May 20, 2024 • 29 mins
On this week's episode: Jamie talks to Brandon Scales, a local New England actor, about his film career and upcoming projects. A non-spoiler review of John Krasinski's "IF" film.
New England's film industry is booming with multiple projects constantly under production. Projects include commercials, television shows and full-length feature films.
Jamie and James are hosts of The Hub on Hollywood. The podcast focuses on New England's growing film industry, as well as entertainment news and reviews.
SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM & TikTok!
New England's film industry is booming with multiple projects constantly under production. Projects include commercials, television shows and full-length feature films.
Jamie and James are hosts of The Hub on Hollywood. The podcast focuses on New England's growing film industry, as well as entertainment news and reviews.
SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM & TikTok!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Welcome to the hav On Hollywood.I'm your host Jamie Blanco. James Rojas
will be back with us next week. This week, we have an interview
with the talented, very talented localactor Brandon Scales. I have a review
of the family film If. Butfirst, a production kicking off on Martha's
Vineyard this week is creating some buzzHollywood. Back on the Vineyard. It's
(00:27):
not Jaws this time, but Cruzfor the adaptation of Judy Bloom's nineteen seventy
five novel Forever, are in thearea. The Vineyard Haven Terminal was the
scene of some of this filming.The steamship authority shared some photos on their
social media, which was very excitingfor them. It's a love story,
(00:50):
obviously directed by Mara Block and itlooks like the actors are having a really
great time. This is starring SimoneLove I believe and Michael Cooper Junior are
the leads, so this is goingto be a fun one. Boston Casting
(01:10):
is responsible for the casting on thisone. They're looking for people. They're
looking for people of African American descentbetween the ages of six and sixty who
already live out there on Martha's Vineyardbecause of the ferry schedules and logistics involved
(01:30):
with getting extras out there, they'rejust looking for local residents right now.
So if you haven't already reached outto Boston Casting, it's Martha's Vineyard Extras
at gmail dot com. Send themyour contact information of photo and maybe you
get to be in a Judy Bloomfilm currently in production on the Vineyard.
(01:53):
Dead City season two also still inproduction right now in various locations around New
England. They're gonna be shooting throughthe summer, so that's really exciting.
Kendall Cooper Casting dot com for thatone. If you'd like to have a
chance to be in Dead City,maybe you want to be a walker,
(02:14):
you know, maybe you want tobe a soldier. Lots of opportunities there
and very exciting one at that.Lots of great photos from fans who have
been camped outside of the sets andcatching lots of great footage of the zombies
of Meagan and all of that,so that one is really cool. Also
(02:39):
very cool our interview with a verytalented local actor right now. He is
starring in an upcoming short film calledTrumpet Gumbo. So without further Ado.
Here is our interview with mister BrandonScales, a New England actor. He's
worked across from some of the biggestnames in the biz. He's worked three
(03:02):
times with Mark Wahlberg. Is thatright? Absolutely yes, opposite Taiko Ytt,
Ryan Reynolds and Jody Comer in thein Free guy got his big break
on the set of Patriot Day andis now promoting a new proof of concept
film called Trumpet Gumbo. So muchto talk about here, So Brandon,
(03:25):
thank you for being with us.Amahab on Hollywood. Hey, thank you.
You know I'm gonna take my jacketoff and get nice and comfortable.
I'm so excited to be here.Thank you so much for having me.
You're welcome. So you know,like I told you before we started recording
here, we just we love havinglocal talent on the podcast, anyone involved
(03:46):
with filmmaking, especially here in NewEngland. So why don't you start off
by telling us a little bit abouthow you got into acting, why this
was your dream, how you gotinto acting, and then we'll talk about
how you got your big break.Absolutely so, I mean, I started
off watching movies as a child.I love all types of movies, shows,
(04:09):
I mean, I spent all mytime in front of a television,
and you know, when I wasyounger, it was like being on TV
was like some kind of distant thingthat you know, only special people got
to do. And of course Iwanted to be special too, so I
wanted to be inside the TV likeeveryone else. And I started off doing
plays in elementary school way back inearly early nineties, and from there I
(04:33):
went to middle school. I gotinto the drama club, you know,
and everyone else was playing football andeverything. You know, I wanted to
do drama and so I did that. And you know, some time went
by and found myself on a setof Ted Too, and you know,
it was like kind of teetering onwhether or not I really wanted to do
(04:56):
this, and you know I kindof caught the buck from there and was
like, know what this is it. You know, I'm gonna stick with
it. And you know, it'spretty much how I got started amazing.
And you know, I do alot of background too, and I had
been letting you know before and somepeople who watched The Hub on Hollywood know
that you know, James is ajournalist. We you know, I started
off as a journalist and there camea day where it's like, hey,
(05:20):
let me check this out. They'relooking for background on you know, on
a film here or a TV showthere, and you get the bug,
you know, when you're on setand you see how the movie is made
and and and put together, andit's just what about it excited you?
I think, you know, thejob I had before that, I was
(05:42):
a bank teller, and I remembersitting behind that tele line at the bank
and on a nice beautiful day justlooking out the window and being like,
man, I'm stuck in this buildingfor another eight hours. And so when
I when I finally got on themovie set, which I mean, I
was extremely happy to be there,and you know, and I finally got
on a set, and you know, I was I remember watching Mark Wahlberg,
(06:05):
you know, do his his thing, and I was just thinking,
like, man, what a cooljob he has. That's what I thought
then, what a cool job hehas. And I just wanted to do
that. I mean, I feellike, you know, making movies is
a privilege. Being an actor asa privilege. You know, I've had
(06:26):
a lot of jobs in the past. I've dug ditches, I've cleaned pipes,
I've I've had some tough jobs,and so you know, to be
able to do this and earn aliving from it, to me is I
mean, it's no brainer, Likewhy why wouldn't you want to write?
