Meet Frank Merle of Lone Morsel Productions in Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Frank Merle.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve always wanted to be a storyteller. Since my earliest memories, I’ve had a passion for entertaining others with my imagination. During my career, I’ve dabbled in various types of storytelling: as an actor, as a playwright and screenwriter, as a theatrical producer and as a filmmaker. I began my career in Chicago as the Artistic Director of small professional theater company, where I honed my leadership and creative collaboration skills, producing nearly thirty stage productions in the 2000’s. Ten years ago, I decided to make the switch to film producing, so I moved to Los Angeles and I haven’t looked back since.

While getting to know my new city, I wrote screenplays and made short films as I tried to learn as much as I could about the independent film business. As an aspiring film producer, I realized that I needed to develop business skills to go along with the more creative skills I’d learned running a theater company. Now that I’ve been finding some modest success as a filmmaker, I can confidently say that I personally find film more rewarding because of its comparative permanence when compared to theater. No one remembers much about the plays I produced, but in contrast, I still get fan messages on social media for movies I made quite some time ago. The thought that my film work can potentially live on forever feels like a little slice of immortality, and that’s what motivates me to continue to make the best films possible.

Has it been a smooth road?
If I was waiting for someone to come along and offer me a standard Rich and Famous contract, I would spend too much of my energy feeling unfulfilled. Instead, I’ve learned to define success as the journey, not the destination. I choose to work on projects that inspire me, and I choose to work with people I trust and admire. The challenge for me has been to find such talented, trustworthy people to collaborate with consistently. Over time, I have been slowly but surely building a team of artists around me with whom work feels more like play. These are the type of people I would love to be able to work with again and again.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Lone Morsel Productions – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Lone Morsel Productions is a small, independent film production company dedicated to producing unique, character-driven, low-budget films of a high enough quality to rise above the overwhelming amount of content competing for an audience. Genre is less important than story, but the films we have been developing lately are dark thrillers and horror films. Our past productions include The Employer (2013) starring Malcolm McDowell and Billy Zane, and From Jennifer (2017) starring Derek Mears and Tony Todd. Next up, we have a police thriller called All Gone Wrong, currently in post-production, and a western drama called Unwanted, currently in development. We are also always looking to join forces with like-minded producers who have projects that inspire us, and we offer consulting to first-time feature film producers who face the daunting task of starting out where we were a decade ago.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love LA! I have lived here long enough now to consider myself a local, and I’m very proud to do so. The people here are friendly and artistic. Everyone has a hustle, but I’m not cynical about that, I think it’s great. If artists don’t promote themselves first, they can’t expect anyone else to. Los Angeles is a vibrant center of culture and entertainment and I can never run out of fun things to do such as hiking, museums, live shows, classic film screenings, red-carpet premieres, and filmmaker meetups. If you know where to look, Hollywood can live up to its legendary status.

Contact Info:

• Website: LoneMorsel.com
• Email: Frank@LoneMorsel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankmerle/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/realfrankmerle

Image Credit:
Frank Merle (right) with Malcolm McDowell (left)

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