This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Robert Bannon: Are you ready? It's The Roundtable with me, Robert Bannon.

[0:09] Robert Bannon: Well everybody, listen, I have somebody here with us who's making his feature film debut. This film is going to be at the Ojai Playhouse as they're launching their big, giant, and exciting film festival that you need to hear all about. It is very exciting and I'm really very proud of everybody who's involved. It's called the Left Turn Film Festival. I'm a scaredy cat, Chris. I've been on a honeymoon. I have been married. Nobody has come into my room and tried to blackmail me, but you came up with this crazy idea, Chris, for a movie called Crumb Catcher and it's here at the film festival. Welcome to the show.

[0:46] Chris Skotchdopole: Thank you.

[0:47] Robert Bannon: Am I giving away too much?

[0:48] Chris Skotchdopole: No, no, it's all good. The movie's been out for a minute now, so cat's out of the bag, you know.

[0:56] Chris Skotchdopole: And it keeps living. It's in more films. Years later, the film festivals keep calling and coming for you, Chris. They need you to have your film in their festival.

[1:05] Chris Skotchdopole: Right. Well, I'm happy to and I look forward to seeing the other films that are there.

[1:12] Robert Bannon: How does it feel when you have had to run a festival? I don't think people understand festival circuits that it's hard. You submit films or sometimes they find your film. Sometimes they take money. Sometimes you have to go in a competition with thousands of other films. When you get the yes, when somebody says that your film matters enough that we want to feature it on our schedule, what does it feel like for somebody who put their time and energy into making it?

[1:35] Chris Skotchdopole: Good, good. I mean, is the answer. But also it just feels like, well, it's about time.

[1:48] Robert Bannon: That's my favorite answer. It is about time, everybody. You are somebody who writes and directs and produces and you've made shorts like going back a decade ago. Your first short is now, I believe, 16 years old.

[2:04] Chris Skotchdopole: Yeah. I mean, even further than that, I mean, I've been making movies since I was like in high school and stuff. I've always wanted to be doing this craziness.

[2:13] Robert Bannon: I know I read in your director's statement that you were making movies to get out of having to write essays.

[2:19] Chris Skotchdopole: That's also true. Yeah.

[2:21] Robert Bannon: So the idea of making movies started. Is there a moment in your time or a movie or an experience that made you fall in love with the filmmaking industry?

[2:30] Chris Skotchdopole: Well, my family was involved in films when I was young and still are. So I was around the set life my whole life. And my family worked for Tony Scott over, you know, they were like part of his rodeo kind of. And yeah, I just really loved the energy of that guy. And I always kind of idolized him a little bit from a young age.

[3:10] Robert Bannon: And now you have a movie like Crumb Catcher, which is your first feature. What's it mean? What's it like? Is it overwhelming? Is it exciting? It's not a short. It costs more money. It's longer. There's more editing that has to be done. There's more script writing that has to be done. There's more decisions that have to be done. Did you approach it differently because it's a feature?

[3:29] Chris Skotchdopole: No, not really. Just one step at a time. Just I think you have to just approach things. You know, there was this I. There I was living in this building once, which was like a six-story walk-up. It was like insane. And I remember the. Just having so much stress or not stress so much, just like, oh, God, I have to like go. You know, I forgot something. So I have to go up all these things. And you would sort of be dreading it like, oh, OK, I'm on the second from the third floor. And there was a point where I just stopped thinking about it and I would just started looking down at my feet. And then you never really stressed about it. You just because you were just like one step, one step, one step.

And you're not thinking about like, what floor am I on? What this is my on. So, I mean, even as I'm saying it, I'm like, I should think about that. I should think like that more. But I feel like that's a that's a thing to aspire to, to just sort of. It's a way to kind of stay true to what you're doing. And and yeah, just that everything is everything.

[4:38] Chris Skotchdopole: That's what Lauryn Hill said. Everything is everything. And there you go. Yeah, of course. That's what I'm citing. I pay the therapist a lot of money to teach me that. Take a step in the path will follow. And you just said it in 15 seconds. Interview me more. Yeah, there you go. I would have saved myself all this. I could have invested in one of your films.

[4:56] Chris Skotchdopole: Yeah, exactly. So tell me about these characters that you have. You have Leah and Shane. They're the characters in Crumb Catcher. How do you describe them and tell me about Ella and Rego who play them? What was like on set?

