Jacob Chase: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker

Interview with Guernslye Honorés

Don’t put all your effort into one idea. When I started writing, I’d fine tune one script for a year and then try to get it made for years more. As much as I loved those projects, a million things can go wrong for them not to get made. I started finding more success when I started writing more. I got better and I was also giving myself more opportunities to find something that connected with others.

As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jacob Chase.

Jacob Chase wrote and directed COME PLAY for Amblin and Focus Features based on his viral short film, LARRY. Next, he wrote and will direct THE HOUSE OF LOST SOULS for Blumhouse, as well as an UNTITLED JAMES WAN project, which is based on an original idea from Wan. He has also sold projects to HBO MAX, New Line, Amazon, Paramount, and Sony. His most recent short film, MR. BLUR, premiered at Fantasia 2023 where Jacob won the International Jury Award for Best Director.

On the television front, Jacob directed and produced THE GIRL IN THE WOODS for Peacock. He is currently co-writing a top-secret pilot for Disney+ and is adapting Rob Hart’s new book PARADOX HOTEL as a one-hour for Working Title and NBCU. He is an alum of the Sundance Episodic Lab with his musical pilot HARMONY, which landed at ABC.

Jacob began his career as a child actor in musical theater, performing such roles as Winthrop in THE MUSIC MAN, Michael in PETER PAN, and Chip BEAUTY AND THE BEAST with the original Broadway cast during its Los Angeles run.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?

Sure! I’m an only child who grew up in Los Angeles. My mom raised me and she really enjoyed theater so she would take me to see musicals at a young age. I quickly fell in love with the art form and was desperate to perform. I convinced my mom to let me audition for a regional production of Peter Pan and I got cast as a lost boy. It was everything I ever wanted — performing on stage, storytelling, singing, a group of like-minded friends. I was hooked and kept acting for many years until I found my even greater love: filmmaking.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

When I started acting in more film and TV productions, I started discovering what the directors, writers, and DPs did. I realized I wanted to be the person that got to tell the stories from beginning to end and started making short films at home. First claymation, then I’d force my friends to be in front of the camera even if they had no interest. As an only child of divorced parents, these short films became a form of therapy for me — I could talk about things through art that I wouldn’t talk about with anybody in real life. My love of musical theater took a backseat for a while but, as you can see with Trouble, I never shook it. I believe there’s a place for wonderful movie musicals!

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?

I have so many great stories. Sometimes it’s hard to remember the interesting ones when this industry can be such a beast to navigate. But one of the most memorable experiences for me is when I made a Doritos commercial on spec for the Crash the Super Bowl contest. This was 2016, the very last year they did the competition. I made a commercial, starring my dog, and it actually managed to win the whole thing! The ad played during the Super Bowl, I got a cash prize, and I got the shadow Zack Snyder during the Justice League shoot. It was an incredible experience.

Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

I’ve gotten to work with some wonderful actors and filmmakers. It’s hard to beat working with Steven Spielberg on my last film Come Play. He was incredibly collaborative and generous with his time. He came into the edit bay and worked with me on some scenes, which was a really special opportunity to learn from the best. It’ll be hard to ever top that one!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I can point to a dozen people who have helped me along my journey so far. My old roommates who I went to film school with, my cinematography teacher who opened my mind to using lighting as a form of visual storytelling, the first executive at Jim Henson who gave me a job writing a feature script. Honestly, the person who has helped me the most is my wife, Jessica. She believed in me when we first started dating and I was still a PA on reality TV shows. She read everything I wrote, helped me improve, pushed me to be better. To this day, she’s the first person who reads my stuff. I wouldn’t be where I am without her.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have this quote framed on the wall of my office: “You have the same number of hours in the day as Lin-Manuel Miranda.” It keeps me motivated. I believe this industry is a bit of a numbers game and you have to just keep buying tickets to the lottery, putting everything you have into each project, and hope one of them makes an impact on others the way it does on you.

I am very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

Well, I say this as a straight, white dude, but diversity should be a given because our world is diverse. I’m as bored as everyone else with seeing the same stories over and over. How exciting is it when you see something like Parasite, or Anatomy of a Fall, or Sound of Metal. Different perspectives and cultures and disabilities. I love experiencing stories from new points of view. I’m also always more interested in writing stories about people who aren’t exactly like myself.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Well I’m excited to be talking about Trouble, because it’s a short film I’m quite proud of and really blends my two favorite genres, musicals and horror. It’s a dark riff on a golden age musical that I was in as a kid so it feels like my story has really come full circle for that one. Up next, I’m directing a horror movie for Blumhouse and Universal. It’s quite epic and deals with a really fascinating true story that I can’t give away just yet. Can’t wait for you to see it!

Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?

Oy, that’s a hard one to answer because I’m a perfectionist and usually see the flaws more than the parts that I’m proud of. But forced to talk about it, I think I’m quite good at choreographing a sequence. Whether that’s a scare sequence in a horror film, or a dance sequence in a musical like Trouble. I love putting myself in the audiences’ shoes and really guiding them visually through escalating stakes and excitement. I feel my experience as an actor and then an editor has helped me plan well and execute something very close to what’s in my head. There’s no better feeling than cutting something you directed together in post.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why.

1. Don’t put all your effort into one idea. When I started writing, I’d fine tune one script for a year and then try to get it made for years more. As much as I loved those projects, a million things can go wrong for them not to get made. I started finding more success when I started writing more. I got better and I was also giving myself more opportunities to find something that connected with others.
2. It’s all about the hard work. This sounds obvious but I think we get so focused on being the best we can be that we lose sight of the fact that we just have to get stuff out there. The people I know who are the most successful have the same thing in common and it’s not that they’re always the most talented (though of course that is an important part). The thing they all have in common is that they work really dang hard. Wake up early before work and put a couple hours of writing in. Spend your weekend making a new short with friends. These are the things that eventually make you the best because you have more practice.
3. There’s no use chasing the class that came before you. You’ll create your own class of contemporaries as you come up through the industry together. People did tell me this when I was younger but it’s hard to trust because I was anxious for my career to get started. But ultimately, so many of my opportunities have come from people who were just starting out with me. Assistants who are now producers, extras who are now a-list actors, writers of commercials who now write features, etc. Find your group.
4. Don’t spend a lot of money on short films. I made the mistake in college of putting way too much of my student loans toward making elaborate short films. We’re talking houses on fire, camera cranes, stunts, massive locations… The best short I ever made in film school was one that starred one actor in a classroom. Because it was the one that I focused on performance and a simple story. Once I started making more of those, I started to learn how to make an audience feel things.
5. Have a therapist. This is really just important advice for everyone but especially if you’re in this industry, it can be very lonely. It’s daunting, you’re full of jealousy, you can feel time ticking away, all those terrible feelings. Having someone to talk with that is outside your group of friends going through the same things offers a really helpful perspective.

When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example about what you mean?

The audience is ultimately who I do this for. While I’m making a film, it’s my own personal artistic vision guiding the way, but it’s all in service of how I want an audience to feel. I’m a big believer in doing readings of your scripts beforehand for that same reason. You want an audience to understand what your intention is or at least be curious to get to the bottom of it. One of the scariest, but most important parts of making a film is the test screening period. Getting eyes on your work means it’s no longer just in your head, it’s actually there for other people to interpret. And while those responses can be really devastating, it’s all in service of making the final product something that resonates with people the way you want.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I have no idea! If I knew, I would have tried to start such a movement! How about this for a simple one — no phones in movie theaters or musicals. We should be engaging with the story in front of us, not with the outside world for those 2–3 hours. Let your mind escape. (I realize this is a very small issue in the grand scheme of things but it’s something I believe we can fix in my lifetime!)

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)

Paul Thomas Anderson. Nobody quite captures humanity and authenticity like him, in my opinion. I just want to be a fly on the wall to watch him work and see how he gets such grounded performances while not sacrificing on his filmmaking style.

How can our readers further follow you online?

You can find me on Instagram and TikTok @JacobSChase for lots of behind the scenes of my films, including Trouble, or on my website: Jacob-Chase.com

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

About the interviewer: Guernslye Honoré, affectionately known as “Gee-Gee”, is an amalgamation of creativity, vision, and endless enthusiasm. She has elegantly twined the worlds of writing, acting, and digital marketing into an inspiring tapestry of achievement. As the creative genius at the heart of Esma Marketing & Publishing, she leads her team to unprecedented heights with her comprehensive understanding of the industry and her innate flair for innovation. Her boundless passion and sense of purpose radiate from every endeavor she undertakes, turning ideas into reality and creating a realm of infinite possibilities. A true dynamo, Gee-Gee’s name has become synonymous with inspirational leadership and the art of creating success.