And it's telling stories in such asuch a beautiful way, such a cool
way. So tell us about thisbig break of yours. So you were
(06:50):
doing background and then something happened,the thing that every background actor dreams about
happened to you. Tell us aboutit, you know. So, I
mean, we're on a set ofPatriots Day, and I mean I remember
a couple of years before that theactual event happening, and like, you
know how much devastated the city.And so I was really happy to be
(07:14):
on the set. And you know, I wound up on a set as
a background actor, a non unionbackground actor at that. And when I
got on a set, there wasmy partner that was in the scene with
me. It was him and acouple of other people, but his name
was Matt. Matt Floorial shout outto Matt. He said to Matta,
set. You know, Matt,this movie is serious, you know,
(07:38):
And I'm noticing a lot of thesebackground actors really want to be in front
of the camera. You know,let's not try to do that. Let's
actually if we're in the background,let's really add to this. Let's really
be immersed in this and whatever thisis. And so he was like,
you know what, I'm with you. We started doing that other background seeing
(08:00):
it, and they were like,hey, you know what, We're gonna
join in, and we all cameup with our own little scenario of like
what it was that we were doing. They said, you know, Brandon,
you can play our supervisor and you'regonna be on the phones and YadA
YadA. So we did it.The director, Peter Berg, saw what
we were doing in the background andliked it, and he comes over to
me. He's like, you know, I want I want him to say
(08:24):
something, and you know, everyonewas looking and I was like, oh
wow. So you know the goodthing about the film in that movie is
we actually had the first responders there, the ones that actually, you know,
we're at the marathon bombing and theones that worked the case. And
so he says to the FBI agent, He's like, you know, what
would he say if he was onthe phones, And so the FBI agent's
(08:46):
like, oh, well, hewould say this and he would say that.
You know, Pete's like, areyou writing this down? I'm like,
yes, I'm writing it down.He's like, okay, you're ready
action, Wow, no pressure,no right, I mean all the lights,
all the camera, everyone's looking atyou. And I nailed the lines
on my first take. One ofthe important things that I think, you
(09:09):
know, actors and you know,anyone looking for the opportunity has to remember
is opportunities come once in a lifetime, but they do come. They do
come. Sometimes they come in inways where you don't see it. You
don't see this is like a hugeopportunity, or you may see this as
like, oh this is great,I get to speaking to more. This
(09:33):
is actually a massive opportunity, especiallyfor someone like me who's been waiting for
this for a while. So yeah, you have to be ready for your
opportunity. You have to be preparedbecause if you fumble the ball, I
mean, when's the next time you'regoing to get a pass again? Right?
So I nailed it on my firsttake, and I and he loved
(09:56):
it, and I came back thenext day. He had a whole scene
like just for me in the movie, and we shot it. We did
it and you know the rest ishistory, all right? And did it
make the movie? Everything that Idid in the movie made the movie.
Not only that, but I hadto go and do some a d R
(10:16):
recording. I wish, I wishwe could show people a clip of the
movie. It would be that'd begreat. Yeah, well, we'll see.
If we'll do some sleuthing, we'llwe'll try to find it, maybe
fit it in right here. Soif we did, we're recreating the scene.
But every item down exactly where itwas found. We need to spread
out here, lay some paper down, Let the stuff here dry. I
(10:39):
don't wanted the great DNA. Pickup the phone, get the paper here.
If you come across any clothing that'sor targe, separate that. I
need to have somebody collect these cellphones here, get them down the cart.
And this is not the last timethat you got to work with Peter
Berg. Correct, you're talking aboutall tunity. Yeah, yeah, I
(11:01):
mean one of the one of thegreat things. You know, if you
are hard working and you help addto someone's vision, people remember that if
it's if you're selfless. A lotof this is about being selfless man.
That's the reason why we tell thesestories. I mean a lot of us
struggle to tell these stories. Imean, our finances probably aren't the best.
(11:26):
We are probably on our sixth uhshut off notice on whatever utility gas
build there is. I mean,we go through a lot to tell these
stories. And so when you're selflessand it's about, you know, not
becoming famous, but actually telling agreat story. The person who's directing the
(11:46):
film was making a film. Theylove that, They love that. And
so one of the good good thingsabout p is you know, he remembered
me. And I end up seeingthem on a on a set of a
commercial, and he rememb me rightaway, and you know, we spoken
long and behold seven months later,I'm on the set of Mile twenty two,
(12:07):
right, and that's with Mark Wahlberg. Correct, Yeah, Mark Wahlberg,
Ronda Rousey, Lauren Coy and JohnMalkovich. And what did you get
to do on that one? Soon that one, I played Jacob Stone.
I played a a analyst, aUS embassy analyst, and you know,
(12:30):
pretty much my job was almost youknow, kind of like a nerdy
type of type of hacker. Yeah, so I imagine you feel pretty good
about being a working actor in NewEngland. How do you feel about the
opportunities that there are there are hereand yeah, how do you feel about
the opportunities here versus h New YorkLA? Do you feel like you can
(12:54):
be a working actor here? Imean, Jamie, that's such question.
Goodness. I mean, I'm hesitatingbecause I want to be nice. I
mean, yeah, it's it's Isit possible to be a working actor in
New England? Sure, it's Imean it's it's possible. But I mean,
(13:18):
I think that one of the thingsthat New York and l A,
those markets have on us is thethe the filmmakers that are there. They're
actually creating, They're creating films formarket, They're creating films for consumption.
