We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Landon Stephen Popadic a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Landon Stephen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
My first love was theatre. Stepping onto a stage and sharing a visceral moment with a group of strangers that can never be exactly replicated again. The catch and release of emotional energy. I remember going to see The Music Man on Broadway with my grandmother. I had to be 6 or 7 at the time. It was my first Broadway show and we sat front row center stage. I caught a rose that was thrown into the audience by Marian the librarian and I was captivated. I felt chosen by something bigger than myself. But I couldn’t understand what it was at the time. A few years later I would be forced by my father to audition (which I refused to do) for Willy Wonka Jr. at the Mosart Theatre in Palm Beach, FL. Little did I know this would awaken something in me that exists there to this day. The collaboration, the emotional work, and the stress of convincingly performing as an Oompa Loompa roped me in. Eventually I stumbled upon a bootleg production of Sweeney Todd and my love grew stronger thanks to Stephen Sondheim. A similar situation developed my love of film when I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark as a young boy. I didn’t understand what I was watching, but I knew I had to be a part of it.
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?
My focus at the moment has been on directing and producing film and theatre. I’ve been in the industry since I was 10 years old acting in theatre. Originally from Monroe, CT, I was lucky enough to attend an incredible arts program in high school at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, FL. This program spared no expense giving us a truly professional experience from a young age. With Broadway sets and costumes shipped in from New York to a 40 piece orchestra and a Tony nominated director. My teachers in this program pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to carry myself in this industry and succeed. My time there was essential to me and I cherish it and those who pushed me to greatness. In highschool I had the opportunity to perform alongside some of Broadway’s best in the 2013 revival of Ragtime and the 2014 Original Broadway Cast Revival of TITANIC both at the Lincoln Center in NYC. After graduating highschool I attended Palm Beach Atlantic University for one semester studying theatre. Around that time I had been offered a job as an associate producer on a Sony film called Believe (2016). I took the job and started getting into behind the scenes work of the creative process. I loved it. When I returned to Florida I approached my high school theatre director and asked to apprentice him in directing. I did this for about 2 years, working on many shows from Les Mis to Jekyll and Hyde. As I continued down this path, I started making short films and eventually decided I wanted to move to Los Angeles to become a filmmaker. I continued working for Sony and a few other studios for the next few years. I dove deep into producing films and worked on my own directing projects on the side. I’ve been in Los Angeles since January of 2018 directing and producing both film and theatre works. During the pandemic I decided to go back to school and studied directing for film and theatre at UCLA. In 2024 my producing partner William Deopp and I formed a production company called Bridgewater Pictures. We are primarily focused on creating independent films and have just picture locked on our first narrative feature film called A Woman In Beverly Hills.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Of course! Every true artist is driven by something they can’t turn off, no matter how much they may want to at times. I’m fascinated by the expressions of human emotion. Why do we feel what we feel? What drives our soul? How do we express these things? There is so much to digest in human emotion. It’s hardly ever logical, but almost always entertaining. I find myself wanting to peel back every layer of a character when I’m hooked by one. Exploring these spaces with actors and other creatives shoots me forward and encourages me in my artistic pursuits. The chance to empathize with someone on screen or stage. The visceral connections we can make as artists to help people feel and express is quite simply meaningful to the human race.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Is this industry you are constantly pivoting. For independent directors and producers we are always worried about finding the next job. Many of us hold multiple jobs to “make it” in this industry. You have to be scrappy and willing to live outside your comfort zones. A few years ago my team and I had secured funding for a project with the stipulation that an A list actor would play the main role. Mmm okay. Sounds easy enough. Why wouldn’t an A list actor want to be in a low budget indy project? Over the corse of the next year I would end up talking to just about every agent in town. We couldn’t get one. The closest we came was with a Mr. Bill Murray who we had to mail the script to because the man doesn’t have email. Legend. He brought our script to Ireland on a golf trip and called us from the green. After a few harmless insults we realized this wasn’t going to happen. We had to approach our investor and tell him we couldn’t get a A list actor. We lost our funding (screw him) and had to pivot. A hard, but good lesson to learn. We ended up crowd funding the project and saw it through to the end. A five year process for an 18 minute short. I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world though. It taught me so much on perseverance and what we are capable of if we put our hearts into it. You can watch the film on YouTube or Vimeo titled ‘The Exhibit.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.landonstephenpopadic.com
- Instagram: @landonpopadic
- Other: https://vimeo.com/800954672
