Hi all - I wanted to be in film & television from as far back as I can remember, back when I first became old enough to figure out who & what was bringing those images to my tv & theatre screen! :) But living in a small town on the East Coast, Hollywood felt too far away and unobtainable for me, so I pursued the "safe" and traditional route: college & Corporate America. But the higher I climbed that ladder, the less I liked the view....
When my young son expressed an interest in acting, I vowed to support him in every way possible. And I did. As fate would have it - when I accompanied him to his first film set, I was enthralled and fascinated with every aspect of film production and knew that I was exactly where I wanted and needed to be my whole life.
So I busted my butt and worked for free on every set I could for a few years to gain experience and then I made my first film at age 49!! I've made a total of 4 films now. Below is a link to my Vimeo if you'd like to check out my work: This link goes to my Directing reel but I also have 3 of my full moves on the site to watch for free. The first clip is "The Box", my first film that I am immensely proud of. https://vimeo.com/299295891
I also have a private video there - a 23 minute Proof of Concept film for "Phoenix 454" - a fun, action/drama feature story, starring a dynamic 40 year old female lead. This Proof of Concept is to help me pitch the script and hopefully get the feature film produced and distributed. If you have the interest and the means to possibly help me get this film made - or can put me in touch with those who can - please PM me and I'll send you the private link and password to view it.
I look forward to meeting lots of new people here.
Keep pushing forward! Or to quote one of my favorite movie lines: "Never Give Up! Never Surrender!"
Cheers!
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Hi Melaine, a lot of those feeling are very relatable. You're right, never give up!
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Thanks so much Eoin O'Sullivan !!! :)
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I went into filmmaking after my girlfriend reminded me that if this was something I wanted to do when I was a kid and I still liked it that I should do it.
Well now we work together on film projects I direct and she's the DP and editor and I'm so happy that we chased our dream because it's great working together doing what we love.
I only wish we could work even more in film!
So I can completely relate to chasing your dream.
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That's great Vital Butinar ! I write, produce and direct. My son is an actor but he has an extraordinary eye behind the camera for shots and angles that I don't, and he's really good at adding little things to the story that really fill it out, so we, too, make a great team when we work together. It's especially satisfying to be able to share the wonderfully mad world of filmmaking with family. :)
Thank you Tasha Lewis !! :) Me, too!!! Filmmaking feeds my soul like no other job ever has. I am on a literal "natural high" when I'm on set. haha
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So cool Melanie and I love your name. Thanks for sharing.
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Great credits Melanie!
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One of the hardest working creatives on the platform. Always love being in your orbit, Melanie. Positive energy for days.
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Beautiful! So inspiring!
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Thanks for sharing this inspiring post! I'm a bit late to this industry & I just fell in love with it too.
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woooot!
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You are amazing Melanie Star Scot ! What an inspiration!
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Wow! I'm 49 but 24 forever!! and you have just made my day - what a fantastic inspiration. Thank you for sharing your story! One is never too old to make it - just think of David Seidler - screenwriter of 'The King's Speech' - and his journey in writing that amazing screenplay. Here's to making dreams a reality!
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Welcome Melanie Your content is great, I am excited to see what you do next.
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Melanie Star Scot The link you posted here is not viewable as "private" - but I looked at your vimeo page. Very nice, well done. I would like to invite you (and anyone else seeing this) to attend the third Forum One open forum for independent producers and streamers this Monday at 4pm Pacific and every two weeks thereafter. Info at ondemand.global/forum-01
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Melanie, that is the most uplifting news I have heard all day! So happy for your success
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So nice to meet you, Melanie Star Scot! I was born in Italy and Hollywood was far for me, too.. it took me 40 years to move to LA and then I made it happen. People like you, who know that it is good to have a dream, but it is great to have a plan and keep pushing and make things happen, make this world a better place :)
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Love your story Melanie Star Scot ! Your content looks incredible!! I look forward to connecting with you!
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Melanie Star Scot A very inspiring post!
Reggie Street - Love your profile and your positive energy! Glad to make the connection. :)
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Thanks so much Jodi Rath !!
Thank you Christopher Thomas !!
Heather Hood - It always makes my day to hear I've inspired someone! Thank you for sharing! :)
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Good on you, Melanie. Inspiring story. I'm hoping to follow in your footsteps and soon be making my own films.
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Elena Maro I couldn't agree more! Thanks for the post. :)
Thank you Julia Manis ! Looking forward to connecting to you as well.
Many thanks Sandeep Sharma !! :)
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Richard "RB" Botto - WOW!! That is high praise, indeed, coming from you! I am honored!! Thanks so much!
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Hi, Melanie. Impressive showreel. Looking forward to seeing the films.
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Just went over to Vimeo and watched the video, and I loved your content!! I am currently attempting to write my first script and I have to admit it's pretty challenging but hopefully I'll get there soon! :)
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You're so very welcome, Melanie!
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We're the same Melanie! My path to film has been a simular one! lets connect
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Oh that's cool Melanie Star Scot.
Well my girlfriend Leya Kokoravec actually took family filmmaking even further. Her sister also got involved too and in the last projects that we shot we got their mother who did the costume design and their father who had a small role. As well as her sister's boyfriend who also had a role. I even got my dad involved, he had some acting experience a couple of years back.
But it's really cool when we have people who are extraordinary capabilities around us like my girlfriends mother who has had experience with costume design in theaters.
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Melanie, check you privacy settings, video cannot be played from here (Italy) so I imagine all around Europe as well
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Melanie Star Scot, by Grapthar's Hammer... I salute you! :) Very inspiring post. I really enjoyed watching the trailers. Great stuff. Hope to see more of your work out there.
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Joanna AY - haha!!! The Grapthar's Hammer made my day!!! and thanks so much for your kind words. :)