We recently connected with Leanna Adams and have shared our conversation below.

Leanna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

I had the idea for our feature film, “Christmas with Jerks” on October 24, 2022. It popped into my head. And it was an idea I’ve been looking for for over a decade – a comedy feature idea small enough that I could get it shot with my Atlanta film community connections, but large enough in scope that I would want to actually see the film.

And the idea was basically that it would be a romantic comedy set at Christmas in one house with two characters who are both at career crossroads and trying to be alone for the holidays for different reasons.

I love the A-story of many of the romantic comedies I continue to revisit over the years, like the 2005 Pride & Prejudice. I now scrub through to see the build of the A-story when I watch it. I thought to myself, what if that’s my whole movie? It’s just the A-story and skip all the rest. Would that be enough for a feature? How can I make it enough?

I started working hard on my outline. And once the outline was a bad first draft, I sent it to my writing group to get their feedback. I told them this was my low budget baby, so no adding fight scenes or baby goats! They pumped me so full of momentum that I had to keep going.

Even as the script wrote faster than I’ve ever written before (I’m no John Hughes), I reminded myself regularly to see if the universe was on my side. As my DP jumped on board and then my producing/directing partner, I kept receiving green lights from the universe and that allowed me to keep pushing to make the film.

Filmmaking is about having the money to film, which is maybe the most difficult part, but it’s also about momentum and I had tons of momentum for this little idea. I finished the 74 page script (this is very short for a feature), planned the shoot, shot the movie in 8 days with the most incredible supportive small crew, did 2 pickup days after to get what we got wrong and what we couldn’t get to, and then we went into post production. Once we had a directors’ cut, we attached a producer’s rep who brought us offers for distribution. We chose a distributor, hustled to finish the post-sound mix and score and got our raunchy little treat of a film to the distributor by the deadline for the 2023 Christmas holidays.

It was all much more complicated and hard to navigate than these little paragraphs make it seem. I’m so thankful for the tremendous learning — that is the success of the film for me and my original goal for making the movie. If your goal is to learn, you can’t fail no matter what happens.

Now the film is out, we’re working hard on getting it to an audience that will love it as much as we do. This is its own unique journey and one that is bringing tons more learning. Onward we go!

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-actor-filmmaker. My sketches and short films are endless on YouTube and Funny or Die. Some have even made it to TBS, Fox’s Laughs TV and bigger film festivals. Sketch comedy is my great love and it’s the thing that has kept me writing and acting these last eleven years.

I’ve been putting most of my efforts recently into features with meaningful messages.

If you can give people joy and get them laughing, they won’t notice you’re saying something to get them to think. That’s my mission.

I live in Atlanta with my husband, son and the world’s best dog, Loki.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Last October, I was at a low point in my career. I’d had a couple close calls on projects that left me feeling like I couldn’t get past the gatekeepers in my industry. So, the decision to make my own feature, changed everything for me. I no longer needed permission. I only had to give it to myself.

I had to open an LLC. I had to get a film funded, shot and sold.

This was a huge time investment for me and a risk in many ways. And I have never worked hard or felt prouder of my own work than I have this past year.

The best part has been all the learning to do things I’ve never done before. Like payroll. But I also relish the fact that I can now say, “I did the thing I wanted to do all my life.” No one can take that from me. And that was worth the pain and time and uncertainty to me.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had known earlier that there are endless people in your own community who would love to help you. That may be through words of encouragement or by something more tangible. If you tell your people what you need, you may just find what you seek. I’m serious! I wish I had known this sooner.

While making our film, there were many many times I said to folks — in my house, in my neighborhood, at the coffee shop or on set — what I needed, and they either had it or could give me a very warm lead to get it.

I’m someone who likes to be self sufficient. So, it is hard for me to tell people what I need or ask for help. And I asked for more help than I’ve ever asked for before and people stepped up to give that help to me. And the thing is, of course they did! You help out your friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc, if you can, right? So why wouldn’t they help you out?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christmaswithjerks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaswithjerks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091892561855
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leannaadams/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/leannaadams
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGiaLEvyKLY&t=5s
• Other: https://linktr.ee/christmaswithjerks

Image Credits
Chase Anderson Photography for Pictures Jen West for the CwJ Poster (includes credits)