WISHING WHALES
MOTION PICTURES
Three years ago when he first came up with the idea for "A Date with Anxiety" he wrote the main character Ben like a real-life version of himself; at the time, a college sophomore following his first tough break up. Smith eventually entered the dating world again but was filled with anxiety, so he took that feeling and created his first ever short film with it.
Adam considers the two short films together as a proof of concept for an eventual Hollywood feature film pitch. There are a lot of things Adam would change, but the core concept of interacting with ones' own feelings by talking to different versions of themselves is still there. Smith says, "I would definitely punch up the comedy in a feature version. The idea for a feature film includes the awkward first date while both of their different emotions surround them in some small, dingy restaurant." He spent many years waiting tables and thinks the first date can often times make or break what's next, "I think I've waited on enough first dates to really pick up on some of the cues that first-date people give off, like the dudes who awkwardly arrive thirty minutes too early (me low-key), the obnoxiously rude public eaters who you can tell don't eat out often, or the most awkward; an obvious situation of one being much hotter online than in person. Brad Paisley has a really fun song about it!"
When asked what the purpose of these pieces are he states, "it's mostly for fun, but there is still a lot of truth to it. Anxiety can be very discouraging, and often times hinder people from approaching certain things like dating. I just wanted to re-tell that awkward, new dating feeling without solely focusing on sex, like most high school/college comedies do today."
He adds, "my inspirations comes from many of the great comedians I grew up watching (even when I shouldn't have been). I have two older brothers that happened to love comedy, so any time they'd let me hang out in their room, I took it all in... I loved it. I think 'A Date with Anxiety' comes from my love of the singular multi-character comedies that dominated the '90s with legends like the Wayans Brothers, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers... those are still some of my favorites!"
When asked about the famous Soutzoukakia dish Smith declares, "I still have no idea what it is, and I swear Patti [Meadors] has explained it to me a million times but I still... wait... I... wrote that didn't I?"
Following the rolling credits, we see a picture of eight-year-old Adam Smith "...and my Grandpa Bill." Smith says. "I dedicated this film to him. Sadly he passed away only three days into editing which fully threw me off my tracks; at work, at home, editing... it was hard. But, in the end I think he'd really like it. I hope to be as funny as him and if this film makes only one-single person laugh, I think he would be proud. Fun fact: every time I'd stay the night at his house, I'd sneak one of my Uncle Ryan's VHS copies of 'Eddie Murphy RAW' and stay up all night watching it. It's only fitting that those kind of memories are linked to my grandfather's house. I love you, and I miss you Grandpa."
What's next? Adam Smith answers, "Well, right now we're working on a pretty big project; a six-part murder mystery. It's funny, it's sad, it's crazy, but all together it's fun as hell. We had fun making it, and I think people are going to have a lot of fun watching it. Only time will tell! So, stay tuned..."