Interview with 'ADDicted' director Dan Jenski
Source: Interview via Phone
This afternoon I was lucky to chat over the phone with director Dan Jenski about his new film, "ADDicted." So here's the interview:
1. "ADDicted" deals with college students using Adderall to deal with work, school, etc, so you got the idea of the film because of what you saw in college. So I have to ask a personal question, were you ever pressured to use the drug?
First time in 2004, my friend had them and showed me them at a bar. I started seeing and noticing people taking Adderall for studying. I was never pressured by a person to use the drug but was pressured to use it once because of finals and the pressure of school. Now 11 years later it's bad as its ever been.
2.I have to ask, was this always going to be a feature film or did you want to do a documentary instead?
I think it always was going to be a feature film. I first did a short film to start off. I feel that documentaries can be very slanted and bias. Feature films are more of my forte.
3. Tell me how did you pick your cast? You have several talented actors in "ADDicted."
There are two ways that we did it. The first way was an open casting call that we did in both L.A. and New York. That's how we found our main actor Luke Guldan. The second way was to contact the actors directly. So when it came outside of Luke, we picked Kathleen Quinlan which through her came both Gil Bellows and Lauren Sweetser. Though would like to note that Day 4 our original actress had to leave and we picked Kathleen Quinlan because we liked her stuff. So there are usually two methods of casting.
4. Since your film deals with addiction, what're your personal feelings about the addiction crisis in America?
One thing I found was there are multiple causes of why someone becomes an addict. One cause of addiction is boredom, especially in rural areas. There isn't a lot to do. The second is how the doctors can be careless. Many just like to give out pills. You have people who take opioids all the time and use the "well my doctor said it was okay."
I believe that every generation had their own vices too. My dad drank to escape from his problems and past. No one should need a vice to deal with life. With addiction, you have to find the root cause. It does seem like right now everyone is unhappy or messed up. It really is a complex situation.
5. Last question, do you have any new projects that you would like to discuss?
Yes, but I can't go into too much detail about it. Right now I'm working on a TV show, which is a scripted drama. My goal is to be filming next Fall or Spring of 2019. Also would like to note that "ADDicted" will be on Amazon Prime too!
So I would like to thank Dan Jenski for taking his time out from his busy schedule to discuss his film with me. If you would like to rent "ADDicted" or buy a digital copy please click here or you can get a DVD copy here.
 |
| Director Dan Jenski Source: Twitter |
This afternoon I was lucky to chat over the phone with director Dan Jenski about his new film, "ADDicted." So here's the interview:
1. "ADDicted" deals with college students using Adderall to deal with work, school, etc, so you got the idea of the film because of what you saw in college. So I have to ask a personal question, were you ever pressured to use the drug?
First time in 2004, my friend had them and showed me them at a bar. I started seeing and noticing people taking Adderall for studying. I was never pressured by a person to use the drug but was pressured to use it once because of finals and the pressure of school. Now 11 years later it's bad as its ever been.
2.I have to ask, was this always going to be a feature film or did you want to do a documentary instead?
I think it always was going to be a feature film. I first did a short film to start off. I feel that documentaries can be very slanted and bias. Feature films are more of my forte.
3. Tell me how did you pick your cast? You have several talented actors in "ADDicted."
There are two ways that we did it. The first way was an open casting call that we did in both L.A. and New York. That's how we found our main actor Luke Guldan. The second way was to contact the actors directly. So when it came outside of Luke, we picked Kathleen Quinlan which through her came both Gil Bellows and Lauren Sweetser. Though would like to note that Day 4 our original actress had to leave and we picked Kathleen Quinlan because we liked her stuff. So there are usually two methods of casting.
4. Since your film deals with addiction, what're your personal feelings about the addiction crisis in America?
One thing I found was there are multiple causes of why someone becomes an addict. One cause of addiction is boredom, especially in rural areas. There isn't a lot to do. The second is how the doctors can be careless. Many just like to give out pills. You have people who take opioids all the time and use the "well my doctor said it was okay."
I believe that every generation had their own vices too. My dad drank to escape from his problems and past. No one should need a vice to deal with life. With addiction, you have to find the root cause. It does seem like right now everyone is unhappy or messed up. It really is a complex situation.
5. Last question, do you have any new projects that you would like to discuss?
Yes, but I can't go into too much detail about it. Right now I'm working on a TV show, which is a scripted drama. My goal is to be filming next Fall or Spring of 2019. Also would like to note that "ADDicted" will be on Amazon Prime too!
So I would like to thank Dan Jenski for taking his time out from his busy schedule to discuss his film with me. If you would like to rent "ADDicted" or buy a digital copy please click here or you can get a DVD copy here.
