We were lucky to catch up with Keenan Powell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Keenan, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
Sooner. I always had a feeling I could produce/direct films. I wish I had listened to myself at a much earlier age than people around me who said they knew. Now, that I’m no longer able to work, I have the time to pursue this.
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 have loved films, from an early age. I remember, walking around, seeing Universal Studios, thinking I can do this. I can make films. My heroes have been artists of different calibers. Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, the Marx Bros (especially Groucho), Warner Bros. Cartoons (especially anything directed by Chuck Jones), Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, National Lampoon magazine, Jerry G. Bishop as Svengoolie and (later) the Goons and National Lampoon Radio. My late father gave me a love of history. My creative works have revolved around horror/suspense films and documentaries. I bought a inexpensive animation, started working with it (monkeying around with it if you will) and I started thinking “could I use this to do a film with?” I started by making 3 minute videos called “Space 4 Rent!!” http://space4rent5.com featuring Captain Corny with Lt. Error. When I was growing up, I remember seeing the old Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers serials on TV. I purchased a couple on DVD as well as a ’50’s TV series called Space Patrol and a Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the creators of Thunderbirds and Space: 1999, early show called Fireball XL5. Taking inspiration from here and there, I constructed the story behind Captain Corny Saves Green Stamps. The individual little videos – there’s one about 17 minutes long, one that’s right around 5 minutes long, the rest are 3 minutes or less. They started catching on. After all these years of trying, I finally came up with something people enjoy. That I enjoy.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Entertaining people. Hopefully, in a way they enjoy. But to entertain people.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I renamed my production company “Meraki Films U.S.” Meraki is a Greek term that basically means “leave a piece of yourself.” I think it was Mark Twain who originated the idea of knowing his work to know himself. I try to leave a piece of my heart in everything I do.
Contact Info:
- Website: space4rent5.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keenanpowell3084/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keenan.powell https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093594068301
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keenan-powell-79133417/
- Twitter: Not since Musk took over
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCktNxUwsdjAv1L2ZLpoHmjw https://m.youtube.com/@BuzzCorny
- Yelp: No.
Image Credits
No, all the image credits belong to me.