And I think that here in NewEngland, in order for us to sustain
(13:39):
ourselves here, we actually need tomake films not just for the artistry of
it or you know, winning thefilm festival, but for actual consumers.
And I think that's something that,you know, if we look to that
area and we can actually, youknow, we get through the business of
making a film, not just thecreative aspect of making a film, not
(14:03):
just the the going a set andhaving good cameras, but the actual business
and the marketing plan of a film, I think that we would do a
lot better and a lot of usactors here would be able to sustain ourselves
and be able to thrive from doingthat. Yeah, I know there were
(14:24):
many There were a few consecutive yearsthere where there were more and more and
more projects, but I think thingshave slowed down a little bit since the
strikes, still kind of clawing ourway back, trying to get things ramped
back up. So I'm just lookingforward to seeing that as well, because
(14:45):
we are Hollywood East and it hasseemed like there has been more opportunities,
like it's been a growing market forfilm here, for the bigger ones,
like you had mentioned, the moremarketable, bigger, blow buster, tight
you know film. So I'm justhoping to see more of that. Was
there any other moment on set thathas been your favorite so far? I
(15:11):
mean, I mean there's so there'sso many great ones. I remember working
on A Free Guy and just beingable to first of all, I mean
everyone that worked on that movie wasjust amazing. Every single person was just
amazing. And uh, I hada moment with Ryan and Sean on on
(15:33):
that movie that very very much standsout to me. It was, it
was, it was really good.You know, we kind of bonded.
We had like a three way hug. Yeah. Pretty cool. Yeah,
yeah, that is pretty cool.Buddy Buddy with the Deadpool there, so
tell us a little bit about trumpetgumbo. So this is a proof of
(15:56):
concept film, is that right?Yes, it is. It's set film.
It's written by written, directed byBrad See. I mean, Brad
is just such an amazing person.I've been working with Brad Low for several
years on a few films and thisfilm it takes place in New Orleans and
it's about chef Buddy Bontap who isan aspiring chef. He won restaurant Roulette
(16:23):
and now he has a mentorship thathe has to do with Chef de Luca,
who is this hard hitting Gordon Ramsey, Gordon Ramsey type chef, real
strict, real structure by the book, and he sort of puts Buddy through
the ringer. This is this isa such a great story. Buddy's father,
(16:47):
you know, he lost his fatherin Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and
so you know Buddy's being raised byyou know, his mother and when you're
young and you're being raised in thestreets. I mean he literally hustled food,
you know, from a food truck. And so I really really love
(17:11):
this story and I think it's goingto be amazing. Yeah, and so
how do you get into the mindsetof that character. How are you sort
of preparing both to play the characterand to get this movie made with with
other local filmmakers. Well, thefirst first step was just having a conversation
with Brad and just really you know, kind of diving into the story and
(17:33):
really understanding, you know, whatit was that he is looking for.
And you know, once once thathas been established, then what I what
I love to do is just kindof understand the character's backstory, who he
is, where he comes from.Where he comes from says a lot about
who he is as well, wherehe's raised at, you know, the
environment in the areas, whose parentsare and you know, once once I
(17:59):
can stand that and kind of understandthe lingo and a dialect, and it's
really important to understand his motivations,why he wants what he wants, why
he fights for what he fights for, and you know, ultimately I like
to know what his purpose is.And so Really, what I've been doing
(18:22):
is just kind of you know,studying the New Orleans scene. And you
know, Buddy's father was a jazzplayer. New Orleans jazz in particular,
there's a difference, and so I'vejust been really listening to a lot of
New Orleans jazz and really, youknow, understanding the city of New Orleans
and the people there. I mean, you know, those people must be
(18:42):
some extremely strong people, you know, to overcome what they had to endure.
And I know the city still hasn'tbeen the same since the hurricane and
a lot of people were lost,and you know what that's done to people.
So really just kind of diving intothat and understanding that has really helped
me to you know, understand thecharacter a lot better. And so how
(19:03):
can people help to get this made? Like, how can people help in
the process of creating this proof ofconcept? Be a part of it,
and maybe you know, get towatch it too. Absolutely, I mean
really what we need is you knowfunding, you know, funding to make
the film. That always helps,you know, even if you know all
(19:26):
you have is five dollars to donate, trust me, I mean, all
of that helps. We have anindiego go and if you like to go,
you can go into the Indiego Goand you can check out the video
that's there and you can read upon the synopsis. That will help.
Also, you know, sharing thestory, uh, sharing the the the
(19:48):
the video that we have there,you know that helps, just spreading the
word so we can really get awider audience to view it and to watch
it. I mean things like that. Just that that helps a lot as
well. So what happens with aproof of concept once it's created and done,
what's the next step where does itgo? Really? To take it
(20:11):
and to submit it into film festivals. I mean, if you can get
it into festivals and you can getinto the right festival, the festivals with
the distributors, then you have agood chance of someone watching it and saying,
hey, that looks great. Ithink I want to be a part
of that, and you know,helping to see this come to fruition.
(20:34):
It's important when you have a proofof concept to actually have the script ready
to go after. There's no sensein doing a proof of concept and you
haven't written the script yet because thenif someone likes it and they're like,
hey, can I see the script? Right? So definitely having the script
done and kind of having that packagecomplete. And once you can get it
(20:56):
into a good festival, you geta distributor who likes it, you know,
or you know, a sales agentwho potentially wants to take it and
shop it around and get it pickedup. You know, then you are
starting to work deals with streaming platformsor places to you know, fund the
larger film. Yeah, right,And so why is this story important to
(21:19):
tell? I think this story isimportant to tell because, I mean,
when you think about what the firstof all, just the story of New
Orleans itself, to me is justan epic story of survival, of endurance,
(21:40):
of courage, of bravery. Andyou know this story, you know
it. It shows a young manwho has to cope with the loss of
his father and how food helped himto connect with his father again. And
(22:00):
I think that in itself, justhaving people understand that dynamic that you know,
dynamic of you know, a childlosing a parent and you know,
a young man losing a father andyou know, having to overcome that.
