Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Furman.
Greg, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started off as a baby, but shortly after my hands were large enough to hold a camcorder, I started doing that. The camcorder was my Dads doing – he always recorded, and I think that encouraged us kids to ham it up and play dress-up (yes my sisters dressed me up as a girl and yes I have the footage and no you can’t see it…now. But later? Sure).
I grew up in New York with two older sisters, and since I was the youngest of the family by five years, I took in a bit of influence from everyone. Imagination and storytelling (drawing towns on the driveway in chalk and putting on horrible accents) came from one, while the other sister put a guitar in my hand and introduced me to a better haircut outside of the “bowl-cut” style my parents deemed “cool.” It didn’t surprise anyone that I was making faces in the mirror at 4, filmed most of my childhood, and played in several questionable bands growing up. I was all over the place, and to top it off I worked a lot of strange jobs throughout high school (seriously we’d need another article to list them all). I was a “Jack of all trades” which seemed cool until I was informed of the second part of that saying – “master of none.” That didn’t sit well for me or the parents, so I went to college for “Business Marketing,” minored in “Radio / TV / Film,” and well…let’s just hit fast-forward here:
Joined theater and a sketch-comedy group, fell in love, got a stand-in gig on a Jane Fonda flick because I was an inch tall enough to make the cut, booked a feature, lost love, moved to Manhattan, became a board member of a non-profit called Fundamental Theater Project while waiting tables at the kind of restaurant that would fire you if a fork was crooked, bought a better camera, continued theater, got depressed that all my peers were miserably wearing suits into the city for jobs they hated, flew the coop, took a 3 week drive out to LA with a friend and no apartment, worked at radio/tv network run by a greasy-haired puffed up swindle-gifted ego-maniac (you suck, Mike), got hired by Andy Dick to write comedy and co-host his show, silently release an angsty self-produced album recorded in my bedroom under the name Telerelics, played a few shows, placed music on a TV show and scored some short films, studied at The Groundlings + UCB, met someone at a “Hollywood Party” that also couldn’t stand the atmosphere and bonded with them over a dog humping a chair next to a model, got hired to write comedy for some of the biggest vine/YouTube stars in the world, wrote a feature and some pilots, booked a few features, made my own pilot, ordered a pizza…and now waiting for it…
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When you pursue a career in entertainment, you start off by skipping down the twinkling yellow brick road until you realize those pretty sparkles are actually bits of broken glass which is incredibly inconvenient seeing as you left your shoes in Kansas. To be slightly less cryptic, I’d say I struggled with trusting the right people, forfeiting ideas to let them die in the wrong hands, and getting in my own way. Sometimes (because I’m human?) I’ve missed the best part of my mistakes by taking them too personally. It’s far easier and more dramatic to submerge ourselves in an ego-lined pool of self-pity as the lesson gently sails past, inches above our heads, until enough time goes by and we realize we’re not fish (though our attention spans are currently rivaled by that of a goldfish) so we’ll probably drown down there. You gotta go up to grow up. A mistake well-learned makes for a wonderful ally.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into your story. Tell us more about the business.
Off the top, I’d say I’m known best for my comedic work online. It’s hard to nail it down here though when it comes to what I specialize in because professionally I wear many hats. When I’m not acting or working on my own projects, I’m writing screenplays and developing creative concepts for other clients from the ground up. One week I’m directing shoots and the next I’m editing for a creative or corporate client. If you hunt me down on a Tuesday night, I’m in a studio recording music. You could probably slap a “producer” label on that, but I think the word gets tossed around too much in the entertainment industry for it to stick. I tend to oscillate around writing, acting, and directing more than anything.
What sets me apart from others is the fact that I’ve seen every rung of the ladder from so many different angles — that dictates my attitude as well as how I communicate with others every single day on or off set. My ego is blacklisted from the projects I work on, and my priority is to unify creatively driven hard workers towards a common goal or vision. I’m proud of my work ethic and the unique style I bring to the table in front of and behind the camera, and it’s only been the past few years where I’ve really been able to see the benefits of having been a “jack of all trades.” Over time, I think a “master of none” is capable of becoming a “master of some.” It takes more time, but in the end, I think it will be worth it. I’m too picky anyway.
Right now on the slate is a pilot I’ve written, co-created and co-star in called “Henchmen.” I was sitting on the idea for about eight years before it hit paper, so it’s been exciting this past year seeing it come to life. We’ve already shot it, so now it’s off to the races for pitching. It’s a comedy that follows the adventures of two incredibly expendable/lazy henchmen. Vibe-wise I’d say its Austin Powers meets Workaholics and Star Trek for an epic battle on top of Mr. Rogers’ toy trolley (we switch back and forth between miniature-models and live-action). The world we created somehow drew in a team of incredibly talented individuals I now consider family, so regardless of where this project ends up, It’s already a success in my eyes. Outside of this, I’m wreaking comedic havoc with a group of friends under the name Late Bloomers (IG_@reallatebloomers), which I strongly advise you look into if you’re looking to make sounds, like laughter. It’s good for your health.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Unfortunately, I’m not Irish and my mom didn’t allow us to eat Lucky Charms growing up because of the sugar content so I’d say zero role.
Contact Info:
- Email: gregthefurman@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegregfurman/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGregFurman/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegregfurman?lang=en
Image Credit:
Morgan Trammel, Rie Rasmussen
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