October 31, 2024 • 42 mins
What if storytelling could be your greatest tool for cultural impact and personal transformation? Jessie Creel, a dynamic producer with a rich background ranging from policy work in Washington, D.C. to filmmaking in the West, joins us to discuss her journey. Drawing inspiration from iconic films and crucial work in education and criminal justice reform, Jessie reveals how storytelling has the power to bridge divides and inspire change.
Through personal anecdotes, Jessie candidly shares her philosophy of maintaining integrity in her projects, while navigating industry biases and embracing movements like Me Too that have redefined storytelling.
Jessie’s ventures, Joyful Participation Pictures and Old Mill Ventures, exemplify her commitment to heart-led projects that balance passion with fiscal responsibility. From her ambitious adaptation of Karl Deisseroth's "Projections" to the community-driven impact of initiatives like Find Your Anchor, Jesse’s stories underscore the profound ability of storytelling to forge meaningful connections and inspire positive change.
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Episode Transcript
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Jessie Creel (00:00):
you know, space is the final frontier.
I think that there's a lot ofpeople who would argue that
actually the mind is Findingways to tell those stories that
are compelling, empathetic,empowering and just educational
is a really exciting feat.
Jennifer Coronado (00:16):
Hello and welcome to Everyone Is I am your
host, jennifer Coronado.
The intent of this show is toengage with all types of people
and build an understanding thatanyone who has any kind of
success has achieved thatsuccess because they are a
creative thinker.
So, whether you are an artistor a cook or an award-winning
journalist, everyone hassomething to contribute to the
(00:37):
human conversation.
And now, as they say, on withthe show, on with the show.
I met producer Jesse Creelroughly 10 years ago at the
Sundance Labs, when I was thereas a mentor, and she was part of
their class of young filmmakerswho were there for feedback on
their projects.
We connected again at theSundance Film Festival, which
(00:58):
was so crowded, and we wanted tofind a place to sit down and
have a discussion, but wecouldn't find anywhere that
wasn't busy, so we sat down inthe lounge of the men's room,
and that's when I knew that wewere friends.
So welcome to.
Jessie Creel (01:10):
Everyone Is Thank you.
I'm so excited that you'redoing this.
I think that it was the naturalevolution of your fantastic
interviews in your day job, soI'm excited that you're
launching this out into theworld.
Jennifer Coronado (01:23):
Yeah, no it's been a fun process.
I want to start with myfavorite place to start.
Where'd you grow up?
Jessie Creel (01:29):
I grew up half in Texas and half in Potomac,
maryland, outside of DC, andthen I made my way west to make
movies, like a lot of people do.
But you have a BA in religiousstudies, right, I do, and that,
I think, is my passionultimately is religion, the
(01:52):
study of religion and themonomyth, and how you can make a
we story into a me story prettyeasily and connect yourself to
Kairos time, the spiritual time,instead of just the day-to-day
Kronos time.
And so, after studying religionand also political science, I
(02:15):
went to work in policy in DC fora few years and realized there
that I wasn't enjoying thepolicy part of the work as much
as I was enjoying the stories ofthe people I was meeting, and I
thought that the real power andchange was in relatability to
others.
And so the best way to do that,I think again going back to the
(02:38):
monomyth and the stories wasvisual storytelling.
But I didn't know anythingabout it.
I was, you know, raised in ahome that revered film and
television.
I learned very early on whoJohn Ford was and, you know, one
of the most special memorieswas watching the Searchers with
(03:01):
my family and finallyunderstanding what it was about.
You know it had always been on.
My parents, you know, stoppedon whatever channel that had
been on Turner Movie Classics,and I would pick it up.
But I remember I think it wasin middle school watching it
with them and going, oh my gosh,there's so much beauty here in
the storytelling, so much beautyhere in the storytelling.
(03:23):
Obviously, there are issues nowgoing back.
There's not, you know, flawlessart, but I think that it really
made me understand how to bringthe outside world in through
visual storytelling, and so Ihad always had it kind of
dangling in the back of my mind.
(03:43):
I just didn't know what thatwould mean later on in life.
But, like you can always pauseand look back and go, oh, that
was a seminal moment.
You know, watching it's aWonderful Life, you know, every
Christmas and just knowing thatwhat Frank Capra did in that
movie transcended holidays,religion, you know everything,
(04:06):
and is a universal theme, and Ithink that you know this tiny
keyhole into this little townand all of a sudden you're going
, wow, this is a global messageTotally, and I think he does a
really good job of that withClarence and you know the
universe and things like that.
But it was really important, Ithink, for me to see growing up.
(04:26):
You know I couldn't relate justin the characteristics or the
characters.
Excuse me, but I could relateto that.
What if question?
So yeah, those were two veryseminal films for me.
And then in my time in DC, whatmade me really go?
Oh my gosh.
And and then in my time in DC,what made me really go oh my
gosh.
(04:46):
And this was in my time inpublic policy in DC, what made
me go oh my gosh, I thinkStorytellings for me was the
Lives of Others.
Jennifer Coronado (04:55):
That movie, oh yeah, beautiful film,
beautiful film, but I want toask you, from a policy
standpoint, what was your focusin DC?
Where were your areas of policy?
Jessie Creel (05:03):
I worked in education policy kind of a
waiting for Superman, you know,empowerment of basically working
to divorce real estate fromyour school and then I really
took an interest in criminaljustice reform.
I became close with a man who'snow a friend, radley Balco,
(05:24):
who's written two very importantbooks the Rise of the Warrior
Cop, which talked about policebrutality, you know a decade
before it made it to socialmedia, and then also the Cadaver
King and the Country Dentistabout two corrupt medical
(05:45):
examiners in the South, and JohnGrisham wrote the foreword to
that book and I think a lot ofRadley's work is why the
Innocence Project got reallygoing in the South.
I think that he co-wrote itwith a man named Tucker
Carrington who's also anincredible lawyer and journalist
and who was the protege ofBrian Stevens.
But I really saw in that was,you know, watching Radley write
(06:07):
about these cases and the peoplein these cases and then being
lucky enough to meet, you know,the mother of someone who was on
death row and watching whatthat did to their family and
really having kind of acourtside seat to that.
Criminal justice reform andwhat that took and continues to
take was really an importantpart of me moving west also.
Jennifer Coronado (06:30):
Yeah, and you went to Chapman University.
You got your master's, andsometimes people dismiss it, as
the philosophical part ofcollege can actually be helpful
with the practical things thatyou need to execute on in life.
So tell me about that.
Jessie Creel (06:44):
Yeah, so that's interesting.
So, obviously, going to aliberal arts college on the East
Coast and studying religionwith a focus in Eastern
religions, I didn't really havethe conservatory.
It was pretty esoteric and openinquiry, and I really love that
I do.
But what I needed was a schoolthat could kind of indulge me in
(07:05):
that, but not to a point whereI wasn't actually making things,
and so it was the conservatorymodel and the most amazing part
of that was that you own thefilms you made, and that's not
true of a lot of film schools,of a lot of film schools.
(07:28):
And so I had done my researchand had chosen Chapman because
it was new-ish in the filmschools.
I think there was a hungerthere.
They had an amazing facilityand they had the most amount of
Fulbright scholars from aroundthe world.
And as Hollywood was, I mean,hopping and happening, there
were other places around theworld where there were, you know
, other Hollywoods Bollywood,nollywood and I got to meet
(07:52):
people who were active in thosecommunities, who came to further
their study at Chapman.
So it became a very globalplace very quickly.
It wasn't a lot of industrykids.
That was also important to me.
It was a lot of people who hadstories to tell and wanted to
tell them, or who wanted to workin the industry and take a
really creative and importantpart of making other people's
(08:15):
stories.
So it was a relatively humblegroup of people.
My thesis film that I made witha bunch of very dear friends, my
thesis film that I made with abunch of very dear friends we
did it in Hawaii and that hadnever been done before.
But because we owned the film,we were able to do pre-sales,
sell it so that we could getmoney to go to Hawaii.
(08:36):
We were able to enter it into alot of festivals.
It went to Sundance, there wasa screening of it at the Sydney
Opera House, it ended up on theCriterion Channel and the
Criterion Collection and it just, you know, sky's the limit.
It was the little film thatcould and I think that, from the
standpoint of ownership, tySenga, who is a brilliant writer
(08:59):
and director, whose film visionit really was, was able to
understand that the distributionand impact was just important
as the film itself.
I mean that wasn't somethingthat we invented, but I think
that was pretty mature for abunch of late 20-somethings to
(09:19):
think of at that time.
