We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cameron Mitchell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Cameron, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
One of our earliest collaborations was a 48 Hour Film Competition project. Andrew directed, Thresa and I produced, and we made a short about seniors in a care home who accidentally take a Krav Maga class. When we were signing up for that project, the form needed us to have a team name. I threw out Tequila Mockingbird Productions, and Andrew and Thresa were onboard immediately. I’d wanted to use it as a bar trivia team name before, but my friends at the time were all uncultured swine and didn’t think it was funny. I was almost immediately vindicated when the organizers of the competition emailed me to say that it was the funniest team name they’d ever encountered, and they even made a special Twitter post to shout it out.
But that name stuck. We took that film to quite a few different festivals, and every time the credits rolled we noticed a reaction to the name. They would see Tequila Mockingbird Productions, and someone would laugh, or someone would say it out loud, or whatever, but they were noticing it, paying attention to it, and remembering it. I took a flight back to Alaska about a year later, and sat next to this retired couple. We were chatting, and they told me that their son had done the 48 Hour Film Competition, and it turned out that he had done it the same year we did, and this couple remembered me! That was all the name. So when it came time to incorporate and start looking toward bigger projects, it just made sense to stick with it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m a writer, director, producer, and one of the founders of a small but mighty production company called Tequila Mockingbird Productions. I’ve been writing all my life, but when I moved to LA in 2013 I realized how much I liked directing, and last year I finally got to direct my first feature! This Sucks is a dark comedy about depression that we wrapped and premiered in February of 2023. Now we’re on the hunt for distribution so we can put the film out in the world.
At the same time I’ve been producing a documentary called Driven: The Tony Pearson Story, directed by my production partner Andrew Menjivar. We’re such a small team, and it’s been … a challenge to make two features at the same time. But they’re both done! We made it through. I think.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I want to tell the stories that I want to tell, but I also can’t ignore the damaged bits of this industry. I want to be part of changing that, however I can. The film industry has come a long way, but it’s still full of abusers, toxic people, misogyny, racism, and people who are very happy with the way things are. But the way things are isn’t working for too many people, and if there’s anything I can do to help change that, I want to do it. I am a straight, cis, white man, and there is a lot of privilege just inherent in looking like me. If I can use that privilege to help folks who don’t look like me tell their stories, then that’s something I want to do.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I remember the first time I saw actors read dialogue that I had written out loud, and the feeling of utter joy that gave me. It still gives me that same feeling, all these years and projects later! There’s something really magical about writing something from nothing, shaping it over different drafts, and then seeing it come to life in rehearsals and finally on the screen. It’s such a special feeling, and no matter what else I’m dealing with, no matter how difficult a project may be, that feeling carries me through.
Contact Info:
- Website: thissucksmovie.com
- Instagram: @thecammunist
- Twitter: @CameronAM4
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tequilamockingbirdproducti3355
Image Credits
Steve Escarcega Andrew Menjivar Ali Raza Sol Lopez