THAheadline Highlights: Film Director, Jalen Coleman
Updated: Mar 14, 2019
THAheadline Highlight of the week goes to Jalen Coleman, a young, aspiring film director from Los Angeles, CA with 12 productions underneath his belt.
His passion for writing and film directing started at a young age, and thanks to five simple words, "you should be a writer" the rest was history.
"I watched a lot of movies growing up, based off where I was staying, my mom would not let me go outside to play or anything because we lived in a very bad neighborhood. She (my mom) had a bunch of VHS's that she would let me watch like, Terminator 2 and Grease," said Jalen. He continued, "Around the second grade, my teacher gave the class an assignment to write a story. So, I went home to write the assigned short story. Unfortunately, I do not remember what it was about, but when I turned it in the next day, the teacher told me, 'You should be a writer.' Back then, I did not know what a writer was necessarily. Once she explained it to me, I thought it was cool. Since the second grade, I knew I always wanted to be a writer."
In high school, Jalen knew he wanted to be a film director thanks to another teacher who showed him behind the scenes footage of different films.
"When we watched the behind the scenes footage, it just hit me like, 'Oh wow! People actually make movies, they do not magically appear.'
When asked, what filmmakers inspired him along the way, Jalen stated some heavyweights such as Steven Spielberg (A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Jurassic Park); David Fincher (Gone Girl, The Social Network); and Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed). Just like the directors Jalen admires, he too has a unique perspective, style, and stories.
His latest project , "Ashes", is soon to be released this June. "Ashes " is a short story about a superhero named Scorch whose super power is fire. Scorch has found himself in a place where he has given up on people, faith, and being a hero. The world is looking for him, but he has stepped into retirement.
To keep up with the film before its release date and to see if you can find Scorch, use the hashtag, #WhereisScorch on social media.
What is in store for Jalen's future is limitless. He plans to turn "Ashes" into a feature film or sequel and is currently in the process of writing a book with the working title, "Dusty" that he plans to turn into a play and film.
To keep up with Jalen and his many projects, you can follow him on Instagram and Twitter at @JalenJColeman.