SPEAKER_00 0:00

How do you like to uh pronounce your name? Do you like all three names?

SPEAKER_01 0:05

I mean you uh only you only need to say all three names uh once, you know, at the start. But um but normally just Kyle. But yeah, Kyle Leland Cullerton. Yeah, I like to think of it. It's a good director's name because it's like um you know how some people, you know, like like weathermen or weather women, they have like great names. Do they? For like their job, you know?

SPEAKER_00 0:29

What's a good weather weather person name?

SPEAKER_01 0:32

You know, like uh I well I can't think of an example now. You know, like um uh uh oh my god, I can't think of any. But you know, there's like there's some people who like embody their name. Yes, you know.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Agreed, agreed.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

But uh Colerton is a good is a good name, is a good name for for uh for a director because it's a ton of color.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

A handicam glued to his hand since he was a teenager, and a short film so weird. His own Catholic high school rejected it from the showcase. That's where today's guest starts. Welcome back to Ilse Will Say, the show where we get into the real stories behind the people making things you actually want to watch. Welcome to my brain. I'm Ilse, your host, currently running on four cups of coffee because I tried tea and it just didn't do it for me. Plus the delusional belief that I'll answer all of my emails today. Ha ha ha, it's not happening. And my guest today, boy does he know delusion. He co-produced and edited a short that just won a special jury mention at Trebeka. He wrote and directed a mockumentary about a filmmaker whose ego might get someone killed on set. And it went from a Chicago 48-hour film project win to can to an award-winning web series. He also programs two Chicago film festivals now, so somewhere between making the films and rejecting other people's films, he became the guy standing at the gate. Please welcome Kyle Lealery Cullerton.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

What's up? I do want to add the one note though that uh you mentioned Wrigley Fields. I am a fan of uh I did grow up right around there, but I happen to be a White Sox fan.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

So just keep that in mind.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

I'm wearing a uh White Sox shirt, baby.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Dang.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

And they're so good.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Dang. They're so good. I I don't know sports. I wish I did. Yeah. Yeah. You did grow up around there. I think. Dang, I'm gonna fire my intro uh maker, which is me.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Uh your show's gonna have a tough time if you buy yourself. Uh yeah, no. I mean, how would you know? How would you know?

SPEAKER_00 3:02

How would I know? Yeah, what is there a rivalry? Is there a historical rivalry in your family? Is it has it been passed down?

SPEAKER_01 3:10

It has been passed down for uh I mean over a hundred years. Yeah, my I'm a long line of White Sox fans for sure.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Yeah, you said your family has been in Chicago for 200 years.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Yeah, my uh my uh ancestors like dug the Chicago Canal. Like the Chicago River is, you know, it was it's like a it's not a natural river, it was like, you know, it's dug. And I was this my ancestors were the Irish immigrants that were getting paid garbage to shovel dirt, you know.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

If you're let's say that first or second generation ancestor that moved to Chicago were to see you now, what do you think they would say?

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Right?

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Like an artist. Sometimes I think about that.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yeah, I think they'd say, wow, he wait, you want a 48-hour film project? Way to go, buddy. It it all worked. It all worked out. No, I mean, I'm sure they they they they uh my ancestors definitely are uh an example of the of the American dream for sure.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

At least what used to be the American dream.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Loaded. Um so tell me a little bit of how you got where you are right now. Like if you could give like a sparks note. Uh Sparks notes, is that still a thing?

SPEAKER_01 4:33

I haven't uh it was definitely a thing when I was in school. I used them a lot.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

Yeah, now now AI's here and you can just summarize everything. Um, but yeah, if you were to give like a little summary of how you got where you are now, what inspired the the bug, the film bug?