I think, you know, astory like that, can you know,
help people understand better what it isthat you know, these types of people
(22:22):
go through, So I think that'swhy the story is important to tell.
It sounds like there's a lot ofhumanity there that can resonate for sure.
So Brenton, tell us, arethere any other projects that you're working on,
that you have worked on that wecan see you in that we can
look forward to. I am thelead actor and producer and the film Billies
(22:42):
Excuse Me and Trumpet Gumbo, Soplease look for trump at Gumbo. This
movie is gonna be epic. Helpus out by donating to any googo that
would help as well. I justdirected my first short film to a movie
called Billy Something. It's an actioncomedy about a retire boxer who's broke down,
(23:03):
down and out and has to takea job that he doesn't want in
order to make some money. It'sstarring Brahms, Gunnard, him A Hernandez,
and Naim Garcia. It's it's gonnabe amazing. I'm also writing a
series called Hardened. We also havea proof of concept for that and uh
(23:26):
yeah, I got I got acouple of things going on. All right,
you're a busy guy, So wherecan people find you? Do you
have handles? A website? Wherecan people find you support you, so
you can follow me. I'm onInstagram at Brandon Scott Scales on Instagram.
Uh follow me, you know,keep up to date with with what I
(23:48):
got going on, and uh,you know, I hope to see you
guys soon. Awesome, all right, Brandon Scales, thank you so much
for being on the Hub on Hollywood. Yes, thank you. Thank you
so much, Brandon for being withus. Check the links below for the
indie Go Go page if you'd liketo support that film that is being put
together as a proof of concept rightnow, and for more content like this,
(24:14):
for more local filming, local talent, everything to do with movies and
movie making and loving films here inNew England. Give us a like,
give us a share, subscribe,follow We're everywhere that you listen to podcasts,
Apple podcasts, iHeartRadio, etc.Etc. You can watch us and
(24:34):
our beautiful faces on YouTube, Soplease like us, Please subscribe, please
share, because that helps us tocontinue to bring this content to you.
And if you are a local filmmaker, you are someone who is bringing movie
magic to life, bringing your ideasto the screen, whether you're an actor,
(24:56):
a director, a stunt guy.We love all of it and love
to feature your work here on theHub on Hollywood. So please reach out
to us and we will share thelove with you. And speaking of sharing
the love, I really enjoyed thenew movie if IF, which stands for
Imaginary Friends during John Krasinski, RyanReynolds, Kaylie Fleming, and a whole
(25:22):
host of als celebrities who voice theactual imaginary friends themselves. So the premise
of this movie, after discovering thatshe can see everyone's imaginary friends, a
young girl embarks on a magical adventureto reconnect forgotten ifs with their kids who
are now adults. I want togo see this with my eight year old
(25:45):
son, and he really enjoyed it. I was very much on the fence.
I was very iffy about this.I didn't exactly love the character designs
of the imaginary friends, and Ithought that, you know, it could
have been poorly done, very easily. The CGI and all of that could
(26:06):
have really run away with this story. But I think that they did a
good job in reigining that in enough. But the sequences where it's just all
imagination and all creatures, that iswhere the story gets a little bit muddled
and a little bit slower or moredifficult to follow, not knowing you know
(26:27):
exactly where are we, what's goingon, what's happening in terms of the
story. But other than that,this has a really good rating on Fandango,
eighty seven percent on Fandango, whichare the fans that have been right
putting their reviews. Rotten Tomatoes however, not agreeing forty eight percent on the
(26:48):
fresh meter there with Rotten Tomatoes.But if you're just looking for, you
know, a simple film, thestory is very emotional. Without giving away
any spoilers or anything. John Cricinskiplays the father. Kaylie Flemings does just
a beautiful performance from such a youngactress. There are some really emotional beats
(27:11):
in this film, especially towards theend, and I was very impressed with
her acting abilities. Ryan Reynolds isRyan Reynolds. Obviously, he is a
character that we are not exactly surewho or what he is without giving anything
away, so but I feel likeRyan Reynolds in a lot of his recent
(27:33):
movies has become a little bit onenote, has been a little bit deadpool
and everything that he does, Idon't know, do you agree with me?
Do you not agree with me?Let us know? In the comments
below, But I did you know. I love Ryan Reynolds, but I
think I'd like to see a littlebit more seriousness from him, and I
think that he attempts that in thisfilm, but I don't exactly know that
(27:57):
his performance lands. Fortunately, itdoesn't overshadow the amazing job that Kaylie Fleming
does in this film. So ifyou're just looking for something that I think
that your kids will enjoy, Ithink that this is a great movie to
go out and see. I thinkit looks great on the big screen.
(28:19):
It sounds great on the big screen. So if you want something nice to
go, take your kids too thatalso deals with mental health issues, with
anxieties, with fears. I thinkit's just it's perfect, It's fine.
It's great for that and for yourkids. Was it the most spectacular movie
I've ever seen? But I don'tthink it deserves the forty eight percent on
(28:41):
the Rotten Tomato scale that it iscurrently getting. John Krasinski. I love
that he brings in his wife EmilyBlunt, He's got Steve Carell from the
Office, and among the characters whovoice the imaginary creatures, the imaginary friends.