Jennifer Coronado (09:21):
For most young people.
What does pre-sale even mean?
How do you go?
You go about doing that.
What?
Where do you go?
Jessie Creel (09:27):
Like who do you call?
I think one of the keys was mypartner, matt, who's now my
husband.
He has always been a nonprofitninja, you know, he's just one
of those really good souls.
And so he cuts to the chasevery quickly and he said I think
you need a fiscal sponsor.
I think that, and that is whenyou borrow someone's 501c3
(09:49):
status so that tax deductiblecontributions can be made for
your project, but through theirkind of organization.
Because he said it was a doublebottom line mission, and that's
often what I've been drawn to.
And the double bottom line ofthis was that it was going to be
the first Native Hawaiian shortfilm that you know we were
aiming to take to the festivalsduring a time where the Native
(10:11):
Hawaiian language was beingbrought back into schools and
culture in Hawaii because it hadbeen so brutally oppressed for
so long and censored.
And so, because Thai is NativeHawaiian and I had done work
with Native Hawaiians in DC, Ihad a bunch of contacts there
and I said, hey, we're going todo this.
It's going to be a little bitlonger than a short film,
(10:32):
because it was 19 minutes and Ithink it's going to help bring
first off.
It was a Hawaiian legend, thelegend of the Mu people, which
was when legend.
The legend of the Mu people,which was when you were caught
in the sun, you turned to stoneand it was a allegory of what it
(10:53):
meant to accept newcomers andto hold on to the old ways, etc.
But it also was just beautifulin the exploration of the, the
land, the hawaiian culture andjust the language.
And so I was able to parlaythat into a mission and and get
the film commissioner of thestate, donnie dawson, on board
(11:16):
and she helped us.
The kamehameha schools, whichis one of the biggest
educational trusts in the world,helped us.
We just we had kind of a in truehawaiian, you know, in in the
world.
Helped us.
We just we had kind of a intrue Hawaiian, you know, in the
true Hawaiian way.
We had just an incredible groupof people wanting to make this
happen.
We stayed in the dorms of aprivate school, you know, even
(11:37):
the local rental car companygave us deals.
We just we were able to make ithappen because from the get go
we were thinking how can thisproject serve more than just us
getting IMDb cred?
I think that's the only way tomake stuff.
Now, you know, kind of angry,you know, and all great and
important.
(11:57):
But I think the thing aboutStones that's what the movie's
called is that it was simple,you know, and it was hard and
(12:18):
sad and I still cry when I seeit, which is I don't know if
that's indulgent or narcissistic, maybe it's both.
I mean, probably my therapistwould tell you that it's
probably both and that I indulgemy narcissism too much.
But I really loved how it wasreceived and still to this day,
(12:40):
it's one of those movies wherepeople will, you know, reach out
to Ty or me and just talk abouthow it really got them back
into their culture or inunderstanding where they were
living.
And that was just such a.
It wasn't an accident, that wasa hope.
Jennifer Coronado (12:59):
Yeah, now, ty was the filmmaker that you were
working with when you were atthe labs, right?
Was this the project that youwere focusing on or a different
one?
Jessie Creel (13:06):
No, this was.
There was another project theywere focusing on which I still
hope gets made one day, but Tykind of took a rocket ship into
Emmy nomination of PBS foodseries called Family Ingredients
and I was able to be involved alittle bit in that.
I forget what season they're on, four or five, but they travel
(13:28):
the world and talk about theroots of Hawaiian fusion cuisine
via a guest and an incrediblechef named Ed Kenny.
I got to go along on the onewith Jack Johnson when we were
tracing his dad's fishingexcursions from Trinidad, Santa
Cruz, all the way to Hawaii andthat was a really fun trip
(13:51):
understanding just the fabric ofwhat makes a family kind of
knit together and then whatstands out most about those
people once they've passed on.
That sounds amazing.
Jennifer Coronado (14:04):
When you were at the labs.
There were types of advice thatyou got as a female producer
and I wonder if you could talkabout that experience from some
of the mentors who were there.
Jessie Creel (14:15):
Happily, because I think there's a disjunction
between those people handing outthat advice and not realizing
why we've had such a rollback inthe rights of females in this
day and age, and I would beremiss to not mention that.
I know that the culture haschanged since I got into
storytelling, and so I'm alittle bit more rabid
(14:38):
politically and I'm and Inoticed those things even more
now, but I knew enough in 2012to know that being told that I
should wear a dress to mypitches and speak in the less
monotone, lilting way was goingto help me get projects through
the door.
And I'm telling you that itisn't a surprise that I was told
(15:04):
this, because I have friends onWall Street who've been told
the same thing, you know.
I have friends in SiliconValley who have to dress so well
and they're, you know, sittingacross the table from men in
jeans and hoodies, and so I seethat there's absolutely a
complete double standard thereand it's insidious and it's
(15:26):
everywhere, and so, I think, anawareness of it, and so, to this
day, I have not worn a dress toa pitch.
I wear a blazer like a manwould, or like I'd hope a man
would, but I just I won't Ispeak in my regular voice.
Those agents, they were agents,big agents at the big agencies.
(15:47):
They probably were not wrong inthat.
Doing those things would havehelped me, but I didn't want to
be on that side of history.
Now I think that you know theMe Too movement has made people
more aware, but they.
There's so much more that wehave to do there's so much more
(16:13):
that we have to do.
Jennifer Coronado (16:13):
Yeah, agreed, I want to talk about what your
philosophy is as a producer.
You know you talk about themonomyth and how that's
important to storytelling foryou, because there are some
producers that are like let'stalk about the money, let's talk
about, and then they get alittle into the creative.
There are some that get in deepinto the creative and have
other people, like a lineproducer, handle the money
portion of it.
But I know you are deeplyinvolved in development of
projects.
So let's talk about yourphilosophy as a producer.
Jessie Creel (16:37):
Yes, I appreciate that question.
I think that there is animportant distinction between
those who make the trains run ontime and those who are, you
know, kind of spotting whattrain should be riding, and also
those who are like, well, I'mgoing to build something to go
(16:58):
and I probably am in the let'sbuild this.
I am, you know, I optionmaterial and I have a project
now that I think is I don't wantto sound so, you know pie in
the sky, but I do think thatthis is going to be one of the
most important things that Iwork on and that I am working on
(17:18):
, and it's a book calledProjections by Karl Deisseroth,
who is there, you go, you got it.
He is a psychiatrist,neuroscientist and bioengineer,
but I think, because he's all ofthose things in one, he's
synthesized a philosophy, it'sreally being stuck in time with
Galileo, and I don't think thatthere's enough people who know
(17:43):
what he's saying and what he'sthinking, and so taking that
book and making it into ascripted series, which is, you
know, what we're doing right now, but also taking the book and
making it into a Cosmos orJoseph Campbell and Bill Moyers
(18:04):
interview-esque thing, in theinverse.
So, looking into the mind,because I think what is as vast
as the multiverse, inversely assuch in the brain.
And so there is, you know,space is the final frontier.
I think that there's a lot ofpeople who would argue that
actually the mind is, and sofinding ways to tell those
stories that are compelling,empathetic, empowering and just
(18:30):
educational is a really excitingfeat.
And having Carl, who is just awonderful human being, he has
five kids, he has an amazingwife who's an MD, phd at
Stanford, who's aneuro-oncologist and
neuroscientist who does so muchfor the treatment of children
with brain cancer, and they havean amazing perspective on the
(18:53):
world.
And so I think part of mydesire to option this book and
to own the rights to this bookis so that I can work with them
and hope, through osmosis, thatI can also get that level of I
don't know connection to agreater cause.
Because, Lord knows, it was notin the cards for me to become a
doctor.
I did a semester of pre-med andit was ugly Like, it was just
(19:16):
not something that I understood.
But you did a semester ofpre-med, yes, I did, and I was
still going to be a religionmajor, but I thought I want to
become a pediatrician.
Like I love kids, I don't wantthem suffering.
What can I do?
Well, apparently nothing inthat vein, because my pre-med
was a joke.
It was so dismal that my my GPAwhen I graduated was brought
(19:40):
down quite a bit from thatsemester.
But what I did learn was that,you know, there is a lot of
people feel called to healingand the really amazing thing
about Carl and his bookprojections, which everyone
should go by, it's just, it's aremarkable feat.
I think the most amazing partabout Carl is that he is more
(20:02):
excited about better questionsthan actually answers, and I
feel like that is where I bringmy religion, scholarship in,
because the great religions askquestions.