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Um, you know, that's a good question. I think about a lot because I um I I was I'm one of those weird people who always knew what I wanted to do. You know, like I I wanted to be I like I was obsessed with film and wanted to be a filmmaker like when I was in like sixth grade. Um which is pretty crazy. But I I come from a uh a big family, like my my my mom and my dad are both one of um nine kids. And I have one aunt who uh teaches um who used to teach uh was a dialect coach in on on Broadway and at Tisch at MYU. And then I have another uncle who was um the locations manager on um CSI and a bunch of other shows and stuff. So uh and then you know to top it off, my dad had a uh a handicam, you know, like when I was four years old, and I just thought it was so cool that I would just grab it from him and film stuff all the time. And my brothers and stuff, we would always use the film like you know, those shitty magic tricks where you just like you filming something and then you take it away and like, oh, it disappeared, oh my god. And yeah, that was just it was just my favorite toy as a kid.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

And a handy cam is just basically like a handheld camera. Is that what it is?

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Yeah, I don't I wonder what the technical term is, but it's funny because like now they're back in style. Like you you see them all the time now, like there's like you know, like the Gen Z starts to bring them around, like uh, you know, almost like it's vinyl coming back or something. But yeah, it's just like a handheld camera um that just sh has like a zoom built in. I'm not sure what the technical term is for that you know what distinguishes a handicam, but maybe it's just the fact that it's in your hand.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Yeah, perhaps. But tell me more about this priest uh that didn't allow you to showcase your film in high school. Was that your first rejection?

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Yeah, it was it was my first rejection, but it kind of felt better than uh than what getting in, you know. Kind of like I like making a splash, you know. Um but yeah, I will you know, I so as soon as I was a teenager, I was like I like had my own handicam and I was I brought it around with me everywhere, uh, you know, while me and my friends hung out. And uh me and my uh friends growing up in in the city of Chicago, uh we're kind of kind of bad kids, you know. We would do we would we would do drugs and stuff. So yeah. So like as early as in high school? Yeah. I mean, yeah, like when we were 15, we all got a hold of City Living. Yeah, we got a hold of uh mushrooms for the first time when we were 15.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

Jeez.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

And we would just like ate like an eighth of mushrooms or something, and just like would trip.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

I don't know how much that is, but I'm guessing it's a lot.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

It's a decent amount, yeah, yeah. And so and I got it all on on camera, and we would just uh flip around and we would uh you know listen to music and goof around and mess around with each other. And so then uh one one day I was listening to like a Lou Reed um Velvet Unders Underground song, uh Heroine, which is a great song. I was listening to that song and I got inspired by oh like what if I did this thing where like I just did like rapid cutting of like these different so then I I kind of learned how to edit. I think it was iMovie back then, and uh yeah, I made the short film, and then uh you know I was 15, I made this short film, and then my high school, which was a a a very nice uh Catholic school in Chicago, they said, Oh hey, we're gonna do a film contest. And I was like, Oh, perfect. I've got a film. So and let me I I I the film was good. I like I still stand by it. In fact, it's on my website. You can watch it. It's on my Vimeo if you want to check it out.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Just like most most teenagers are hiding the fact that they're doing drugs, and you're you have evidence.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Like I'm creating the evidence and I'm handing it to the strict Catholic priests, yeah. Um, and saying, here's my art.

unknown 9:25

Respect it.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Um, but so a priest was running this film festival because everyone at this at the school are all priests, you know. And so then he eventually like calls me in with the school counselor, and and he like plays the film in front of the counselor and and me and and and him and like work in this office, and he's like playing the film, and he's just like he's so upset. At one point in the film, you can see like a bowl, like a packed bowl, you know.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

No, I don't know. What are you referring to?

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Marijuana. Lovely marijuana. Um never met her. Yeah, so you know, but was what was funny though is that the school counselor wasn't really offended, and she actually thought it was kind of cool. And like she was like, Oh, you're really creative. I'm like, yeah, thank you so much. And they the priest reached out to my parents and was like, um was like, uh, you know, your son uh made this film. Uh and they're and and my parents were like, yeah, that's awesome. I mean, like he's you know expressing creativity. Uh that's that's cool. No, and like they were the priest was so he was even more upset that nobody else was as upset as him.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

You didn't get in trouble?

SPEAKER_01 10:47

I can't remember if I was like let go for the day or something.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

But like your parents weren't like, how dare you be taking mushrooms?

