Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeffrey Rucker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Jeffrey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Making ‘Crossfaded: Thesis Film’ has been quite the risk from the beginning. I’m from Dayton, OH, but I attended Cleveland State University to study film acting. Until my senior year, I acted on every student project that I was available to work with (+30). However, I had never directed a piece before. So my senior year I was looking to change that.
I knew if I was writing and directing even a short story though, it had to be something that I could remain invested in for the long haul.
So I began to pull at the thread of an idea I had from an experience. I personally am a stoner who’s never been drunk a day in my life. (I’m 24) I went to a party where I met a social drinker thats never tried weed before. I thought, “What if this was a thing lol” and went about my way. Little did I know this would be the base of my stoner film idea.
Then everything from pitching the short film idea in class to deciding how I would release it was a risk. Hollywood doesn’t make stoner films anymore because they believe that stoner films don’t make money. I believe that stoner films have a lot more representation left to be explored. So instead of listening to recommendations about how to make the story more “marketable”, I went ahead and told the story that I wanted to.
It was a silly idea on paper but it potentially could be a new stoner comedy classic in its execution, some day. The reviews have been pretty good overall and people from all around the world are Hungry for a story like this.
We’re currently working on developing ‘Crossfaded: Thesis Film’ into a feature length movie.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m Jeffrey Rucker, writer and director of ‘Crossfaded: Thesis Film’.
I’m an actor who got tired of waiting for roles & opportunities to find me. Instead, I went to go find them!
I created Crossfaded as my senior thesis project and shot it with my friends. We had lots of fun making the piece. Since its release, I’ve sent from 4.4k to 10k follows on Instagram just yesterday. (April 12th, 2026)
@chaos1.0 & @crossfaded.thesisfilm
I also make music and other forms of art, but right now I’m locked in on this filmmaking portion of my life. The effort of building CF into a feature film has been quite the climb. Between promoting the short film, engaging with my new community of support, and developing the full length story, my hands have been pretty full.
I’m just a dude from Dayton, OH lol. Things are happening quite fast.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Absolutely,, I would say through consistency, trail & error, and being myself as much as possible, even in the moments where being myself didn’t seem so special.
It’s the point of view and energy that’s been magnetizing people I feel. But also,, Crossfaded itself had the vehicle for most, if not all, of my recent pull. Whenever I made a video about the film’s concept, many new supports find me and express their excitement to see the film succeed.
“We need new stoner films!”
“Keep Going bro, I like this!”
“I would see this in theatres!”
So I lean into the authenticity of it all. Crossfaded is for the homies, by the homies. So I create content that’s not polished and perfect but moreso relatable & DIY. Most of it’s me speaking in the car, but that feels more real for me and my audience than corporate pitching. I want to reach the people we can resonate with first before I go reaching out anywhere else. I think building this community has given our film its own backing in ways that Big Production companies would’ve tried to neuter if we didn’t have it, so to speak. We’ll have a lot more leverage now when going into these rooms.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I’d love for every marginalized voice to realize that there is power in their perspective and representation. It truly matters. If there aren’t enough women-lead stories, make some!! If there isn’t enough music that you like, make some that you do!!! Even if it’s not making you extra money, there might be a whole audience of people out there waiting on YOUR idea. Do it off of the energy of love and the rest might just follow through.
Plus, places like Hollywood and the government [conceptually] profit by feeding people the mentality that they’re incapable of performing/creating the same sense of magic that they do. I want my friends to know that THEY TOO are capable of great works of art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.patreon.com/ChaotixCreations
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaos1.0
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-rucker-8584a8122
Image Credits
Myself & some from @rc3visuals