Daily Inspiration: Meet Doug Maguire

Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Maguire

Hi Doug, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story… I came to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. After trying to crack into the acting world, I found I was most happy doing background work on television and movie sets, which led to a little stint standing in and doing a few stunts for A-list actors like Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Josh Lucas and other people who kind of looked like me.

I always wanted to write and direct some type of feature-length movie, so in 2011, I wrote a very low-budget indie picture titled “Bank Roll” and made the entire thing for about $1,000 – the movie opened in Quentin Tarantino’s movie theatre, The New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles.

Around this time, I got sucked into a few conspiracy theories that started off with Big Foot, aliens and chemtrails. This obsession led to a divorce because my family did not share these thoughts, so shortly after that I was divorced and living in my car at the Burbank MetroLink in Burbank, California. It was at this time, my lowest point in life, where a man who lost his son in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting saved me from myself… Mr. Lenny Pozner. We took my knowledge of conspiracy theories and groups I had associated with and began to go after “hoaxers” – people who did not believe the Sandy Hook School shooting took place. Online hoaxers were held accountable for the lives they were continuing to disrupt… people like Alex Jones, Jim Fetzer and others were successfully sued in Court and the parents of Sandy Hook were able to get some peace when I joined the HONR Network. We would do copyright takedowns of videos on YouTube and posts that would rank in the top pages of Google searches.

I took a break from everything, moved out to the desert in Indio, California and began writing stories again. The first short screenplay I wrote titled “Ei8hty-Ei8ht” won over 20 film festivals Worldwide. This script also was selected into over 40 film festivals and just when I was picking up steam… COVID-19 hit.

My latest short screenplay is titled “It’s Open” – based on a true story that pretty much happened to me in Indio.

There are other things that helped shaped me… one of my first jobs was at a movie theatre on The Cape… Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I dropped out of college to work retail, selling authentic movie posters and bootleg movie scripts in Boston. So my head has always been locked into the entertainment World, for whatever reason.

I became SAG-AFTRA in 2002, working as an extra on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” where I wore a big rubber alien head mask to disguise my face, but back then, three days doing that got you three SAG vouchers… enough to get you into the Union.

I have a son who is now about to become a teenager. I’m excited to pass on some knowledge to him about how good life can be.

Alright, 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?
I would say for the most part life has been pretty smooth. I’ve had it easy in some ways, but when I look back on it, I get nervous. Seemed like a tight-rope, high-wire act I was doing without a net!

Struggles has always been money! I think once I solve this problem, I might be content.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At the moment I am a card-carrying member of SAG-AFTRA, that is first and I’ve been in the Union for over 2 decades. I have not done too much as a Union member, but one day I believe I will!

The thing I feel guilty about calling myself is a writer. I write sometimes, but I am a thinker who waits to write until most of the details are worked out in my head, then I begin writing.

I specialize in low-budget thinking. I am known for doing things on the cheap… nothing about space exploration or fancy explosions. I like characters and learning about what makes people tick.

I’m most proud of this movie I made… a feature. I still cannot believe we did this project for about a thousand dollars.

What sets me apart from others is my support. The people who surround me are good people who want to see the best version of myself.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Hmmm… I’m an open book, so not too much is a secret. Maybe that I’ve been married twice, or have a kid? I sometimes come off as a little immature. I think knowing I’m a dad is a little bit weird.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dougmaguire.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/damgr8
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/ItsOpenShort
• Twitter: https://x.com/dougmaguire
• Other: https://imdb.me/dougmaguire

Image Credits
The only credit for photo would be the one of me at the 2024 Culver City Film Festival… photo credit is to Steve Escarcega.