We were lucky to catch up with Matt Hausmann recently and have shared our conversation below.
Matt, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
As far as I can remember I always wanted to make movies. One of my earliest memories is seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark at a drive-in. I was hooked. I would ride in the car with my parents, pretending that I was in an action movie with an intense car chase. Someone wrote in my 7th grade yearbook, “Good luck in Los Angeles.” I started working in Cleveland when I was 18 on the Cleveland Cavs TV show, doing painting and construction. I went to Kent State University for theatrical design and on a work board, came across a new George Clooney movie, “Welcome to Collinwood” that was shooting in the Cleveland area. They were looking for an art department intern. I called right away and instantly got the job. It was very difficult working for free, going to school full time, and working in a kitchen to pay the bills. The production designer wanted me to pack up and move to LA right after “Welcome to Collinwood” wrapped, but I stayed in Cleveland to finish my BFA. After “Welcome to Collinwood,” I worked on several other shorts and features including “American Splendor” and “Deep Attack.” I made the move to LA 20 years ago in October of 2003. On my third day in LA, I got a day playing gig working as a camera loader on the independent film, “Knuckle Sandwich.” Ever since then, I’ve been working in production in a variety of roles.
Matt, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a multi-hyphenate. I’ve held several different positions on productions from production design, prop master, grip, camera loader, special effects, graphic artist, calligrapher, and so on. I think what sets me apart is my knowledge of multiple departments. I am most proud of the eight feature films, countless shorts, and two TV pilots that I’ve written. I have a new website that just dropped, mhscripts.com that showcases all my scripts along with movie posters, reels, moodboards, loglines, synopses, interviews, pitches, and more. My writing is mainly comedic, but I have broken out of that genre to write sci-fi, drama, horror, and action. For all the projects I’ve been associated with, please check out: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1209890/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_q_matt%2520hausmann
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
One of the biggest times I had to pivot was when we were shooting the short film, “The Bigfoot Hunters,” which I wrote and directed. On the final day of the shoot, we were way behind, and each shoot day was already 14 hours plus. The crew was exhausted. I had to think fast of a way to tie the middle of the film to the end since we didn’t have enough time or funds to shoot another day. I quickly went through the script and tore out segments to lead to the end of the film. The movie screened at over 30 festivals and comic cons throughout the US and Canada. Currently, I’m shopping around the feature-length version. Watch the short and feature pitch here: https://thebigfoothuntersmovie.com/. Check out the posters and moodboards here: https://mhscripts.com/
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
To get all these characters off my laptop and on the BIG SCREEN! My main goal is to shoot the screenplays that I’ve written and see them up on the big screen. Or, even if I don’t direct them, see the scripts I’ve written up on the big screenshot by someone else. There’s nothing better than seeing what you’ve written take form through the actors on the big screen. It’s also interesting to see how actors interpret your characters and what they bring to the character plate.
Contact Info:
- Website: mhscripts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigfoothunt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mhausmann3
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hausmann-1a52b65a/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bigfoothunt
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCby3hGulXgAoTaL7yWBZGEA
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1209890/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 https://thebigfoothuntersmovie.com/ https://www.stage32.com/profile/578402/scripts_screenplays https://www.slated.com/people/9916/