[5:12] Chris Skotchdopole: I think of it very simply like that. You know, I think that Shane, the main character is someone who. It just being very dumb about it, it's like he can't accept love because he doesn't love himself. And. And I think the point of the movie is to when he arrives at the end is to kind of accept love and and accept his relationship. And I and I think that that's sort of what the whole thing is. And that's a lot of what I was talking about with them, because I just feel like. You know, I think with directing, you can get lost in a lot of minutia, and I think it's better to just be like this is what we're talking about. I love it. It's going to be the performances are really beautiful and nuanced and incredible. Their relationship and their chemistry is really fun to or lack thereof is really interesting to watch on screen. It really moves you and the tenseness in your film. It's not a horror film in the sense that. How do you describe the genre, Chris?

[6:28] Chris Skotchdopole: I just think of it like. I like to think I was thinking of it a lot like a nightmare that, you know, like when you're it's like when you have a dream and you're like, it all seems normal. You were here, you were there, and then this little weird thing happened and that happened and this happened. Whoa, what's what's happening now? And like as you as you move through the dream, it feels natural that each of these steps, each of these steps don't feel like so strange that it's unbelievable. But if you were to a be where you were in the beginning to where you are in the end, you would be like that is that's like nuts. And I feel like it was sort of having that thing where you make each beat like just a little stranger than the next one.

So that when they when the audience arrives at the end, it's like, how the fuck did we get here? Like, you know, like in a dream, like if you were to describe a dream to someone and you just describe the end, they're like, whoa, what is that? But the seduction I feel like it's like all of directing is sort of seducing the audience into into a place, you know.

[7:55] Robert Bannon: And then you make a movie and then you you become one of the best horror movies of the year, according to the Hollywood Reporter. And then people clamor for it to be at film festivals. And now you can see it. It's free, by the way, the film festival, you can go for free. It's going to be in August. And you've got to be able August 8th and independent movies right there at the Ojai Playhouse, one of California's oldest independent theaters. And it's going to be and there's incredible lineup of films as well. When you this film in particular, their relationship, if I may say, he's an author and she works for the publishing company. Would you date would you date someone that works for you or in your business? Are you going to date someone on set? Is this too personal, Chris?

[8:35] Chris Skotchdopole: No, but I do. I do think that I feel like anyone who makes movies can relate to the person you date ends up being a producer on the movie. So is so in a way you kind of do not that this was, you know, my my wife, she like she runs restaurants and has no interest in film, but but it's oddly similar problem solving, you know, stuff.

[9:12] Robert Bannon: Oh, so your wife, my so your wife's in restaurants. My husband is a banker. He's an investment banker. I say he could be a producer on my movie. Just bring the check. Remember, my money is your money. Those vows meant my money is your money. I'll be a producer on something. I get that world for sure.

[9:29] Chris Skotchdopole: After all the years of all the hard work, all the shorts, all of the treatments, all the scripts, the auditions, the locations and the scouting and et cetera, when a project's done and sent out and now that it belongs to the world and people can see it, is there a fear in that or is that something that is is it like send your baby to college or is it joyful like it's done? Wrap it up, put it in the can. Let's go.

[9:50] Chris Skotchdopole: It just doesn't feel like it's a part of me. So it's actually no fear. But but the like, you know, I was I was at a LCD concert and. He was playing the guy was playing like an old song that everyone loved that he wrote however many years ago, 15 years ago. And I was like, I remember I was in the crowd. It was right after I was finished Crumb Catcher and was just sort of like letting it go into the ocean like it's not a part of me anymore. And I was like, sort of it kind of I felt bad for him that he had to like. Like this was a point in time when he made this thing and then he has to go on tour and relive like the idea of like having because in a way he's like remaking it every time. So and I think with filmmaking, you kind of you make it and and then you push it out and then it's sort of a reminder of who you were then, you know?

[10:59] Robert Bannon: Absolutely. That makes sense. It's out. And now you can be free to move on to the next one. We link the link to follow Chris is going to be below. So if you would like to stay up to date on social media and see what his next projects are and what's up his sleeve to come. And then also to find more information about this and the screening, you go to OjaiPlayhouse.com and you can get your plan a whole entire magical day of screenings and tickets, incredible film festival, incredible independent films. And for you, Chris, what does it mean to keep independent films being seen and shown? You know, you compete against streaming, you compete against big studios, you compete against big marketing budgets. What's it mean for us to support independent filmmakers and independent films?

