Ilse Will Say
Welcome to My Brain. I'm Ilse, and every Wednesday I sit down with actors, filmmakers, comedians, and storycreators to talk about the stuff that doesn't make the press kit. How they actually got here, the project that almost didn't happen, the festival story they can't believe they're telling me, and whatever weird detour we end up on. Haunted sets, folklore they secretly believe in, the best taco in town. It's part industry real talk, part group chat, and I promise I'm more curious than qualified.
Ilse Will Say
Tommy Martin: He's harmless, we talk to him all the time
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Tommy Martin is a Chicago based actor, filmmaker, and musician who has basically worked every job on a set at some point, and honestly it kind of exhausted me just hearing about it. We start with an unreasonable amount of hair talk (his, not mine) before getting into how a random DIY filmmaker workshop years ago quietly kicked off both our careers, his very unexpected path from a music business degree to Second City to booking his first web series, and what it's like acting in a scene while also being the AD on the same movie (he did this on Haunt Season, insane).
Then Hot Cakes happens, and things get weird fast. We're talking two genuinely unsettling ghost stories, a tarot reading that predicted an actual job loss, and a very serious conversation about whether Bigfoot is real (yes). Tommy also gives updates on Grilled Cheese, the horror comedy short he co-directed that's currently making the festival rounds.
Follow Tommy at @actortommymartin.
In this episode:
- 00:00 – An unreasonable amount of hair talk
- 02:45 – How we actually met (a DIY filmmaker workshop, years ago)
- 06:03 – Music business major to filmmaker, a whole journey
- 12:10 – Acting in a scene and being the AD on the same movie, at the same time
- 13:05 – Hot Cakes
- 15:06 – Ghost story #1, the haunted house by our high school
- 17:22 – Ghost story #2, the crouched thing in the corner
- 21:15 – The tarot reading that actually came true
- 23:29 – Bigfoot, aliens, and my skinwalker era
- 26:02 – What's next: Grilled Cheese, Morning Moon, Haunt Season, and The Knot Job
Mentioned in this episode:
Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com
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Ilse Will Say is an Intrepida Entertainment podcast, hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Produced and edited by Jacob Cagle. Music by Eric Backus. Photography by Joel Maisonet.
The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here is professional advice. We're here for the laughs, y'all.
Your hair is just so luscious. Can I just say?
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Jesus Christ. It's so funny. That's a word that has become first of all something I never thought I'd hear from anyone describing me in any regard. And that is like the word that people land on regarding the hair is luscious.
SPEAKER_01Did do people touch your hair without your permission?
SPEAKER_00Uh no, actually.
SPEAKER_01You've never had like a grandma come in and be like, oh honey, this is so your your hair is so nice and soft.
SPEAKER_00Not really. No. I mean, when I uh my hair kind of grew as a result of the pandemic, so I didn't really see my grandma for a while, and then when the star, she was uh my sister was like braiding it and stuff, and I think she was I think she was kind of more thrown by the bushy beard that I had at the time instead of the hair, but so wait, do you trim it or do you cut it?
SPEAKER_01Do you shape it? Like how does how does this work for you? Is this part of the uh he still owns the felt hat, the socks, and the exact playlist from a character he played on a web series over a decade ago. The whole box set of the show sits on his shelf, still sealed in its original plastic. He has never opened it. Welcome back to Ilse Will Say, the show where a guest shows up with one skill and somehow leaves with five job titles. Welcome to my brain. I'm Yilse, your host, a girl whose idea of cross-training is switching. Which hand holds the remote? I don't know why I put that there, but it's true. Today's guest is a Chicago-based actor, athlete, filmmaker, and musician who has played a blue-collar mechanic on Chicago PD, a man in a suit creature in tasty bones, and a spy operative called Thunderman. All while also directing, editing, and assisting directing behind the scenes on projects like Slasher Feature Haunt Season. He is also one of the loudest voices you'll hear talking about something most people never think about. Performers who make over $16,000 a year legally cannot deduct basic business expenses like headshots and class fees on their taxes. And my guest today, boy, does he know how to wear every hat on side? Sometimes, literally. Please welcome Tommy.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Wow. What what an intro. Thank you so much. Yeah, you were like pulling some stuff. I was like, wait, did I when did I did I tell you that? When did I tell you that? Like right off the bat with the like the the un the unopened box set on my shelf. I was like, how do you know that? I was like, did I get anything wrong though? Oh, I don't think so. The the tax thing though, I was like, wait, what? What's that?