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Well, so here's the thing. I'm the fourth of five kids.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

I was gonna ask. Yeah, I was like, where are you in the lineup?

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And and my brother, my older brother had already been kicked out of this same school.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

So they're like, whatever, you know. And my parents are both one of nine kids, right? So, like, and they're the oldest of the nine, or like my mom's the second oldest, but like I think that they're just they have so many younger siblings, and then they have so many kids that by the time I came around, they're just like, whatever, just you know, be home before midnight or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Live.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

Yeah. Wild. I'm an only child, and that would not have that would not have gone well.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

Different, yeah, yeah, different vibes for sure. I can imagine.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

Different vibe for sure. Okay, so that happens. You go off to university to study filmmaking, is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Yeah, I went to I well, I even went to like a film camp, like a New York Film Academy is a great film academy that is open to uh high schoolers too. So I did that like in the summer. Um, and that was in LA, which was like a crazy experience. Um we got to shoot on film and stuff when I was 16.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Oh dang.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

Um yeah, that was really cool. Um for sure. And then yeah, and then I went to Chapman University, which is like a really great film school just um south of LA. Um, but they didn't have film, and I'm a pretentious little film boy, so I uh uh transferred to Columbia College uh because they were still at the time that I went there, they were still using film cameras, and I got to edit films using a like you'd film it and then they'd give you film back, and then you'd cut with a razor blade and you'd tape scenes together. Yeah, it was crazy.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Oh, that's cool.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Yeah, it was really cool. It was really fun.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Wow. Wow. And then um, and so you haven't left Chicago since? You're just like a Chicago boy. Would you ever go back to LA?

SPEAKER_01 12:55

You know, I probably would, especially if I was given millions of dollars to work as I mean, yeah. Uh yeah, I I yeah, I mean it's well it's funny. I was like, I was in love with New York City like most of my my time as a kid, um, and I really wanted to get into NYU. And then I didn't get into NYU, so then I was like, fuck New York City. Um, and then I you know, I then I went to LA. I lived in LA for like a year or whatever for Chapman University, and then uh came back to Chicago. And yeah, I don't know. I keep telling myself that your art can be better if you're kind of you know and dr you know drenched and dr and drenched, drenched, drenched in the in the in the roots that you're kind of that that brought you up, because it kind of like makes you on theme and like see see what you want to explore. But I I I I I love New York and I love uh LA. I could I could see myself uh living either. I do travel a lot. I travel I was just in New York for three months this year already. Um wow. So yeah. Yeah, I kind of uh I like to live on the road, you know. I just drive.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

What were you doing in New York for three months?

SPEAKER_01 14:13

Uh so I have I have an amazingly talented friend, um, Abby Pierce, who's also from Chicago, um, who also went to uh a Catholic high school with me in Chicago. Uh she is a filmmaker. She started out acting and and and then she moved on to to writing and directing. And I I've worked as like an A D and I've edited all of her films. Um so she got into this Tribeca program um for it was like a sponsorship where they basically Tribeca Studios produced her short film um and they funded the whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yeah, so I was over there working on set, um, and then I stayed there um to edit uh that film.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Oh awesome.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

And then it just premiered, yeah, and then it just premiered uh a couple weeks ago at Tribeca.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Oh my gosh, incredible.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

And she also made we I edited her last film last year, and that film also got into Tribeca. So she got two films into Tribeca.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

Look at that.

SPEAKER_01 15:19

So I'm just writing her coattails, and uh you know, yeah, it was I had a great time uh checking out that fest. Um, and I got to edit two amazing films, which hopefully everybody will will be able to check out soon enough.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