You know that's what themeditations are on, and so I
feel like his purpose in life isa spiritual quest.
(20:22):
I feel like he, you know, looksin a telescope up at the sky
just because he can converselyat the brain.
And I think that, you know,doing these projects are deeply
creative because we're trying toI'm trying to be kind of the
messenger between two worlds thewriter to helm the scripted
(20:53):
series and finding the rightpartners to do animations for
the animated parts of the docseries.
I think inherently I'm creativein that, but I am not fluent in
greenwriting, it doesn't comenaturally.
I can say to somebody hey, Ithink that this should be our
opening scene, but it would takeme three days to fit that into
the format of a script.
(21:14):
It's just not in my brain.
I feel like screenwriters arebilingual.
They just see things in a waythat I don't, and I'm just so
much more narrative.
So that's where I'm creative.
But I also think that some ofthe best genesis of creation is
the dialogue between creativesand me, and so I think that
(21:34):
making sure that I surroundmyself with people who are just
unbelievable and creative andalso normal, also know to go
pick up their dry cleaning thosethings are really important.
But I've been very fortunate,present company included, to
meet amazing people in thisindustry, and so now I'm calling
(21:55):
on that to really do thisproject to change the way that
mental health is perceived inthis country.
Jennifer Coronado (22:02):
Yeah, well, you're pretty.
You know you're pretty casualabout.
I mean, when I met you, youwere very much hey, my name is
Jesse.
Now I am actually most peopledon't believe this I'm pretty
introverted as a person, I'mpretty shy in initial meetings,
but you have this bombastic wayabout you where you're just like
, hey, I'm here and let's talkabout this thing, and you're
(22:24):
pretty casual about oh, I metthis scientist and I did this
and I optioned a book.
You know how, when you areprocessing what your next steps
are or how you're going toengage with people, how do you
approach that?
Jessie Creel (22:36):
Creatively.
I always send the book becauseit's a book and in this case,
projections is canon to me rightnow in my life, and so I, when
I optioned it, carl's agent sentme 50 copies of the book from
Random House, and so I wasreally good about sending that
out to people I thought wouldhave ideas or who I wanted to
(23:01):
get involved in the project.
Pretty early on I had suspectedthrough mutual friends that I
wanted this showrunner andwriter.
We hit it off right away.
We actually went up and visitedCarl and it was just kind of
written in the stars.
It was out of my control alittle bit and I think that was
(23:25):
just an incredibly lucky thing.
I think you know you have tokiss a lot of frogs.
In this case it was justsomebody who saw the book, saw
the magic of Carl and thepotential to have this medical
procedural work in a way thatcould serve the narrative that
our country has about mentalhealth and shift that thinking
(23:49):
in an entertaining way, andthat's exactly what I was hoping
to do, right.
Jennifer Coronado (23:53):
You said there was a showrunner writer
that I knew, that I wanted.
How did you know you wantedthem?
Jessie Creel (23:59):
Because, honestly, because they were really close
with Ty, and Ty, you know, myfirst film partner has the most
amazing I'm going to butcher it,but I think they call it puko
in Hawaiian, which is like justthis the umbilical, like the gut
, the hunch and he was veryclose with her and we had other
(24:21):
mutual friends as well.
But he just said, if you twowork together, you're like I
just I really want it to happenand so I give him credit for
that too.
It's not anything to do withtheir credits on IMDb, it's a
feeling of like, do theyunderstand what I'm talking
(24:42):
about, what my vision is?
Can they make it better?
And am I going to want to be inthe foxhole with this person?
Because when you make something, even when you develop it, you
know it's a lot of obsessivethinking about that.
You know, putting yourself inthat world, building that world
and knowing that person is theright fit and wants to serve the
(25:06):
greater good of the story.
I don't want to downplay thisperson's credits because they
are at the top of the top, but Ithink that, more than anything,
it has to be a chemistry thing.
I agree.
Jennifer Coronado (25:19):
Because if you're particularly on projects
like this that are, for lack ofa better term, heart-led
projects oh, that's a beautifulway to put it Versus like
fiscally-led projects.
Well, that's why way to put itVersus like fiscally led
projects, well, that's why youhave to have those people that
are really invested in it from a.
This is a story that needs tobe told, standpoint Right, and
sometimes that energy of thosetwo things coming together, or
(25:43):
that the story needs to be told,can actually push you towards
that fiscal thing that you needto help get it made, because you
have a passion around it.
Jessie Creel (25:51):
Absolutely.
I think that I don't know whosaid it probably a robber baron
knowing my look but there wasonce somebody who had said that
if your idea is just to makemoney, you're never going to
make money, because that's aterrible idea.
And I feel like that same thingcan apply to filmmaking.
I think you know it's notsustainable if it's not
commercially viable, and so youyou can't, you know, close your
(26:14):
eyes to that.
And also you need to beresponsible with investors money
, because we all know how hardit is to earn a dollar.
And if you want to not be aflash in the pan in this
industry, you really have tosteward their investments wisely
.
And it's not an industry youget into because you're going to
hit lightning in a bottle oryou know the unicorn.
(26:37):
There's going to be slimmargins and things, and you know
my hope is to keep creativesemployed.
That's like my.
You know I don't need, you know, more than three toilets in a
home.
I think actually we only havetwo, so a third would be nirvana
for me.
I don't need that.
What I want is to keep theseincredible minds lit up, putting
(27:01):
a roof over their heads, andexcited about telling the
stories that will lead to thenext generation of storytellers
and inspire them, and so so,yeah, that seems like kind of a
bloviating answer, but I don'tthink that you should get into
this, at least in independentfilmmaking or doing it outside
the traditional studio thing,because that's this project is.
(27:22):
I raised money for developmentand we're doing it and then
we're going to take it outinstead of reverse and that's so
that we can be in constantdialogue with the author about
what the vision is, becausethese are stories of his real
patients and so we have to berespectful of that.
They are sharing their traumaand their plight and their life
(27:43):
story, and so I don't want, youknow, 12 men in suits at the
conference table telling methings.
I want to say here's an amazingscript.
You can have it or not.
You know, like being flexibleand adaptive is important in a
collaborative art likestorytelling and film and TV,
(28:04):
but it is not good to do that atthe onset.
Jennifer Coronado (28:08):
No, and you don't want them saying which one
of the characters is going towear a dress, right?
Jessie Creel (28:14):
And talk a little high pitched.
Yeah, flirting, grow your haira little longer.
That was my favorite.
Jennifer Coronado (28:20):
Oh my God.
So you have two companies.
You have one that is JoyfulParticipation Pictures, yeah.
And then you have Old MillVentures yes.
What's the difference betweenthe?
Jessie Creel (28:30):
two, yeah.
So JPP is my shingle me myselfand I have an amazing assistant,
courtney, who helps keep mehonest and on time and target,
and she and I are in thetrenches of developing projects
at the book level and so thoseare my passion projects and it
(28:51):
took me a while but I was ableto raise money to do development
from people who really believedin what material.
I was drawn to that wholenotion of joyful participation,
that you can't cure the world ofits sorrows but you can choose
to participate in joy.
That's a bastardized version ofwhat Joseph Campbell said, but
the notion is that you know, yes, you know bad things are going
(29:13):
to happen, but you're stillthere trying to move the needle
every day.
And so I'm drawn to those kindsof protagonists like Carl, who
sees treatment, resistantdepression, but still goes to
his lab and tries to uncover themysteries of mind.
Or his wife who you know hasyet to not lose a patient.
All of her patients have passed.
(29:33):
This cancer that she treats isdeadly in the most horrible way,
and she was drawn to it becauseshe thought how could I not
help?
You know those kinds of peopleI'm really drawn to.
And then Old Mill Ventures is acompany that I started with my
friend, anderson Hinch, and he'sa really awesome guy who has
(29:55):
really good business sense butalso is passionate about film
and TV, and so we startedgetting involved in helping
projects finish out soinvestments and executive
producing, so when projects werealmost done, we would help
people find the right money tomake the final stretch happen.
Jennifer Coronado (30:17):
How do you do that?
What's your approach in themoney gathering of it all?
Jessie Creel (30:21):
Well, it's funny because the money gathering was
kind of built on the notion ofthe real estate portfolio, which
is, if you can invest a lot,you can ameliorate your risk by
spreading it out.
So it wasn't that we wouldraise money per project.
We raised for a fund and Ithink that there's hope in the
future we're going to do thisagain.
