We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shane Stanley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shane below.
Alright, Shane thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I would say a big risk we took was making the film, “Double Threat.” Crazy story there, as we had all been locked up during the pandemic, at this point for five or six months and I was getting cabin fever. We had two films get shelved because of COVID and at the point when Hollywood allowed filming again, (Sept 2020) under very strict guidelines, I knew we could do something. I called my writer, CJ Walley in London and said, “Dude, I can get cameras, I can find actors and a spot to film, let’s do something!” We discussed the story which was based off something I had seen in Mexico a few years early and CJ went to work. We had a first draft of the script in four days, (no joke) and cast 6 amazing actors including Dawn Olivieri (Yellowstone) Matthew Lawrence (Mrs. Doubtfire & Boy Meets World) as well as Danielle C. Ryan who was our leading lady and producing partner. Everyone told us not to make the film, and I mean everyone, and in the end, The New York Times listed “Double Threat” on their Top 5-Action Movies to Stream Now last summer and the film was the sole indie feature amongst Hollywood blockbusters on Amazon Prime’s “Top 10 in the US” list remaining there for several weeks and peaking at #4. The film is doing very well internationally and will have a pretty wide theatrical release soon in Canada and a US DVD release (as a followup to its domestic success). Go figure.
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?
I was a child actor at 9 months old. I was tapped for a series of TV commercials for a new real estate company (Century 21) and from there had appeared in over 100 projects by the time I was in 4th grade alongside some screen legends like David Arkin, June Lockhart, Lloyd Haynes and many more. I hated acting though because I was missing valuable time with friends and doing the things I wanted to do as a kid. My father was a documentary and educational filmmaker so he taught me how to edit film and work an old Arri 16mm camera, which I was pretty familiar with by the time I was 10 yrs. old.
I started helping my father with his industrial films and by the time I was 15 , he had gotten the green light on his passion piece, “Desperate Passage” which we produced for roughly $25,000. The film had a $1 million budget but after four years, that was all he could raise. So, we went and made the film and two years later it became one of the most impactful and well-received TV specials of the year winning several Emmy Awards and winning strong in the Nielsen Ratings. That kicked off a series of similar projects that starred everyone from Michael Landon, Sharon Gless, Marlo Thomas, Louis Gossett, Jr. and Edward James Olmos. After five years, we had amassed 33 Emmy nominations, 13 wins and two deals with studios to remake a couple of them as major motion pictures, one being “Gridiron Gang” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The film went on to be a #1 Box Office hit and had equal success in home video and cable.
Before and after “Gridiron Gang”, my life has really been all about independent films. I love working with people who are like minded and share a passion for independent cinema. We have a “film family” where the core of our cast and crew have been with us for almost 15 years.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, being an artist has been very rewarding for several reasons but I would say the most has been the fact that no two days are the same. I hate monotony and can’t sit still very long. The average project has me for about 18 months from start to finish, but from concept-to-delivery there are no two days that mirror each other and getting to hatch an idea and see it released around the world is very exciting. I don’t have children, so in my own way, I feel like I get to create something special, watch it grow and eventually leave the nest every year or so. It’s a lot of fun and very rewarding.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I think every day is a test. I’ve had success and I’ve had failures. I’ve been rich, I’ve been poor… it’s crazy because you never know what’s around the corner, there are no guarantees and you have to remember; every job you do is just an audition for the next. Life throws you many curveballs, and as an artist, its ten-fold. You never know what the next project is that will occupy all of your time for the next year and a half and often, you never know when or where the funding will come to allow you to carry on. Everything is on a project-to-project basis which I think forces you subconsciously to work it that much harder knowing you cannot ever put it in neutral and coast your way to the finish line. You have to constantly be grinding and working but honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love the grind and I love hoping for the best, preparing for the worse and have learned to expect the unexpected. 
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shanestanley.net
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShaneStanleyOfficial/
- Twitter: shanestanley
- Book Website: www.whatyoudontlearninfilmschool.com