1. When and why did you decide to be a filmmaker?

Alec won a comic book drawing contest in junior high and did an interview with the local paper. I'd never been interviewed for the paper so I was impressed as I read it. In the interview, he was asked what he wanted to do as a career, and he said we wanted to become a film director. I read that and thought: that sounds pretty good, that's what I want to do too!

2. What do you value most about your experiences so far?

Getting to work with creative, talented people.

3. What are the most difficult challenges you've faced as a filmmaker?

Obviously long hours and tight deadlines are difficult. Also, the emotional challenge of changing your vision to deal with limitations and timelines that cannot be overcome in any other way. The hardest part for me is the fear and uncertainty as you go farther and farther with your preparations and I still don't know if the movie will ever actually be made.

4. What is your most vivid memory from your filmmaking endeavors?

One of the best memories is when we were nearing the end of shooting for SUSPENSION, and we were shooting in the old hospital. At one point, I was looking over a set the designers were working on while Alec was preparing another shot in the hallway, and the hustle and bustle and unity of purpose that brought the whole team there was just overwhelmingly wonderful for me, and I thought to myself if I can keep doing this, I'll be happy.

5. What is it like to see your movie in stores and get a distribution deal?

It is a tremendous validation of all the effort spent and sacrifices made, clearly, once the movie actually becomes available and finds an audience. It is also the time where friends and loved ones that made sacrifices on our behalf get to take part. Finally, it also shows future partners and investors that we can take a project like this all the way to the market, which is key if we ever want to make more movies.

6. What have you learned about the business side of filmmaking?

I've learned too much to summarize, but one key thing was that the effort and money it took to make sure the movie was produced while maintaining good records, legal contracts, and proper business set-up. If we hadn't gotten good advice and a lawyer early on, the process of distributing the film would have been much harder.

7. What is your highest priority as a filmmaker?

Entertaining people through the honest interactions of characters and extraordinary events.

8. Why did you want to make Suspension as your first feature?

The story of a man who stopped time had always been an obsession of mine. I wrote multiple short stories on the subject then later a short script I almost had a chance to produce.

10. What did you do to make your actors comfortable?

The actors are most comfortable when they trust that you are prepared to do your job, and that you've thought deeply about the characters and their circumstances. It is important for them to know that you are always monitoring them in terms of catching anything in their performance that is not "right" for the movie or honest for the characters and steering them in another way. But they also want to know that if they come up with things that are outside your original vision, yet work well for the movie, that you are open to that and will allow it to happen. We tried to make the actors confident in that fact by talking a lot, giving adequate time for rehearsal, and listening a lot to what they had to say.

11. What do you think is the best way an individual can succeed in this industry?

Working hard and being on time. Being willing to do any work that comes along that puts you in contact with creative people who you can learn from and who eventually, can learn about you.

12. What is the most helpful book you've read on filmmaking?

MAKING MOVIES by Sidney Lumet is great. Robert Rodriguez's on set diary from EL MARIACHI is also a helpful guide to no-budget production.

13. What is the best behind the scenes documentary or commentary you've experienced?

MY BEST FEIND by Herzog is a really amazing documentary about the kind of bond that can occur between a crazy actor and a crazy director. We're not all that crazy, but it is still a fun movie to watch!

14. Do you feel it's necessary to go to film school? Did you have any traditional education or training in this industry?

Film schools are all about the peer group. If you can't learn from the people around you, you'll never learn. Also, the people around you in school will be your colleagues for later in your career. For SUSPENSION, the writer/producer, co-producer, DP, both editors, and the sound designer were all people I went to school with and worked with as a student. Most of the other crew were people they knew that I would never have been able to find on my own. Our experiences in film school were the bedrock on which we built SUSPENSION.

15. How did you finance Suspension?

Private investors, meaning family, family friends, and longtime business associates and old employers.

16. Do you think it's important to make a few short films before tackling a feature? Why or why not?

I don't know the answer to that--I think it just makes sense that if you are making movies early on in your career, they are naturally going to be shorter and simpler than later on so I guess yes, you might want to start short. However, if you aren't spending money on the production and have little to lose, you can make your first movie any length and learn from it.

17. What do you think is the key to working with actors?

Listening.

18. What do you look for in an actor?

Different things for different situations. I was tempted to answer "communication skills" but if an actor comes along that you just know is right for a part and works on-camera, but doesn't express him or herself well in other situations, well, then I'd say you should still take the plunge and try them out.

19. What is the best film festival you've screened your movie at? Brussels Festival of Fantastic Film was amazing, such a huge group of committed fans! Sedona was a great place to meet other filmmakers and really get to talk about your work in depth. Avignon was similar, a really intense experience with other filmmakers.

20. How crucial do you think it is to get a sales agent?

It was how we made our sales, so it's all I know, but I've learned a lot from our sales agent so I would recommend it.

21. What is the most important piece of advice you'd give an aspiring filmmaker?