[11:36] Chris Skotchdopole: I mean, I guess it's just a I don't know. It's a big question. I I don't I don't know. I hope it's it's not about something that you should do, but something that you want to do. You know, I don't you don't want to go to something because it's like, oh, I really should do this. It should be like the thing you want to do. So I feel like that's kind of up to us to make movies that people want to do that. I don't think it's the audience's job. Yeah, I get it. You know what I mean? Like, I feel like there's a lot of like guilt associated with it. It was like, we need to like fight for Indies. And it's like, like, I feel like we should want to want people. I don't know. I'm not being quite articulate, but I.

[12:37] Chris Skotchdopole: Yeah, it doesn't matter who makes the movie.

[12:41] Chris Skotchdopole: Look, it doesn't matter who makes the movie. Go see a good movie. Support art. Go see go support films. Go support movies that move you and filmmakers that you love. And you can go August 8th, 10 a.m. He'll be there bright and early. He'll have a cup of coffee. Get up there and take your Q&A after the movie. So don't miss it.

[13:03] Robert Bannon: Thank you so much for being here. Congratulations.

[13:05] Chris Skotchdopole: Thanks. Thanks for having me, man.

[13:07] Robert Bannon: We have an actor and a director here today who has a movie called Situations that is very fancy because it got acquired. It's out here. It's at the it's at the Film Festival. It's at Ojai Film Festival. You may know our next guest for locking you up and locking the ladies up on Orange is the New Black and all of his television appearances. Well, did you know that he is the man behind the star and the director? And you just did everything. You just didn't want to give anyone else a job.

[13:35] Greg Vrotsos: We did catering as well. We casted it. Yeah. So we did it all.

[13:41] Robert Bannon: He did everything for our movie here today that we're talking about. We're talking to Greg and we're talking about Situations. Welcome to the show.

[13:48] Greg Vrotsos: Awesome. Thank you so much for having me. I'm super stoked to meet you.

[13:55] Greg Vrotsos: Why? When did you decide you wanted to be a director? To boss people around, Greg?

[14:02] Greg Vrotsos: That's what it is. It's authority. It's authority. No, I wrote and directed a bunch of shorts throughout my career, and I wanted to make the jump into doing a feature. I had written a few, the timing wasn't really right, and then just kind of got busy with work. I was one of the fortunate ones where I was just kind of bouncing from gig to gig. But I always say that Situations was kind of built out of frustration, just personally and professionally. We were going through the strike, we got out of COVID, we were going through the strikes and all that stuff. I felt like I wasn't really, though very lucky and fortunate to be working for 15 years, I felt like I wasn't getting to show a different side, and I wasn't able to lean more into comedy and all these different little things.

I just kind of felt kind of bored with it all. So Daniel Hartigan and myself, we wrote this feature and we just said, let's do it. So yeah, it was just kind of built of not doing the things I wanted to do and also not seeing the types of movies I wanted to see. I wanted to see these types of kind of 70s style character journeys and see a guy go through a breakup and kind of a coming of age story of adults.

[15:23] Greg Vrotsos: I love that description of it, like a coming of age story for adults and through a breakup. You say it's loosely based on some situations that you have gone through. So when do you think that turned your maybe lemons or situations in life into this lemonade movie that you made?

[15:39] Greg Vrotsos: Yeah, I had gotten out of another breakup and though that wasn't the catalyst for it. It's not like that ended and I was like, I'm going to write about this. It was more so I was back in Los Angeles and it was 37, 38. And I just felt like, oh, wow, I moved out here when I was 19. I spent my whole career, my whole life chasing this thing. And I was starting to feel the loneliness and starting to feel the change in L.A. All these kind of is a push pull thing. Honestly, I pulled some of that loneliness that I was going through and that friends were going through and people of that age group who, from 35 to 45, who were just kind of single in this industry, but also trying to make it relatable. So that was the main kind of thing.

And then I pulled things out of sequence. Nothing happened in order, but the one night stand scene was from something that I went through with this amazing person. And then I did get sent spreadsheets. So we factored that in there and then just kind of pulled. So it's not like it was one big thing. It was all these kind of little experiences, these nights out that I was having, going out and drinking, having a good time and all that. So I kind of took all that stuff. The foundation was the loneliness and that aspect of it. We just kind of plugged in when we started writing it. Yeah. It's relatable to anybody. So watch the film, because anybody, no matter what you've been through, you could be happily married. You could have never had a drink of alcohol in your life. You don't even have to be in L.A., but you can find personality and characters that you will relate to.

