A Conversation with the Filmmakers of "My Dead Friend Zoe"
We will be discussing the upcoming film My Dead Friend Zoe with filmmakers Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, AJ Bermudez and Legion M CEO, Paul Scanlan. Hear how the film came to fruition: from script to financing to putting together the team. The film will have its world premiere at SXSW 2024.
Time Stamps:
0:00 - Introduction of “My Friend Zoe”
1:09 - A Veteran Experience
3:53 - Jumping Onto A Train Already In Motion
5:35 - Fighting In Collaboration
8:40 - Being Invited to Play At Someone’s House (Importance of Resilience)
14:09 - Writing Women In War
16:39 - The First Steps
23:36 - In Hollywood Nothing Happens
37:05 - Filming and Financing
43:56 - the Final Product vs The beginning
45:22 - questions- post it notes and index cards
A. J. Bermudez is an award-winning screenwriter, author, and filmmaker who divides her time between Los Angeles and New York. She co-wrote the film MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE (2024) with director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes. Her first book, STORIES NO ONE HOPES ARE ABOUT THEM, won the 2022 Iowa Short Fiction Award and was a 2023 Lambda Award Finalist. Past screenwriting projects include iCON (Winner of the PAGE International Screenwriting Award), THE FACE OF THE EARTH (Winner of the Diverse Voices Award), and NIGHTINGALE (Winner of the ISA Shoot-Your-Sizzle Prize). Bermudez is a Steinbeck Fellow and one of the ISA’s Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch.
Kyle Hausmann-Stokes is an award-winning director and writer based in Los Angeles. Like all filmmakers, he got his start as a paratrooper in the US Army. He served 5 years in the US Army and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service as a convoy commander in Iraq. Kyle is a graduate of USC's School of Cinematic Arts and co-founder of the nonprofit organization Veterans in Media & Entertainment. He's directed films for Google, IBM, US Air Force, UPS and the US Dept of Veterans Affairs. In 2018 Kyle wrote/directed the Veterans for Gun Reform film for #MarchForOurLives (35 million views). Kyle wrote/directed the show Meals Ready to Eat for PBS and Petals Through Pavement for REI & Tastemade. His first feature length film, My Dead Friend Zoe, is a dark buddy comedy about PTSD. Kyle was born and raised in Madison, WI and resides in Glendale, CA.
Paul Scanlan is an Emmy Award-winning co-founder and CEO of Legion M, an innovative entertainment company that puts fans at the center of everything they do. With a focus on discovering and producing original and breakthrough films and television content, Scanlan and the team at Legion M are producing a diverse slate of projects and reshaping how content gets made.
Prior to Legion M, Paul was co-founder and President of MobiTV, a trailblazing streaming TV service that garnered an Emmy Award and revolutionized content consumption.
Demonstrating his drive for new ventures, Scanlan ventured into uncharted territory and launched Legion M in 2016. Since then the company has had multiple record-breaking rounds of financing and helped produce and release many notable projects including “Mandy,” “Colossal,” "Archenemy," plus new films "William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill" (releasing in March), "The Man in the White Van," (releasing later Q3 2023), and the much-anticipated world premiere of “My Dead Friend Zoe” at SXSW in March.
In addition to his work with Legion M, Scanlan is an energized entrepreneur, investor, advisor, avid ice hockey player, and amateur wine-maker. He shares his experiences as an adjunct professor at Northwestern Kellogg and Pritzker Law School, teaching a highly regarded course on building innovation, teams, and culture.
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