SPEAKER_01We also okay, how did we meet?
SPEAKER_00Uh I believe it was the SAG After uh do-it-yourself filmmaker workshop thing, right?
SPEAKER_01I thought so.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I thought so 10, 12 years ago, something it's been a minute.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that was the start of like uh, you know, I I went to that um like masterclass workshop on a whim, and now looking back, it's the thing that started my filmmaking, I think. Oh wow, and it was it was not 12 years ago.
SPEAKER_00I don't know.
SPEAKER_01You're making that shit up.
SPEAKER_00I'm throwing out number. I don't know. Honestly, usually we're thinking like when was that? I'm like, oh, it's like two years ago, and then somebody said, I'm like, what? I'm trying to remember what was your project that you made that year.
SPEAKER_01Um, I made it with Eddie uh Eddie Martinez, um, and we did like this box because uh all of our crew, no shade, but like we had a group of like six or seven, and everybody bailed on us, and so it was just him and I, and so we were we were just filming just a short little little ditty. I don't even know where that is, quite frankly. Um yeah, we did like a magical box of some sorts. Um, I don't remember. I I just remember going to his house and being like, All right, we gotta make something for tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that was pretty much the vibe of that whole thing, yeah. It was like it was like a 48-hour film project, but over the span, like you learn how to do it over the course of six weeks or whatever, six or eight weeks, and then it was like, all right, now do the thing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but honestly, I appreciate that. And the more shit goes wrong and you still succeed in making a thing, like whatever that thing is, whether it's a short film, a little like trailer, or whatever, like it's it's even more gratifying when everything goes wrong and you still finish a project. Uh, I love that feeling.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's the best, and it's also like it's such a great learning experience because it's like it's such a gift, really, when something goes wrong, because then you learn how to deal with that, and like, and oftentimes, honestly, I know people say this all the time, but it usually leads to like something better.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, which is you learn more from a failure than from a success. Because from a success, you're like, uh, I don't know how that happened, but it at least it did. But a failure, you're like, wait, this is what went wrong, this is what we're gonna do better next time.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, okay, so if you could give me like a little short ditty on your life.
SPEAKER_00Oh boy. Okay, so I would say I'm I'm consistently a work in progress. Uh the more as as a person and as a professional, um, I feel like the more the more chances I get at at doing this thing, uh, making movies and just living. Uh, I feel like I'm constantly like trying to learn more about myself and and my craft and what I do. Um and then the second part, how did I become a filmmaker? Uh put myself out there um learning from other people, being on their sets. Um some early examples of Susan Aethe. I was an actor in the club web series, and I ended up being kind of a mix of like an A uh sort of like a producer slash A D slash A Cer on different days. Learned a lot from being on her set and watching her do her thing. Um my buddy Ronald Short um met him in college, learned a lot working with him, seeing him work on Billy and Theodore and then Tasty Bones and then some other stuff. Uh and Jake Jarvey as well, was in the web series with him, which is the one that's unpackaged on my shelf that you mentioned. Uh sorry for I don't know why I'm pointing. Uh but yeah, that uh learned a lot from him seeing him on set and be like, oh, this guy is a writer, director, actor, producer, editor, uh, visual effects, colorist. Um I don't know. What uh what else am I missing, Jake? Uh if you're watching this. But just like seeing how other people can do it, and I'm like, oh, I didn't know I could do that, and then just trying it out and not being afraid to like fall on my face and and learn from it and do it better the next time, you know.
SPEAKER_01And where did you go to school again?
