We were lucky to catch up with Natalie Rodriguez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalie, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

This year, I will be directing my third feature film called INNER CHILD. I first wrote the script around a decade ago. It was for an online screenwriting course I took the summer after graduating college. The script started as a short, following the journey of a young woman and how she coped with cutting ties with multiple toxic family members. All while dealing with various night terrors and sleep paralysis. And like many writers, I kept revisiting the story year after year.

After filming my first directorial feature film, I was in a weird and depressed state. I was around a month or so after completing my first feature and yet, I felt like I was not doing enough. I was also coping with my first real heartbreak; at the time; I thought I lost the love of my life. A lot of relatives were also not used to me setting boundaries. So, I was sad and angry. used a lot of those emotions and set it into the first draft of what later became the feature film screenplay of Inner Child.

And then I did not revisit the screenplay until COVID-19 hit. Like many, I was laid off and lost my nine to five job. It seemed impossible to find a survival job during the earlier days of COVID-19. So, for the first few months of COVID-19, I decided to focus on my writing and film projects. One of those writing projects turned out to be Inner Child. I revisited that first screenplay draft, read it, and started to edit the story.

Often, I feel most people looking in from the outside think getting a film made is easy. It is truly not; often, I feel like I am losing my mind when it comes to bringing a larger project, such as a feature film to life. But the end results are worth it.

Natalie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up in the Inland Empire and was raised on the east of Los Angeles County. For years, I knew I was meant to be a writer and a director. I was obsessed with getting to Hollywood. A few times, I went to both of my parents and told them I wanted to live in Hollywood. At the time, I thought living in Hollywood meant one step closer to being an artist.

However, it was not be until the fall of 2019, I landed a my first full-time job. At the time, the job was located in the valley. Therefore, driving an hour or so there and back to work from my home in Glendora was not doable. So, I made the move to the west Los Angeles County: I was ready to reconnect even more with friends and colleagues. To be honest, I felt on top of the world to finally be out on my own. It was a dream since my childhood to be out in Los Angeles, aka the City of Angeles.

Growing up was not easy in a divorced, and often abusive, household. Like many survivors, I stayed silent on what was going on behind closed doors. Mainly because, I was not aware what I was going through was abuse or known as a toxic dysfunctional home. For years, I was facing and sought survival mode. I turned to movies, books, and ultimately, my own writing to cope. A lot of it my earlier work, as my therapist most recently told me, was an essence of my own childhood self. That desire to get out and become my own person.

Thankfully, I continued with counseling as soon as I came to a lot of realizations. I learned years later in therapy that art, such as movies and books, was a common source to turn to when coping. I felt embarrassed about it for years, until around my twenty-eighth birthday. I just started to embrace it more. Ultimately, I learned to be okay with it – regardless of your past, it is possible to have a life after trauma.

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

I actually felt like I needed to step up my own game with my upcoming directorial feature film, INNER CHILD. It was actually a few weeks ago, I disclosed that to my therapist about not being on many of my talent/actors’ levels. When my therapist asked me why I felt that way, I eventually admitted to feeling insecure. I was quite intimidated with the talent/actors my team and I secured for the feature film.

Fortunately, my therapist started walking me through all of the self-doubts and anxiety. She advised me, and still does until this day, how those thoughts and feelings were common. I learned that it was solely performance anxiety as a writer and director.

For the first time in my life, and I credit for doing the work because of ten plus years of therapy, I try to catch myself. Whenever the anxiety or insecurities flare up, if I notice, I ask myself, “What would your therapist tell you?”

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

Life is a journey and learning experience itself. But sometimes, I still kick myself for the times I cut ties with specific people in the entertainment industry. I suppose a lot has to do with second guessing and wondering if I “ruined” my career.

But, I also know the value of relationships and if it is one-sided, then something is off. When someone acts out of spite, jealously, and hatred it is simple – they are NOT your true supporter or friend.

Looking back, I would now tell my younger self that is is okay to burn that bridge and cut ties with someone who devalues and is dangerous to be around. Not all bridges are meant to be crossed, so go ahead and stand your ground and speak up for yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nataliecrodriguez.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natchristinerod?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/extraordpicturesllc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliechristinerodriguez/
• Twitter: natchrisrod
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtmpj_3hfiO5jJHTsTjjlaw?view_as=subscriber
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/Natalie-Rodriguez/e/B085X3FX6D?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1649719525&sr=1-1 https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15053544.Natalie_Rodriguez https://linktr.ee/extraordpictures

Image Credits
Red carpet photos: Courtsey of Steve Escarcega Photography