We were lucky to catch up with Paul Santoli recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Paul, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I took a risk with Writing, Directing, and Producing “We Want the Virus.” – A comedic movie about Covid 19, coming this year. We are swimming against the current of the movie making agenda. I believe that comedy is supposed to have risk and we are supposed to roll some dice. And that is exactly what we did with this movie.

I grew up an old school Italian and I have watched a lot of movies over my life, especially comedy. I know what works and what doesn’t, and I believe that we have not seen a hilarious comedy in a really long time. So I took the liberty of starting a production company – A 516 Productions – writing a script with one of my best friends and brothers – Daniel Gualajara, gathering a team, and getting it done. My team and I are extremely hyped for the world to see this film. We did what the world wanted us to do.

I think laughter is the best medicine, and out of any project I have ever been apart of, I can confiedently say that “We Want the Virus” is the funniest one.

Paul, 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 started my production company – @A516Productions – back in 2021. I moved to Los Angeles in 2019 from NY to build my acting career, and although I was grabbing a good amount of jobs here and there, I resented putting my fate in someone else’s hands. I understood that there are countless reasons why a person does or does not get a specific acting gig, and after a couple of misses that I thought should have been hits, I decided to learn the skills of more aspects of the film industry to help make me more of a valuable asset to a team.

Over the last 5 years, I spent a lot of time reframing my mind; ridding all of the junk and listening to motivational speakers and more importantly, preachers. I found that when I really learned & leaned on my faith, amazing things were happening. God was removing certain people from my life and adding others in.

I think with anything in life, your faith is so important, and being in tune with the Holy Spirit. Movies are a very powerful tool that can really help people and I think that once I understood the responsibility, that I can really help people with my work, that’s when God began to make it happen.

I still am continuing to learn as a man and as a filmmaker. My goal will always be to put God first and to walk by faith, then, to make films with meaning and value. Films that teach lessons, and help and heal people.

Movies always helped me and lifted my spirit, I just wish to pay that forward and leave behind a few great movies that help and heal people, and make them laugh the way I used to. And God has already blessed me with that opportunity multiple times. All glory goes to him.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The book “The Way of a Seal” – by Mark Divine really helped me as a filmmaker and as a human being.
Reading about how Navy Seals handled life or death situations really took the stress off me as a movie director. Because when you really break it down, what these men are doing is a lot more dangerous then what I’m doing. Yeah I’m filming 4 pages in Van Nuys without a permit, big whoop. These dudes are literally getting fired at and don’t even remember the last time they ate, or slept for that matter.

The book humbled me and taught me how to take total accountability for any situation regardless of what happens. That is the job of a leader. I think everyone should pick up this book and give it a read. It taught me the three D’s – discipline, drive, and determination. It kept me in the fight as a man. I have had some hardships just like everyone else, but this book taught me to get up, dust off the shoulders, and continue the journey.

Highly highly recommend the read. Thank you again Mark. God Bless.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Honestly. The most rewarding aspect of this process so far for me is getting complete trust from my team to steer the ship. I have had close friends hop on my movie and other teammates that I rarely knew come on board and just completely trust me. And it is an absolute honor and a privilege.

To go from making 1 minute sketch comedies with my buddies in my hometown, to now making movies in Los Angeles is an absolute dream come true. I am honored by the opportunity to lead such great and talented people. And I take pride in the role of a leader and push to never take the role for granted. I am always striving to continue to learn.

Another extremely rewarding aspect for me as a leader is when I give that trust back to the team and allow them to steer the ship as well. As a director, my focus is to liberate the actors I work with, I always tend to see the best performance come when they feel that there is no pressure on the situation. And to my crew behind the scenes, we have all been extremely collaborative with each other to the point where it doesn’t even feel correct to take the most credit for this movie.

“We Want the Virus” has been nothing less than a collective team effort. Every piece of the puzzle is essential. I’m so blessed for this team and so excited for you all to see this movie.

Mark your calendars for 2025. A 516 Productions is about to drop it’s 2nd Movie.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amazon.com/Because-Mika-Paul-Santoli/dp/B0CPB3WR4G
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a516productions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulie.doughnuts/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-santoli-634a2780/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3jWgZLdK2F5Jg6ojk7_ckw

Image Credits

Director – Paul Santoli
Writers – Paul Santoli and Daniel Gualajara
Producers – Sterling L. Pope, Kevin Rios, Ray Oddi, Joshua Libertine
Cinematographer – Alexander Flanagan
1st AC – Christian Olsen / Random Dochtermann
Sound Mixer – Fernan Rottmann
Script Supervisor – Nathalie Zagar Abitbol
Gaffer – Eeshan Kamath
Key Grip – Karpit Patel
Production Assistant – Maria Perez
BTS – Isaac Valadez

Top Billed Cast – Paul Santoli, Cody Schultz, Elisabeth Montanaro, Amy Lyndon, Sam Naismith.