SPEAKER_00Um, I actually went to school to Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. Um, not for filmmaking at all. I went uh for music business, is what my degree is in.
SPEAKER_01So no way!
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01How did you go from that to filmmaking?
SPEAKER_00That's a great question. Uh well, I mean, growing up I was always interested in TV and movies, um, loved SNL especially, um, and then just like uh I don't know. I met I met some people when I was in college um who were in the the department there is called Radio TV Film at ISU. And I met some people there, and Ronald is actually, I think, my very first audition I ever had. It was for I think it was for his first feature called The Station, which is like college students at a radio station. Um had no idea what I was doing, never auditioned a day in my life. Uh um, so yeah, that that was a big disaster. Didn't book it up. Uh um but yeah, then I I kinda I kind of dabbled a little bit. Like I did a thing with another friend of ours, Nathan Bayless. Uh story about like an aspiring drummer. Um and then moved to Chicago. I got like a got my had to finish my degree by doing an internship. And I got an internship with uh Victory Records. Um I was like stuffing a lot of envelopes, sending out promo stuff to a bunch of places. Uh and then while I was doing that, I started taking classes at Second City and doing improv and stuff, and then started auditioning for sketch shows and um and then eventually like Jake's web series, Platoon and Power Squadron, and you know, it just things just kind of took off from there.
SPEAKER_01My goodness. Like I'm tired just hearing about everything that you're you you've worked on or you've like you're working on. How how do you have time and energy for all of this? Like that's just like a me question for the love of God. Like, what do you do you get a good night's sleep? How do you keep going? Where do you get your inspiration from to keep going?
SPEAKER_00You know the honest answer? I don't know. Um I was literally talking to somebody about this last night at um grilled cheese uh screened at Moonlighters for the Davis, and I was talking to people about that very thing, and I'm like, honestly, I don't know. Like sometimes I just I just put it in my calendar, and then I'm like, I kind of look at it as like a like I make myself to-do lists and I'll check that off like on the dry erase board and stuff. But um, yeah, I don't know. I it's I think it's just like my thirst for adventure and just always wanting to be exploring new things, whether it be like literally exploring like hiking and camping, or if it's like, oh what's an AC do? I want to figure that out. I wanna I wanna focus, I wanna be a focus poller for a day and see what that's all about. Um just I don't know. It's just I I enjoy learning new things and experiencing new things. And especially with filmmaking stuff, I feel like it's it's all okay.
SPEAKER_01You're never done learning. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00No. That's and that's something I've told people. I'm like, if I ever leave a set and I feel like I didn't learn anything, then I'm like, I need to take a break and reassess because I'm like, I feel like I should always be learning something.
SPEAKER_01So oh, so you have like this thirst for for knowledge, you have a curiosity, and it just sounds like you have a love for the art form.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's really cool. Like, although sometimes I I I wonder if it gets in the way, like when when I'm on set as an actor, and then I'm like, oh, you know, there's uh this thing over here, like pointing out a thing, and it's just like dude, that's not your job. Like, I'm like self-uh editing myself. I'm like, that's that's not your job on this thing, dude. Just just act, focus.
SPEAKER_01That's fair, yeah. Yeah, well, I think that that's yeah, once you've done just about every job on set, and then like for me, like if I book an acting gig, I can't just turn it off automatically, right? Like, I'm like, oh well, I still need the love mic. I'm like, I'm I'm waiting for you know, like I'm waiting to be mic. I've are we on schedule? I'm like, ah, no, stop.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah, I had that very experience on haunt season because um I play Walt in the movie, and uh that was like I think three days for me as Walt, but then every day, all 26 days, I think it was, I was also the AD. So on the days that I shot um my scenes as Walt, Jake was like, hey man, if you need to step away and like focus and like whatever to get ready, like I totally get it. And I did. But then like in the scene, we're filming the thing, and I couldn't at times it was like the thoughts were coming into my brain, it's like, okay, we gotta start setting up lights really quick. You know. Um it is difficult sometimes to like compartmentalize those things, I guess. And be like, no, I'm not that's not the focus right now, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, let's compartmentalize these hot cakes, all right? They're like hot takes when they stack up. Oh yeah, we're get ready. 60 seconds on the clock.
