A Conversation with Will Branner
Paul McDonald and Will Branner discuss how they met, how Will got into acting and filmmaking, and what stories Will loves to make (and watch).
About Will Branner
Will Branner is an award winning director/filmmaker based out of LA. As a former Broadway performer (Mean Girls, Bat Out of Hell), his work emphasizes collaboration with the artist and has been seen at numerous festivals across the globe. Films: SCHMIK (HollyShorts Film Festival, Amazon), Night Terror (Award for Best Thriller Indie Shorts, Best Horror Film Apex Film Festival, Paris International Shorts), Moment’s Silence (Experimental Music and Dance Festival). Commercial/Promotional: John Barrett Salon, Todd Sanfield, Bandstand Broadway, Frank Wildhorn’s 54 Below Series, Broadway at the W. Theatre: Gruesome Playground Injuries (University of Michigan), Rock of Ages (Pioneer Theatre Guild). Branner holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!).
Instagram: @lordbranner
Quotes
Our stories can be more fantastic and unbelievable than what you’d see scripted in a movie.
You go, Glen Coco.
How do we take the stories we live in and make them meaningful and enjoyable?
If you allow people to dream up their ideas and execute them, they’ll often surprise you.
Take those risks, support your vision, be your biggest fan, and go for it.
Kids don’t obsess about movies, and that’s heartbreaking to me. How do we appeal to the younger audiences, inspire the younger generation and show them they have a place in fimmaking?
We need to make the story the most important thing and the people will follow.
Stories echo into our lives.
Our main thing to lift people up is storytelling.
The glimpse of hope at the end is important.
People crave stories where they walk out the theater and say, “Maybe I can do a little better in my own life.”
Questions for Will
How did you get into acting?
What storytellers do you love to watch?
What stories do you love to tell? What stories are you drawn to?
What’s the difference between a director and a producer?
Recommended watching
Taylor Sheridan: Sicario, Wind River, Hell or High Water
Will Branner’s work
Safe House (coming soon)
Schmik (2018)
Night Terror (2020)