But we, through my Sundancenetwork, which is unbelievable,
(30:46):
and Film Independent and Chapmanunbelievable, and Film
Independent and Chapman, justall of these wonderful do people
still use the term Rolodex butjust wonderful contacts I was
able to find projects and wekind of had a litmus test it has
to be socially relevant,commercially viable and going to
(31:07):
actually get made.
Because that is the biggesthurdle in filmmaking is that so
many projects die on the vineand it's just.
It's just not going to get youfurther into this if you don't
make bad calls.
So we got involved in legacy,which was the Laker series that
(31:28):
was on Hulu.
Jennifer Coronado (31:29):
Yeah, Then you were a producer on that one.
Jessie Creel (31:32):
Yes, and that was really exciting and I became a
Lakers fan because the women whorun the Lakers are unbelievable
humans.
They, you know, made sure to beinclusive and I was pregnant
during the last like stretch ofit and of course, as soon as the
baby came, a big box of Lakersgear came for him and just
(31:52):
really like family oriented.
But what Jeannie bus was ableto do with that team in the like
crux of family drama andeverything, was pretty
inspirational.
And Anderson is a lifelongLakers fan and to have him, you
know, excited about a projectlike this and the evolution of
the project, when we startedwith it it was just a 90-minute
(32:15):
feature and it just grew andgrew.
So that's really a call forbeing flexible and that some
projects will take on a life oftheir own and you need to be a
little bit of format agnosticbecause there might, as you're
uncovering things, be more roomto tell the story, and that's
what this ended up being.
(32:35):
Kevin Mann, who was the headhoncho of it all, brought in his
friend, mark Ankner, who hadspent his career at WME, and
they really saw wait a second.
This is pretty incredible andwe're able to raise even more
capital to make it 10 episodesand then it won the Emmy.
So that was a really big, bigwin.
(32:56):
And then we also, anderson andI also got involved in a
Lebanese film called 1982 thatyou know went to Toronto and
Cannes and all over and you knowNew York Times critically
acclaimed and NPR.
You know New York Timescritically acclaimed and NPR.
And it was just something thatwe had to get involved in
(33:16):
because the storytelling of theconflict with Israel and Lebanon
in 1982, through the eyes ofthese middle schoolers, was
something we hadn't seen beforeand we knew there might not be a
huge American audience for itbut surely it would resonate in
the world, because the world isfull of such conflict and it was
(33:39):
more of the same.
Unfortunately, that's becausehumans continue to live here.
Humans cause a lot of sorrow.
Jennifer Coronado (33:47):
Tell me about oh, um, oh, lucy, because I
know, like I saw, that AdamMcCain, will Ferrell's company
was on that as well, and thenthat was an independent spirit
award nominee.
Jessie Creel (33:57):
Oh, lucy came about through friends of mine
who I'd never worked with beforebut who I had gotten involved
with just at Sundance eventsJonathan Duffy and Kelly
Williams.
Just at Sundance eventsJonathan Duffy and Kelly
Williams and they, you know,they are like they're indie
filmmaking powerhouses and theyhave been on the circuit for two
(34:18):
decades and they said, hey, ourfriends have this movie
Anderson, and I read the scriptand said, oh my gosh, this is
amazing.
You know, this is dealing withsome huge themes that interest
us.
This is dealing with some hugethemes that interest us, but
it's also funny and it's alsogot some of the great actors
from Japan in it and I think,you know, it would be worth
(34:39):
getting involved in.
And I remember we took a bunchof friends to the theater to see
that and it really it was animportant film because people
were people related to it sowell and so much more.
But I think our friends werekind of shocked by how dark it
(35:03):
was, you know, and I think thatwhen I say that we get excited
about certain projects, thatdoesn't mean they're going to be
happy, you know.
And so I think that helped mekind of change my language
around certain things, because Irealized I may have led them
astray on thinking what it wasgoing to be.
But no, oh, lucy was a reallyspecial film.
I think that it might have beenmade 10 years too soon, in that
(35:26):
, you know, commercially itdidn't do as well as we had
hoped.
But and again here's my pokerface, I'm like brutally honest
on that.
But I think that there'sbecause of the explosion of
streaming.
I think people are morecomfortable with subtitles now
and, yeah, I think it would havehad a warmer reception in the
States.
Jennifer Coronado (35:46):
What's a project that's gotten away from
you?
Was there ever a project thatyou walked away from because
you're like?
I thought this was right in thebeginning, but it's not the one
for me, my God.
Jessie Creel (35:56):
How long do you have?
Of course, you know it's sofunny because I think there is a
project that Ty and I had earlyon no-transcript, you know, a
(36:36):
paycheck and Ty and I were just,you know there was something
about it Fast forward, you know,10 or 15 years and those two
people have no longer anyfooting in the industry because
of things that they've done, andso I don't know if we didn't
know that we couldn't name it,but it was a, it was an instinct
(36:57):
, and so we've tried really hardto listen to those, and so I
probably walk away from things alittle too easily, because I
don't want to spend time andvulnerable hours with people who
aren't making good or ethicaldecisions.
On that note, tell me aboutFind your Anchor.
(37:17):
Thank you for asking about that.
So Find your Anchor is anincredible organization started
by Ali Borosky, who is this rockstar of a human being who
suffered greatly from depressionand it almost claimed her life
a few times, but she also isjust a maverick and a brilliant
(37:41):
graphic designer, and one of thethings that she took out of
treatment after attempting toend her life was that the
paperwork and the language andall of these things, and not
just to mention the invoiceafter you know your life gets
saved was incompatible withsurvival, and so she thought,
(38:07):
well, what could I have needed?
You know, what would I haveneeded to really feel better?
And so she designed it, andwhat she ended up doing was
taking a small box and putting52 cards that are photos that
she took, that she calls heranchors, which are reasons to
stay on the planet, and thenalso messages of love that you
(38:32):
know strangers love you, and Ithink that, ultimately, is why I
got in filmmaking, because itwas this intimacy with strangers
and this notion that you cansee yourself in someone you
don't even know.
And so I met her through afriend of ours who's a musician
His name's Andrew McMahon fromSomething Corporate and Jack's
Mannequin, and he has the DearJack Foundation, which is
(38:54):
something also near and dear tomy heart, which is adolescents
and young adults with cancer,and they actually partnered with
Find your Anchor to do ananchor box specifically for
those who are facing a newcancer diagnosis.
But I met Allie through thatand I got really interested in
it, and then during that time Ilost a dear friend to suicide.
She had always been interestedin Find your Anchor and had
(39:18):
posted stuff on her social aboutFind your Anchor, and so
between projections and Findyour Anchor, that's kind of my
love letter to Michelle and so I, you know, joined the board and
we have launched 70,000 boxesaround the world.
One of the great marriages isbetween find your anchor and the
(39:41):
Lakers that I was able to puttogether, and so the last two
years not this year, but twoyears prior we did events with
the Lakers staff and built boxesand then they launched them
into the LA public schools.
This year we were able to getthem to do that without even
building the boxes.
(40:01):
The person at the Lakers who Idon't know, she's like an angel,
she is like of, I feel likeshe's of this world and the next
, her name's Keisha Nix andshe's always doing such good
deeds, and we had said, hey,there's a 200 box request from
LA public schools.
Is there any way you can help?
And within two days the Lakershad covered that money to build
(40:25):
the boxes.
And when we said, do you wantyou know Lakers stickers put on
them, they said no, that's notnecessary, they don't need to
know who they're from.
And so that to me is like beinginvolved with people who
understand the meaning ofcommunity is incredible.
Taking you know the find youranchor relationships and mixing
(40:46):
them in with the Lakersrelationships has been really a
beautiful thing, because goodhas come from that and I feel
like that is.
You know, somebody called myfriend a people alchemist and I
said, oh, I could only hope tobe like that, but I feel like
mixing, sprinkling in peoplewith other people, magic can
really happen and there's anexample of that that Find your
(41:12):
Anchor got really incrediblesupport from the Born this Way
Foundation with Lady Gaga andtheir Please Stay pledge, which
is amazing, and I should telleveryone to go find that pledge
and sign it, because it's animportant thing to do, to commit
to being here.
Jennifer Coronado (41:25):
The thing that I would say to you, jessie,
is you're certainly not alungs-led person because you
have walking pneumonia, but youare a heart-led person, and I
really appreciate you talking tous today.
Jessie Creel (41:36):
Oh, I enjoyed this so much and I can't wait to see
what this podcast does.
There needs to be a lot more ofit.
