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Life & Work with Allen C. Gardner

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Allen C. Gardner.

Hi Allen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve loved storytelling and performing since I was a little kid, and I was drawn to movies pretty much right away. I started making sketches and little movies with my friends when I was 7, wrote my first screenplay when I was 14, and wrote, produced, and acted in my first feature, a completely unlicensed and debatably unwanted remake of “Halloween” when I was 17. Brad Ellis directed that movie, and he and I started Old School Pictures along with Mark Norris and Matt Weatherly while we were seniors at Houston High.

I came out to Los Angeles when I was 18, and I kept writing, producing, and acting in movies with the Old School crew, both in L.A. and back in Memphis. In my early 20s, I started teaming up with more and more people in L.A., began directing and editing as well, and I got into theater, too. After acting in several productions, I began writing and directing my own plays, and then I started my other production company, Open Dialogue Productions.

The first film that I solo directed was “Being Awesome”, which we shot in Memphis. I followed it up with “We Got Lucky”, which I initially staged as a play and then turned into a movie, “Bad, Bad Men”, which I co-directed with Brad in Memphis, “Save Yourself”, the recently released “Cold Feet”, which Brad and I also co-directed in Memphis, and the soon to be released “Baby Come Home”.

I’m writing and in pre-production on several other projects right now, and I currently work various gigs as a writer, director, editor, producer, and actor in order to make ends meet and keep creating projects.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say that the road I’ve been on has absolutely not been smooth at all. Ha!

Some of the struggles have included dealing with rejection and sometimes unnecessarily harsh criticism, dealing with exceedingly selfish or opportunistic people, financial hardships, feeling completely lost or frustrated at times, and the difficulties of juggling and actualizing a wide range of projects with limited resources and time.

All of that being said, it has been an incredibly fulfilling and invigorating journey, and I’m so grateful for all the opportunities that I’ve had and the people I’ve connected with over the years, from collaborators to fans. All of the hardships have been so much more than worth it. I feel extremely fortunate, and I’m excited for everything that’s happening and everything that lies ahead!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Depending on the project, I write, direct, act, produce, or edit.

Sometimes I do just one of those things on a project, and sometimes I do several or all five of those jobs. I would say that, in regards to all of those skill sets, I specialize in character-driven stories in which people are grappling with their insecurities and fears while trying to be honest with themselves and connect with others.

Whether characters are trying to hide from the world or they’re dealing with the slings and arrows that came from putting themselves out there, I deal a lot with vulnerability and people struggling to communicate. As for what I’m proudest of in regards to my work, I’d say it’s anytime someone has connected with or felt something for one of my characters.

Anytime I’ve been a part of creating a moment that resonates with someone and elicits any kind of emotional response, I feel a great sense of accomplishment.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
People often forecast things about my industry, and I’ve certainly seen some of them play out as projected, especially over the last few years and in regards to streaming, but I don’t really have any predictions of my own.

While I certainly try to remain aware of the various ways in which movies and shows are being made available, and I always like to know what’s going on in pop culture and in the indie world, I don’t want any of that to influence me creatively. I do like the idea of writing for different formats and exploring those possibilities, though, as long as the characters and themes and stories I’m relaying are in line with my own sensibilities and principles.

So, yeah, as for where my industry will be in 5 to 10 years, I have no idea! Ha! I just know that I’ll continue to tell stories I feel compelled to tell and get them out there one way or another. I also know that no matter what other means of storytelling I explore and what happens to the film industry, I’ll always make movies.

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Image Credits
Headshot photographed by Cornelious Jordan

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