![\"Sammy](\"https:\/\/insideoutthefilm.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/11\/sammy-with-florenca1.jpg\")
<\/a>Sammy Kusler with Florenca Perona (costumes) on the set of “Guys Reading Poems.”<\/p><\/div>\n
Hunter: Sammy, a lot of our readers are prepping their first or second film, whether it’s a short or feature film. “Guys Reading Poems” was your first film working as a co-producer. What general advice can you give to folks starting out?<\/p>\n
Sammy:\u00a0If you have a dream, go for it. I don\u2019t care how old you are, or how broke you are. I don\u2019t care about your excuses \u2013just allow yourself to follow your passion.<\/p>\n
Hunter:\u00a0You have an incredible talent for making people feel good. This is not to be underestimated as an important task on a set where people are working very hard and for long hours. What are some strategies that you had to make the cast and crew feel comfortable?<\/p>\n
Sammy:\u00a0Just basic understanding of human nature. We all want to be loved. We all perform better when we feel like we\u2019re loved. The trick is to know the balance of giving and receiving love and just basically being honest with your emotions. If you have honest emotions, people aren\u2019t afraid that you\u2019re hiding something.<\/p>\n
Hunter:\u00a0What was something about the project that was harder than expected and what was easier than expected?<\/p>\n
<\/a>Co-producer Sammy Kusler with “Guys Reading Poems” stars Gopal Divan, Blake Sheldon and Rex Lee.<\/p><\/div>\n
Sammy:\u00a0I definitely expected there to be more competition and more stress between\u00a0people but I found the team that we had was so giving and caring. There was\u00a0just\u00a0this great flow between the actors, the crew, the production team. I didn\u2019t expect it to be so easy and wonderful. What was harder than expected…the grueling hours, very long hours. The hours really took a bigger toll than I expected.<\/p>\n
Hunter:\u00a0Food is a big part of your life. You’re such an incredible chef – you often cook for your friends – and you brought that same sense of caring about the food to craft services on the film. It’s such an important area of the set. Any tips for producing teams on how to keep the cast and crew happy with regards to food?<\/p>\n
Sammy:\u00a0Armies move on their stomachs. That\u2019s it. I think that\u2019s basic. The happy time during “Guys Reading Poems” was around the craft services table. That\u2019s where people\u00a0went to relieve stress and there was good, healthy stuff to help them relieve it.<\/p>\n
Hunter:\u00a0I hope this doesn’t sound too hokey, but you have a shamanistic thing going, too. I remember standing at the dining room table with Patricia [Velasquez] and you pulled out that original\u00a0Frida Kahlo pendant. I remember in that moment feeling like you were one of the spiritual guides to the film and Patricia just fell in love with you. Do you think there’s some kind of spirituality that comes with making a film? Or am I off-base?<\/p>\n
Sammy:\u00a0What I\u2019ll call it is a deep connection to spirituality. Everything in my life is connected to some deeper pool of spirituality that we all share. It\u2019s all connected. We\u2019re all connected. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned, anyway. And it pours out in all kinds of ways, in all kinds of magic moments. That piece of jewelry is one of the greatest treasures of my life because I was born the minute that Frida Kahlo died so it is to me like a talisman to this intense spirit world that I don\u2019t understand…but I feel it.<\/p>\n