SPEAKER_00Oh boy, okay.
SPEAKER_01Deep dish or thin crust, and don't lie.
SPEAKER_00Thin crust.
SPEAKER_01Best late night eats in Chicago.
SPEAKER_00Um, whatever, whatever's in the fridge or the cupboard.
SPEAKER_01What's the most Chicago thing about you?
SPEAKER_00I have no idea. Pass.
SPEAKER_01Weirdest prop you've ever kept from a set.
SPEAKER_00Um it's not weird. I I I had my suit from Platoon of Power Squadron for a long time. Um, no. Uh no. I I made this short called Monsters Anonymous years ago, and I made my own Frankenstein boots, and I kept those for a long time.
SPEAKER_01Cubs or socks?
SPEAKER_00Socks.
SPEAKER_01Favorite Chicago filming location so far.
SPEAKER_00Oh man. Um favorite location filming so far. Uh the alley that I filmed in for Chicago PD.
SPEAKER_01Are ghosts real? Yes or no?
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much for playing. Chicago's best kept secret? It's not even shit. It's Joel MySonet Photography. He's legitimately the best, and it's about time everybody knew. Actors, execs, LinkedIn Lurkers, book at mycinetphotography.com and thank me later.
SPEAKER_00Ooh, I have an addendum to one of my answers that just popped in my head.
SPEAKER_01Okay, what is it?
SPEAKER_00If that's okay. I'm breaking the rules of the game. Uh, the coolest location, uh, I filmed uh several days for an episode of Platoon and Power Squadron in this abandoned warehouse on the north side of Chicago. That's the coolest location.
SPEAKER_01Well, was it haunted? Was there anything weird happening there?
SPEAKER_00Uh didn't have any haunting experiences while we were there, no. We did have like a safety meeting though, where the guy was like, don't step past these barriers or you might fall through the fair. Uh yeah, yeah, but super, super cool place. Very cool place.
SPEAKER_01Um, so we we like to get weird on this podcast. Um Do you have any any woo-woo stories, any weird conspiracies you believe in, anything outside of the norm?
SPEAKER_00Sure. Uh well, I know I know ghost stories are a regular thing on here, so I can I can Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Do you have a ghost story? Did you see a ghost or is this a third party?
SPEAKER_00Um yes, I've seen and experienced a ghost.
SPEAKER_01And also have I love that your voice dropped. This is gonna be good.
SPEAKER_00Are they are they are they listening? Are we is this a safe space?
SPEAKER_01They're definitely listening, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, hi, hi everyone. Hi guys. Um, no, not haunted here. Uh I don't think we've only lived here about a year, but we'll see. Uh so um in high school, we went to look at this like haunted house that was near our high school, and uh one person didn't want to go inside and they stayed in the car, and they were like, we had a video camera for some reason, so they're like, Oh, I'll film the house in case anything weird happens. So we all go inside, we're poking around downstairs trying to turn on the lights, nothing. Uh, then at some point we all go upstairs, we're poking around. Um and then uh a bunch of cars up, a car pulls up from down the way. We see their lights and we all panic. We're like, oh shit, and we run outside because they're all like, get out of here, it's private property, da-da-da. Um, fair. Um, so we all leave and then we're talking about it and whatever, and then we realize our friend had been quiet the whole time. So we asked them what was going on, and they made a comment about the lights flickering on and off or something before on the first level of the house before we all ran out. And we were like, What do you mean? They're like, Yeah, you know, when you guys before the car showed up, all the lights are flickering, and uh we're like, the lights, there's no power. We tried the lights, and there were no lights that worked in that house. And then we were like, Oh, but you filmed it, right? Can you just like play back the video and show us what it was? They're like, the camera died like right before the lights flickered. So we were like, So that was like sort of a third-party one. There was another one um I had first hand experience at a friend's house. I was spending the night and he had passed out, and I was up late. Like, this is when like aim was still a thing, and I was like chatting with people on Instant Messenger and stuff.
