Rising Stars: Meet Gareth Root And Corinna Wagner-smith of North Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gareth Root And Corinna Wagner-smith

Hi Gareth Root and Corinna Wagner-Smith, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Gareth: Well, I mean… this was your idea, so…

Corinna: Yeah!

Gareth: Kinda-

Corinna: I guess it started with… Gareth and his roommates were showing a film at a short film open mic night in Downtown LA. We went to it, and had a lot of fun, right? So we started looking up other short film nights and saw that they were mainly in… Downtown LA and Pasadena?

Gareth: I think so yeah. Not here, for sure.

Corinna: And so we wanted to make one that was a little more accessible to people in our area. And, you know, add our own little flair to it. We wanted to make it easy for filmmakers to connect with one another by presenting their contacts or social media at the end of the night.

Gareth: Mhm.

Corinna: And a big thing that I’m super into is making things financially accessible, so we made it admissions free.

Gareth: And, I remember a big thing too – cuz when you came to me with the idea – it was about making it accessible, but also about making it local. Very local. We wanted to have a spot and a hub where we could meet other filmmakers in our neighborhoods, and introduce them to each other. Just kind of help to build up this local community that got a little disconnected over the pandemic and the last couple years. So that – at least I think – was a big part of it as well.

Corinna: Yeah! That also was a very big part of it.

Gareth: Reconnecting our community… I don’t remember exactly when the idea started. I just remember you told me at work one day, you were like, “We should do this!” And I was like, “Yeah, sure, sounds like fun!”

Corinna: I mean, we already had a lot of the resources. Moby’s Coffee and Tea allowed us to use their space. We had a projector that we could use. We had everything. It was just a matter of putting it all together. Putting people together.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Gareth: Honestly? I feel like this has gone a lot easier than it could have. And I feel like a big part of that is because we’ve had the benefit of having so many… resources and so many friends who’ve, you know, been willing to help out. Let us use technology that we need. Let us use, well, their time! Let us use a lot of things that we didn’t have ourselves. I don’t know, at least for me, the biggest challenge has actually just been finding the time to, you know, put in the work. To make it happen.

Corinna: Yeah, I’d say the biggest struggle is actually putting something together and making it happen. And advertising correctly. And getting people to know about it and…actually…I don’t really know if there were struggles, I think there were more hiccups. Because I think we made a lot of adjustments after the first and second open mic night.

Gareth: Yes. Yes.

Corinna: But I would consider those more like little hiccups. Not so much struggles.

Gareth: Yeah. I mean they weren’t problems. It was just like “You know, next time I think we’re gonna do this slightly differently.” And then we did it a next time and now we’re like, “Hmm, the time after this we’re gonna do it slightly differently.”

Corinna: Exactly.

Gareth: And that’s probably gonna keep happening for a while, but that’s… I dunno, that’s kind of the fun of it.

Corinna: Yeah! It’s very modge-podge.

Gareth: It’s very casual.

Corinna: Yeah. Yeah.

Gareth: And… I don’t know, I feel like we’ve created a comfortable space.

Corinna: Yeah. One of the biggest pieces of feedback we got was that it was “comfortable.” Which is nice! And sustainable. I feel like it’s pretty sustainable, as a setup.

Gareth: But I do remember that first one, I felt really guilty afterwards because I felt like you did 90% of the work-

Corinna: No.

Gareth: -And I did 10%. I was like, “Oh yeeeeah, if you need anything just… let me knooow! :)” And then I kind of just… procrastinated.

Corinna: Yeah, but like, I also have a tendency to be a little controlling so… I was like, “I’m just gonna do this.” I also didn’t really ask. I probably- I definitely should have asked for help. I’m just bad at technology. So. Yeah.

Gareth: We definitely have a better balance though now.

Corinna: Yes. 100%. 100%

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Corinna: So… I am an actress. Should I say “actress-barista?” I don’t know.

Gareth: I don’t know. Well you’re-

Corinna: I’m an actress.

Gareth: Yeah.

Corinna: I’m an actress!

Gareth: Just because you make coffee doesn’t mean you’re not an actress.

Corinna: Ok. Yes. I’m an actress who also happens to make coffee… sometimes. As far as what I specialize in and what I am known for… I guess I’m known for being that, I dunno, spunky little girl with short hair. Not really known for much? Yet.

Gareth: That’s the spirit.

Corinna: But some day!

Gareth: You’re a go-getter.

Corinna: Oh yeah! I do think what I’m most proud of is, yeah, I try to actually do the things that I think about. If I have an idea and I want to execute it, I generally will go out and actually execute it.

Gareth: And you’ll reach out to others that you know. If you know someone who can help you do something, you’ll talk to them about it! You’ll be like, “Hey, like, do you wanna start this? Do you wanna make this project? Do you wanna-“

Corinna: Yeah!

