2024 Updates

For those who still read this blog, I thought I'd provide a few life updates after a series of year-end Top 10 lists (and, sadly, tributes to two instrumental figures in my life who have passed in recent years, Lucille Kyser and Lynn Pugh Remadna). 

The most important development in my life is my relationship with Claire Townley, an absolutely brilliant, kind, beautiful and deeply caring architect here in Austin. After nearly two years of dating, we are now engaged to be married, and I simply couldn't be more elated. Prior to meeting Claire, I had sort of counted myself out in terms of romantic relationships. But, without being too sentimental about it, everything changed when she came into my life.

On the filmmaking front, my recent creative energy has been focused on pre-production for what I hope to be my first feature film, Rusty Lightnin' - a micro-budget, Austin-based feature that, like most of my work, is deeply personal to me, though it's not as semi-autobiographical as my past work. In fact, it leans into the crime genre, something with which I have no personal experience (aside from my lifelong infatuation with crime films). 

In September, I was absolutely thrilled that Rusty Lightnin' was selected as a recipient of the Austin Film Society Grant for Feature Films. I cannot thank the Austin Film Society enough for this honor - their support is truly helping our team push forward to make this movie - and, if I can be frank, helps legitimize the film in the eyes of the Austin film community. I've been pushing to get this thing made for a while now, and it was a nice vote of confidence from the local film apparatus here in town.

You can read more about the recipients of the 2023 AFS Grant here, as well read the official press release from AFS here. And, to boot, the Austin Chronicle wrote a piece publicizing the recipients of the grant and information about each of the films and filmmakers selected.

In case you're curious, here's the quick synopsis for Rusty Lightnin':

Leonard, a struggling actor, becomes the unofficial spokesman of a local car dealership, which brings him newfound attention and fame – until local ATF agents inform him that the dealership is a front for firearms trafficking and Leonard is forced to become their informant.

With the funds received from the AFS Grant, my team and I were able to shoot a series of promos for Rusty Lightnin' in October, which serve as both material for a forthcoming crowdfunding campaign as well as a proof-of-concept showcasing the look and feel of the feature film. It was a fantastic chance to work with the department heads - including ace cinematographer Fidel Ruiz-Healy, master production designer Samantha Robinson and my longtime sound designer Bobb Barito - prior to actually shooting the full feature.

The general idea behind the promos is as follows: we begin with fake car dealership advertisements, in which the dealership's goofy cowboy mascot Rusty Lightnin' sells cars. But interspersed with these ads is more cinematic, "real world" material with the actor, Leonard, as he watches his schtick on television, grows weary of his Rusty Lightnin' persona, and ultimately decides to comply with the ATF and participate in a sting operation to take down the gun-running car dealership owner. 

Our day shoot encompassed several locations (all in Seguin, Texas), including a car dealership, a bar, a small apartment unit and a parking lot. While the dealership material is full of gags and over-the-top shenanigans, the material with Leonard is more somber - and more representative of the tone and look of the film (Fidel shot these scenes with anamorphic lenses, and I think the result looks pretty damn good). I am really excited to share these promos with the world as we launch our crowdfunding campaign and start pitching this project to the public.

I should mention that these promos come on the heels of a more lo-fi promo I shot in 2022 with the help of my friend Lucas Loredo (at the same Seguin car dealership). You can watch that video here. It's not as polished as the forthcoming promos, but it's a good introduction to the character of Rusty Lightnin'.

In December, I was honored to be the subject of a cover story in a local magazine, Neighbors of Tarrytown/ Northwest Hills. One of my late father's dear friends, Bobby Hawthorne, writes for this publication, and he penned a really moving piece that covers my journey back to Austin during the pandemic, the pre-production on Rusty Lightnin', the influence of my parents on my creative work, and my relationship with Claire. Bobby even includes some moving details about his friendship with my father (they were roommates in college), adding an extra dimension to this piece that makes it feel a little less like shameless self-promotion. Anyway, as a summation of where I've been the last few years and my journey from New York back to Austin, it does a much better job of telling my story than any blog post could.

As you can see, the front cover caption is "Jack's Back" - which is a little humorous as it implies that 1. Readers know who the hell I am and 2. I was ever "gone." But I am immensely grateful to Bobby for writing this piece, which you can see pictures of above and below (and can read in full on Bobby's blog). 

On a sadder note, I was heartbroken to hear of the passing of Nancy Buirski, a gifted filmmaker and friend, back in September. Nancy gave me my first job out of college, and I ended up working for her for over three years as an assistant editor, associate producer, researcher and bookkeeper. I learned so much from her strong work ethic, attention to detail and enormous drive to get important stories on the screen, which resulted in the many great documentaries of her career (among them The Loving Story, Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq, By Sidney Lumet and The Rape of Recy Taylor - all of which I was very proud to have had a hand in). 

Nancy was always so kind to take time to watch and give notes on my personal work, as well. I’ll never forget watching my thesis film with her, and she said something to the effect of, “Jack, you are a filmmaker.” That meant a great deal coming from someone as talented and brilliant as Nancy. My heart goes out to her family and friends.

Moving on - way back in 2015, I played the lead in my friend Alex Fofonoff's feature film Blood and Thunder. Perhaps I'm a little biased, but I thought Alex made a really terrific and wild revenge movie (one which provided endless material for my acting reel) - but, alas, it didn't make much of a dent in the film festival circuit, and thus has gone largely unseen in the time since. I was overjoyed, however, when last year Alex decided to reshape Blood and Thunder into a short film, whittling down the story to its essence. The short was renamed It Happened One Night at Melody Lanes, and last June it premiered at the Palm Springs International ShortFest. It really made me happy that a piece of work that Alex and I poured our souls into resurfaced in a new form. 

Last year, I had another exciting project that allowed me to exercise my directing muscles. I've written at length on this blog about my experience in Austin High School's theatre department, particularly the influence of my former theatre directors Billy and Annie Dragoo. Last spring, I was thrilled to return to AHS to guest-direct a production of 12 Angry Jurors (the gender-neutral version of 12 Angry Men) by Reginald Rose. Rehearsals took place in Billy's Advanced Theatre class, which allowed me to work with the students in the morning and still be home in time for my shift for The Daily Show.

Because it was a class of 26 students, I double-cast the show, dubbing one the TRUTH cast and the other the JUSTICE cast. The show opened on Thursday, May 11th and closed on Sunday, May 14th. Both casts got two performances, followed by a fifth performance for Austin High English classes consisting of performers from both casts. It was a blast to have the opportunity to work with such talented students - and be in the presence of Billy and Annie once again, who are continuing the excellent work they've been doing for over 30 years. As was the case fifteen years ago when I was a student, Billy built a magnificent set, and the students brought their A game to each performance. You can see a wonderful poster by student Alicia Hamm to the right.

A few good friends have gotten married in the last year. Emily Mente, a fellow Red Dragon Player from Austin High School, married a great guy named Eric Batiste last March. In June, Claire's sister Mary married Kurt Sierra in Omaha. And in September, my fellow NYU film school compatriot (and former roommate) Adam Boese got married to Nicole Giannini in New York (the wedding was held at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, which was quite spectacular).

That's all for now - but before I go, enjoy a few preview stills from the forthcoming Rusty Lightnin' promos. The crowdfunding campaign will be live in the next month!