About Matt

Strident, Flowing.

Biography:

The stuff that's happened to me before now: I grew up in Winner, SD and Las Vegas, NV alternately over the years. My interest in entertainment led me to acting in high school (I acted in college too but only until the theater dept. scholarship money ran out) and writing short stories. Trying my hand at easier, more lucrative entertainment I found out that I have no musical aptitude but am quite good at telling others what to do. This lead me to my interest in creating films.

Filmography:

The influence of Matt's filmography has been profound, to say the least. He has created films that are both timeless and topical, traversing a dizzying array of topics. These days Matt can be found working on various projects under the Not Your Donkey Entertainment and CtE banners and doing as little work in law school as possible (which is still an annoyingly large amount).

• ??? (2000) [Stageplay] - Co-written with Director Roger Wonnenberg this poignent and often frustrating production deals with the struggle of an aspiring boxer to escape the history of mental illness and weakness that plagues his family and threatens to destroy him as well. One of the few non-comedy pieces in NYDE's library, ??? stared, among others, Chris Deaver, who would go on become a key actor in many of NYDE and CtE productions.
• That’s Fucking Hilarious (1999-2003) – Filmed and edited over the course of several years, TFH is an entirely adlibbed 60 minute feature chronicling the adventures of Ted and Lenny as they run from the unusual death of their mutual friend, Bob, a man killed falling onto a rapier.
• The Fight Scene (2001): This pivotal first offer from Matt deals with the eternal conflict between the IRS (emobodied by Matt) and the Army (emobodied by Bob) as observed by God (cameraman Chris Deaver) and set to the pulse-pounding rhythm of technomavins Lords of Acid. If you only see it once, its not too bad. Though, considering the resources available, its kind of a minor miracle. Recently released on the compilation Christmas Favorites.
• Pack Up Josie and the Pussycats (2001) - Eager to edit something, but too lazy to write a script or film anything (also lacking a camera), Matt put this project together using a film he had downloaded under the mistaken impression that it was a pre-release copy of Spiderman that had been leaked on the internet 6 months before its release date. The end result was an only mildly boring Dark Side of the Rainbow-esque product that takes a light, upbeat children's film and forces it to tell a depressing defeatest story. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. Recently released on the compilation Christmas Favorites.
• Man from Champs Elysee [Music Video] (2002) - The story of an assassin struggling with his inner demons as he strolls down the Champs Elysee is told through this short play in which no character speaks, but conveys the themes and emotions expressed in the song through action alone.
• Does it Ever Feel Right (2003) [Stageplay] - Written for the Winner High School theater program and directed by Roger Wonnenberg, this somber look at marriage focuses on a recently wed couple who begin to wonder if they've made the right decision.
• The Joy in my Pants (2003) – With an approximate running time of two minutes, this short stars Miles Rausch as a man with a most unusual affliction: he’s got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in his pants.
• Room for All (2004) [Stageplay] - Written and Directed by Matt, this 10 minute short was conceived, written, rehearsed, and performed all within 24 hours as part of University of South Dakota theater department's Sponteous Combustion of Theater exercise. It centers on two friends who accidentally become hosts for the souls of a series of escaped convicts who have been exiled from the future. No, I don't do drugs.
• That's What Hammers Are For (2003-?) - The first true CtE production since The Joy in my Pants, this experimental horror/comedy is currently in the can and undergoing the knife (as well as several cliched metaphors). Dealing with zombies, time travel and apparent resurrection, it follows a small group of strangers who are trying to find out just what the hell is going on. Its slated for a 2006 2nd Quarter release.
• To Climb a Mountain (2004) - Shot during the second semester of my senior year of college, this film address the vague concepts of conflict and sacrifice. Starring me, Katie Wells, Ross Yost, Nolan Johnson, and Jeremy Zell, it was recently released on the compilation Christmas Favorites
• NYDE's Christmas Favorites (2006) - This compilation brings NYDE's three primary releases together for the first time on dvd. Crammed full of special features and extras in hopes of overshadowing its poor production values with an overabundance of sheer random content. Early screenings suggest it has been mostly successful with this.
• Grimandor (2006) [under Production] - Action star Richard Manchester, as most successful actors, is a very suspicious and agoraphobic man. Then one day he gets a video tape in the mail which turns his world inside out. We've gotten about 85% of shooting out of the way and expect to begin the time consuming process of editing soon. Available for purchase on eBay and from the trunk of Matt's car February/March 2006.
• Killing Braincells (2005-?) [pre-Production, working title] - This horror/comedy focuses on a group of shiftless friends who start slowly disappearing and have to race to find out the cause. Unfortunately, their efforts are hobbled by both their apathy and their inability to stop drinking alcohol. Currently under recasting due to some casting mishaps in 2005, NYDE hopes to get to shooting this Spring and is targeting a Spring 2007 release.
• Not Even Close (2005-?) [pre-Production, working title] - An episodic look at the daily smoke breaks of two CIA agents who have found much to their dismay that their jobs are not at all what they had expected. Conceived as a series of tv shorts for the University of South Dakota student-run cable network, Not Even Close is currently in the planning stages.

Other Works:

• Misguided Notions (2004) - My senior thesis. A short novel (220 pages) centering on the confusion of protagonist Cameron who finds that he is suddenly traveling randomly through time and is mired in a dangerous situation which he remembers nothing about.

Shoot me an e-mail to: