Introduction by William Mortensen VaughanDawna Lee Heising referred us to Gregory Blair, a co-star in Natural Born Filmmakers, who directed her in and Deadly Revisions.
LA Libertad: What are your occupations?
Gregory: Actor, Writer, Director, Producer...
LA Libertad: What do you love most about your work?
Gregory: The ability to connect people through shared laughter, tears, thoughts and emotions; the more we share, the more we realize we are all the same. I think that is ultimately the goal (or at least the effect) of all artists, whether they are aware of it or not; we all make (or want to make) ourselves and others feel a little less alone. When you look at a painting or hear a song (or whatever), and you feel or think something, you’ve been touched by that artist — even if they’re in another country or long since dead. Then, when you share the painting or that song with someone else, they are touched, too. So the artist’s reach grows endlessly with time, becoming a part of our history, a part of our heritage, a part of our hearts. Or that’s the goal, at any rate. And even if we do not become as enduring as [Pablo] Picasso, if we have shared our art with one person, we have changed something. We have connected. We are no longer alone.
LA Libertad: What inspires you?
Gregory: Inspiration for my creative arts can come from anywhere: people, places, other artist’s work, conversations, situations - almost anything. Someone or something will hit me as unique, amusing, vexing, wanting, and I’ll have this desire to do something more, to journey with it, spend more time on it, maybe embellish it, maybe fix it - something. It all comes down to desire: desire to explore, to expand, and then to give it back to someone else. Which comes back to sharing, communing, and bringing people together: the ultimate desire.
LA Libertad: What is the hardest part of your job?
Gregory: I think it’s the gaps that are the hardest: the gap between the budget you’d like and the budget you get; the gap between how you understand a situation and how someone else does; the gap between your expectations and what others bring to the table; all the things that make life challenging feel exacerbated in the entertainment world where any project can make or break a career. The key is to roll with the punches, laugh at the foibles, and remind yourself you’re where you want to be; that no matter what happens, you’re in your playground of choice. I’m getting better at that.LA Libertad: Any upcoming projects?
Gregory: My film Deadly Revisions (which I wrote and directed) will be hitting the film festival circuit starting this fall, and I’m acting in Natural Born Filmmakers, part of which is making its debut at the Action On Film Festival this August, and then I have a couple of episodes of “Love That Girl” which should be airing soon, too. I also have a few films in development, which folks can sniff out on the websites below.
www.2writers.com/GregoryLinks.htm
www.imdb.com/name/nm2489045
www.DeadlyRevisionsMovie.com
www.imdb.com/title/tt2386291
www.facebook.com/pages/Gregory-Blair/121092744586543
twitter.com/thegregoryblair
gregoryblair.blogspot.com
All photos by Joshua Patterson Photography
Interview by Libertad Green
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