So let's say I give it asolid seven out of ten Shirtless Kylo
(29:04):
Renz. That's pretty good for me. But what do you think? What
do you think about the movie?If did you enjoy our interview with Brandon's
Skills? What movies are you apart of that are filming in the New
England area right now? Reach outto us. We'll feature you here on
the hubb on Hollywood. Thank youfor joining us and until then, until
(29:30):
next week, I'm Jamie Blanco.You have a fabulous week. We'll see
you bye.
Welcome to the hav On Hollywood.I'm your host Jamie Blanco. James Rojas
will be back with us next week. This week, we have an interview
with the talented, very talented localactor Brandon Scales. I have a review
of the family film If. Butfirst, a production kicking off on Martha's
Vineyard this week is creating some buzzHollywood. Back on the Vineyard. It's
(00:27):
not Jaws this time, but Cruzfor the adaptation of Judy Bloom's nineteen seventy
five novel Forever, are in thearea. The Vineyard Haven Terminal was the
scene of some of this filming.The steamship authority shared some photos on their
social media, which was very excitingfor them. It's a love story,
(00:50):
obviously directed by Mara Block and itlooks like the actors are having a really
great time. This is starring SimoneLove I believe and Michael Cooper Junior are
the leads, so this is goingto be a fun one. Boston Casting
(01:10):
is responsible for the casting on thisone. They're looking for people. They're
looking for people of African American descentbetween the ages of six and sixty who
already live out there on Martha's Vineyardbecause of the ferry schedules and logistics involved
(01:30):
with getting extras out there, they'rejust looking for local residents right now.
So if you haven't already reached outto Boston Casting, it's Martha's Vineyard Extras
at gmail dot com. Send themyour contact information of photo and maybe you
get to be in a Judy Bloomfilm currently in production on the Vineyard.
(01:53):
Dead City season two also still inproduction right now in various locations around New
England. They're gonna be shooting throughthe summer, so that's really exciting.
Kendall Cooper Casting dot com for thatone. If you'd like to have a
chance to be in Dead City,maybe you want to be a walker,
(02:14):
you know, maybe you want tobe a soldier. Lots of opportunities there
and very exciting one at that.Lots of great photos from fans who have
been camped outside of the sets andcatching lots of great footage of the zombies
of Meagan and all of that,so that one is really cool. Also
(02:39):
very cool our interview with a verytalented local actor right now. He is
starring in an upcoming short film calledTrumpet Gumbo. So without further Ado.
Here is our interview with mister BrandonScales, a New England actor. He's
worked across from some of the biggestnames in the biz. He's worked three
(03:02):
times with Mark Wahlberg. Is thatright? Absolutely yes, opposite Taiko Ytt,
Ryan Reynolds and Jody Comer in thein Free guy got his big break
on the set of Patriot Day andis now promoting a new proof of concept
film called Trumpet Gumbo. So muchto talk about here, So Brandon,
(03:25):
thank you for being with us.Amahab on Hollywood. Hey, thank you.
You know I'm gonna take my jacketoff and get nice and comfortable.
I'm so excited to be here.Thank you so much for having me.
You're welcome. So you know,like I told you before we started recording
here, we just we love havinglocal talent on the podcast, anyone involved
(03:46):
with filmmaking, especially here in NewEngland. So why don't you start off
by telling us a little bit abouthow you got into acting, why this
was your dream, how you gotinto acting, and then we'll talk about
how you got your big break.Absolutely so, I mean, I started
off watching movies as a child.I love all types of movies, shows,
(04:09):
I mean, I spent all mytime in front of a television,
and you know, when I wasyounger, it was like being on TV
was like some kind of distant thingthat you know, only special people got
to do. And of course Iwanted to be special too, so I
wanted to be inside the TV likeeveryone else. And I started off doing
plays in elementary school way back inearly early nineties, and from there I
(04:33):
went to middle school. I gotinto the drama club, you know,
and everyone else was playing football andeverything. You know, I wanted to
do drama and so I did that. And you know, some time went
by and found myself on a setof Ted Too, and you know,
it was like kind of teetering onwhether or not I really wanted to do
(04:56):
this, and you know I kindof caught the buck from there and was
like, know what this is it. You know, I'm gonna stick with
it. And you know, it'spretty much how I got started amazing.
And you know, I do alot of background too, and I had
been letting you know before and somepeople who watched The Hub on Hollywood know
that you know, James is ajournalist. We you know, I started
off as a journalist and there camea day where it's like, hey,
(05:20):
let me check this out. They'relooking for background on you know, on
a film here or a TV showthere, and you get the bug,
you know, when you're on setand you see how the movie is made
and and and put together, andit's just what about it excited you?
I think, you know, thejob I had before that, I was
(05:42):
a bank teller, and I remembersitting behind that tele line at the bank
and on a nice beautiful day justlooking out the window and being like,
man, I'm stuck in this buildingfor another eight hours. And so when
I when I finally got on themovie set, which I mean, I
was extremely happy to be there,and you know, and I finally got
on a set, and you know, I was I remember watching Mark Wahlberg,
(06:05):
you know, do his his thing, and I was just thinking,
like, man, what a cooljob he has. That's what I thought
then, what a cool job hehas. And I just wanted to do
that. I mean, I feellike, you know, making movies is
a privilege. Being an actor asa privilege. You know, I've had
(06:26):
a lot of jobs in the past. I've dug ditches, I've cleaned pipes,
I've I've had some tough jobs,and so you know, to be
able to do this and earn aliving from it, to me is I
mean, it's no brainer, Likewhy why wouldn't you want to write?