Yeah, and your 48-hour film project, which I have had a lot of folks that I've met in that um like arena, I call it. Yeah, um, they've come on the podcast because it's just a wild, it's like it's sports for filmmaking. Um your your film made it all the way to Cannes, and so you had a film at Cannes. How the heck was that? 2018, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Yeah, 2018, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that was amazing. I mean, uh, yeah, the the 48 or 48-hour film project is is such a cool event because it just brings so much community together, but it also like just motivates you to just be like, you know, it's really hard to make films and to decide what film to make and to know when it's ready, but this is just like you know, you get out there and you and you make it. So it was it was a lot of fun to um I was I had been in a rut where like I was working as a PA for a long time, but I wasn't making my own films, so then I finally did that, um, and then it was awesome because it it blew up. I got to make it with all my friends, and yeah, I won sh won Chicago, and then it goes on when you win your city, you go on to the international one, which is called Filmapalooza, and we were lucky enough that year that it was in Paris, which was awesome.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

So fun.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

And and and the event, this Filmapalooza event, took place at the um city hall of Paris, which is just an epic palace. It was amazing. So, funny enough, because like we got into that, like all of the actors were like, Well, we want to come too. So, like, our entire crew and cast wanted to come, so they all came to Paris to this film Caloise event. And because they were all coming, I was like, Well, if we're gonna have like our whole crew and cast there, why don't we just like shoot something in Paris? So we decided to make it like a web series. So I I wrote out like a 45, like a uh eight-episode thing. Um, and while we were in Paris, we shot there. We literally shot inside the city hall, we shot at like there's a ceremony at Film Plus. Yeah, it's it's it's cool. Um, so it's part of the web series. If you watch like the web series that think the last couple episodes take place within the palace, so that was already really fun, and then we saw at the event that our film was selected was like one of the ten selected to play at Cannes. Um out of literally like 150 cities or whatever. Yeah, it was so such a cool experience. And then uh a month after that we went to the Cannes Film Festival, and um that was just uh yeah, kind of mind-blowing, but like you know, very humbling and like it just a you know the scale of that festival is you've been to it. It's kind of crazy.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

But it sounds like you're really good at doubling down on an opportunity and making that opportunity work for you, and maybe you know, continuing that, like going to Paris and you're like, oh, everybody's coming, let's do the web series, and then that web series uh wins LA shorts? What did it win?

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Uh LA LA Webfest.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

LA Webfest. And so again, like creating more opportunities from the ones that you have. How do you how did you double down on can? Did you? Like how how do you kind of make everything, you know, because one job will lead to the next type of situation. Do you have an approach? Is it just kind of following the excitement, following the joy, or do you have like a process?

SPEAKER_01 19:18

It would be smart if I if I did have a process around this. But for me, it's kind of like, you know, it's like I I know so many people that I want to collaborate with. I know so many, um, you know, I have so many little ideas for short films. It's like sometimes it's kind of um you get like paralysis from like knowing what to do next, because it's not like a job where you have a boss telling you what to do. It's you have to create and plan and and get yourself to to you have to create your own path and get everything going yourself. So usually like doubling down is just like it's just something that's in front of you. It's just so much easier to just be like, okay, well, this is a thing that we could do. We have some people who are on board, so let's let's do that. It kind of just helps snap snap you out of uh decision paralysis, um, which is another thing the 48-hour film project is is good for because it just kind of you just go out and do that.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

Getting out of your head and just taking action is what I'm sort of hearing.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

Yeah. Yeah. Which I feel like if you ask most successful filmmakers like, what advice would you give young filmmakers? They almost always say, like, just go out and make stuff, you know? Just like don't stop, just keep making stuff.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Chicago's best kept secret? It's not deep dish. It's Joel MySonette 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. Alrighty, so right now we are gonna do hot cakes. They're like hot tanks, but they stack up. We're gonna put 60 seconds on the clock. Are you ready?

SPEAKER_01 21:14

So ready.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

Best film festival.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

D Serial in Germany.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Second city or Io or annoyant?

SPEAKER_01 21:24

Io.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

One word to describe working as a PA on a studio.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

Oi.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

One word. Oi? Oi is a word, right? Best bar in Chicago.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Oh uh Kings of the Minds or Richards. Your best film ideas come from um very dark jokes.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Best film ever made.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

Oh why are you gonna do this to me? Why you do this to me? Uh uh 2001 is based honesty i is what I normally would say, but today I will say tribute.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Worst film ever made.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

Oh boy. Um I got I got so many heart takes um honestly the one that's coming to my head the one that's coming to my head is is World War Z. I hate that movie so much.

