This week's call is with Daniel J. Coplan. He wears many hats as producer, director, writer, editor, and actor in his films. He's pretty much built his own genre which might be described as enlightenment noir. He works in the thriller mode and adds Buddhist character revelations and plot points.
One of the things I learned over the years is the only way I was ever going to break out was if I really used my own voice and my own unique perspective to tell stories. - Daniel J. Coplan
His next film, 8 Winds, goes into distribution in November. He's been the writer, director, and star of Echos of Enlightenment, the writer and star of The Dragon Gate, and his documentary credits include The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille and The Dream Factory, with Sean Connery, Marlo Thomas, and Eli Wallach. Dan has written a novel called Let It Be and you can catch him singing Wayfarin' Stranger in his music video.
Dan and I talk about how he has persevered in a business which is not for the faint of heart. Also how films evolve through the creative process.
You don't make one movie. You actually make four movies. There is a movie that you write. Then there's a movie that you shoot. And then there's a movie you edit. And then after all that there's a movie that the audience sees, which is completely different.
Thanks for listening,
Lee
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