Jennifer Coronado (41:44):
Thank you for listening to Everyone Is.
Everyone Is is produced andedited by Chris Hawkinson,
executive producer is AaronDussault, music by Doug Infinite
.
Our logo and graphic design isby Harrison Parker and I am Jen
Coronado.
Everyone Is is a SlightlyDisappointed Productions
production, dropping every otherThursday.
Wherever podcasts are available, make sure to rate and review,
(42:05):
and maybe even like andsubscribe.
Thank you for listening.
you know, space is the final frontier.
I think that there's a lot ofpeople who would argue that
actually the mind is Findingways to tell those stories that
are compelling, empathetic,empowering and just educational
is a really exciting feat.
Jennifer Coronado (00:16):
Hello and welcome to Everyone Is I am your
host, jennifer Coronado.
The intent of this show is toengage with all types of people
and build an understanding thatanyone who has any kind of
success has achieved thatsuccess because they are a
creative thinker.
So, whether you are an artistor a cook or an award-winning
journalist, everyone hassomething to contribute to the
(00:37):
human conversation.
And now, as they say, on withthe show, on with the show.
I met producer Jesse Creelroughly 10 years ago at the
Sundance Labs, when I was thereas a mentor, and she was part of
their class of young filmmakerswho were there for feedback on
their projects.
We connected again at theSundance Film Festival, which
(00:58):
was so crowded, and we wanted tofind a place to sit down and
have a discussion, but wecouldn't find anywhere that
wasn't busy, so we sat down inthe lounge of the men's room,
and that's when I knew that wewere friends.
So welcome to.
Jessie Creel (01:10):
Everyone Is Thank you.
I'm so excited that you'redoing this.
I think that it was the naturalevolution of your fantastic
interviews in your day job, soI'm excited that you're
launching this out into theworld.
Jennifer Coronado (01:23):
Yeah, no it's been a fun process.
I want to start with myfavorite place to start.
Where'd you grow up?
Jessie Creel (01:29):
I grew up half in Texas and half in Potomac,
maryland, outside of DC, andthen I made my way west to make
movies, like a lot of people do.
But you have a BA in religiousstudies, right, I do, and that,
I think, is my passionultimately is religion, the
(01:52):
study of religion and themonomyth, and how you can make a
we story into a me story prettyeasily and connect yourself to
Kairos time, the spiritual time,instead of just the day-to-day
Kronos time.
And so, after studying religionand also political science, I
(02:15):
went to work in policy in DC fora few years and realized there
that I wasn't enjoying thepolicy part of the work as much
as I was enjoying the stories ofthe people I was meeting, and I
thought that the real power andchange was in relatability to
others.
And so the best way to do that,I think again going back to the
(02:38):
monomyth and the stories wasvisual storytelling.
But I didn't know anythingabout it.
I was, you know, raised in ahome that revered film and
television.
I learned very early on whoJohn Ford was and, you know, one
of the most special memorieswas watching the Searchers with
(03:01):
my family and finallyunderstanding what it was about.
You know it had always been on.
My parents, you know, stoppedon whatever channel that had
been on Turner Movie Classics,and I would pick it up.
But I remember I think it wasin middle school watching it
with them and going, oh my gosh,there's so much beauty here in
the storytelling, so much beautyhere in the storytelling.
(03:23):
Obviously, there are issues nowgoing back.
There's not, you know, flawlessart, but I think that it really
made me understand how to bringthe outside world in through
visual storytelling, and so Ihad always had it kind of
dangling in the back of my mind.
(03:43):
I just didn't know what thatwould mean later on in life.
But, like you can always pauseand look back and go, oh, that
was a seminal moment.
You know, watching it's aWonderful Life, you know, every
Christmas and just knowing thatwhat Frank Capra did in that
movie transcended holidays,religion, you know everything,
(04:06):
and is a universal theme, and Ithink that you know this tiny
keyhole into this little townand all of a sudden you're going
, wow, this is a global messageTotally, and I think he does a
really good job of that withClarence and you know the
universe and things like that.
But it was really important, Ithink, for me to see growing up.
(04:26):
You know I couldn't relate justin the characteristics or the
characters.
Excuse me, but I could relateto that.
What if question?
So yeah, those were two veryseminal films for me.
And then in my time in DC, whatmade me really go?
Oh my gosh.
And and then in my time in DC,what made me really go oh my
gosh.
(04:46):
And this was in my time inpublic policy in DC, what made
me go oh my gosh, I thinkStorytellings for me was the
Lives of Others.
Jennifer Coronado (04:55):
That movie, oh yeah, beautiful film,
beautiful film, but I want toask you, from a policy
standpoint, what was your focusin DC?
Where were your areas of policy?
Jessie Creel (05:03):
I worked in education policy kind of a
waiting for Superman, you know,empowerment of basically working
to divorce real estate fromyour school and then I really
took an interest in criminaljustice reform.
I became close with a man who'snow a friend, radley Balco,
(05:24):
who's written two very importantbooks the Rise of the Warrior
Cop, which talked about policebrutality, you know a decade
before it made it to socialmedia, and then also the Cadaver
King and the Country Dentistabout two corrupt medical
(05:45):
examiners in the South, and JohnGrisham wrote the foreword to
that book and I think a lot ofRadley's work is why the
Innocence Project got reallygoing in the South.
I think that he co-wrote itwith a man named Tucker
Carrington who's also anincredible lawyer and journalist
and who was the protege ofBrian Stevens.
But I really saw in that was,you know, watching Radley write
(06:07):
about these cases and the peoplein these cases and then being
lucky enough to meet, you know,the mother of someone who was on
death row and watching whatthat did to their family and
really having kind of acourtside seat to that.
Criminal justice reform andwhat that took and continues to
take was really an importantpart of me moving west also.
Jennifer Coronado (06:30):
Yeah, and you went to Chapman University.
You got your master's, andsometimes people dismiss it, as
the philosophical part ofcollege can actually be helpful
with the practical things thatyou need to execute on in life.
So tell me about that.
Jessie Creel (06:44):
Yeah, so that's interesting.
So, obviously, going to aliberal arts college on the East
Coast and studying religionwith a focus in Eastern
religions, I didn't really havethe conservatory.
It was pretty esoteric and openinquiry, and I really love that
I do.
But what I needed was a schoolthat could kind of indulge me in
(07:05):
that, but not to a point whereI wasn't actually making things,
and so it was the conservatorymodel and the most amazing part
of that was that you own thefilms you made, and that's not
true of a lot of film schools,of a lot of film schools.
(07:28):
And so I had done my researchand had chosen Chapman because
it was new-ish in the filmschools.
I think there was a hungerthere.
They had an amazing facilityand they had the most amount of
Fulbright scholars from aroundthe world.
And as Hollywood was, I mean,hopping and happening, there
were other places around theworld where there were, you know
, other Hollywoods Bollywood,nollywood and I got to meet
(07:52):
people who were active in thosecommunities, who came to further
their study at Chapman.
So it became a very globalplace very quickly.
It wasn't a lot of industrykids.
That was also important to me.
It was a lot of people who hadstories to tell and wanted to
tell them, or who wanted to workin the industry and take a
really creative and importantpart of making other people's
(08:15):
stories.
So it was a relatively humblegroup of people.
My thesis film that I made witha bunch of very dear friends, my
thesis film that I made with abunch of very dear friends we
did it in Hawaii and that hadnever been done before.
But because we owned the film,we were able to do pre-sales,
sell it so that we could getmoney to go to Hawaii.
(08:36):
We were able to enter it into alot of festivals.
It went to Sundance, there wasa screening of it at the Sydney
Opera House, it ended up on theCriterion Channel and the
Criterion Collection and it just, you know, sky's the limit.
It was the little film thatcould and I think that, from the
standpoint of ownership, tySenga, who is a brilliant writer
(08:59):
and director, whose film visionit really was, was able to
understand that the distributionand impact was just important
as the film itself.
I mean that wasn't somethingthat we invented, but I think
that was pretty mature for abunch of late 20-somethings to
(09:19):
think of at that time.
Jennifer Coronado (09:21):
For most young people.
What does pre-sale even mean?
How do you go?
You go about doing that.
What?
Where do you go?
Jessie Creel (09:27):
Like who do you call?
I think one of the keys was mypartner, matt, who's now my
husband.
He has always been a nonprofitninja, you know, he's just one
of those really good souls.
And so he cuts to the chasevery quickly and he said I think
you need a fiscal sponsor.