[17:21] Greg Vrotsos: You said in an interview that it was like a love letter to L.A. So what does L.A. mean to you? Artistically, but why Los Angeles? What part of the love did you find for L.A. and put in the film?

[17:26] Greg Vrotsos: Yeah. I mean, it was... Listen, I moved out here. I'm from Boston, outside of Boston. I grew up there. And I left when I was 19. California, in general, was so foreign to me. I didn't know anybody. I didn't know anything. And when I first got here, it was like every song I heard about California, the palm trees, the sunsets, all this, you know, the Sunset Strip was still happening. It was all alive, and you could really feel it. And as years go by, you know, you kind of get numb to that stuff. It doesn't feel the same way to you. You just get used to it, the beauty you kind of get used to, and you take it for granted. So when we were kind of putting this thing together, we really wanted to show a type of man that is kind of dying in a city that is forever changing.

You know, and we try to capture all these little moments, you know, a lot of the area where we shot is where I live right now. And, you know, this kind of Silver Lake area, these bars that, you know, some of them are closed, and they're closing. And, you know, Jumbo's is a staple, and El Condor is over here. That's a staple. Cafe Stella, that's a staple. So this area was such a, you know, we grew up out here, and we just ran wild out here. So I really kind of wanted to capture all that stuff and that kind of life, as well as the just the beauty of LA. You know, there's a lot of those wide shots that we kind of captured, and really getting that light with our cinematography. Cinematography was very important.

So yeah, and just kind of really kind of show people that I think LA is portrayed in a very particular way in a lot of different TV shows and movies. And we wanted, again, to show this loneliness, this fun side, this beauty of it all, this kind of artist, creative type of life. So yeah, we encompassed all that stuff in there.

[19:19] Greg Vrotsos: I love it. LA is such a character, just like any major city, but LA has its own vibe and character.

[19:23] Greg Vrotsos: Oh, it's crazy. It's like we say in the movie, it's the best place to leave and best place to come back to. It's so bizarre. I've left so many times, I lived in New York, I've gone back to Boston, but I get pulled away, you know. And I will say that when we, before we started shooting this film, I kind of lost a little bit of that love, you know, and I was confused by it. And then after we finished shooting, it's like, I felt like I just, I fell back in love with it again, you know, because it's, that film was made with community. Like we made that film against the studio system for $130,000. That is not a lot of money. And we, it was all of our friends, all of our family, and we incorporated all that. And, you know, you tend to forget how much, how much, you know, support you have here, you know. And, you know, I fell back in love with it at the end of it all.

[20:13] Greg Vrotsos: Yeah. So you make a movie, $130,000. You are, it's your debut as a director for a feature. Yep. You're now in the chair. It's your baby, your friends and family, your crew, your actors. What's it feel like? What's the pressure like when it's you're the one that really, the buck stops at you?

[20:21] Greg Vrotsos: I'm going to be honest with you, man. It was, it was, I was, we were so prepared for this thing. Like, you know, it's one thing when you just kind of get thrown into something, but because we wrote it and we, you know, we had accesses locations, right? So we would go in there on just a regular day when we're raising the money, whatever, have a couple beers, sit at the bar, figure out the angles. We did so much in the, in the pre-pro that when it came time to do it, there was, I didn't feel any pressure. And because I was going through that moment in my life of being like, you know, I, I, I, I, the love of acting had changed as well too. So it's like, I just kind of went into it being like, we're going to have fun.

We're going to have fun. We, we, you know, we had a 10 person crew, we're running on LA, you know, permit list basically. And I was like, this is, this is what it reminded me of the old days of just like film school shit. You know what I mean? Just like we're making a short. So we would just laugh and having a good time, you know, there was no stress, but we did, I will say we prepped the shit out of this thing. We really, really did. We took the time and we did it. Yeah. So it was fun on the day. It's like, everybody was just, you know, sticking to the script and then improvising when they had to a lot of moments of that too. But yeah, it was, it was fun. It was a really, really good time.

[21:47] Greg Vrotsos: So then your film, you make a feature, you edit the feature, you get the film out, it gets acquired. You get, Utopia comes in, gets the film and now film festivals come out. Like even after the film's out, the film is festivals are still, what's it feel like that? You know, it's, it's, it's great, but it's like, we also like, so we did like the film festivals last year. Right. And then at the end of the year, we started having the conversations with Utopia and then come January, they basically, the offer that they made to me was, Hey, you know, we love this film, but we feel like if we put it on a streamer, it's going to get lost. And they said, how do you feel about taking on the road and doing this theatrical road show like a band?

