Daily Inspiration: Meet Erik Jacobs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erik Jacobs

Hi Erik, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The soundtrack of my life could be set to Jazz—a smooth Errol Garner tune mixed with an avant-garde Coltrane.

It’s been ups and downs but through it all, I maintain one thing. I’m a New Yorker through and through—just one who happens to live on the streets of Los Angeles now. 

I got here through the movies, of course. Since before I could remember I’ve wanted to make pictures. Perhaps it all started when my parents bought me a copy of Martin Scorsese’s, “Taxi Driver” when I was admittedly too young to watch it. The picture left an imprint on my imagination. I didn’t quite understand what I was watching. But the power of the color and the score and Robert Deniro’s odd behavior became a part of my vivid dreams. It was through this picture that I learned what a Director could be. How they could shape our experience through the dream of their images. 

Growing up, I never felt a sense of belonging. I had some friends, but I always felt lonely. I didn’t do well in school. Senior Year of High School – I missed 70 days and graduated by a thread. What was I doing? Watching movies. “North by Northwest,” “Once Upon a Time in America,” and “Gone with the Wind” to name a few. Many of the afternoons I wasn’t going to school were spent at my Grandparent’s house watching Turner Classics.

I was making movies too. I had a point-and-shoot camcorder. I would edit them together, show them to my parents and art class, and upload them in the early days of YouTube.

From there, I had my sights set on Los Angeles. To be a movie tycoon. 

Admittedly, I’m in the early days of that dream. But now, I’m living in a place where the sun is always shining. With, of course, my wife whom I met in film school. She’s the rock that held me together through a tumultuous journey here. But we’re in Los Angeles. It’s been a voyage like no other. 

Currently, we’re in Pre-Production on a Short we want to turn into a feature. It’s a Romantic-Dramedy set in the Latin Dance Scene. It’ll also serve as a proof of concept for our production company. Skyopens. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not. Not even a little. 

When I first got to this town it felt like things were happening for us around the industry. We were able to start work as PA’s with the great character actor, Bill Duke, who loved the way we worked together. I also served as an Intern and Assistant at a management company. Later, we ventured to make our first short film. The lights were all green.

But the worst happened right around the time of the film. My wife got sick. It started with episodes of blindness and extreme migraines. She would down entire bottles of aspirin a day to little effect. She couldn’t even watch movies at that time (which she loves so much) as her eyesight was deteriorating progressively. And so, she was diagnosed with brain stenosis, monoclonal gammopathy, and high intracranial pressure along with many other immune diseases that almost cost her life. We stepped away from the film industry to focus on her recovery. Instead, we started cleaning houses to have more manageable hours and the ability to create our schedule. I also worked in a kitchen as a prep cook and drove for Lyft. Because of the complexity of her disease, we traveled as far as Johns Hopkins in Baltimore to get answers. She still manages pain at scales unimaginable to the majority of people. Myself included.  And, has endured strokes, among other difficult situations.

But that hasn’t stopped us from pursuing our dreams. If anything – brushing up with mortality at such a young age has reinvigorated our passion. My therapist once told me that most couples wouldn’t make it through what we did and stayed together in times of such hardship. I take that to heart. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a movie director. The goal is to be a studio movie director. If such a thing were possible anymore without relying on tentpole and IP. I would describe my style as largely personal. Using music like Jazz to weave together pictures of my past into distinct narrative form. Telling dramatic stories with mixed genres that inspired me growing up. 

I’m proud of making a really good feature for only $3,000. It later would get accepted into the Philadelphia Film Festival. It’s now on YouTube. I also do a series on classic movies on YouTube as well—the kinds of movies my Grandpa and I would watch together.  But, I’m most proud of the movies I haven’t made yet. The ones I’ve been obsessed with in my head for years and decades. The ones I think might move other people to emotion, the way the stories have moved me through the years. I’ll often listen to a certain piece of music that relates to these films and sometimes be moved to tears by the pure cinema that’s happening in my mind. 

As far as what sets me apart. I’d like to think it’s my relationship to the movies themselves. I grew up with undiagnosed ADHD and so the movies were the only way I could contextualize the world around me. I view making movies, not as a passion, but as a debt owed to the art form that shaped me completely. 

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My dad took my brother and me to see, “The Phantom” starring Billy Zane. It was the first time I ever saw a motion picture in theaters. To this day, I recall the amazing impact the large screen and the ambient sound had on me. The lights beaming from the skull eyes in the climax! The wave of the score. The distinct purple costume “The Phantom” wore. Even the romance had its impact on me. Perhaps, it would lead me down the path of being a hopeless romantic. I still feel a certain euphoria thinking about it all now. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erikjacobspresents/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l36dWYTl2tE&t=199s