I think that, and that is whenyou borrow someone's 501c3
(09:49):
status so that tax deductiblecontributions can be made for
your project, but through theirkind of organization.
Because he said it was a doublebottom line mission, and that's
often what I've been drawn to.
And the double bottom line ofthis was that it was going to be
the first Native Hawaiian shortfilm that you know we were
aiming to take to the festivalsduring a time where the Native
(10:11):
Hawaiian language was beingbrought back into schools and
culture in Hawaii because it hadbeen so brutally oppressed for
so long and censored.
And so, because Thai is NativeHawaiian and I had done work
with Native Hawaiians in DC, Ihad a bunch of contacts there
and I said, hey, we're going todo this.
It's going to be a little bitlonger than a short film,
(10:32):
because it was 19 minutes and Ithink it's going to help bring
first off.
It was a Hawaiian legend, thelegend of the Mu people, which
was when legend.
The legend of the Mu people,which was when you were caught
in the sun, you turned to stoneand it was a allegory of what it
(10:53):
meant to accept newcomers andto hold on to the old ways, etc.
But it also was just beautifulin the exploration of the, the
land, the hawaiian culture andjust the language.
And so I was able to parlaythat into a mission and and get
the film commissioner of thestate, donnie dawson, on board
(11:16):
and she helped us.
The kamehameha schools, whichis one of the biggest
educational trusts in the world,helped us.
We just we had kind of a in truehawaiian, you know, in in the
world.
Helped us.
We just we had kind of a intrue Hawaiian, you know, in the
true Hawaiian way.
We had just an incredible groupof people wanting to make this
happen.
We stayed in the dorms of aprivate school, you know, even
(11:37):
the local rental car companygave us deals.
We just we were able to make ithappen because from the get go
we were thinking how can thisproject serve more than just us
getting IMDb cred?
I think that's the only way tomake stuff.
Now, you know, kind of angry,you know, and all great and
important.
(11:57):
But I think the thing aboutStones that's what the movie's
called is that it was simple,you know, and it was hard and
(12:18):
sad and I still cry when I seeit, which is I don't know if
that's indulgent or narcissistic, maybe it's both.
I mean, probably my therapistwould tell you that it's
probably both and that I indulgemy narcissism too much.
But I really loved how it wasreceived and still to this day,
(12:40):
it's one of those movies wherepeople will, you know, reach out
to Ty or me and just talk abouthow it really got them back
into their culture or inunderstanding where they were
living.
And that was just such a.
It wasn't an accident, that wasa hope.
Jennifer Coronado (12:59):
Yeah, now, ty was the filmmaker that you were
working with when you were atthe labs, right?
Was this the project that youwere focusing on or a different
one?
Jessie Creel (13:06):
No, this was.
There was another project theywere focusing on which I still
hope gets made one day, but Tykind of took a rocket ship into
Emmy nomination of PBS foodseries called Family Ingredients
and I was able to be involved alittle bit in that.
I forget what season they're on, four or five, but they travel
(13:28):
the world and talk about theroots of Hawaiian fusion cuisine
via a guest and an incrediblechef named Ed Kenny.
I got to go along on the onewith Jack Johnson when we were
tracing his dad's fishingexcursions from Trinidad, Santa
Cruz, all the way to Hawaii andthat was a really fun trip
(13:51):
understanding just the fabric ofwhat makes a family kind of
knit together and then whatstands out most about those
people once they've passed on.
That sounds amazing.
Jennifer Coronado (14:04):
When you were at the labs.
There were types of advice thatyou got as a female producer
and I wonder if you could talkabout that experience from some
of the mentors who were there.
Jessie Creel (14:15):
Happily, because I think there's a disjunction
between those people handing outthat advice and not realizing
why we've had such a rollback inthe rights of females in this
day and age, and I would beremiss to not mention that.
I know that the culture haschanged since I got into
storytelling, and so I'm alittle bit more rabid
(14:38):
politically and I'm and Inoticed those things even more
now, but I knew enough in 2012to know that being told that I
should wear a dress to mypitches and speak in the less
monotone, lilting way was goingto help me get projects through
the door.
And I'm telling you that itisn't a surprise that I was told
(15:04):
this, because I have friends onWall Street who've been told
the same thing, you know.
I have friends in SiliconValley who have to dress so well
and they're, you know, sittingacross the table from men in
jeans and hoodies, and so I seethat there's absolutely a
complete double standard thereand it's insidious and it's
(15:26):
everywhere, and so, I think, anawareness of it, and so, to this
day, I have not worn a dress toa pitch.
I wear a blazer like a manwould, or like I'd hope a man
would, but I just I won't Ispeak in my regular voice.
Those agents, they were agents,big agents at the big agencies.
(15:47):
They probably were not wrong inthat.
Doing those things would havehelped me, but I didn't want to
be on that side of history.
Now I think that you know theMe Too movement has made people
more aware, but they.
There's so much more that wehave to do there's so much more
(16:13):
that we have to do.
Jennifer Coronado (16:13):
Yeah, agreed, I want to talk about what your
philosophy is as a producer.
You know you talk about themonomyth and how that's
important to storytelling foryou, because there are some
producers that are like let'stalk about the money, let's talk
about, and then they get alittle into the creative.
There are some that get in deepinto the creative and have
other people, like a lineproducer, handle the money
portion of it.
But I know you are deeplyinvolved in development of
projects.
So let's talk about yourphilosophy as a producer.
Jessie Creel (16:37):
Yes, I appreciate that question.
I think that there is animportant distinction between
those who make the trains run ontime and those who are, you
know, kind of spotting whattrain should be riding, and also
those who are like, well, I'mgoing to build something to go
(16:58):
and I probably am in the let'sbuild this.
I am, you know, I optionmaterial and I have a project
now that I think is I don't wantto sound so, you know pie in
the sky, but I do think thatthis is going to be one of the
most important things that Iwork on and that I am working on
(17:18):
, and it's a book calledProjections by Karl Deisseroth,
who is there, you go, you got it.
He is a psychiatrist,neuroscientist and bioengineer,
but I think, because he's all ofthose things in one, he's
synthesized a philosophy, it'sreally being stuck in time with
Galileo, and I don't think thatthere's enough people who know
(17:43):
what he's saying and what he'sthinking, and so taking that
book and making it into ascripted series, which is, you
know, what we're doing right now, but also taking the book and
making it into a Cosmos orJoseph Campbell and Bill Moyers
(18:04):
interview-esque thing, in theinverse.
So, looking into the mind,because I think what is as vast
as the multiverse, inversely assuch in the brain.
And so there is, you know,space is the final frontier.
I think that there's a lot ofpeople who would argue that
actually the mind is, and sofinding ways to tell those
stories that are compelling,empathetic, empowering and just
(18:30):
educational is a really excitingfeat.
And having Carl, who is just awonderful human being, he has
five kids, he has an amazingwife who's an MD, phd at
Stanford, who's aneuro-oncologist and
neuroscientist who does so muchfor the treatment of children
with brain cancer, and they havean amazing perspective on the
(18:53):
world.
And so I think part of mydesire to option this book and
to own the rights to this bookis so that I can work with them
and hope, through osmosis, thatI can also get that level of I
don't know connection to agreater cause.
Because, Lord knows, it was notin the cards for me to become a
doctor.
I did a semester of pre-med andit was ugly Like, it was just
(19:16):
not something that I understood.
But you did a semester ofpre-med, yes, I did, and I was
still going to be a religionmajor, but I thought I want to
become a pediatrician.
Like I love kids, I don't wantthem suffering.
What can I do?
Well, apparently nothing inthat vein, because my pre-med
was a joke.
It was so dismal that my my GPAwhen I graduated was brought
(19:40):
down quite a bit from thatsemester.
But what I did learn was that,you know, there is a lot of
people feel called to healingand the really amazing thing
about Carl and his bookprojections, which everyone
should go by, it's just, it's aremarkable feat.
I think the most amazing partabout Carl is that he is more
(20:02):
excited about better questionsthan actually answers, and I
feel like that is where I bringmy religion, scholarship in,
because the great religions askquestions.
You know that's what themeditations are on, and so I
feel like his purpose in life isa spiritual quest.
(20:22):
I feel like he, you know, looksin a telescope up at the sky
just because he can converselyat the brain.
And I think that, you know,doing these projects are deeply
creative because we're trying toI'm trying to be kind of the
messenger between two worlds thewriter to helm the scripted
(20:53):
series and finding the rightpartners to do animations for
the animated parts of the docseries.
