From Director Will Sullivan:

Creating a film is like raising a child - from it's inception (the idea) to sending it out into the world (distribution), the process can take years. It demands your constant attention, nurturing, and just like an infant, can stress you out, make you cry, and keep you up all night.

Why would anyone put themselves through this? Well, ask any parent, and they’ll tell you something along the lines of “this little person is a piece of me, it’s a part of me.”

When it comes to choosing “The Next Project” I’m of the the belief that that story must be something that sparks you - moves you to the point of wanting to spend every waking moment of your free time thinking about how you’ll mold this thing into being. Moves you to putting a piece of your heart on the page/screen, vulnerable and exposed for everyone to see.

The story must be important. Important to you, important to an audience. Otherwise, it’s not worth anyone’s time, and certainly not anyone’s money. Too often I see filmmakers grinding away on projects where the script makes me shrug, where everyone loses interest before the home stretch, and the production churns out a half-assed, easily digestible re-pack of something that’s already been done.

I’ve realized that what has now become “The Next Project,” is something that I’ve been thinking about for a fairly long time. I’m gay, I’ve struggled a lot with the idea of finding a “soul mate"... But guess what!? I did, I found him, and I fell in love. Wouldn’t that make a great story!?

Sounds to me like that’s already been done.

We watch movies not only to escape, but to find ourselves in the characters, and ride the story with them. And I’ve found that in the content around me, something is missing. Where are the stories about gay men, in long-term committed relationships? Stories not about falling in love, but about making it last. As I approach my two-year anniversary with my boyfriend, this is something I think is important. In an industry of recycled plot points about breaks-ups, affairs, and one night stands, the examination of the long-term relationship is something that I deem worth of people’s time - that a young closeted gay man can watch, and say: “Someday, I want this for myself.”

So here I go, raising another baby. Hoping and praying it will turn out the way I want to it to. But if history tells me anything - if something is important enough, if it SPARKS you, if you love it enough, if you put a little piece of yourself in it, and if you surround yourself with a cast and crew that believes in your spark... it might just get accepted to an Ivy League college.