Gareth: You’re an instigator! In a good way!

Corinna: There ya go! That’s a great way to put that. I’m an instigator. Which I guess I’m not sure if that’s necessarily unique. But it’s a trait that I’m proud of in myself. What about you, Gareth?

Gareth: Uhm, well, I’m a writer, and sometimes an actor, when my friends decide to cast me in things… who also makes coffee. It’s a tough world out there. My specialty… I’d say Sci-fi films. Biiiiiiiiiig Sci-fi. Epic, philosophical, weird Sci-fi. All sorts of stuff like that. I Also don’t know that I’m really known for anything, yet, although… Some people know me as the Man With the Mustache. But as for what I’m most proud of… I would have to say my first feature project. I wrote, produced, and starred in a rom-com in the state of Colorado back in 2019, and it was a huge learning experience. We had about 30, 35 people I think working on that film over the span of about four months? And it was something that I can point to and say, A) “Hey, we did this. And I’m really proud that we did this.” And B) I’m also just really artistically proud of it. It’s called “No Storybook Love,” and I think you can still find it on YouTube, but I’ll have to double check. Uhm, yeah. Proud of that.

Corinna: Mhm. You should be. That’s quite a feat for a college student.

Gareth: Yeah for a twenty year old kid-

Corinna: Who had never done that before.

Gareth: Yeah.

Corinna: You know, I guess I would say I’m known for…Hmmm… No.

Gareth: No, say it!

Corinna: I’m most known for playing… victims and drug addicts.

Gareth: *dying laughing*

Corinna: Cuz my cast type is-

Gareth: That- That is your cast type.

Corinna: My cast type is “victim” and people look at me and go, “Damn, she looks like she’s been through shit. I want her to have gone through shit.”

Gareth: There you go.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Gareth: Do you wanna go first? Want me to go first?

Corinna: You go first. I need a moment to think about it.

Gareth: I mean if you’re asking, like, in my personal life, what matters the most to me? That’s an answer that has changed a lot throughout the years. I feel like when I was a teenager, what mattered most to me was getting a girlfriend, and if you asked me in like college, it was probably leaving a legacy? I wanted to have something where I made an impact on the world. And now that I’m – I don’t know if I’m still a young adult or just an adult now – over the last couple years I feel like now I just wanna be in the moment. I wanna be present with the people around me, making good connections with people. That’s what makes me happy.There’s a lot of things that I can do that don’t in and of themselves make me happy, but they make me happy because of the people that I get to meet, and know. Yeah! I dunno, that’s… On a philosophical level I think that’s where I’m at right now.

Corinna: I’m embarrassed to say I think the “wanting a legacy” thing was probably me just a year ago. But I don’t know, recently… I think “What matters to you most?” is a very big question.

Gareth: Mhm.

Corinna: I’ve been thinking a lot about something my dad says. He said he used to want a lot of things and it took him a long time to sort of figure out that all he ever wanted was just a spider filled basement to do projects in.

Gareth: I love that.

Corinna: Yeah, he says that all the time. He’s like, “I realized at one point that for my happiness, all I ever wanted was just a spider filled basement to do projects in.” And it took him a sec to realize that and accept it. And so, I don’t know… I think I’m kind of in a space right now where I’m just trying to find my spider-filled basement.

Gareth: Yeah.

Corinna: I’m trying to find- I don’t really know. What matters to me most? I don’t think I really know what that is yet. I think I’m still in the middle of trying to find my own spider-filled basement. What is exactly the thing that’s gonna make me happy?

Gareth: That’s good! That’s good!

Corinna: But recently I’ve been enjoying just having goals and interacting with my community. Interacting with people and trying to actually like…do things… That sounds like a really “post-COVID” thing to say.

Gareth: Yeah.

Corinna: Yeah.

Gareth: I feel like COVID had a big impact on our perspectives.

Corinna: Oh 100%.

Gareth: Right.

Corinna: Because for a second there, I was like “I’m not a very social person.” And then I became a not-social person and I was like “Yeah this really sucks.”

Gareth: Yeah.

Corinna: And I’ve been a lot happier since, which is good!

Gareth: Good!

Corinna: So… I don’t think I really know what matters most, but… I mean we should probably say “family” and stuff.

Gareth: Yeah! Yeah, we should. FAMILY. Family’s great. I love my family.

Corinna: Family is awesome.

Gareth: I have a great relationship with my family, and talk to them all the time, so that’s probably why they’re not in the forefront of my like-

Corinna: Exactly!

Gareth: Of what I “want” or whatever. Because I have it, every day.

Corinna: There ya go. Yeah… I feel like it’s a very loaded question, where if you don’t say “family” or you don’t say like, just what you-

Gareth: I think we’re rambling now.

*Both laughing*

Pricing:

• Free admission and submission!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @nohofilmnights