Rising Stars: Meet Laura Picklesimer and Maceo Greenberg

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Picklesimer and Maceo Greenberg.

Hi Laura & Maceo, 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?
We’ve been living in Southern California and collaborating as writers, producers and creative partners for about fifteen years. Maceo grew up in a creative family and became a cinephile at a young age before studying creative writing and film at Cal State Long Beach, where he fell headfirst into directing and filmmaking. Laura came from a literary background, earning her bachelor’s in English and creative writing at UCLA and later an MFA in fiction at Cal State Long Beach.

We both share a love for character-driven stories that blend emotional nuance with genre storytelling. In 2019, we co-founded Story Well Productions to develop original film and television projects together. Maceo’s debut comedy feature Take Me to Tarzana (2021) won the Gold Remi Award at WorldFest-Houston, and Laura’s debut horror novel Kill for Love (Unnamed Press, 2023) was a finalist for a National Indie Excellence Award and has been translated into Italian and Portuguese. The paperback edition is coming out this summer.

Our horror/adventure feature Willow Dale (currently in development) was recently selected for Stowe Story Labs after previously becoming a finalist for the Sundance Producers Lab. Right now, we are in pre-production on our next feature, Eternal Properties, based on characters from Laura’s upcoming novel. We begin shooting on the Central Coast this June, where Maceo grew up, which makes this project especially meaningful to us.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, and honestly, that’s probably the case for most artists. There have been projects we spent years developing that still haven’t been made. One of the biggest setbacks came when the COVID pandemic completely disrupted the theatrical release of Maceo’s debut feature, Take Me to Tarzana. Like many filmmakers at the time, we had spent years getting the film made and preparing for release, only to suddenly watch festivals and the theatrical industry disappear overnight. It was heartbreaking in many ways, but it also forced us to adapt quickly and rethink how independent films could reach audiences. The film ultimately found its audience through streaming and is currently available on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, Roku, and several other platforms.

We’ve also learned how difficult it can be to sustain momentum in industries where progress is slow and sometimes untraceable from the outside. We’ve spent years writing, rewriting, pitching, fundraising, and developing relationships before anything tangible happened. There’s an added challenge in separating your work from personal life when your collaborator is also your partner, but it’s also become one of our greatest strengths because we genuinely believe in each other’s work.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We specialize in character-driven genre storytelling across film, television, and publishing. One of our greatest strengths is our ability to blend different genres: we write psychological horror, dark comedy, thriller, sci-fi and speculative stories. We love genre mashups, and we’re especially drawn to stories that feature flawed or traditionally unlikeable characters.

Laura’s background as a novelist and short story writer brings a strong narrative focus, while Maceo’s experience directing and producing provides a production-focused understanding. Our upcoming feature film, Eternal Properties, is a perfect example of how we like to operate: we’re showcasing characters from Laura’s forthcoming sci fi novel, Chasing Rabbits, but we specifically developed the script to match an indie level budget by containing both the setting and number of characters.

We’re probably most proud of our ability to keep creating independently while weathering upheavals that have included the aftermath of the 2008 recession, industry constrictions, a pandemic and two strikes. Filmmaking and publishing both require a huge amount of persistence, and we’ve worked hard to build a sustainable creative life together without waiting to receive permission from the industry.

How do you think about happiness?
What makes us happiest is the act of creating something meaningful from scratch. We both genuinely love the creative process, even with all of its frustrations. In industries that are known for being unpredictable and unstable, creating the work itself gives us a sense of purpose and control over our art.

While writing itself can be a solitary process, filmmaking is such a collaborative and collective experience, and some of our favorite moments have come from being on set with other talented collaborators. We also never get tired of experiencing a truly great piece of art ourselves, whether that’s visiting theaters (The Vista in Los Feliz is our favorite), which we try to do as much as possible, or reading a new book that moves us (a recent great read was A Better World by Sarah Langan).

At the end of the day, we feel very grateful that we get to build a creative life together. Even with all the challenges that come with the state of our industries, there’s still nothing else we’d rather be doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.storywellproductions.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storywellcreative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StoryWellProductions/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHN4IJgDGIUCOBHGIhjD1Lg
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2959350/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Image Credits
Kell Riches