The stuff I'm passionate about is what I write; it isn't multi-million-dollar franchise movies.
I think there's so much talent in Latin America - you know, directors from Mexico and Chile and Colombia - we have so much talent and there are not enough platforms to show our talents, so I'd love to use this and start creating my own endeavors and get all these really talented people together.
Since I was 9 years old, I have been working, hustling to find my own projects - from telenovelas to record deals, etc. etc. Way before I met my husband.
I feel like, as a filmmaker, I'm at my strongest when I write the script and when it comes from me, out of whole cloth. My best work has always been self-generated.
What I discovered in Berlin was this immense freedom because it felt like you could start any kind of project and nobody would care... and that's what I sort of adopted to my own.
I've probably had my best time acting - or not acting, or trying to not act - on things like 'The Low Down' or 'Treacle Jr.' I'm happiest doing things like that. Not just because they're lead roles, but because there's more freedom in them.
Every project has to stand on its own. It's a different identity within each project, and I feel like that's the way it should be.
I worked with some directors, and it was really collaborative, and I was sort of writing with them. I was giving so many pieces of myself to their movies, I thought, 'It's about time I use my own voice for me, and establish my own voice.' So I knew I wanted to make films.
Commercial films give you a wide exposure. For 'Dilwale,' I got calls from countries like Oman. Its reach is huge. Similarly, doing independent projects satisfy the actor in you.
I love what I do, and I don't think I'm the guy who can do, like, a movie a year and that's it. I don't know what I'd do! I've already put stuff independently on the Internet cause I'm bored! I just want to keep going!
I never made movies that had any of my music. I haven't crossed them over that much.
At a young age I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. So I'm trying to develop things on my own, too, and there are a couple things that have absolutely nothing to do with the entertainment business that I'm trying to tackle. We'll just sort of see.
I won't read scripts because I have a limited amount of time. Why should I help other people do lame stuff when I can just go out and put on lame stuff of my own?
A lot of times you have to dip into the independent world to find the really great projects and the really great scripts. They're out there - you just have to search hard.
At some point, I would like to start creating my own things. If people don't write the scripts I like, then I will do my own.
I like to have projects that belong completely to me. If done right, it can also pay better. But the majority of my projects are still destined for publishers.
To people in my industry I'm usually a guy that tries to generate his own projects and I remain very elusive when people try and attach me to big projects.
As far long-term aspirations, other than acting, I do want to direct a little bit. I want to get on the production side and eventually start a production company and maybe make some projects of my own.
My goals are to continue acting and also to produce some independent films in the next few years. Music is a passion of mine, so I also want to continue along that path, creating with my friends.
In the time since I've done 'Bad Teacher,' I've produced an independent movie and directed two pilots. So I love to do all different types of things.
I always viewed [the podcast and the TV show] as two separate things.
When I’m Chad from Nickelback, then I have to wear one hat and I have to wear various others when I’m Chad Kroeger who is co-owner of 604 Records or someone who’s working on an independent project. At that point I want to know where the record is getting licensed, as well as absolutely every aspect of how we’re going to deliver a song to the public and how we’ll all get paid for doing so.
I tried [being a mogul]. It bores me. I don't really want to produce other people's movies. Because they're either grown-up filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh or Kathryn Bigelow that didn't really need me - and I've produced both of them. It's fun to sit around with them and be collegial, but they don't need me. They can make the film without me. I make my own stuff. There are tons and tons of other things I'm interested in that have nothing to do with movies or are documentary projects.
Amy Rapp, my producing partner, and I are drawn to character-driven material. We're developing and producing movies and TV, fiction and non-fiction, studio and independent, broadcast and cable, theatre, and web so our slate is really diverse.
My dream isn't running a studio or doing anything managerial in any way, shape, or form.