And it's telling stories in such asuch a beautiful way, such a cool
way. So tell us about thisbig break of yours. So you were
(06:50):
doing background and then something happened,the thing that every background actor dreams about
happened to you. Tell us aboutit, you know. So, I
mean, we're on a set ofPatriots Day, and I mean I remember
a couple of years before that theactual event happening, and like, you
know how much devastated the city.And so I was really happy to be
(07:14):
on the set. And you know, I wound up on a set as
a background actor, a non unionbackground actor at that. And when I
got on a set, there wasmy partner that was in the scene with
me. It was him and acouple of other people, but his name
was Matt. Matt Floorial shout outto Matt. He said to Matta,
set. You know, Matt,this movie is serious, you know,
(07:38):
And I'm noticing a lot of thesebackground actors really want to be in front
of the camera. You know,let's not try to do that. Let's
actually if we're in the background,let's really add to this. Let's really
be immersed in this and whatever thisis. And so he was like,
you know what, I'm with you. We started doing that other background seeing
(08:00):
it, and they were like,hey, you know what, We're gonna
join in, and we all cameup with our own little scenario of like
what it was that we were doing. They said, you know, Brandon,
you can play our supervisor and you'regonna be on the phones and YadA
YadA. So we did it.The director, Peter Berg, saw what
we were doing in the background andliked it, and he comes over to
me. He's like, you know, I want I want him to say
(08:24):
something, and you know, everyonewas looking and I was like, oh
wow. So you know the goodthing about the film in that movie is
we actually had the first responders there, the ones that actually, you know,
we're at the marathon bombing and theones that worked the case. And
so he says to the FBI agent, He's like, you know, what
would he say if he was onthe phones, And so the FBI agent's
(08:46):
like, oh, well, hewould say this and he would say that.
You know, Pete's like, areyou writing this down? I'm like,
yes, I'm writing it down.He's like, okay, you're ready
action, Wow, no pressure,no right, I mean all the lights,
all the camera, everyone's looking atyou. And I nailed the lines
on my first take. One ofthe important things that I think, you
(09:09):
know, actors and you know,anyone looking for the opportunity has to remember
is opportunities come once in a lifetime, but they do come. They do
come. Sometimes they come in inways where you don't see it. You
don't see this is like a hugeopportunity, or you may see this as
like, oh this is great,I get to speaking to more. This
(09:33):
is actually a massive opportunity, especiallyfor someone like me who's been waiting for
this for a while. So yeah, you have to be ready for your
opportunity. You have to be preparedbecause if you fumble the ball, I
mean, when's the next time you'regoing to get a pass again? Right?
So I nailed it on my firsttake, and I and he loved
(09:56):
it, and I came back thenext day. He had a whole scene
like just for me in the movie, and we shot it. We did
it and you know the rest ishistory, all right? And did it
make the movie? Everything that Idid in the movie made the movie.
Not only that, but I hadto go and do some a d R
(10:16):
recording. I wish, I wishwe could show people a clip of the
movie. It would be that'd begreat. Yeah, well, we'll see.
If we'll do some sleuthing, we'llwe'll try to find it, maybe
fit it in right here. Soif we did, we're recreating the scene.
But every item down exactly where itwas found. We need to spread
out here, lay some paper down, Let the stuff here dry. I
(10:39):
don't wanted the great DNA. Pickup the phone, get the paper here.
If you come across any clothing that'sor targe, separate that. I
need to have somebody collect these cellphones here, get them down the cart.
And this is not the last timethat you got to work with Peter
Berg. Correct, you're talking aboutall tunity. Yeah, yeah, I
(11:01):
mean one of the one of thegreat things. You know, if you
are hard working and you help addto someone's vision, people remember that if
it's if you're selfless. A lotof this is about being selfless man.
That's the reason why we tell thesestories. I mean a lot of us
struggle to tell these stories. Imean, our finances probably aren't the best.
(11:26):
We are probably on our sixth uhshut off notice on whatever utility gas
build there is. I mean,we go through a lot to tell these
stories. And so when you're selflessand it's about, you know, not
becoming famous, but actually telling agreat story. The person who's directing the
(11:46):
film was making a film. Theylove that, They love that. And
so one of the good good thingsabout p is you know, he remembered
me. And I end up seeingthem on a on a set of a
commercial, and he rememb me rightaway, and you know, we spoken
long and behold seven months later,I'm on the set of Mile twenty two,
(12:07):
right, and that's with Mark Wahlberg. Correct, Yeah, Mark Wahlberg,
Ronda Rousey, Lauren Coy and JohnMalkovich. And what did you get
to do on that one? Soon that one, I played Jacob Stone.
I played a a analyst, aUS embassy analyst, and you know,
(12:30):
pretty much my job was almost youknow, kind of like a nerdy
type of type of hacker. Yeah, so I imagine you feel pretty good
about being a working actor in NewEngland. How do you feel about the
opportunities that there are there are hereand yeah, how do you feel about
the opportunities here versus h New YorkLA? Do you feel like you can
(12:54):
be a working actor here? Imean, Jamie, that's such question.
Goodness. I mean, I'm hesitatingbecause I want to be nice. I
mean, yeah, it's it's Isit possible to be a working actor in
New England? Sure, it's Imean it's it's possible. But I mean,
(13:18):
I think that one of the thingsthat New York and l A,
those markets have on us is thethe the filmmakers that are there. They're
actually creating, They're creating films formarket, They're creating films for consumption.
And I think that here in NewEngland, in order for us to sustain
(13:39):
ourselves here, we actually need tomake films not just for the artistry of
it or you know, winning thefilm festival, but for actual consumers.
