{"id":8563,"date":"2020-04-09T13:20:26","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T13:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=8563"},"modified":"2026-02-03T04:07:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T04:07:03","slug":"figure-out-what-youre-good-at-be-honest-with-yourself-about-whether-or-not-you-have-good-taste-kyle-leland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=8563","title":{"rendered":"“Figure out what you\u2019re good at, be honest with yourself about whether or not you have good taste.”-Kyle Leland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Exclusive interview with Kyle Leland – Producer, 1st AD, & Editor<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

With the privilege\nof growing up in the inner city of Chicago, Kyle was able to study at Second\nCity and iO Theater from a young age. His first film was a documentary about\nshrooms. The priest in charge of the film program at his Catholic high school\nin downtown Chicago was not amused. His first film project in college was an\nadventure story about masterbation. His conservative Republican professor was\nslightly amused; it got a B-. Studying documentary at Columbia College created\nopportunities to shoot promotional videos for theatre companies all over the\ncity, and eventually, TV spots for major sports teams, Budweiser, Subaru, and\nmany other evil corporations. During this same period of 10 years or so, Kyle\nworked as a Production Assistant herding and placing extras in films and TV\nshows such as Divergent, Contagion, Shameless, Chicago Fire, and many more. While\nthose experiences paid the bills and sharpened certain skills, they weren\u2019t\nwhat he really wanted to do; tell his own weird stories. In the last 3 years,\nKyle has pivoted towards his own projects and produced 3 short films and now a\nweb series, resulting in screenings at over 20 festivals including Cannes Film\nFestival 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nTell us a little about yourself, growing up and your passions. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was born and\nraised in Chicago near Wrigley Field, yet was a lifelong Sox fan. I was the\nonly ginger with mostly older siblings in an Irish-Catholic family of 7. These\nare just a couple possible causes of where my anti-conformist obsessions may\nhave come from. With some family in the industry, and the only virtual interest\nas a child being making trips to Blockbuster to load up on new releases, I\nbecame set on filmmaking very early. I was shooting short animation with my\ndad\u2019s camcorder and enrolling in film summer camps before 5th grade. I was a\nclass clown making frequent trips to the principals office, one of the\nconsequences of an ability to gain an audience. As a natural storyteller, my\nfirst fully realized short films were psychedelic, experimental documentaries\nabout high school drug use featuring soundtrack from Velvet Underground and The\nBeatles. They ruffled the feathers of the priests in charge of the film program\nat my Catholic high school. Instead of homework, I religiously rewatched\nKubrick, PT Anderson, and Wes Anderson, like many filmmakers from my\ngeneration. That, messing around on piano, smoking weed, and reenacting Jackass\nscenes in the streets of Chicago with friends and my camcorder were pretty much\nmy only activities as a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nDid you have any specific influences growing up that lead you towards the\nfilm industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was fascinated with the successful careers\nsome family members had in the industry – my aunt was a Broadway voice coach,\nuncle a Hollywood teamster, and other uncle an award winning location manager.\nBut when I came across the films Rushmore, Magnolia, A Clockwork Orange, and\n2001: A Space Odyssey in junior high, I knew I had to be on the creative end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nWhat are you currently working on?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m currently\npushing two short films through festivals with this same team as a\nProducer\/Editor\/AD. Also getting ready to submit a web series that I wrote and\ndirected called Hammersmith<\/em> through web festivals now. Hoping to shoot a\nmicro budget pilot called Mid-to-Late<\/em> this year. And plan to write out a\nfew outlines for some feature concepts as soon as I have free time. All this\nwhile working freelance on Chicago commercials as a director\/editor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nWhat were your main responsibilities on this film?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was first a friend of Abby\u2019s for her to bounce ideas\noff of, then I fell into the 1st AD position because of my Production\nexperience. I then consequently fell into the editor position. And at that\npoint, it only felt natural that I stick with the project through the rest of\nits run as a Producer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:\nCan you tell us about your experience in working\nwith the director and actors in this film?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, Abby Pierce was an old friend, and told me about\na concept she wrote with a friend that she wanted to direct. It was fascinating\ntalking through every possibility for the project. Then when shooting arrived\nshe introduced me to an amazing group of theatre actors and a crazy talented\ncamera crew she found through friends of friends. When we were on set it was\nlike a house party. Everyone was chill and motivated, and constantly\nenthusiastic about the way everything was turning out on frame. It was smooth\nand fun. And to top it off, I got to work with Charley Koontz and Graham Beckel\nwhich was intimidating and awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nWhat was the most important thing for this\nmovie to achieve from a narrative and character standpoint?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important challenge on my mind was to clearly\nand entertainingly build the world of Magical Realism through the literal heart\nexchange metaphor. With our limited time with the camera and crew, we only had\na couple shots to establish that this insane, weird act of ripping out and\ngiving one\u2019s heart to their lover was a common and normal thing to do in this\nfilm\u2019s setting. Without this concept becoming immediately accepted, the\naudience would be too distracted to take on the characters\u2019 relationships and\nthe story exposition. Luckily the writing, cinematography, performances, and a\ncouple quick editing fixes were planned out well enough that everything clicked\nin a charming and simple way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nWhat other films have you produced?