SPEAKER_00 22:36

If your life were a genre what would it be? Oh boy I mean I guess a coming of age comedy right what woo woo thing do you actually believe in what to say that again what woo-woo thing do you actually believe in woo-woo thing um I mean uh you know like some form of simulation theory maybe amazing thank you so much for playing that was more than 60 seconds but it was worth the wait um I want a compilation a compilation uh video of all of your ooh boy please do I just want that in a loop yeah you can use that as the promo for this ooh ooh um world war z yeah I can see it I don't think it was that bad but I can see I don't know I was watching a I was in a zombie movies phase and I was watching so many great zombie movies there's some zombie movies out there that are like indie ones that are so good um and then I watched that and I was like no it just doesn't make sense it's so silly also Kingston Minds I got kicked out of there one night in college and I have just like never gone back because of that. I uh it was my buddy and I and we were broke college students and this vacuum salesman I shit you not with very Willy Loman you just did a spit take almost yeah this vacuum salesman uh kept buying his drinks and then the I then then the night just went away from me um but yeah so that was yeah I think that was the first and last time I was there I actually was kicked I I I might have been kicked out of there once or twice and I kept going back. Oh they let you back in? I never I never went back I was too ashamed.

SPEAKER_01 24:55

Yeah they forget they forget. Okay good good I'm glad um so you believe that we're in a simulation is that correct you know not not a computer simulation I think that we are in some type of virtual realm that there's you know higher beings and we're basically their version of a simulation you know it's basically like believing in God.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Was this was this brought on by the shrooms or were you like where does where where did you have this illuminating thought? Well you know a lot of there's a lot of Catholic education swirling around in here plus shrooms uh gotcha yeah yeah I mean yeah there were moments in shrooms where like wow I understand everything well I hope that um folks will check out your Vimeo and YouTube. That's where most of your films are correct yeah uh pretty much pretty much all of the the films that I've that I've directed myself they're all available to watch on my on my YouTube yeah you go to uh I think if you if you search Kyle Leland Collerton uh you should find my channel awesome and then you are programming Wendy City Film Fest the first weekend of October is that right yeah it'll be uh a multi-day festival this is was this will be the second year um and we're gonna have multiple blocks we're gonna have multiple panels it's gonna be really cool it's over at uh facets uh on Fullerton in Chicago and yeah it's the first weekend in October this year amazing that's that's a lot you're doing a lot and you're doing it really well so I hope you're no yes no yes well yeah I mean I I I I know how to relax too I got I get plenty of relaxing time and right now right now my life is entirely FIFA and World Cup so oh fair yeah that is fair yeah that is totally fair yeah well uh thank you so much for your time this was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to honestly anytime you have any weird paranormal whatever's send it my way you have an open every anybody listening to this you have an open invitation to send me the weird videos the articles the news clippings whatever whatever woo-woo thing is going out there I want to know about it I want to know all right cool we'll do thank you again for being on the podcast I got a short film script I'll send you ooh yes please so fun so so fun what a great episode I love it when we get weird on this podcast uh uh thank you so much Kyle for being an incredible guest if you want to follow him and see his work which you should because it's very very fun um please go to uh Vimeo or YouTube and just type in Kyle Leland Cullerton um you'll see all of his awesome short films and web series and everything he's done very very fun very cool um and you can follow him on Instagram at Kyle underscore Leland underscore uh very fun if you enjoyed this podcast agreed or disagreed about our paranormal stuff please send me a DM send me all the weird stuff all the time don't make it too weird but like I mean paranormal and like you know you know I'm talking about keep keep keep a PG 13. Appreciate everyone thank you so much for listening um I'll see you around bye Ilse Will Say is an Intrepid entertainment podcast produced and edited by Jacob Kagel music by Eric Bacchus and photography by Joel Mysenet and I am your host Ilse Sachary 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