Words + images Edward R Williams
I met Tomas McGlone at a Dungeons & Dragons night organised by a mutual friend.
I recall shoving my cat in his face, for some reason, and somehow this (the D&D, not the cat) led us to start making films together. I suppose our joint interest in story creation is what did it.
Our latest film A Pleasant View, (still being edited), is a story set in a zombie apocalypse. Though, whenever we say that, people seem to think it’s a zombie flick. Not entirely sure why; it’s more of a dark comedy about some weird youths trying to survive the social breakdown of a zombie apocalypse. A farce in the bushland.
We have an upcoming film in the works, though the script isn’t finished and is super highly top secret; suffice to say, it has a wicked code name: Thunderbirds Are Go is A Go, and that’s dandy.
Tomas and I sit down for a brief catch up so I can ask him some questions about himself.
Why did you want to become a filmmaker?
I was a storyteller from a young age. At some point, I started imagining myself in movies because I knew I wouldn’t have real adventures. But eventually, I realised that I really liked the specifics of the adventures I pictured myself in, and I knew that the only way to make those adventures actually happen was to be the one writing and directing them rather than acting in them. So I guess I came from wanting to be an actor to wanting to be a filmmaker. My drive is the desire to tell stories.
Your emerging production company broke onto the scene by the name, “Tom’s Great Dealer of Theoretical Washing Machines Featuring Ed”. Why?
I came up with “Tom’s Great Dealer of Theoretical Washing Machines” when I was in college and I just wanted something stupid. And at this point, I thought: ‘Why not? Let’s just double down on the stupid’. If we have a good track record, that will help it to stand out. But I think if our goal is to make a very specific name for ourselves, then it does help to establish ourselves to an extent.
Do you concern yourself with potential limitations of such a name? And how about your production company’s new change of identity, called: “Tom’s Entertainment Hole Featuring Edward’s Best efforts”?
No. Nope. I don’t care.
Tom’s Top 5 Tips for Filmmakers
- Critical thinking. Always think critically of your work, never take your opinions about your work for granted, and always think critically of responses from people. Think critically about everyone’s subjectivity. Never consider yourself perfect.
- Vision. Have a vision of what you want to achieve. Be specific with yourself and your goals.
- Be open-minded. Be willing to change your vision and what you want if you find something better.
- Practice. Makes perfect? I guess?
- Work well with people. Keep high morale, be willing to listen to them. Don’t necessarily go with every suggestion and every piece of advice, but always listen and always be good to them; be excellent to each other.