And I think that's something that,you know, if we look to that
area and we can actually, youknow, we get through the business of
making a film, not just thecreative aspect of making a film, not
(14:03):
just the the going a set andhaving good cameras, but the actual business
and the marketing plan of a film, I think that we would do a
lot better and a lot of usactors here would be able to sustain ourselves
and be able to thrive from doingthat. Yeah, I know there were
(14:24):
many There were a few consecutive yearsthere where there were more and more and
more projects, but I think thingshave slowed down a little bit since the
strikes, still kind of clawing ourway back, trying to get things ramped
back up. So I'm just lookingforward to seeing that as well, because
(14:45):
we are Hollywood East and it hasseemed like there has been more opportunities,
like it's been a growing market forfilm here, for the bigger ones,
like you had mentioned, the moremarketable, bigger, blow buster, tight
you know film. So I'm justhoping to see more of that. Was
there any other moment on set thathas been your favorite so far? I
(15:11):
mean, I mean there's so there'sso many great ones. I remember working
on A Free Guy and just beingable to first of all, I mean
everyone that worked on that movie wasjust amazing. Every single person was just
amazing. And uh, I hada moment with Ryan and Sean on on
(15:33):
that movie that very very much standsout to me. It was, it
was, it was really good.You know, we kind of bonded.
We had like a three way hug. Yeah. Pretty cool. Yeah,
yeah, that is pretty cool.Buddy Buddy with the Deadpool there, so
tell us a little bit about trumpetgumbo. So this is a proof of
(15:56):
concept film, is that right?Yes, it is. It's set film.
It's written by written, directed byBrad See. I mean, Brad
is just such an amazing person.I've been working with Brad Low for several
years on a few films and thisfilm it takes place in New Orleans and
it's about chef Buddy Bontap who isan aspiring chef. He won restaurant Roulette
(16:23):
and now he has a mentorship thathe has to do with Chef de Luca,
who is this hard hitting Gordon Ramsey, Gordon Ramsey type chef, real
strict, real structure by the book, and he sort of puts Buddy through
the ringer. This is this isa such a great story. Buddy's father,
(16:47):
you know, he lost his fatherin Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and
so you know Buddy's being raised byyou know, his mother and when you're
young and you're being raised in thestreets. I mean he literally hustled food,
you know, from a food truck. And so I really really love
(17:11):
this story and I think it's goingto be amazing. Yeah, and so
how do you get into the mindsetof that character. How are you sort
of preparing both to play the characterand to get this movie made with with
other local filmmakers. Well, thefirst first step was just having a conversation
with Brad and just really you know, kind of diving into the story and
(17:33):
really understanding, you know, whatit was that he is looking for.
And you know, once once thathas been established, then what I what
I love to do is just kindof understand the character's backstory, who he
is, where he comes from.Where he comes from says a lot about
who he is as well, wherehe's raised at, you know, the
environment in the areas, whose parentsare and you know, once once I
(17:59):
can stand that and kind of understandthe lingo and a dialect, and it's
really important to understand his motivations,why he wants what he wants, why
he fights for what he fights for, and you know, ultimately I like
to know what his purpose is.And so Really, what I've been doing
(18:22):
is just kind of you know,studying the New Orleans scene. And you
know, Buddy's father was a jazzplayer. New Orleans jazz in particular,
there's a difference, and so I'vejust been really listening to a lot of
New Orleans jazz and really, youknow, understanding the city of New Orleans
and the people there. I mean, you know, those people must be
(18:42):
some extremely strong people, you know, to overcome what they had to endure.
And I know the city still hasn'tbeen the same since the hurricane and
a lot of people were lost,and you know what that's done to people.
So really just kind of diving intothat and understanding that has really helped
me to you know, understand thecharacter a lot better. And so how
(19:03):
can people help to get this made? Like, how can people help in
the process of creating this proof ofconcept? Be a part of it,
and maybe you know, get towatch it too. Absolutely, I mean
really what we need is you knowfunding, you know, funding to make
the film. That always helps,you know, even if you know all
(19:26):
you have is five dollars to donate, trust me, I mean, all
of that helps. We have anindiego go and if you like to go,
you can go into the Indiego Goand you can check out the video
that's there and you can read upon the synopsis. That will help.
Also, you know, sharing thestory, uh, sharing the the the
(19:48):
the video that we have there,you know that helps, just spreading the
word so we can really get awider audience to view it and to watch
it. I mean things like that. Just that that helps a lot as
well. So what happens with aproof of concept once it's created and done,
what's the next step where does itgo? Really? To take it
(20:11):
and to submit it into film festivals. I mean, if you can get
it into festivals and you can getinto the right festival, the festivals with
the distributors, then you have agood chance of someone watching it and saying,
hey, that looks great. Ithink I want to be a part
of that, and you know,helping to see this come to fruition.
(20:34):
It's important when you have a proofof concept to actually have the script ready
to go after. There's no sensein doing a proof of concept and you
haven't written the script yet because thenif someone likes it and they're like,
hey, can I see the script? Right? So definitely having the script
done and kind of having that packagecomplete. And once you can get it
(20:56):
into a good festival, you geta distributor who likes it, you know,
or you know, a sales agentwho potentially wants to take it and
shop it around and get it pickedup. You know, then you are
starting to work deals with streaming platformsor places to you know, fund the
larger film. Yeah, right,And so why is this story important to
(21:19):
tell? I think this story isimportant to tell because, I mean,
when you think about what the firstof all, just the story of New
Orleans itself, to me is justan epic story of survival, of endurance,
(21:40):
of courage, of bravery. Andyou know this story, you know
it. It shows a young manwho has to cope with the loss of
his father and how food helped himto connect with his father again. And
(22:00):
I think that in itself, justhaving people understand that dynamic that you know,
dynamic of you know, a childlosing a parent and you know,
a young man losing a father andyou know, having to overcome that.