SPEAKER_01I remember I remember this.
SPEAKER_00And I I felt a presence uh like next to me, like and I like kind of looked and I could sort of see a difference of shadowy something that wasn't there before, and I was like, and there was a lamp, so I turned the lamp on and there was nothing. I was like, okay, so I went back and chatting, and then I feel it again, but like from behind me in the corner of the room, and I I slowly turn around, and I'm not kidding. I I see someone like crouched and here. Oh, I know, I don't know, people listening aren't gonna be able to see this, but it was like crouched, you know.
SPEAKER_01Like crouched on the floor holding their knees? Yeah, like rocking back and forth? Are you fucking kidding me?
SPEAKER_00They weren't rocking back and forth, but they were just like they were very still and just crouched with like their knees up, and it was like it was like in the corner.
SPEAKER_01Or were they about to like jump at you?
SPEAKER_00I need to know I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I couldn't see facial features, it was just was it like Spider-Man or was it or was it like you know how Spider-Man like does that thing? Yes, or was it was it like scared or was it uh about to attack you? I like I I just need to know the difference because it does make the difference in my my scary meter.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Honestly, uh I couldn't read what its vibe was because it was just it was very sort of Spider-Man squat, but its knees were together instead of out. But like all I could see was like the silhouette of a person, like the shadow of a person, and there was no facial features. There wasn't really any movement, it was just really still, but it was definitely a person. And I told him about it the next yeah, I and I tried to like yell out for his bomb or something, and no sound came, so I just like covered my face with the blanket and went to sleep. And then the next morning I told him about it. Oh my god, yeah, and he was just like, Oh yeah, that's like uh that's Bill, or what I forget the but he was just like, Oh yeah, he's fine, he's harmless.
SPEAKER_01And I was like, you've no, you you're kidding me. He knew about it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. He's like, he's harmless. We we see him all the time. We talk to him, and I was like, What? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So what right?
SPEAKER_00I was like, Well, this has been fun. I'm never staying over here.
SPEAKER_01Never coming. Yeah, I um I remember going to my friend's house. Uh I I didn't see this, but I remember going to my friend's house, um, and uh we were teenagers, we were like doing illegal stuff, so but we were in her house, and I just remember her very nonchalant, very similar to your friend, just being like, and if you see a little girl in the hallway, like don't worry about it. We know she's harmless. And I was like, the fuck? Get getting the fuck out of here. Like, what do you they're just like, oh yeah, just like a little girl that lives here. I'm like, what are you no, no, no, I'm sorry, why?
SPEAKER_00Did you ever see the little girl?
SPEAKER_01No, because I ran the fuck away. I was like, I'm never setting foot in this house ever again. I'm just like, I'm doing front yard or backyard, and and that's it. Cause yeah, because children scare the hell out of me. I like the uh a song was playing yesterday, and it was like a children's choir, and even that, like a lot of like I'm like, get me out. No, I don't like it. No, it's weird. I don't, yeah, it scares the bejeebras out of me. So do you believe in any other creatures aside from ghosts? What is like the weirdest creature, paranormal creature? Do you partake in the paranormal? Have you ever gone to a psychic or a medium?
SPEAKER_00Um I I have not, no. I've had I've had like tarot reading. I've got tarot readings before. Um and honestly, when I sat down, I was like, okay, yeah. And then but then the person like I was on the tape, I was there on the table and I was like, Oh, how how did you do this? Like, yeah, so that's crazy.
SPEAKER_01Did it tell you did they tell you your life or like your future? Like how how new trying to.
SPEAKER_00Um so the yeah, so I worked as a second A D on a on a slasher back in February, and it was uh it was co-directed, and one of the directors is very much into tarot cards, and she made her own tarot cards uh for the rap party, and I have a I kept a couple of them because she's like you can keep them, and I was like, cool. Um they've got like they've got like horror movies on them and stuff, and one of them has Frankenstein's creature on there, which I'm a big fan of.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's cool.
