Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddie G.
Eddie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. I’m the youngest of six siblings. I grew up on the Detroit Westside. I attended Eastern Michigan University where I received my B.S. degree in Communications in 2009. I interned at FOX 2 News Detroit and was inspired to write my first screenplay in 2010 by the news stories I covered. I’m a self-taught writer, who learned how to write screenplays by reading other screenplays to learn the format and structure of a script. After that, I was asked by a friend of mine if I wanted to do a film competition and if I would like to write it. So, I agreed to write my first short film in 2014, because at the time I was only writing feature-length scripts. So, at the limited time, I was writing “Beneath it All” I didn’t have a clue on how it was going to turn out because we had two first time actors that were the main characters. And as crazy as it sounds, our film ended up winning Best Film Noir in the 2014 Detroit 48 hour film project. After the win, and after seeing my words and characters come to life on the big screen, I knew I had what it took to be a filmmaker even though I never attended film school or took any writing classes, I started my film production company called 3 Fifths Films.
So, in 2015, I moved to Atlanta Georgia to take care of my parents and look after my mother who was battling cancer. My mother lost her battle with cancer the following month after my arrival. So now, I was in a new state where I didn’t know anybody, and after several failed attempts trying to secure a job in the IT field that I was doing back home in Michigan, I decided to go take my chances on doing background on movies and TV sets. With the mindset of not caring about being seen on TV, I was more concern about how to break in the business to make connections so I could start making my own films. So, within a few months of doing background, Production Assistant, Boom Operator, and other miscellaneous jobs, I met some good guys that helped me get started to make my second short film in eight months of my time in Georgia titled “Never Forget” that took off to win multiple film awards and landing on a streaming platform by the name of Kweli TV. After that, I made a project with Instagram comedian Desi Banks that I wrote, directed and produced, it went viral on Youtube with 1.4 million views and counting.
Once my name started to circulate in the indie scene, I was asked to write and direct projects for other people. In the short amount of time I’ve been doing film, I’ve accomplished a lot by placing top 50 in a BET screenwriting competition, working on Black Lightning for two seasons as Black Lightning body double. My current film “Guilty Until Proven Innocent” just took home an award as best short in its first film festival. I’m just blessed to be doing something that I never thought I would be doing for a living in a million years. I can’t wait to see what the near future has in store for me next.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road of film making is never smooth. You run into many obstacles, like money, personal, and time. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. My biggest struggle was securing funds to finance my projects, but after I realize that everyone is not going to see your dreams as you do, I started funding all of my projects out of my own pocket.
Please tell us about 3 Fifths Films.
My company name is 3 Fifths Films, LLC, I started it back in 2014 after I won my first film competition. My production company supplies the client with whatever the clients needs are that fits along with their budget. Then, I try to make their vision come true by trying to stay around their budget. I’m the CEO/Owner of 3 Fifths Films. We specialize in film production. I’m known for my quality of production with little to no budget. The most thing that I’m proud of as a company is that I take chances on creating a variety of content that sets me apart from everyone else. The thing that sets me apart is that I’m willing to branch out to the unknown of filmmaking.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory of childhood is being outside playing with my friends until the street lights came on.
Contact Info:
- Website: 3FIFTHSFILMS.COM
- Email: 3fifthsfilms@gmail.com
- Instagram: @eddiegfilms
- Facebook: Eddie G
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