephinfectionisinyourhead.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/stephsteb
