Se7en Questions with Filmmaker and Actor
Ralph Michael Brekan
Who are some of the artists or some of the works
that inspired you to get started in your field? Of today’s current artists, who do you draw inspiration from?
As a child, I was exposed to an uncensored litany of U.S. movie releases. By the time I was 12, I was familiar with different genres and cinematographer’s styles. So naturally I knew the blockbuster household names like Spielberg and Lucas, but also had the unusual privilege of seeing the works of Kubrick, Scorsese, Carpenter and Craven on the big screen and VHS, while they were in their prime.
Since young adulthood, I’ve taken a strong appreciation for late 60’s and early 70’s Italian cinema, and the US absurdist psychodramas by filmmakers like Alejandro Jorodrowsky, David Lynch and Darren Aronofsky.
What have thus far been some of the negatives of being an indie artist in your field?
We’ve leveraged production with low cost technology so the biggest challenge in 2019 is our lack of marketing capital to compete with large distribution companies’ print and advertising budgets. It’s truly a David and Goliath scenario where only the most fortunate and talented break through. It’s a ‘chicken and the egg’ scenario that reinvents itself with each project.
What have thus far been the positives of being an indie artist in your field?
Freedom. I am the green light. I’m limited only by my will to build and encourage a team to make it happen; and a good story of course.
What have been your favorite completed projects to work on up to this point? Can you tell us a little bit about them?
My favorite indie feature film project to date would be Lighthouse Lane which I produced and edited in 2012. My favorite indie television project I’ve completed to date, is Decentered, a proof of concept pilot for a conspiracy thriller series.
What projects are you currently working on or have planned for the near future?
I’m currently showrunning, co-writing and directing an animated series called SupaJoint SupaToonz. It’s an animated comedy series for people that the show creator and star, Hotrock Supajoint, says is “something for people to watch when they be smoking weed, yo.” Hotrock Supajoint is a parody rapper from Phoenix Arizona, who’s gathered over 10,000 Facebook and Instagram followers with his pro-marijuana humor and songs.
Considering the effects of cannabis, people will laugh even if it’s not funny. So, we’re pitching the series to Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Comedy Central Animation Shorts respectively. It’s really a weird market place right now, but any genre can be picked up in any market today. For instance, Comedy Central is rebooting Twilight Zone for CBS in 2018, so the market is wide open.
Where do you see yourself in a few years and what would it take for you to consider your career a success?
I see myself moving into bigger budget projects, gaining representation with one of the top tier agencies here in Hollywood and likely winning major accolades, or at least being nominated for a few.
If you couldn’t do this anymore, what career path do you think you would have followed and why?
That question doesn’t compute. I’ll always be able to do this. If I lose my vision I will narrate audio books or something. I imagine if we lost electricity, and I was relegated to primitive conditions, I’d tell fireside stories with shadow puppets or something. This is what I do. This is all I have done. And this is the purpose for which I was created. Your readers, which are fellow filmmakers, can find encouragement in knowing they are doing what they were created to do. Storytelling. Share your story.
