Me?
. . . when Russell was a child he thought movies just appeared on screen from another dimension
. . . when Russell was a little older his mind was blown to discover that actual human beings crafted movies together
. . . when Russell was in college at New York University he made his first short film and has been addicted to filmmaking ever since
. . . when Russell graduated he was a Script Reader for LionsGate Films and Focus Features
. . . when Russell made his short, "The Tested", he won Top Prize at the Los Angeles Int'l Short Film Festival, making it eligible for an Academy Award nomination
. . . when Russell watched "The Tested" on BET he was proud but found it surreal to see commercials in the middle of it
. . . when Russell made his feature debut, "The Tested" (based on the short), and stepped onto set with Frank Vincent he couldn't believe he was directing the guy who uttered the line, "Go home and get your fuckin' shinebox!"
. . . when Russell was accepted into the IFP Filmmaker Lab he saw his name in Variety for the first time and proudly gave it to his mom
. . . when a commercial Russell edited aired during the Super Bowl he shuddered to think 120 million people were watching his work
. . . when Russell's film "I'm Not Sorry" got accepted in competition at the SXSW Film Festival it capped the most satisfying film experience of his career
. . . while working in adversting/marketing Russell has Directed spots for such brands as Wendys, Sonic, 3M, Applegate Farms, and has Directed for Comedy Central, Vice, Spike, and MTV
. . . Russell cannot stop thinking of almost all of his life's incidents, interactions, and relations within the context of whether or not they would make an interesting film
me and my moms circa 1988