Meet the Cast & Crew: Elena Weinberg

How did you get started in producing and directing?

I've been acting since I was three years old, and when Duncan entered the Jameson First Shot competition, he asked if I wanted to make some movies with him. That was in 2013, and I've been producing for TurtleDove Films since then. I went to school for acting, but am a self-taught filmmaker. The education never stops, I'm always learning.

How did you first get involved in the movie?

I breathed down Duncan's neck until he finally finished a draft of the script and told him we had to enter the Hometown Heroes Rally.

When did you move to Austin, and how is it different from when you first moved here?

I was born here and lived half an hour away growing up, so I was constantly here as a kid, but I officially moved back in 2007. The cityscape is definitely different, and it feels a little less like home now. I miss the old South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse area. That Thundercloud Subs was the coolest and I always loved visiting the fabric store with my mom as a kid. Cities change, though, and I'm trying not to be too much of a hipster about it. I still love Austin more than any other city in the world.

What do you think about crowdfunding on Seed&Spark so far? Best parts? Worst parts?

I am a diehard Seed & Spark fangirl. When people ask me to manage their campaigns, I will actively push them off of other platforms until they come to S&S. (I literally had filmmakers with their entire campaign ready to go on Indiegogo one time and I was like NOPE!!) I love the community that Seed & Spark has built, and I honestly do not think I'd be the filmmaker I am today without them. This is my first campaign raising money for my own project as opposed to managing for someone else since 2014 and it feels really good and really bad at the same time. I'm so glad that I'm the person I'm yelling at to get shit done right now, because I know it'll get done... and I'm also terrified I won't finish everything on time. I guess, by the time people read this, we'll know the answer to that question.... *fingers crossed*

What is your favorite form of art and why?

I really love TV. I love how complex and endless creating worlds can be on TV shows. I love falling in love with characters and feeling like they're my real life friends. I feel like I should have said books - if it was 15 years ago, I would have said books. I grew up reading three books at a time and would refuse to go to sleep because I was so lost in whatever world I dove into that night. I guess that used to be my TV. Now I just binge TV all the time.

If you could make everyone but one other person disappear, who would you keep around?

Not gonna lie, I cheated and looked to see if Duncan put me before I answered this question. But yeah, I'd take Duncan with me.