Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Levine.
Chris, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
So about eight years ago I was a Marketing Director for an online company and was doing really well, living on the beach in Boca Raton, FL, and woke up one day really unhappy. Happiness is important so I decided to quit my job. Unsure what to do I started to look into acting- I figured how hard could it be. (yeah I know, at that time I had no idea). I got some headshots and actually started acting in school films and short films without any idea or training.
After about six months I moved to LA.
My first year in LA was couch to car (yes sleeping in my car, sometimes on the floor of a friend’s place) and realized very quickly this is going to take a long long time, so I went out and wrote my own movie. Anabolic Life.
Four years later that the movie was completed. I helped raise the funds, wrote it, produced it and starred in the movie. I was standing on stage of the Orlando Film Festival with an award in my hand for Best Actor.
Right around the time I won and the film got distribution I met London Moore and together we set out to create content under London Levine Pictures. We have shot a couple of short films all available on YouTube, a web series and just last year produced an original horror play called Possession where I became Ted Bundy the serial killer.
We are currently working on a new TV Show called Viva Delicious, a Latin inspired food and music show and another feature length movie I also wrote called No Way Out. A psychological thriller set in the woods of Alaska.
I’ve been doing this for almost seven years now all while pushing my personal acting career forward by having key roles in movies like I Hate Kids, Await the Dawn and more.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road and to this day it is not a smooth road but I think truly hungry creative minds never look for that road or possibly never even find it.
Between lack of money and in and out of side jobs to survive as well as the constant rejection it’s never easy.
There are some tough things you deal with as an actor in this town, we spend hours memorizing and creating a character to nail an audition only to never hear back. We’ve had meetings to accept a check to make a movie or tv show only for them to change their minds on the drive to the meeting!
It’s never easy but you can’t give up, the film industry is a marathon not a sprint you just got to stay in the race long enough to finish.
Please tell us about London Levine Pictures.
London Levine Pictures is a film and tv production company that has parent companies that handle events and parties as well as red carpet setups (step and repeats). The other companies include SocialMixLA which has a huge following and puts on some of the largest parties for the major award shows (from the Grammys to the Oscars) and the other company is Celebrity Red Carpets which handles the step and repeats for movies and more for over ten years now.
Our main goal is to create unique content for the theaters or your home.
We are most proud of Anabolic Life, funding and actually finishing a feature-length movie is very difficult to do (believe it or not) and then us getting distribution and being able to own the Blu-Ray and watch it on Amazon Prime is a very proud moment for us.
I think what sets us apart from all the other production companies is we are still indie filmmakers at heart with budget always in mind. We aren’t about your money, we are about creating and expanding.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
When I was just starting out acting a filmmaker in Atlanta was creating a short film and was looking for a lead actor. His name is Naqi Khawer and he hired me only months into my acting career to lead his short film and in-turn gave me the confidence to move to LA. Without his belief in me I wouldn’t have made it here.
In LA, my first acting coach was Robert D’Avanzo, it was a very rude awakening for me being thrown into a class based on real choices and real plays. I wasn’t mentally ready for it but I learned a lot for the short time I was there. He took me to lunch at Portos and started the path for my career to progress.
Then I met Will Wallace. Acting coach and friend. He taught me so much about choices and being natural for the camera. He also introduced me to the producer who helped Anabolic Life gain momentum.
While Anabolic Life didn’t make me rich it did allow me to meet my business partner London Moore and together we have a long career in this industry together ahead of us and I’m thankful for that and his belief in me.
But all in all the biggest people in my life and who have helped me mentally and financially are my parents and brother- we talk almost every day and they are my number 1 fans, my supporters, the reason I’m still in LA doing this thing. I continue to grind everyday for them.
Pricing:
- London Levine Pictures will write and shoot/edit a 2-3 page SCENE or REEL in 4K for $500 (Voyage LA discount)
- London Levine Pictures can also record and edit your next EVENT for $500
Contact Info:
- Website: londonlevinepictures.com
- Email: chris@londonlevinepictures.com
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