Se7en Questions with Filmmaker
Todd E. Braley
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?
I got into filmmaking when I was about 8-years old. I originally wanted to be an animator and wanted to work for Disney but after watching TV shows like Starsky and Hutch, SWAT and Beretta, I had made the decision at probably 10-years of age that I wanted to make movies.
My mother worked for the McDonald‘s corporation television production facility, where I gained even more knowledge and desire to make films. Spielberg, Scorsese, Friedkin, Hitchcock and Peckinpah were initial inspirations. Currently there isn’t really anyone I am inspired by, I just try and keep up with the times.
What have thus far been some of the negatives of being an indie artist in your field?
M O N E Y. Plus finding cast and crew with work ethic. They are so far and few between, that it’s frustrating to try and get something done when people are not truly committed. I have been able to find a small handful of those with passion, but not many.
What have thus far been the positives of being an indie artist in your field?
I grew up in the film era. Everything cost a fortune to be able to make movies. When video really came into play in the 80’s, it helped being able to get creative with video cameras. Now in the digital age, being able to make films, good films, makes this old guy very happy with what is available to filmmakers that wasn’t even around ten years ago.
What have been your favorite completed projects to work on up to this point? Can you tell us a little bit about them?
That is such a hard question. I do so much work (i.e. films, music videos, TV commercials, web series) that narrowing it down is almost impossible. I will say that my current project, Silence is my fave to date. The subject matter (sexual assault) is really in the public eye right now and our film is very current with the times. I try to up the ante with everything I do. So to really be concise, is tough.
What projects are you currently working on or have planned for the near future?
Again, I am working on our feature film Silence. We are also planning a comedy series for Amazon Prime called Jeremesus about the Second Coming but the guy doesn’t want the job. We start production in October, 2018.
Then in 2019 we have 3 more features Misfit 2, Paradise Road and Local Mafia. We are also currently working on raising funds for two bigger budget films Blood Loss, a shark film in the vein of Jaws, that currently has retained several Native American Talent; Arthur Redcloud, Dennis Ambriz, Loren Anthony, Glen Talley, Marqus Kane just to name a few, from the DiCaprio film The Revenant, and Wolfman about the life of Wolfman Jack that will star the talented Johnny Rock as Wolfman Jack, Daniel Baldwin, Marshall Baldwin, Chubby Checker, John Schneider (Bo Duke from Dukes of Hazzard), James Burton (Elvis Presley’s guitar player), Bobby Riedel and Anson Williams (Potsie from Happy Days)
Where do you see yourself in a few years and what would it take for you to consider your career a success?
My career is a success because I am making movies. I don’t need fame, money or notoriety to be successful. If that happens, bonus for me. I am just happy to be a filmmaker in these times that people from all over the world can see our projects and enjoy them.
If you couldn’t do this anymore, what career path do you think you would have followed and why?
Retirement… there is nothing I would rather do. In my lifetime I have walked away from filmmaking a few times, have had an excess of 42 different jobs and always came back to film. I live, breathe, sleep, eat, walk, talk, shoot, shit filmmaking. There’s nothing else like it.