And I said, fuck yeah, let's do it. So we did, and we started in May and we've been playing, you know, we just had our eighth screening in LA on Friday and we have Ojai coming up, you know, to do this festival, a couple of the little festivals want us to play, but then we have San Diego is going to play us for a week and we have Gardena and we have Long Beach. And then we haven't even hit the East coast yet. We got Toronto, New York, Boston, all these places lined up. So it's crazy, but this is how we always wanted to do it. You know, we want it to be seen on the big screen and there's still a lot of work to do. You still got to get people to come out there. You know, we don't have a huge marketing budget, but we have a beautiful film and we have a great, you know, kind of just team behind us. So it's just, it's, it's, it's a hell of a journey. I'll tell you that much.

[23:16] Greg Vrotsos: Yeah, that's fun. It's like, you're in a band, like you're the Rolling Stones. You're on the road.

[23:19] Greg Vrotsos: A hundred percent. Yeah. Yeah. Not partying as much, but yeah, we have to be hit. Somewhat.

[23:23] Greg Vrotsos: Somewhat. I think when you have the cinematography, you're talking about, you have the landscape of Los Angeles, you need to go get popcorn and a soda and sit down in a screen and bring a date and sit down with your friend or take, take somebody and go see this film. I think it's perfect for Saturday, August 8th at 745. So you got the 745 spot. So you got the perfect, have a dinner, see the film, go have a drink. This is your Saturday night date. And it's, you don't even have to spend a lot of money, people. You don't got to spend a lot. It's a free screening. I just go. Just register.

[23:52] Greg Vrotsos: Yeah. Register. And you're going to be there.

[23:58] Greg Vrotsos: Of course I'm going to be there. I'm going to be there with bells on. I can't, I can't wait. This is such a great lineup. You know, I know the positions boys, cause we were in Oldenburg together. I know of all the other movies, you know so to have this kind of this group together is like, I'm so thrilled to be a part of it. But all these films, man, that they're all so unique and different. They all have their own voice and it's, it's a huge honor to be a part of that. And to be up in Ojai, which is beautiful in the playhouse, what they, they've redone it. It's absolutely gorgeous. And David up there is doing a great job. So I'm stoked to be there. I'll be there all day and night.

[24:34] Greg Vrotsos: A Cali film at a Cali playhouse right there. It sounds like the perfect, it sounds like the perfect kind of California Saturday.

[24:41] Greg Vrotsos: Yeah. Get out of Detroit. Come on, come just come for the weekend.

[24:45] Greg Vrotsos: I would love to get out of Detroit.

[24:52] Greg Vrotsos: So are you open to wherever the road leads for your career personally? Like more writing, more directing, more acting?

[24:56] Greg Vrotsos: Listen, I'm a firm believer that, you know, all the arts intertwine, right? And I think that it's important for, you know, not just to, it's also like, get that pressure off of you just to do one thing. I think it's great to be an actor. That's the first and foremost thing, but I've all, I love to write. I love to direct. I love to paint. It's one of my paintings. I love photography. I love music. I think it's always great to have the arts intertwine because they provoke different emotions and feelings and they make you more creative, you know, and it makes it less pressure on just the one thing. As far as my career goes, you know, I have a lot more stories that I want to tell behind the camera.

You know, I'd love to develop other people's scripts as well too. I'm working on a couple and, but yeah, as you know, the acting is the first love, you know, I feel like I can be a little picky choosy, you know, as far as I want to be now and then just, you know, just have some good stories to tell as well. But yeah, I'll always be involved.

[25:53] Greg Vrotsos: Yeah. Perfect to me. I'm excited for people to check this out. So the only way for us to see it right now is to find you, go find you around the country. Go.

[26:03] Greg Vrotsos: Yeah. You can follow, follow my Instagram. It's Greg underscore Vrotsos or the films at Situations Film. So we're always just announcing, you know, we have another announcement with more dates coming up this week as well. We're going to be following right now. We're ready for you to come, come and around the country. Take this road show. Come on, take the band on the road. I'll come to Detroit. I'll be there. I'll bring the fam. We'll be out. Yes. Done and done. We'll be out. Everybody go right now. If you're going to be anywhere near Ohio, go to Ojai playhouse.com register before they're gone because all the seats are going to be gone. It's a free screening. You're going to have an incredible day and Greg's going to be there.

