Get back up, shake the dust off and keep going. Keep going, because Hollywood is set up to make you fail.

I've already made several friends-for-life from the latest movies I've worked on, and I know I'll make several more in the years to come.

Growing up in the 80's, I think a lot of us saw things that were "new," an experience we don't get too much of these days. We saw things that were never done before. When Star Wars first came out, no movie before that had ever looked that way.

The original Star Wars ("A New Hope") has had the greatest impact on me of all the films I've ever watched. It's really what sparked something in me to want to make movies.

In college I wrote for the university newspaper, and I had several short stories published in small press. I think it's just been a natural progression of where to go with the imagination and not have to grow up.

I spent several years in the film finance business, but I returned to what I loved most about the industry - actual filmmaking, producing, writing and directing.

I wrote several screenplays over the years to really polish my craft and learn from my mistakes.