SPEAKER_00I kept that one. But like um, she did two total readings, one on set and one at the rap party. And both of them were crazy. Like, there was one that she was like, um, I'm blanking on what the card is now, but it was like there's gonna be a change in your life, like things are gonna you've got like this one uh um great opportunity, um, but it's gonna affect your life in this negative way, or or maybe it's a positive way, or whatever. And I was like, okay, and I was and like that part was like the the gig was the opportunity that I was working on, and to paraphrase, uh I lost my day job because I took that gig.
SPEAKER_01You know, it's like a bad it's a negative and a positive.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but yes, absolutely, because I'm like, okay, I lost my regular daily income. However, it was I'm okay with it. But I mean otherwise, I don't know. Like, I'm I'm a fan of like like Bigfoot and stuff. I think that's all cool. Like, I don't know. Bigfoot, I don't know. I don't know where my thoughts stand on if Bigfoot exists or not. Why not? Yes, he does. She does, they do. Yes, Bigfoot is.
SPEAKER_01It is a shape, technically, if we're doing the gimli, yeah, the video, the original.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, uh, but yeah, otherwise, I mean, I feel like aliens. I mean, there's the universe is so vast, it's like there has to be other life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, everybody just believes in aliens now. We're all like one day soon we'll know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm like are they yeah. Are they lizard people or little gray people or what like I don't I don't know, but I'm like I think it's just gonna be everybody. Yeah, yeah. Maybe maybe we are and we just don't know it, you know. Yeah, well, what about you? What's your where's your woo-woo lie?
SPEAKER_01I think I I will not discount anything because who am I? Um, so anything anybody brings me, I'm like, it is plausible, like it's sure may not be possible, but it might be plausible. And I think the weirdest thing that I'm like into, kind of, it's only because it's come up in like um uh so I started watching Ugliest House in America um with uh Retta from Parks and Rec. Oh, it's a comedian and she's just making fun of yeah, she's great, and she's there's a spin-off called The Scariest House in America. Um it's such a feel-good show, like both ugliest and scariest are just like a feel-good show. Um, but they were they're starting to talk about skinwalkers, and I think that's the weirdest thing that I bel that I'm like that would be cool. Um in a skinwalker to me is like Game of Thrones, like those zombies or whatever that came in. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like that, that's the vibe of a skinwalker, yeah. And they there's just like a lot of Native American uh folklore of them, like there's a lot of documented stuff, which I think is pretty cool, like just as like a boogeyman type of situation. Like, I think that's that's pretty pretty cool, and it can't be like pinned down necessarily, it's more of a concept.
SPEAKER_00Sure, yeah, that is.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you're like, you're really weird. I'm so sorry I asked.
SPEAKER_00No, no, not at all. Sorry, I'm just no, I'm just taking it in.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, so uh tell us a little bit of the projects that you're working on right now. I know there's a few, uh Grilled Cheese being one of them. Um, so can you where where can folks find it? Yeah, where can we follow?
SPEAKER_00Sure. Um, yeah, so grilled cheese um is is something I made with uh my friend Connor Brownspringer. Um she wrote it, and then we both kind of uh we co-directed, co-produced, co-edited, co-sound designed. Um, and it's been it's been doing really well. We just started the film festival circuit. Um uh it's it's had a handful of screens already, and we've got a bunch of other ones coming up. Uh we're putting all those on our like link tree and stuff. Um but it's a fun little horror comedy short where you know a woman gets possessed by a grilled cheese sandwich. Right. Yeah. Some uh we've had such great feedback from audience members, like they're like, it's so gross, but it's so funny, and like there's just so many, so many great compliments from people. Um yeah, so that's kind of like I it just came from a screening last night, actually. Um uh well I'm not sure when this will air, but we came our most recent screening was uh uh the Davis for Moonlighters 4, which was just such a fun festival, and it had a lot of animated stuff and some live action pieces, and we were one of the smaller selection of live action shorts that played, but it was it was really fun. There was aliens, there was Bigfoot, there was all that stuff, so it ties into what we were right up my alley.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, it was great. Oh, that's cool. Uh, and you just wrapped a feature, morning moon, correct? And then you have haunt season and uh not job, not to be confused with nut job, which I think is a cartoon.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, I think I think the nut job is a spin-off of the Ice Age movies with um the sloth, right? John Leg was almost character, maybe. I don't like him as name.
