Johnathan Tucker: From Film Actor to Film Director
Monday, January 1st, 2007
Brooklyn native Johnathan Tucker started his career in filmmaking in front of the camera as an actor. It was while working as an extra on the set of the hip hop classic film Krush Groove, that he first became enthralled with the prospect of stepping behind the camera.
Today, Tucker has two films, Dead Roses (budget $5,000) and The Situation, (budget $20,000 and counting) to his credit and boasts of five years in the industry. “Dead Roses is a horror zombie movie which was like a Dawn of the Dead in the hood. I didn’t write that one. I produced it, co-directed, and starred in it,” explains Tucker. “The Situation is a drama that I consider a reverse fatal attraction. I wrote, produced and directed this film.”
Although Tucker did not attend film school, he has gained a great deal of knowledge about filmmaking from private studies and filmmaking clubs and organizations. He belongs to IFP and The Blackfilmmakers Group. “They have opened me to a wide variety of networking events, courses, and panels that have helped me gain more knowledge and skills as a filmmaker,” said Tucker.
Drawing from those that inspired him such as John Singleton and Martin Scorsese, Tucker has developed his own unique style that strives to stay real. “I feel my ability to make the story feel real and bring to life my characters that I created are my greatest strengths,” said Tucker. “I feel that I bring intensity to a project and the ability to make whatever it is that I’m working on seem life like.”
Tucker’s film, The Situation, has received quite a bit of attention and continues to do so. The film won Best Feature and Audience Choice Award at The Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival and is being looked at by distributors. Currently the film is 60 minutes in length and Tucker is hard at work extending this to at least 87 minutes. Plans are also in the works for an urban crime drama.
Dead Roses also proved to be a success and was featured in articles in the New York Magazine, New York Daily News, and was the subject of an interview on the NPR Radio Show “News and Notes with Ed Gordon.”
And what is Tucker’s advice for those wanting to break into the industry? “Study the Craft. It might not necessarily be film school, but work on sets, read books, and gain as much knowledge about the process as possible. Stay focused and don’t let anyone discourage you from doing it.”
To learn more about Tucker and his upcoming projects visit www.newdigimedia.net.