I think inherently I'm creativein that, but I am not fluent in
greenwriting, it doesn't comenaturally.
I can say to somebody hey, Ithink that this should be our
opening scene, but it would takeme three days to fit that into
the format of a script.
(21:14):
It's just not in my brain.
I feel like screenwriters arebilingual.
They just see things in a waythat I don't, and I'm just so
much more narrative.
So that's where I'm creative.
But I also think that some ofthe best genesis of creation is
the dialogue between creativesand me, and so I think that
(21:34):
making sure that I surroundmyself with people who are just
unbelievable and creative andalso normal, also know to go
pick up their dry cleaning thosethings are really important.
But I've been very fortunate,present company included, to
meet amazing people in thisindustry, and so now I'm calling
(21:55):
on that to really do thisproject to change the way that
mental health is perceived inthis country.
Jennifer Coronado (22:02):
Yeah, well, you're pretty.
You know you're pretty casualabout.
I mean, when I met you, youwere very much hey, my name is
Jesse.
Now I am actually most peopledon't believe this I'm pretty
introverted as a person, I'mpretty shy in initial meetings,
but you have this bombastic wayabout you where you're just like
, hey, I'm here and let's talkabout this thing, and you're
(22:24):
pretty casual about oh, I metthis scientist and I did this
and I optioned a book.
You know how, when you areprocessing what your next steps
are or how you're going toengage with people, how do you
approach that?
Jessie Creel (22:36):
Creatively.
I always send the book becauseit's a book and in this case,
projections is canon to me rightnow in my life, and so I, when
I optioned it, carl's agent sentme 50 copies of the book from
Random House, and so I wasreally good about sending that
out to people I thought wouldhave ideas or who I wanted to
(23:01):
get involved in the project.
Pretty early on I had suspectedthrough mutual friends that I
wanted this showrunner andwriter.
We hit it off right away.
We actually went up and visitedCarl and it was just kind of
written in the stars.
It was out of my control alittle bit and I think that was
(23:25):
just an incredibly lucky thing.
I think you know you have tokiss a lot of frogs.
In this case it was justsomebody who saw the book, saw
the magic of Carl and thepotential to have this medical
procedural work in a way thatcould serve the narrative that
our country has about mentalhealth and shift that thinking
(23:49):
in an entertaining way, andthat's exactly what I was hoping
to do, right.
Jennifer Coronado (23:53):
You said there was a showrunner writer
that I knew, that I wanted.
How did you know you wantedthem?
Jessie Creel (23:59):
Because, honestly, because they were really close
with Ty, and Ty, you know, myfirst film partner has the most
amazing I'm going to butcher it,but I think they call it puko
in Hawaiian, which is like justthis the umbilical, like the gut
, the hunch and he was veryclose with her and we had other
(24:21):
mutual friends as well.
But he just said, if you twowork together, you're like I
just I really want it to happenand so I give him credit for
that too.
It's not anything to do withtheir credits on IMDb, it's a
feeling of like, do theyunderstand what I'm talking
(24:42):
about, what my vision is?
Can they make it better?
And am I going to want to be inthe foxhole with this person?
Because when you make something, even when you develop it, you
know it's a lot of obsessivethinking about that.
You know, putting yourself inthat world, building that world
and knowing that person is theright fit and wants to serve the
(25:06):
greater good of the story.
I don't want to downplay thisperson's credits because they
are at the top of the top, but Ithink that, more than anything,
it has to be a chemistry thing.
I agree.
Jennifer Coronado (25:19):
Because if you're particularly on projects
like this that are, for lack ofa better term, heart-led
projects oh, that's a beautifulway to put it Versus like
fiscally-led projects.
Well, that's why way to put itVersus like fiscally led
projects, well, that's why youhave to have those people that
are really invested in it from a.
This is a story that needs tobe told, standpoint Right, and
sometimes that energy of thosetwo things coming together, or
(25:43):
that the story needs to be told,can actually push you towards
that fiscal thing that you needto help get it made, because you
have a passion around it.
Jessie Creel (25:51):
Absolutely.
I think that I don't know whosaid it probably a robber baron
knowing my look but there wasonce somebody who had said that
if your idea is just to makemoney, you're never going to
make money, because that's aterrible idea.
And I feel like that same thingcan apply to filmmaking.
I think you know it's notsustainable if it's not
commercially viable, and so youyou can't, you know, close your
(26:14):
eyes to that.
And also you need to beresponsible with investors money
, because we all know how hardit is to earn a dollar.
And if you want to not be aflash in the pan in this
industry, you really have tosteward their investments wisely
.
And it's not an industry youget into because you're going to
hit lightning in a bottle oryou know the unicorn.
(26:37):
There's going to be slimmargins and things, and you know
my hope is to keep creativesemployed.
That's like my.
You know I don't need, you know, more than three toilets in a
home.
I think actually we only havetwo, so a third would be nirvana
for me.
I don't need that.
What I want is to keep theseincredible minds lit up, putting
(27:01):
a roof over their heads, andexcited about telling the
stories that will lead to thenext generation of storytellers
and inspire them, and so so,yeah, that seems like kind of a
bloviating answer, but I don'tthink that you should get into
this, at least in independentfilmmaking or doing it outside
the traditional studio thing,because that's this project is.
(27:22):
I raised money for developmentand we're doing it and then
we're going to take it outinstead of reverse and that's so
that we can be in constantdialogue with the author about
what the vision is, becausethese are stories of his real
patients and so we have to berespectful of that.
They are sharing their traumaand their plight and their life
(27:43):
story, and so I don't want, youknow, 12 men in suits at the
conference table telling methings.
I want to say here's an amazingscript.
You can have it or not.
You know, like being flexibleand adaptive is important in a
collaborative art likestorytelling and film and TV,
(28:04):
but it is not good to do that atthe onset.
Jennifer Coronado (28:08):
No, and you don't want them saying which one
of the characters is going towear a dress, right?
Jessie Creel (28:14):
And talk a little high pitched.
Yeah, flirting, grow your haira little longer.
That was my favorite.
Jennifer Coronado (28:20):
Oh my God.
So you have two companies.
You have one that is JoyfulParticipation Pictures, yeah.
And then you have Old MillVentures yes.
What's the difference betweenthe?
Jessie Creel (28:30):
two, yeah.
So JPP is my shingle me myselfand I have an amazing assistant,
courtney, who helps keep mehonest and on time and target,
and she and I are in thetrenches of developing projects
at the book level and so thoseare my passion projects and it
(28:51):
took me a while but I was ableto raise money to do development
from people who really believedin what material.
I was drawn to that wholenotion of joyful participation,
that you can't cure the world ofits sorrows but you can choose
to participate in joy.
That's a bastardized version ofwhat Joseph Campbell said, but
the notion is that you know, yes, you know bad things are going
(29:13):
to happen, but you're stillthere trying to move the needle
every day.
And so I'm drawn to those kindsof protagonists like Carl, who
sees treatment, resistantdepression, but still goes to
his lab and tries to uncover themysteries of mind.
Or his wife who you know hasyet to not lose a patient.
All of her patients have passed.
(29:33):
This cancer that she treats isdeadly in the most horrible way,
and she was drawn to it becauseshe thought how could I not
help?
You know those kinds of peopleI'm really drawn to.
And then Old Mill Ventures is acompany that I started with my
friend, anderson Hinch, and he'sa really awesome guy who has
(29:55):
really good business sense butalso is passionate about film
and TV, and so we startedgetting involved in helping
projects finish out soinvestments and executive
producing, so when projects werealmost done, we would help
people find the right money tomake the final stretch happen.
Jennifer Coronado (30:17):
How do you do that?
What's your approach in themoney gathering of it all?
Jessie Creel (30:21):
Well, it's funny because the money gathering was
kind of built on the notion ofthe real estate portfolio, which
is, if you can invest a lot,you can ameliorate your risk by
spreading it out.
So it wasn't that we wouldraise money per project.
We raised for a fund and Ithink that there's hope in the
future we're going to do thisagain.
But we, through my Sundancenetwork, which is unbelievable,
(30:46):
and Film Independent and Chapmanunbelievable, and Film
Independent and Chapman, justall of these wonderful do people
still use the term Rolodex butjust wonderful contacts I was
able to find projects and wekind of had a litmus test it has
to be socially relevant,commercially viable and going to
(31:07):
actually get made.
Because that is the biggesthurdle in filmmaking is that so
many projects die on the vineand it's just.
It's just not going to get youfurther into this if you don't
make bad calls.
