Today we’d like to introduce you to Colin Francis Costello.
Hi Colin Francis, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I feel like there have been several acts in my life. But the common thread in all of them is that I’m still this kid from Philly who wanted to make movies since I was five years old. That’s where my journey really started.
When I was five, I watched “The Wizard of Oz” for the first time at my cousin’s house. Dorothy’s journey enthralled me and frightened me to death. When she was trapped in the Witch’s castle, I was literally scared for her. After Dorothy uttered, “There’s no place like home,” I was hooked.
I watched “The Wizard of Oz” countless times and memorized the script. I took that memory of the script and wrote it down in a spiral-bound notebook and boom! My first screenplay was written.
My Mom, who was a big supporter of my dreams and what my dad would call “delusions,” helped me gather the neighborhood kids and perform “The Wizard of Oz” every weekend in my grandmother’s basement. I was the writer, director and the Tin Man. Always the Tin Man.
My love for escapism would grow voraciously after my dad took me to see “The Poseidon Adventure.” I was way too young to see something so terrifying, but Frank didn’t think so. I’m glad he didn’t listen to my mom. “The Poseidon Adventure” introduced me to producer Irwin Allen. “Lost in Space,” “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” “Time Tunnel,” and “Land of the Giants” became staples of after-school viewing.
It was confirmed that I wanted to be a filmmaker when I saw “The Towering Inferno,” “Jaws,” and “Black Sunday.” Of course, there were “Star Wars” and Richard Donner’s “Superman” and “The Omen.”
I had a burning desire to place ordinary, relatable people in extreme situations. It was also a way for me to express myself since I lacked friends at school due to being biracial.
My love of film never waned, but as I got older my parents began to worry that I was living in a fantasy world. My dad who was very loving yet controlling, made me go to engineering school. He was a chemist and thought I should be a chemical engineer.
I didn’t agree. My .06 GPA proved I was right.
After nearly flunking out of Drexel, I went to Penn State. I took film and advertising classes and my parents determined that advertising was the more reasonable route since “Colin was going to go to law school after and become a Communications Lawyer.” What the hell is a Communications Lawyer anyway?
During that time, I fell in love with advertising and thus began my 20-year detour. Against my parent’s wishes, I moved to New York to “make commercials for toys.” Advertising proved to be a suitable outlet for me to tell stories again. Yes, it was for Ex-Lax, but it was a hella good story!
After I got married, we moved to Chicago where I spent way longer than I would ever expect. But it was an amazing stop on the journey to LA. We had two amazing daughters, Chloe and Max, and I became super successful in advertising. The industry introduced me to people I could only dream of meeting – Spike Lee, Michael Bay, Tim Burton, Dr. Maya Angelou, Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter and so many more.
But the 5-year-old storyteller still wanted to come out.
So, I made the biggest, scariest decision of my life – I quit advertising (mentally anyway), unfortunately, got divorced, and moved to LA. If I have one regret, it’s when my daughter’s mom asked me when I was about to leave, “If I really don’t love her anymore.” I didn’t answer. My head was so filled up with LA. I wish I could back and say, “Yes, we are all coming.” But time machines don’t exist yet.
She got remarried and she is happy. And I’m happy for her.
That left me in LA. And it started great. I had a feature come to theaters in 2013 called “The Stream.” That was followed by a Midwest Emmy nomination for two episodes I wrote for a PBSKids show called “Moochie Kalala Detective’s Club.” Then there was a second feature called “Alternate Universe.”
In between writing scripts, I started directing. My first short was called “The After Party.” Man, was that scary to make. But it was successful. That was followed by “Dreamwisher” and now my psychological thriller/horror short “Storage,” which is doing extremely well on the festival circuit.
I’m now prepping casting on my first feature film that I wrote and am directing called “Na0mi.” It’s a horrific look at how technology is sucking humanity out of dating and relationships.
I feel like I’m at the precipice of a new act. But inside, I’m still that 5-year-old dreamer from Philly.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth?! Ha. I wish. Like anyone, my life has been filled with mountainous bumps and the deepest potholes. It’s like driving down Franklin at night while it’s hailing and the power is out. That did happen last winter.
I’ve always struggled with identity. Being biracial in Philadelphia in the 70s and 80s, you were looked at as an oddity. Not someone human. I went to an all-boys elementary school and it was horrific. I was called “Oreo,” “Half breed,” and god knows what else.
I spent my time alone on the playground, reenacting my favorite movies while the boys would play baseball or football. It got to the point that when I switched schools to Catholic middle school, I hid my Black half. Yes, for three years, I pretended to be White. That is what the cruelty of kids can do to you. Parents, too. I had a mother tell me I wasn’t good enough to date her daughter because I was biracial. But she didn’t blame me for “my parents’ mistake.” I was 15 and that was the first time I said, “F*ck you.”
So, I’ve always felt like I had to prove myself because I feel inadequate and unwanted deep down.
These internal feelings of loneliness and feeling the need to be wanted and liked have caused me to make good decisions and bad ones. When I was in advertising in Chicago, I began going down the road of becoming a screenwriter. When I had small successes like winning contests or getting a script optioned, I broadcast it all over. I wanted people to look at me. See what I could do.
But that decision pissed off a lot of advertising folks. I got fired over and over again from various jobs. All because I let them know they were the side hustle. Man, was I dumb. In turn, it put my family at risk. We had a big house in the Chicago burbs which required me to keep working to pay that mortgage. But my desire to show my talent threatened that.
When I moved to LA in 2013, I had a pretty good gig at an ad agency, but again I showed what was going on in my “other” life way too much. So, I got fired. Again. I still hadn’t learned. So, LA was hard the first few years. I fell behind in rent. Almost got evicted. Got married again. Got divorced again. Life was hard. And I even became suicidal.
But I found inner strength and began to invest in myself. I began to work out regularly again… even during the pandemic. I wrote again. I turned these bad events into my storytelling power. I invested in myself and learned how to manifest success.
My bumps became my storytelling power and it’s only now that I feel comfortable in my own skin.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Job?! Try jobs. I am a Screenwriter, Director, and Producer of Ela Road Films. We have only made shorts such as “The After Party,” “From Russia with Motive,” and “Storage,” but we are working on our first feature, a sci-fi thriller called “Na0mi.”
I am also an Associate Creative Director for Quantasy, which is an agency in DTLA. Along with that, I juggle teaching screenwriting at UCLA Extension and I am also the editor of an online industry news magazine, Reel 360 News, where we cover advertising, film, TV, and production.
All the jobs involve writing so for me, it’s kind of going to “Writer’s Gym.” They are all storytelling but from different perspectives.
I am proud of all of them. I am blessed that so many people allow me to express myself in different ways. I guess what sets me apart is my drive. I am not attached to any idea. So, I won’t melt if someone isn’t interested. I know I always have another one.
What makes you happy?
My daughters Chloe and Max come first and foremost in bringing me joy. I have watched them grow from amazing girls into amazing young women. They are smart, vibrant, talented and honestly, funny as hell. Genuine. My other simple joys are writing and storytelling, going to the movies, sushi from Nobu and morning hikes. All bring me joy and make me feel whole. But yeah, nothing brings me joy like those two girls.
Contact Info:
- Website: colincostello.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colin_francis_costello/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colinfranciscostello
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colincostello/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/colinthewriter1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-F9_YC4FPsLOYWtuPkXm7A
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1405070/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Image Credits
Hero: David Navarro Hero 2: David Navarro BTS The After Party: NJ Bourque Joker: N/A The AFter Party Cast Pic: NJ Bourque BTS: Storage: NJ
