Another month, another interview and showcase of an upcoming artist. This time, film maker and writer Jordan Cobb, who studied Digital Filmmaking at the University of Central Arkansas.
Check out the interview and then come back to One Of Us later in the week when we display Jordan’s short film ‘Special Delivery’
I have a Bachelor Arts degree in Digital Filmmaking with a minor in journalism from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, one the few film school programs in the United States to do feature length films. I did visual effects work on one, Sympathy Pains, the second one about a terrible comedian who goes through the same pains of pregnancy as his wife while trying to get his career off the ground. Very fine movie.
Jordan is very clear about his influences and very eloquently demonstrates them.
I’m influenced by a lot of various styles and people but if I had to boil it down to about say five, they’d easily be Martin Scorsese, Joss Whedon, Mitchell Hurwitz, Woody Allen, and Christopher Nolan. Oh wait Edgar Wright, I lied six. Their styles to me speak the most to me with what they do with the camera, how well they write and translate a script onto screen, and just how well they craft every single detail together. I’m just blown away by them and well cliche as it does sound GoodFellas is my absolute favorite film. The Incredibles, Black Swan, Blade Runner, Airplane, Blazing Saddles, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Lady From Shanghai also have a hand in my madness. I’m a HUGE noir and black comedy fan.
I’m also inspired by shows like Breaking Bad, Community, Mad Men, The Simpsons, The Drew Carey Show, Arrested Development, and the DC Animated Universe but also characters as well. Spider-Man, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Walter White, The Doctor, Han Solo, Captain Picard, and most importantly Batman influence me so much, how different these characters are and what they each represent and how they are just bound for longevity is great cause to me it shows that there are many things you can do with them and as much as we are influenced by people, I think we’re all influenced as much by the characters people play.
What kind of things interest you in terms of exploring?
I’m interested in exploring anything. I know it sounds cliche to say, but honestly if there is any script that interests me, I wanna try and take a stab at it. As for themes, noir. Noir might be my favorite genre ever. I also love ambiguity and superheroes and just pure human nature. I don’t wanna be stuck to just one thing or certain theme, I wanna take a stab at anything that gets my interest.
Why are you creative?
I honestly think its cause I love storytelling. I read Harry Potter and I think, “Wow, this was so great, I love how creative this feels. I wanna make something like this.” I like making things. I love creating stories, making worlds come to life. From a young age, I had so many ideas in my head, I didn’t know how to really express them. I acted them out, Batman fighting Dr. Doom with my old action figures. Creativity just makes me feel alive too, its great to feel that way. I can write it down and imagine its coming together so perfectly. I mean in high school, like when I started, I just watched a lot of Night Court reruns on TV, and I love Night Court, and I thought writing a feature film adaptation of that would have been my big ticket. I think I still have a few of the handwritten script pages myself today.
What do you do to unwind.
Scotch. I like to drink a nice scotch on the rocks to help get me relaxed, a few good slices of pizza, couple episodes of Batman: The Animated Series and Buffy, I’m happy. Talking to my friends and girlfriend helps too.
Currently working on?
Well right now I’m working on the Write A Movie With Us project here on One Of Us. I’m also working on getting a short comedy about my unemployment search made called We’ll Call You, it is slightly based on some my own experiences, and will most likely be the first production of JoWoCo Productions, my independent film production company that I have started, we have a website and Facebook page. I’m writing the second draft of it right now. I’ve got a few other stories I’m working on, trying to think of a good TV pilot. Mostly Breaking News, my personal favorite idea I’ve ever had with a journalism drama that’s like what if Breaking Bad had Lois Lane trying to save the Daily Planet by staging crimes with the help of criminals to drive up publication numbers and that gets out of hand.
where do you see yourself in ten years?
I honestly see myself still making movies, maybe in television, I’d love to work in TV as well given our great golden age here and the many ways to get a show out there to the masses. I honestly can’t see myself doing anything other than this, well besides journalism.
‘Special Delivery’ will be featured right here on One Of Us and Jordan will give us his own unique insight and overview on the film and production. You can find JoWoCo on Facebook and Twitter.