Eat, eat some popcorn, have a moment and get some candy and go see incredible film and work by people who put up their own money, their own idea and made things happen. And that's what's important. It's a pleasure. Thank you for hanging out with me. I'll see you in New York, Detroit, LA somewhere. I'll see you in this movie.

[27:01] Greg Vrotsos: Yeah. Yeah. We'll, we'll stay in touch. I'll let you know when the next screenings are, we'll have a bunch of New York and whatever. We'll make it happen.

[27:06] Greg Vrotsos: Let's do it. Thanks.

[27:09] Robert Bannon: Our next, we look like we're twins. We're in the same color.

[27:12] Robert Bannon: This is pretty nice. This is weird. I'm in my bizarro world with, with, with director and superstar director at that. Wait till you hear about this movie, Brandon Daly. And we're here to talk all about a movie called, do I call it dollar sign? We just call it positions.

[27:29] Brandon Daley: But there's a dollar sign in front. It's yeah. There's a dollar sign in front. Yeah. In cryptocurrency and in like stocks, they put a dollar sign to denote a ticker.

[27:40] Brandon Daley: And so it's kind of implying that it's like a financial trading movie.

[27:46] Robert Bannon: Brandon, I have questions for you.

[27:49] Brandon Daley: Okay. Go ahead, Robert.

[27:50] Robert Bannon: What do you think of cryptocurrency? Are you scared of it?

[27:54] Brandon Daley: No, I have, I'm pretty like, chaotic neutral about it overall. Like, especially here in 2026, I kind of think that, you know, maybe I felt differently in like 2020 or 2021. Like just in retrospective, I was more optimistic then about it. But like, I think that it was being more promised as being some sort of, like blockchain was this revolutionary technology that could actually, you know, change the world in a lot of ways, which I think that it potentially can. But like now in 2026, I feel like if you're still in crypto right now, you kind of know what you're getting yourself into. And it's a lot more of like player versus player gambling on meme coins and stuff, you know, and it feels like people know what it is now in a way where it's not like deceptive if you're getting involved in it or something in the ways that maybe it, you know, with all these random crypto startups that were appearing in the last like 20 years, maybe at one point it was more deceptive, or people didn't really understand the tech and didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

So yeah, I don't know, I am not anti crypto. I'm not necessarily like pro crypto. I mean, I like crypto and I still have some, you know, and I, you know, if you want to do it, go for it. If you don't, I get that. Yeah. But anyway, that's my stance on crypto. Brandon, you answered my question. I was going to ask you, but as you were talking, I was scared because I was like, this is really none of my business. But should Brandon, does Brandon own crypto? And like, what does he think? And he does, everyone, he owns it. Did you buy it? No, I don't know. Where do you live, Brandon?

[29:40] Brandon Daley: I live in Chicago.

[29:43] Robert Bannon: Okay. And I'm in Detroit right now. So we're midwestern.

[29:47] Brandon Daley: Oh, wonderful. Wonderful.

[29:49] Robert Bannon: The movie's A Midwest Worker, who risks his savings on crypto. And so here's my thing. I'm from New Jersey and they sell crypto like in the gas station at like the little kiosk machines. And I wonder how many people buy crypto at a gas station. And is that a good idea?

[30:07] Brandon Daley: That I think is a little different. Like they have those like Bitcoin ATMs at the mall that were a thing for a long time. And I do think that those are all sketchy because A, those companies are taking a large percentage of like finder's fees or whatever for that. Like, but B, the people who are using those are probably either a type of person who is not tech savvy and doesn't really know how to buy crypto online. So that may be somebody who should not be going to a Bitcoin ATM. Or it's like a human trafficker or something, you know, who's like trying to like, I think that's probably the larger use case for those is kind of sketchy people who are trying to do things not linked to their digital footprint online, maybe.

But, you know, I mean, I don't know much about it. I'm just guessing that those would be the applications of those things. But I think they're becoming less and less frequent. I don't think, I think, again, that was something that was more symptomatic of like, yeah, like 2019, 2020, those were coming up. But yeah.

[31:11] Robert Bannon: See, Brandon, you get exactly where my head goes. That's exactly what I thought. I said I'm going to use one of these and then it's all going to come to an end. Look, if you want to watch a really fun, it all, this all makes sense when you watch the movie, everybody, because it is a, a guy, a Midwest worker who saves his crypto and then he falls into a gambling addiction. And he has problems with, he has a disabled brother. He has a girlfriend. He has an addict cousin, but it's funny, but it's modern, but there's an anxiety about how's this going to go? How did you come up with this? You wrote this.