So we got involved in legacy,which was the Laker series that
(31:28):
was on Hulu.
Jennifer Coronado (31:29):
Yeah, Then you were a producer on that one.
Jessie Creel (31:32):
Yes, and that was really exciting and I became a
Lakers fan because the women whorun the Lakers are unbelievable
humans.
They, you know, made sure to beinclusive and I was pregnant
during the last like stretch ofit and of course, as soon as the
baby came, a big box of Lakersgear came for him and just
(31:52):
really like family oriented.
But what Jeannie bus was ableto do with that team in the like
crux of family drama andeverything, was pretty
inspirational.
And Anderson is a lifelongLakers fan and to have him, you
know, excited about a projectlike this and the evolution of
the project, when we startedwith it it was just a 90-minute
(32:15):
feature and it just grew andgrew.
So that's really a call forbeing flexible and that some
projects will take on a life oftheir own and you need to be a
little bit of format agnosticbecause there might, as you're
uncovering things, be more roomto tell the story, and that's
what this ended up being.
(32:35):
Kevin Mann, who was the headhoncho of it all, brought in his
friend, mark Ankner, who hadspent his career at WME, and
they really saw wait a second.
This is pretty incredible andwe're able to raise even more
capital to make it 10 episodesand then it won the Emmy.
So that was a really big, bigwin.
(32:56):
And then we also, anderson andI also got involved in a
Lebanese film called 1982 thatyou know went to Toronto and
Cannes and all over and you knowNew York Times critically
acclaimed and NPR.
You know New York Timescritically acclaimed and NPR.
And it was just something thatwe had to get involved in
(33:16):
because the storytelling of theconflict with Israel and Lebanon
in 1982, through the eyes ofthese middle schoolers, was
something we hadn't seen beforeand we knew there might not be a
huge American audience for itbut surely it would resonate in
the world, because the world isfull of such conflict and it was
(33:39):
more of the same.
Unfortunately, that's becausehumans continue to live here.
Humans cause a lot of sorrow.
Jennifer Coronado (33:47):
Tell me about oh, um, oh, lucy, because I
know, like I saw, that AdamMcCain, will Ferrell's company
was on that as well, and thenthat was an independent spirit
award nominee.
Jessie Creel (33:57):
Oh, lucy came about through friends of mine
who I'd never worked with beforebut who I had gotten involved
with just at Sundance eventsJonathan Duffy and Kelly
Williams.
Just at Sundance eventsJonathan Duffy and Kelly
Williams and they, you know,they are like they're indie
filmmaking powerhouses and theyhave been on the circuit for two
(34:18):
decades and they said, hey, ourfriends have this movie
Anderson, and I read the scriptand said, oh my gosh, this is
amazing.
You know, this is dealing withsome huge themes that interest
us.
This is dealing with some hugethemes that interest us, but
it's also funny and it's alsogot some of the great actors
from Japan in it and I think,you know, it would be worth
(34:39):
getting involved in.
And I remember we took a bunchof friends to the theater to see
that and it really it was animportant film because people
were people related to it sowell and so much more.
But I think our friends werekind of shocked by how dark it
(35:03):
was, you know, and I think thatwhen I say that we get excited
about certain projects, thatdoesn't mean they're going to be
happy, you know.
And so I think that helped mekind of change my language
around certain things, because Irealized I may have led them
astray on thinking what it wasgoing to be.
But no, oh, lucy was a reallyspecial film.
I think that it might have beenmade 10 years too soon, in that
(35:26):
, you know, commercially itdidn't do as well as we had
hoped.
But and again here's my pokerface, I'm like brutally honest
on that.
But I think that there'sbecause of the explosion of
streaming.
I think people are morecomfortable with subtitles now
and, yeah, I think it would havehad a warmer reception in the
States.
Jennifer Coronado (35:46):
What's a project that's gotten away from
you?
Was there ever a project thatyou walked away from because
you're like?
I thought this was right in thebeginning, but it's not the one
for me, my God.
Jessie Creel (35:56):
How long do you have?
Of course, you know it's sofunny because I think there is a
project that Ty and I had earlyon no-transcript, you know, a
(36:36):
paycheck and Ty and I were just,you know there was something
about it Fast forward, you know,10 or 15 years and those two
people have no longer anyfooting in the industry because
of things that they've done, andso I don't know if we didn't
know that we couldn't name it,but it was a, it was an instinct
(36:57):
, and so we've tried really hardto listen to those, and so I
probably walk away from things alittle too easily, because I
don't want to spend time andvulnerable hours with people who
aren't making good or ethicaldecisions.
On that note, tell me aboutFind your Anchor.
(37:17):
Thank you for asking about that.
So Find your Anchor is anincredible organization started
by Ali Borosky, who is this rockstar of a human being who
suffered greatly from depressionand it almost claimed her life
a few times, but she also isjust a maverick and a brilliant
(37:41):
graphic designer, and one of thethings that she took out of
treatment after attempting toend her life was that the
paperwork and the language andall of these things, and not
just to mention the invoiceafter you know your life gets
saved was incompatible withsurvival, and so she thought,
(38:07):
well, what could I have needed?
You know, what would I haveneeded to really feel better?
And so she designed it, andwhat she ended up doing was
taking a small box and putting52 cards that are photos that
she took, that she calls heranchors, which are reasons to
stay on the planet, and thenalso messages of love that you
(38:32):
know strangers love you, and Ithink that, ultimately, is why I
got in filmmaking, because itwas this intimacy with strangers
and this notion that you cansee yourself in someone you
don't even know.
And so I met her through afriend of ours who's a musician
His name's Andrew McMahon fromSomething Corporate and Jack's
Mannequin, and he has the DearJack Foundation, which is
(38:54):
something also near and dear tomy heart, which is adolescents
and young adults with cancer,and they actually partnered with
Find your Anchor to do ananchor box specifically for
those who are facing a newcancer diagnosis.
But I met Allie through thatand I got really interested in
it, and then during that time Ilost a dear friend to suicide.
She had always been interestedin Find your Anchor and had
(39:18):
posted stuff on her social aboutFind your Anchor, and so
between projections and Findyour Anchor, that's kind of my
love letter to Michelle and so I, you know, joined the board and
we have launched 70,000 boxesaround the world.
One of the great marriages isbetween find your anchor and the
(39:41):
Lakers that I was able to puttogether, and so the last two
years not this year, but twoyears prior we did events with
the Lakers staff and built boxesand then they launched them
into the LA public schools.
This year we were able to getthem to do that without even
building the boxes.
(40:01):
The person at the Lakers who Idon't know, she's like an angel,
she is like of, I feel likeshe's of this world and the next
, her name's Keisha Nix andshe's always doing such good
deeds, and we had said, hey,there's a 200 box request from
LA public schools.
Is there any way you can help?
And within two days the Lakershad covered that money to build
(40:25):
the boxes.
And when we said, do you wantyou know Lakers stickers put on
them, they said no, that's notnecessary, they don't need to
know who they're from.
And so that to me is like beinginvolved with people who
understand the meaning ofcommunity is incredible.
Taking you know the find youranchor relationships and mixing
(40:46):
them in with the Lakersrelationships has been really a
beautiful thing, because goodhas come from that and I feel
like that is.
You know, somebody called myfriend a people alchemist and I
said, oh, I could only hope tobe like that, but I feel like
mixing, sprinkling in peoplewith other people, magic can
really happen and there's anexample of that that Find your
(41:12):
Anchor got really incrediblesupport from the Born this Way
Foundation with Lady Gaga andtheir Please Stay pledge, which
is amazing, and I should telleveryone to go find that pledge
and sign it, because it's animportant thing to do, to commit
to being here.
Jennifer Coronado (41:25):
The thing that I would say to you, jessie,
is you're certainly not alungs-led person because you
have walking pneumonia, but youare a heart-led person, and I
really appreciate you talking tous today.
Jessie Creel (41:36):
Oh, I enjoyed this so much and I can't wait to see
what this podcast does.
There needs to be a lot more ofit.
Jennifer Coronado (41:44):
Thank you for listening to Everyone Is.
Everyone Is is produced andedited by Chris Hawkinson,
executive producer is AaronDussault, music by Doug Infinite
.
Our logo and graphic design isby Harrison Parker and I am Jen
Coronado.
Everyone Is is a SlightlyDisappointed Productions
production, dropping every otherThursday.
Wherever podcasts are available, make sure to rate and review,
(42:05):
and maybe even like andsubscribe.
Thank you for listening.
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