MAN WITH NO NAME

Ode to the Old West

Last fall, I took a trip out to California to attempt a lifelong dream. I’ve always wanted to meet Clint Eastwood; he’s been the cinematic hero of not only myself, but for several generations of young men over the past 60 years. I’d been captured by the mythic image of his portrayals in spaghetti westerns and police dramas since I was a kid: the gritty antihero, the masculine rock of a person that said very little, but conveyed immense meaning with just a glance. Part of that credit is due to Sergio Leone for his signature shooting style and vision. Nevertheless, Clint possessed something different. I had written to him previously, even tried to phone his offices but, no dice. So, I thought I’d try my luck in person. Why not? The wilder the idea, when attempted, the better the tale to tell. But, it wasn’t my only reason for the adventure. I went West to find my center again, to revitalize my passion for filmmaking and reacquaint myself with the city itself, Los Angeles. A lot changed since I left there 7 years ago. I wanted to see if it still had that magic and, at the same time, I wanted to find that courage and spark of youth I had 10 years ago when everything seemed possible. I was lucky enough to have the help of a fellow filmmaker and friend, Jason Ho. He took a risk on me and I owe him a lot in making this project happen. I traveled to Los Angeles and met him for the first time at LAX. He greeted me with open arms. We painted the town red, visiting all the places close to my heart from film, music, and Martial Arts. From smoking cigars and blaring Guns N Roses down the Sunset strip, to getting tacos in East LA and saluting El Pino like Miklo and El Gallo Negro, I felt that electricity again, that magnetism, the blood in my soul flowing once more after having been dry as the LA river for so long. We then traveled north, up through James Dean territory, all the way to Carmel By-The-Sea, where we’d try our luck finding Clint, finding the Man With No Name. Would we find him? Either way, we were going to find out. This is the story of that journey. This is the story of a Modern Man with an old soul, searching for his Hero.

“The Man With No Name: Old to the Old West project was filmed last fall between Los Angeles and Carmel-By-The-Sea, California. This is the most unique of my projects in the fact that it is not a straight narrative. It is somewhat of an embellished documentary, exploring real themes, but told through an obvious cinematic aesthetic. The wardrobe is all what I wear normally, the writing, the journal, all mine, the sitting at cafes is my daily routine…and the cigars were thavmasia. The difference this time, the aesthetic, was that I had a fantastic Cinematographer to capture what I do daily. This project was written in reverse, which is very different from my usual projects where I’ve come in with a very set plan. In Man With No Name, we shot it off the cuff, and I sat down with the footage, edited and wrote it after the fact. It’s been an excellent learning experience and that week in California was one of the best in my life.”