[31:40] Brandon Daley: Yes, I did. I, I, I just got so into kind of gambling on stocks and crypto. I thought it was a really interesting device to make a movie around. I think that there are a lot of movies about stocks and crypto, but there's not a lot that are from the retail investors perspective. And it, you know, it's more of a lot of like kind of talking heads, documentaries of people who were involved in some sort of crypto or stock that went awry or something. And you never really hear from the people who are just buying the tech or whatever, where it's, it's, it's the, what the crypto does is pretty inconsequential. It's more just about this idea of like getting out of poverty and viewing it as kind of a lottery ticket escape from whatever sort of Midwestern hell you're trapped in.

You're, you know, you're kind of dead in job, or you just want to get out and save your family. And because it does represent that to a lot of people, you know, in the same way the lottery does. And so I wanted to make a movie about that. And then I also grew up in Kansas and wanted to always kind of make a movie about my childhood. And so I was like, let's do both of these ideas kind of in the same movie. So it blends a lot of true stories with a lot of kind of fabrications and into this kind of like, it's not even autobiographical or anything. It's more of just like vibes of what it's like to kind of grow up in a small town, I think. So yeah.

[33:04] Robert Bannon: Well, it's incredible. It has an incredible cast. So how long did you shoot it for? And tell us a little bit about the people that are in it.

[33:11] Brandon Daley: Yeah, so we shot back in 2023. We had 23 shoot days, which was a pretty good amount of days for my first feature, I felt like. Our lead actors, Mike Knickey, he's the main character. He's incredible. He has just a very kind of intense energy in a way where you can really tell what's going on behind his eyes and stuff in this way that I think works really well and really sells the anxiety of the main character. And then his cousin is played by Trevor Dawkins, who is a Chicago actor here. He used to be heavily involved with the Neo-Futurists. And if you know who they are, they're a great group here in Chicago. But yeah, he gives a killer performance of a recovering heroin addict and kind of is showing Mike's addiction through a different lens in this way that kind of allows us to explore this idea of genetic addiction and how it manifests itself in different members of the family.

And then Mike's brother, played by Vinny Kress, he is a local Chicago actor here who has Down syndrome. And I met with him and Mike and auditioned them together. And I just really liked the way that when Mike would go super intense and crazy, Vinny was not scared. He would like laugh at Mike. He found it funny when Mike was yelling. And I was like, OK, this is cool, because then the joke is always on Mike. It feels almost like Vinny is the audience where he's kind of looking at Mike being like, this is crazy, dude. What you're getting into is insane. So I like the idea of our actor with Down syndrome being almost our straight man to this duo, because I think it's rare to see portrayals of people and actors with developmental disabilities where it's not totally overly focused on their developmental disability, where they can just be a character that happens to have that. So that was very important to me, just how the relationship is portrayed on camera.

[35:23] Robert Bannon: This is beautiful. It's so beautiful. The relationship is so beautiful. We're talking, everybody, about a movie called Positions. It's going to be at the Left Turn Festival at the Ojai Playhouse. It's August 8th at 12:30. It is a free screening. So if you go to the website, you can go and see a whole day's worth of incredible films for free, all indie films that you need to see and check out. And then afterwards, Brandon will be there and have a Q&A with you about how do you feel when a film goes to a film festival like this? You're going to California. Your film is going to be seen to people who have never maybe seen it and you have a conversation with it. What's it like when you get the email or message that you've been included?

[36:01] Brandon Daley: Oh, it's so fun to do. I was so happy to be included in this particular festival also because I haven't gotten to go in any in-person screenings in California yet for this. So this is my first time being out there doing a Q&A. And the rest of the movie lineup that they have for the rest of the day is incredible. It's all just like different indies that I think very highly of. So I feel very flattered to be included in that. But yeah, you know, we've done quite a festival run and then we've already done our theatrical run. So I believe this is probably going to be my last in-person theatrical screening. So it's a bittersweet ending, you know. I'm so ready to say goodbye and move on to the next one.

But also, you know, it's sad to have the position stays behind me, you know. So I feel a little bittersweet about the whole thing, but I'm very excited to go see it. It is my baby, yeah. But sometimes you got to send the baby off to college. They got to go to college and then you can have a new baby.