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I produced another short film with director Abby Pierce called Go Ahead, Grab Time By The Throat<\/em> which recently wrapped up. I wrote\/directed a short film for a timed-film-competition called Hammersmith<\/em> that ended up winning and screened at Cannes 2018. I have since turned that short into a web series by the same name and shot 5 more episodes, soon to be released. Before that I made about 20 amateur short films and another 20 local commercials\/music videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nWhat makes a film interesting for you? What are\nthree qualities that you look for in a movie?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honesty, controversy, and awareness are all I really care\nabout in any art. The more pathetically and embarrassingly honest a film is,\nthe deeper someone can identify with it on a level that they normally can\u2019t\ncommunicate to their closest loved ones in their day to day life because of\ninternal shame. And that\u2019s the point of art – a more soulful communication.\nControversy is important because if it isn\u2019t controversial, then it probably\nisn\u2019t saying anything new. Controversy is usually a sign that a film is tapping\ninto something that people usually don\u2019t dare to talk about, but if it exists,\nthen it\u2019s worth examination. And  lastly,\nawareness is embodied as harnessing true craft in creating a point of view for\na story. Awareness of every characters\u2019 motivation, including the antagonist\u2019s.\nAwareness of who will see this, in what context, and how the audience could\ninterpret it. Awareness of what the film is – genre, scope, message.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nWhat project helped you launch your career?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A promotional documentary I made for an experimental\ntheatre house that screened with their performance at Chicago\u2019s Museum of\nContemporary Art in my early 20\u2019s was the first big project on my reel that\nlead to other gigs. But my short film Hammersmith winning some festivals and\nscreening at Cannes definitely gave the biggest jumpstart to my career.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nWhat criteria do you use to select a script,\nscreenwriter, director, etc.?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pretty simple: they have to seem like a chill, cool\nperson who isn\u2019t an asshole\u2026 unless the script is realllllly good. A script\nthat stands out is one that seems like it would play well with audiences in\ntoday\u2019s world. One that seems authentic, says something that doesn\u2019t seem like\nhas been said before, and genuinely surprises me, or makes me laugh or cry when\nreading\u2026 but that\u2019s like.. very rare\/non-existent.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong> What are you most proud of? Describe your biggest\naccomplishment to date?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Probably same as 2 questions above; having my documentary\nscreen at the MCA, writing\/directing a short comedy that brought me to the\nCannes Film Festival, but also, this film Eat\nYour Heart Out<\/em> won an award at its first\nfestival which resulted with the prize of screening before a special rooftop\npremiere of Marc Maron\u2019s recent film Sword\nof Trust.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nDo you have any upcoming projects that you\u2019re\nsuper excited about?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hammersmith<\/em> the\nweb series that I wrote\/directed\/produced is currently my entire existence.\nIt\u2019s post-production and promotion is consuming me right now, but I think\npeople are going to love it and laugh their asses off, so I\u2019m very excited\nabout its upcoming release this summer. You can follow its release at HammersmithSeries.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nWhat advice would you give to someone who is aspiring to enter the film\nindustry, especially as a producer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d say get over\nyour narcissism and greed. Become an engineer or a nurse. The world is ending.\nThere\u2019s enough of us assholes seeking fame and fortune as is. But, if they\u2019re\nhoping to change a world mindset through film, then I would say: figure out\nwhat you\u2019re good at, be honest with yourself about whether or not you have good\ntaste. After that, find people who are good at the things you aren\u2019t and have\nbetter taste. Work with them, let them help you, and help them with what you\u2019re\ngood at. Also find someone who is mean\/brutally honest and will give you\ninsightful criticism that\u2019ll help you build. Also, go to every single film\nevent going on around you and join every group available to you. Talk to\neveryone and follow through with further communication.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY Glam:<\/strong>\nCan you discuss any future projects or direction\nyou are taking in regard to film making?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, my web series coming out this summer Hammersmith<\/em> is the\nonly upcoming release on which I\u2019m focusing, but I\u2019m planning on making a\ndeeper dive in tone\/genre for future projects. \nI plan to lean away from lighter comedy which I have been doing a lot of\nrecently, and instead, working on my skills of developing suspense and creating\ndarker atmospheres. I think that\u2019s where my craft will bring out a more\noriginal artistic voice.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exclusive interview with Kyle Leland – Producer, 1st AD, & Editor With the privilege of growing up in the inner city of Chicago, Kyle was able to study at Second City and iO Theater from a young age. His first film was a documentary about shrooms. The priest in charge of the film program at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19266,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8563\/revisions\/19266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}