Rising Stars: Meet Ellie Oliver of South Pasadena

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellie Oliver.

Hi Ellie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ll start by saying I have a really hard time sitting still. I have cystic fibrosis and I’m training for a marathon if that tells you anything.
To start, I wanted to be a musical theatre actor my whole life. Then, I fell more in love with writing- plays, screenplays, music. I started a band called Old Feelings with a friend that I met on set for a film I wrote and was starring in. It felt like I finally had all these pieces to a puzzle that I finally got to put together. I loved writing so much but still missed that musical outlet, and now I get to do all of it. It has turned into writing songs, writing for film, and now directing my projects on top of it all. It might sound like I’m super scattered and all over the place and can’t make up my mind, but the trajectory makes sense in my head. I have an outlet for everything I want to accomplish, and that’s really all I can ask for.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oof, definitely not. Breaking into this industry is like breaking out of jail- no one can do it the same way twice (that’s not an original thought). I don’t think there is one way to do it, but I know for me, I was tired of waiting for permission. I hated being asked how much I weighed in essentially what were job interviews. I knew if I wanted a chance to be seen, I would need to create those chances for myself. Writing filmable shorts and attaching talented friends to those projects for next to nothing helped me feel unstuck. I got to see all that hard work pay off at several festivals, winning several awards, and it gave me that push to keep creating those opportunities for myself. I think it’ll always be a bumpy road, but I’m willing to put up with it because the harder something is, the bigger the reward feels, to me, anyway.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My main gig is writing. Features, pilots, shorts, songs- I think that’s where I feel the most fulfilled. Now that I’ve been directing more, my eyes have been opened to just how creative I can be when it comes to new projects. I’m currently directing a proof of concept that I wrote that takes place in a futuristic America where music is outlawed. The collaboration of getting to work so closely with both the cast and crew is awesome. It’s really important to find people you can trust, because every minute- from the very first conversation to the final product- is a group project. If one person is carrying the entire team, something is amiss. Every set is different, but I want to make sure I’m never anyone’s source of stress, especially in a leadership position. That goes for shows that my band Old Feelings plays as well. There are just two of us, so if I’m the problem, I need to reevaluate some things.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I am part of both JHRTS and Bad Pitch through The Group Labs. With JHRTS, my feature won Best Drama of 2024, and because of that, I got three generals meetings which was an incredible learning experience. With my writing class Bad Pitch, I’ve won a few things. The first was a writing competiton where they funded my short and had it premiere at their annual Group Labs Festival. I also won an intensive for my Hour Long Drama pilot and got to work with an Exec for a month. We crafted my pilot to be as tight as possible and I got to pitch it to a group of people at the end of the intensive. If I could give any advice, it would be to surround yourself with creatives that keep you accountable for doing the work. These groups are amazing, and I am so thankful to have found such a powerful community through them. Not only them, but my bandmate Nam keeps me accountable to continue making music with Old Feelings. He is such a talented artist, and he really pushes me to stay creative when it comes to song writing.

Also, don’t try to make something that you don’t care about just because you think the industry wants it right now. Make something because YOU want it. Don’t lose your uniqueness. The industry wants your ideas, they just don’t know it yet because they haven’t seen them yet. Stay true to yourself and stay close to people who value you for you.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @oldfeelings_music; @ellieoliver5; @the_futurebelongstous

Image Credits
Karim Dakkon; Aaron Jackson; Seth Connors; Jenny Oetzell