[37:02] Robert Bannon: Then the new baby moves in. So we go to the website, everybody, everybody in the Ojai area and everyone that's in California that's going to be there and make sure you see it and you can, you know, have some. It's very California. Organic popcorn and a little candy in a moment. And you're going to celebrate. It's a perfect place to meet. I mean, it's a Midwestern movie, but California and money and finances and all the counties out there, like what an interesting place to see this movie. Do you get annoyed when people compare it to other movies? You get annoyed when people call it the Uncut Gems and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera of like these kind of comparisons?

[37:31] Brandon Daley: I don't. I think that a lot of times it's used a little derogatorily or something, like I'm like ripping off Uncut Gems. But in my head, I would have made this movie with or without that movie existing a little bit. But I also do love that movie, to be frank. And I think it's one of the, you know, that and yeah, it's just one of the best movies to come out unless, you know, 10 or whatever years. And so, yeah, people want to, you know, say it just has a huge fan base. So it's like if people are like, oh, if you like Uncut Gems, you might like this like small indie. I think it helps get butts in the seats, you know, but it's also just so different with like, because to me, I really set out to make a comedy before I set out to make an anxiety movie.

Like, I really care a lot about the art of the joke. I think that Hollywood is lacking right now in comedy specifically. You don't really get to see these kind of five to $15 million comedies getting pumped out like they used to be in the 90s and the early aughts. You know, it's like those have kind of fallen to the wayside, I think. I think Netflix and the streamers are trying to do those types of things, but it's just different to see a comedy in theaters with other people. Like, I definitely wrote this and designed it to be watched in theaters. And so, yeah, that's like part of the fun of going to these theatrical screenings is getting to watch it with an audience and hear people gasp and laugh and boo.

And, you know, we get walkouts too. It's like fun to, like, you know when the walkouts are coming a little bit and like certain audiences who don't know what they're getting themselves into. Like, yeah, it's kind of a badge of honor.

[39:08] Robert Bannon: Look, if that sold me, I'm like, I want to know when we're going to walk out or when people are going to walk. If you think, if you like movies that are going to make you laugh, but make you sit at the edge of your seat and you don't know what's going to happen next and it's a tangled web of mess and decision-making, bad decision-making. You will watch these movies and feel so good about your life. You'll be like, oh, I've got it together. I'm in good shape. I'm in good shape. So do you know what's next? Are you always writing? Are you always thinking of ideas? You keep a notebook or an app on your phone that's like, I have ideas for more movies.

[39:37] Brandon Daley: Yeah, I do. I mean, I try to write as much as I can. I'm currently working on a stoner mom detective movie. So it's like a mom trying to solve a mystery at her son's school, but we're not sure if she's just stoned and kind of like on the verge of some sort of psychosis or if she's actually getting to the bottom of it. She's kind of like female-driven Big Lebowski or something like that.

[40:09] Robert Bannon: Why can't she be high and be out here trying to solve mystery? Maybe they're both, Brandon.

[40:15] Brandon Daley: Of course, yeah. And that's exactly what the movie is getting at.

[40:19] Robert Bannon: We'll find out. We'll find out what the next one is. We can follow you and we can check out this movie. If we can't make it to California, is there a way that we can see this movie somewhere, anywhere in the world?

[40:26] Brandon Daley: Yes, it's currently streaming for rent on digital on Amazon and Apple. So just search Dollar Sign Positions and it should come up. Dollar Sign Positions movie, that also helps.

[40:38] Robert Bannon: Perfect. If you want to see it and be a part of the festival, make sure you're there at Ojai on the 8th. And if you're around the world and you haven't had a chance to see it yet, go to where you stream your movies like Amazon and make sure you put it in there and go watch it. It's going to be great. It's so timely and so on the edge of your seat and it was a good time. It's a perfect movie to watch this weekend. Thank you for hanging out with me, Brandon. It's a pleasure.

[41:02] Brandon Daley: Thank you so much, Robert. My doppelganger. My brother is here, Brandon. If you're my brother, I want to part in the next movie.

[41:11] Brandon Daley: We'll get you in there. You're in Detroit?

[41:16] Robert Bannon: Yeah, we'll bring you out. You can be local. I could take a train. I could drive. I'm a local hire. I love it. I love it. Congratulations. Thanks so much for being here.

[41:26] Brandon Daley: Thank you, Robert. It was great talking to you. Appreciate your help getting the word out.