Codey Wilson
Codey Wilson, class of 2016, is executive producing for Abandon Films. He says his success goes all the way back to his film school “cavalry,” connections, and friends. Codey expounds below for this month’s blog post.
Between our junior and senior year of college, my classmate, Dylan Stine, took a job on a feature film. Soon, he was offered the behemoth role of 2nd AD. Within minutes of accepting, he called to connect me to the line producer, and I was hired as the 2nd 2nd AD. By the morning, I was driving halfway across the country for my first job on a film set.
It was trial by fire and, at times, embarrassing. I felt completely in over my head and feared I’d be sent home, but key department head Andy Lohrenze, whom I had worked with on a feature film at Liberty, vouched for me. I was able to stay and learn. This was my first lesson in understanding how small the industry really is.
That fall, I looked forward to applying professional experience to my senior thesis project. It was, to put it nicely, ambitious. To compound matters, I felt uncomfortable as a veteran and older student in film school. I often kept to myself and thought I had been too consumed with my own work to have made friends that would care to support me when my thesis block arrived.
During the biggest night of my shoot, the temperature on location dropped to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. I was setting up in the forest when, to my surprise, like Gandalf arriving with the Rohirrim, groups of film students appeared on the nearby hill. From sunset to sunrise, they helped me try to create something in the cold without a single complaint.
My favorite memory of film school—of Liberty—is experiencing the camaraderie of filmmakers and friends who showed up to support me on that shoot (Corey Knef, Dylan Stine, Dylan Giovanetto, Spencer Cameron, and Hunter Gehman, to name a few). My professors also took time to mentor me, specifically, Won Novalis, Jon Hout, and James Walz. They helped me realize my thesis vision and prepare material that I was excited to share in the film industry.
After graduation, I was fortunate to work consistently. I produced a commercial with Buffalo Mustang in Detroit, joined a feature in Norfolk, VA, and worked my way to Los Angeles for production roles on multiple features and series for the next year. Every job resulted from a relationship made on a previous job.
I was grateful to be working in film, but I missed developing content and storylines, pitching ideas, and bringing other creatives to the table to build something. So, I called the only person I knew in commercial filmmaking to ask for advice: Won Novalis. A few weeks later, Won and co-owner Justin Rossbacher gave me the opportunity to produce for Abandon Films.
Producing for Abandon offers the amazing privilege of working in an environment of full-time creativity. What’s more, I get to connect people with projects. Recently, I looked across the set of our latest production, For Home and Country, to see ten alumni and classmates working with us. Now, Abandon has provided me a special opportunity of moving to NYC to acquire new partnerships and produce relentlessly.
Mark Duplass once told filmmakers at a South by Southwest event that “the cavalry isn’t coming.” He’s right. So, stick together, film students. Support one another. Be the cavalry for your friends, but don’t give to receive. Have a good group chat (or two) that you speak with every day because those friends will one day be the cavalry for you.