SPEAKER_01I can't be sure.
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, I'm not entirely sure myself, but it just seems that sounds right. I don't know. Yeah, um, but yeah, the not job is something that Jules Reed wrote, and she and I co-produced, and Afram Zanuni directed, and it's basically uh two special operatives um are tied up to a chair and they spend the whole short just arguing about whose fault it is instead of trying to get out of their knot.
SPEAKER_01That's funny. That's pretty funny.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's a good time. Um, but yeah, we that was cool. I was asking about locations earlier. We filmed that at like um a student uh stage at Cinespace, which was really rad. Oh, cool. Yeah, it was a really cool spot, and they decorated it, they set dressed it um very sort of like Dexter Kill Room with like the plastic sheets.
SPEAKER_01Oh, nice, yeah.
SPEAKER_00The whole deal. It was cool. Yeah, um, and yeah, haunt season is uh slasher um horror comedy that's um available on a lot of streaming sources. Um you can also buy the Blu-ray and DVD um a bunch of places. And then if you're in Madison, Wisconsin, it's available to rent a four-star video. Um thank you, Robert, if you're listening. Um and then uh Morning Moon is a feature I just finished in Madison, Wisconsin, uh, where I got to play um a musician and a struggling, um a recovering alcoholic who's trying to start a family with his wife. And a uh the film really follows uh this 22-year-old character named uh Selena, who shows up on our doorstep uh looking for her father.
SPEAKER_01So dang just light subjects overall, yeah, yeah, yeah. Light subjects overall, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Slasher, family drama, slasher, yeah, possession. Yeah. Oh, and uh it's not possession, but I also got to I got to be like a man in a suit. And uh Jerry Gonzalez built this suit for um Ronald Schwartz's short film Tasty Bones, and I got to tromp around the woods in that and uh get to be this weird creature. That was a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01So it's right up my alley, yeah. Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_00And it's not it's not like it's not too scary either. So I feel like it's something you could you could check on.
SPEAKER_01Okay, heck yeah, man. I like being scared, but as long as there's just like a little bit of comedy in it. Like if I can be scared and then make a joke of it, then that that to me is like the sweet spot.
SPEAKER_00Sure, sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, amazing. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast. This was a lot of fun, a little scary, but very so much fun.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for having me. This was great.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, this is fun. Oh my gosh, that was so fun and a little scary, which is the sweet spot for me. Tommy, such a fun, fun hang and such a fun human being who just honestly reading all the things you do makes me feel a little tired and uh overwhelmed. But that's a me problem. Tommy, you're doing amazing things. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. If you liked this, learned, felt a little inspired, please like, subscribe, send me a DM. I love it. I love hearing from you. Um, and if you have any scary stories, please send them my way because they are what I feed on. I don't know why it sounds so creepy. Okay, I've had too much caffeine. Thank you so much for listening. If uh you want to follow Tommy's journey, please follow him on Instagram at actor Tommy Martin. He's doing some great work in Chicago. Hit him up. Uh awesome. Alright, I'm gonna go run a couple miles. Just kidding, I'll probably sit on my couch. Okay, bye. Ilse Will Say is an Intrepid entertainment podcast produced and edited by Jacob Cagle, music by Eric Blackis, and photography by Joel MySonet, and I am your host, Ilse Sacharia Rivera. The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here should be taken as professional advice, expert opinion, legal guidance, or a reason to DMSU conspiracy theories. We're here for the laps, y'all. Carry on.
