Author: Jaz Moore

Recently, I saw a rather delightful film released by a huge Hollywood production company. It should come as no surprise that the film starred fresh unknown white actors as the heroes while People Of Color (albeit VERY famous POC) were the throw-away antagonists. The plot was predictable and the end message was strong: hoodlums can change, they can improve their lives and become noble, respected, gentlemen…as long as said hoodlums are Caucasian. Later that night, I lay in bed re-thinking the film and wondered to myself: “How would the movie have been different if the main character was, say, Latino…

It’s grueling. It’s crazy. It’s pre-production. Welcome to Hell. -Expect the worst, hope for the best. “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” -Film-making is a collaboration, not a dictatorship. “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” -Over prepare. “Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.” -Always give an air of confidence to your cast and crew, even if you don’t feel it. “Confidence is silent. Insecurities are loud.” -Set realistic expectations. Your movie will never look as magical as it does in your head. It won’t be perfect. And…

(AKA My Good Deed for the Day) People of the world, I am going to share with you the most valuable tips, tricks, and advice that I have learned from working on several successful Kickstarter Campaigns over the last 3 years. If you find my murdered corpse after this is posted, my Social Media Expert friends probably did it for revealing such secrets. Tell Detective Olivia Benson to avenge me. Here it goes: 1) Be a Stalker (kinda) Look up projects similar to yours on Kickstarter using keywords in the search tool. Go through the entire list of backers for…

I recently came across an old fan e-mail I sent to an actress six years ago. It got me thinking. This single embarrassing act might actually be the sole reason for my entire career thus far. Let me explain. Back in 2008, I was a film-student at Syracuse University (go Orange) and feeling hopelessly stagnant and impatient to start living my movie dreams. Always the odd (wo)man out, my cinematic interests didn’t quite line-up with my peers. I was neither the Spielbergian wunderkind nor the Warhol-esque video artist that littered the film department but rather an abstruse overly-enthusiastic day-dreamer with…

Two weeks ago, I launched a Kickstarter campaign. Since then, I’m clocking in at three panic attacks, two nervous breakdowns, several horrendously restless nights, and one pair of glorious Target sweatpants I refuse to take off (they have pockets!) My heart rate is a steady 75 bpm. I’m also possibly going prematurely grey. It ain’t pretty folks. But I’m learning some important things and dare I say, life lessons, in the process. Nobody reveals the emotional toll crowd-funding takes. You’re basically putting your dreams on-the-line and failure is a possibility. That vulnerability is exhausting. Asking for help is hard, asking…