Genre Reflection #2: Inside the Actors Studio

Genre Reflection #2: Inside the Actors Studio

We have a special story to tell this evening ladies and gentleman. I have the pleasure of introducing a great talent, and he will join us later to open up about his latest and much anticipated feature film. This film had been in development for many years, hype for this picture was white-hot in the summer of 2011, and the audience was bubbling with anticipation when they had been told the film was going to be released in May of 2013. However, there were some unforeseen setbacks and instead of debuting in 2013 the film was pushed back to an unknown date. While in limbo, the director and producers pulled out. This once highly anticipated film was now without direction, moving closer and closer to being thrown into the scrap heap. Left for dead and barely holding onto life, the film had managed to find a foothold. A small, independent studio, had picked up the rights to the film believing that there was still a story to tell. We now take a look into the life of the lead actor and how his life hinged on the failure and eventual success of the film.

Joshua West, the lead in the film, and master thespian from the famed Mel Brooks Academy of Improvisational Acting, was ready to break free from his comedy upbringings and test his skills as a dramatic actor. In the spring of 2011, weeks into filming, West had been tested by the fates. During a routine CT scan for possible appendicitis, doctors had found something many of them had never seen, or heard of before. West had an aneurysm located on his superior mesenteric vein and doctors were quite unsure of how to handle the situation. After months of meeting with specialists it was decided that the best option was to do nothing since the aneurysm posed little threat at this time. Mr. West continued with shooting the film as scheduled and went on as if nothing had happened. We had learned in an interview that West was having trouble keeping his mental state intact in the months following the CT scan because he was unsure of his future. This doubt caused his on screen performance to suffer, and eventually, without word, walk away from the film in late 2011 for personal reasons.

The December 2013 issue of Vanity Fair West stated, “The doctors told me everything would be fine, but the lack of medical journals covering this type of diagnosis caused me to believe that my time on this Earth would be limited.” By keeping a stiff upper lip and maintaining a stoic approach to life, West had internalized all his feelings of anxiety, causing stress and relentless doubt to creep into his psyche. Months after filming began he would have to take leave in order to recover from a mental and physical collapse in early 2012.  West’s breakdown caused his body and mind to fatigue at a frightening rate and his family was concerned for his well-being. No longer finding solace in his work, or his hobbies of playing rugby, lifting weights, and being active, West spent most of his time inside, depressed and wasting away while the world passed him by. This went on for roughly eight months until he decided to seek professional help.

West claimed that seeking help for his anxiety and depression was the best thing that he could have done for himself. After a brief encounter with a vagabond West decided it was time to either heal or give up. “I saw that there were no fundamental differences between this man and myself. He was homeless, and I was well on my way there, I lived in the backroom of a warehouse for seven months. We were both essentially moving in the same direction in life, and that’s when I knew I had hit rock bottom. I could either wither away into nothingness which I had already done a fairly good job of so far, or I could decide to make my life worth living again.” West pushed himself to come back into the world. In a few short months since seeking medical attention he returned to the rugby pitch, began exercising again, and decided to dedicate himself to making a return to acting. “I had to change my thinking habits. I studied what aggravated my anxiety and depression, and decided to clear those thoughts and activities from my life. No longer was I stressing out over things not within my control, instead, I learned to embrace the random; embrace whatever may come. I see myself as the ponds surface now, calm, tranquil, pleasing, and when life’s hardships are thrown onto me I can now accept them, push them out away from me, to the edges of the pond, until they are soon forgotten”.

News spread in early 2013 that West was wanting to get back into the spotlight. The large production studios questioned his desire to become great again. They did not want another financial nightmare that had ensued just two short years ago, and declined to offer him any roles in their upcoming films. West sought out a well-respected independent studio, Wichita Screen Uprising, WSU for short, and asked if there was any possibility of earning a feature role. As it turned out they had been in the process of securing the rights to his old movie, planning to resurrect the film he had to leave behind in 2011. West jumped at the chance to take on this challenge. “There was no greater obstacle than this film. If I was going to come full circle and redirect my life in a positive way, then I had to finish what I started four years ago. I am no longer the brash actor I was in my early twenties. I have gained nuances of wisdom and perspective that allow me to see my role in this film as something greater than myself.”

The film is scheduled to be released in May 2016, three years after the intended release date. West has been quoted as saying that the development of the film provides parallels and personification to that of his own journey. “This movie has been mired with delays, financial strains, producers leaving, directors quitting, and actors walking out on their role, yet here it is today, fighting for a chance to be seen”.   

I would like you all to stand and join me in welcoming Joshua West to the stage.