Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Blake Laitner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Blake thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Sometimes in life, we have a choice to make: keep heading down the same road or take a chance and head down the beaten path. My chosen path is film. I decided to attend a film vocational school called Film Connections when I found out that it wasn’t a requirement to make a film in film school! I just needed to write a script and come to LA to pitch to a producer. I had to take a risk and take matters into my own hands because I couldn’t go to film school and not make a film. So, I produced my first short film called “The American Dream,” which was selected by a few film festivals. The standout film festival for me was the American Chinese Film Festival, but I thought only got accepted to use my film as propaganda. My biggest fan of my work, my dad Morton Laitner, wrote a book called “A Hebraic Obsession” and wanted a short film to market his book. We got to take another risk another opportunity, and instead of run-and-gun filmmaking, we had a client who happened to be a lawyer, so we had to deal with contracts and insurance. The result was a very proud father and the award-winning short film “The Stairs.” Since these two film projects, I have continued to craft my skills with more shorts and some hip-hop music videos. I also started writing more scripts, including a feature called “Space Pimps” about a male feminist pimp whose dad runs a planet of pimps. He wants to be a hairstylist on his planet, which only has “Ho’s,” and he just needs a spaceship to get off the planet he hates. Here I go this time, the biggest risk of all producing a feature film, and what a ride it has been. “We Need Rent Money” has 11 award wins at film festivals and is available on multiple streaming platforms. I even had a “420 Movie Tour” where I collaborated with a cannabis business on a community movie event to bring the community together through the arts. I had two stops on the tour and another next year in Boston, but so far, we’ve been to Portland, Oregon, and Sherman Oaks, California. It’s great seeing your movie on the big screen and during the 420 Tour, and anything can happen, like your buddy inviting a random guy off the street, who happened to be on magic mushrooms, to see your movie, and he gave me a broken Invicta Watch as a gift. I currently know I have to be a risk-taker and produce a new sketch comedy show called “Totally Mindblowing Show.” The goal of the show is to sell a product in each episode, and the pilot’s going to be “Stick In The Door,” a sketch about fake infomercials for a real product a wooden dowel coming soon on TotallyMindblowing.com. I leave you with this advice: we all have our own “We Need Rent Money.” Maybe it’s not making a movie but making it happen. Utilize all the tools and resources you have available to you and make it happen. Because if you are not taking a risk, are you living?
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hello, my name is Blake Laitner and I’m an indie filmmaker from Northwest Eugene, Oregon. I have a true passion for movies and TV, which inspired me to create my content. I strongly believe in staying true to my unique style, and that’s why I produce my show called “Totally Mindblowing Show”. I don’t have to conform to Hollywood standards, and I love the freedom of creating content that I find funny and engaging. As long as the story is compelling, we can film it on a budget. I enjoy collaborating with my team, particularly Sampson Ray Simon and Jeremy Ferguson. You can easily reach me on various social media platforms. On all social media outlets, if you want to get on board Laitner Productions, we’re just getting started. I don’t want this dream to ever end, but I don’t look at it as a dream because dreams are things we think are just going to come to you and I do the work.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I was producing my first feature-length film, I wanted to consider it as a collection of short films/scenes combined to tell a larger story. Although my experience felt like being overwhelmed by the tumultuous ocean of film production, I believed that with trust in my cast, crew, editors, etc. We would eventually reach the shore of success. It was not an easy journey by any means. I’m not going to go into all of it, but filmmaking is not only a collaborative effort; it’s hard and long days, but upon completing this production, I felt a sense of accomplishment and blessed to work with a talented team.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
“No, I had every resource available to learn. YouTube, books, and watching all IMDB the classics. You can never be too prepared for film production; that’s why we have pre-production. What can go wrong will go wrong, Murphy was right, especially when filming a scene in a park, first power tools, then ducks and geese. But the show must go on, and I’m super proud of my team and how the scene turned out. Even with all those obstacles, it’s on “We Need Rent Money” the Calvin The Clown in the Park scene.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://WWW.WENEEDRENTMONEY.COM
- Instagram: weneedrentmoney
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/PsTyvQ7t8jcVbtc1/?mibextid=qi2Omg
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-laitner-834b232a?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@belaitner?si=ULuzXPUgxm_v8Jpm
- Other: https://youtube.com/@weneedrentmoney3900?si=pYswWbgcLb3B1abU