I think, you know, astory like that, can you know,
help people understand better what it isthat you know, these types of people
(22:22):
go through, So I think that'swhy the story is important to tell.
It sounds like there's a lot ofhumanity there that can resonate for sure.
So Brenton, tell us, arethere any other projects that you're working on,
that you have worked on that wecan see you in that we can
look forward to. I am thelead actor and producer and the film Billies
(22:42):
Excuse Me and Trumpet Gumbo, Soplease look for trump at Gumbo. This
movie is gonna be epic. Helpus out by donating to any googo that
would help as well. I justdirected my first short film to a movie
called Billy Something. It's an actioncomedy about a retire boxer who's broke down,
(23:03):
down and out and has to takea job that he doesn't want in
order to make some money. It'sstarring Brahms, Gunnard, him A Hernandez,
and Naim Garcia. It's it's gonnabe amazing. I'm also writing a
series called Hardened. We also havea proof of concept for that and uh
(23:26):
yeah, I got I got acouple of things going on. All right,
you're a busy guy, So wherecan people find you? Do you
have handles? A website? Wherecan people find you support you, so
you can follow me. I'm onInstagram at Brandon Scott Scales on Instagram.
Uh follow me, you know,keep up to date with with what I
(23:48):
got going on, and uh,you know, I hope to see you
guys soon. Awesome, all right, Brandon Scales, thank you so much
for being on the Hub on Hollywood. Yes, thank you. Thank you
so much, Brandon for being withus. Check the links below for the
indie Go Go page if you'd liketo support that film that is being put
together as a proof of concept rightnow, and for more content like this,
(24:14):
for more local filming, local talent, everything to do with movies and
movie making and loving films here inNew England. Give us a like,
give us a share, subscribe,follow We're everywhere that you listen to podcasts,
Apple podcasts, iHeartRadio, etc.Etc. You can watch us and
(24:34):
our beautiful faces on YouTube, Soplease like us, Please subscribe, please
share, because that helps us tocontinue to bring this content to you.
And if you are a local filmmaker, you are someone who is bringing movie
magic to life, bringing your ideasto the screen, whether you're an actor,
(24:56):
a director, a stunt guy.We love all of it and love
to feature your work here on theHub on Hollywood. So please reach out
to us and we will share thelove with you. And speaking of sharing
the love, I really enjoyed thenew movie if IF, which stands for
Imaginary Friends during John Krasinski, RyanReynolds, Kaylie Fleming, and a whole
(25:22):
host of als celebrities who voice theactual imaginary friends themselves. So the premise
of this movie, after discovering thatshe can see everyone's imaginary friends, a
young girl embarks on a magical adventureto reconnect forgotten ifs with their kids who
are now adults. I want togo see this with my eight year old
(25:45):
son, and he really enjoyed it. I was very much on the fence.
I was very iffy about this.I didn't exactly love the character designs
of the imaginary friends, and Ithought that, you know, it could
have been poorly done, very easily. The CGI and all of that could
(26:06):
have really run away with this story. But I think that they did a
good job in reigining that in enough. But the sequences where it's just all
imagination and all creatures, that iswhere the story gets a little bit muddled
and a little bit slower or moredifficult to follow, not knowing you know
(26:27):
exactly where are we, what's goingon, what's happening in terms of the
story. But other than that,this has a really good rating on Fandango,
eighty seven percent on Fandango, whichare the fans that have been right
putting their reviews. Rotten Tomatoes however, not agreeing forty eight percent on the
(26:48):
fresh meter there with Rotten Tomatoes.But if you're just looking for, you
know, a simple film, thestory is very emotional. Without giving away
any spoilers or anything. John Cricinskiplays the father. Kaylie Flemings does just
a beautiful performance from such a youngactress. There are some really emotional beats
(27:11):
in this film, especially towards theend, and I was very impressed with
her acting abilities. Ryan Reynolds isRyan Reynolds. Obviously, he is a
character that we are not exactly surewho or what he is without giving anything
away, so but I feel likeRyan Reynolds in a lot of his recent
(27:33):
movies has become a little bit onenote, has been a little bit deadpool
and everything that he does, Idon't know, do you agree with me?
Do you not agree with me?Let us know? In the comments
below, But I did you know. I love Ryan Reynolds, but I
think I'd like to see a littlebit more seriousness from him, and I
think that he attempts that in thisfilm, but I don't exactly know that
(27:57):
his performance lands. Fortunately, itdoesn't overshadow the amazing job that Kaylie Fleming
does in this film. So ifyou're just looking for something that I think
that your kids will enjoy, Ithink that this is a great movie to
go out and see. I thinkit looks great on the big screen.
(28:19):
It sounds great on the big screen. So if you want something nice to
go, take your kids too thatalso deals with mental health issues, with
anxieties, with fears. I thinkit's just it's perfect, It's fine.
It's great for that and for yourkids. Was it the most spectacular movie
I've ever seen? But I don'tthink it deserves the forty eight percent on
(28:41):
the Rotten Tomato scale that it iscurrently getting. John Krasinski. I love
that he brings in his wife EmilyBlunt, He's got Steve Carell from the
Office, and among the characters whovoice the imaginary creatures, the imaginary friends.
So let's say I give it asolid seven out of ten Shirtless Kylo
(29:04):
Renz. That's pretty good for me. But what do you think? What
do you think about the movie?If did you enjoy our interview with Brandon's
Skills? What movies are you apart of that are filming in the New
England area right now? Reach outto us. We'll feature you here on
the hubb on Hollywood. Thank youfor joining us and until then, until
(29:30):
next week, I'm Jamie Blanco.You have a fabulous week. We'll see
you bye.
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