Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Selby.
Hi Kyle, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was raised in a very small town about 75 miles from Los Angeles called Nuevo, California. My dad also grew up in Nuevo, and my mom immigrated from Guayaquil, Ecuador to California when she was a teenager. They met each other working at the local supermarket, and continued working in the grocery industry until they retired. The grocery store was also my first job in high school and through college, so I guess you could call me a nepo-baby. My whole life, my parents have always been hard-working people. We were never wealthy, but my younger brother and I had a perfectly middle-class upbringing because of them. Part of that upbringing involved going to church every Sunday morning then coming home and watching Adam Sandler movies or Bonanza reruns with Dad afterward. In our house, the TV was the focal point of our living room and it introduced me to a whole world of imagination when I was a child.
For as long as I can remember, there wasn’t a fandom I didn’t want to be a part of. I think it began with Disney’s The Lion King, Hercules, and The Little Mermaid. Then Star Wars became a major part of my identity (proud prequel apologist till the day I die). Pokémon taught me many important things, namely that I’m a water-type trainer. I spent many hours religiously watching old ‘69 Scooby-Doo reruns (still do). And while I can’t quite pinpoint when exactly I was first introduced to the world of comic books and superheroes, I just know they’ve always been part of my life–from the Batman bed sheets to the Daredevil action figures and the Spider-Man silly string web-shooters–superheroes were obviously marketed heavily to cater to young boys (once you outgrew dinosaurs), and I fell for the trap, hook, line, and sinker.
Anybody that knows me knows that Superman has particularly left a strong impression on me. He’s the OG for a reason. He’s managed to stand the test of time for nearly 90 years and I just think he’s one of the most layered and complex fictional icons of our time. I took an interest in journalism as a teenager because of the way Superman stories (particularly the WB/CW series, Smallville) portrayed the excitement of chasing leads and the search for truth. It began in middle school when I worked on the school newsletter and eventually followed that on through with my high school newspaper, The Patriot Press, and then in college with The Talon. By the time I reached adulthood, I’d immersed myself so deep in the annals of journalism that I had racked up enough bylines and built a strong enough portfolio that I got hired on staff at my local newspaper, The Valley Chronicle in Hemet, California. I still attribute most of my education and skills as a writer to my time working there, thanks to my editor and mentor, Mary Ann Morris.
For a long time, when I was still pursuing journalism, I dreamt of working at the Los Angeles Times. LA was quite literally always on my horizons, and I knew it was the place I wanted to create a bigger life for myself. Like Clark Kent grew up in Smallville and dreamed of moving to Metropolis to work at the Daily Planet, I fantasized about leaving Nuevo for the big city of Los Angeles. However, I’d also reached a point in my writing career when I wanted to free myself from the rigid structure of AP news-writing and explore my creative, more imaginative side. So I enrolled in film school, packed my bags, and hit the road.
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?
Haha. Where do I start? I mean, I really try to not take myself too seriously, because all things considered, I live a somewhat privileged life. That’s not to say it’s without its roadblocks.
I moved to Los Angeles in January 2020, right before shit hit the motherf*ck*ng fan. That year consisted of a lot of Zoom classes and collecting unemployment checks until things cooled down. To make matters worse, my dog, Krypto, tragically passed away around the same time and that broke me down to depths I had no idea I was capable of sinking to. That, followed by a slew of other bad decisions later is what ultimately led me down the road to my sobriety.
Sobriety is so major to me now, and it’s become such a staple in my healing and daily functioning as an adult. I think there’s a lot of creative work that has benefitted from darkness and the demons we have within us–which I’ve certainly benefitted from myself–but I don’t know if it’s ultimately sustainable. For me and only me, waking up each morning and feeling 100% is what continues to keep me active, motivated, and excited about what I do.
The never-ending rejection from the industry can feel tough, but I think the hardest part of being an artist is learning how to make time to create your art whilst also taking care of yourself…in every regard. It’s a delicate balance to be conscious of your body and mind, while also paying all of your bills on time and making sure you’re seeing your friends and family on a somewhat regular basis. I’m still not quite sure I’ve totally cracked it yet and sometimes it feels really overwhelming to just stay afloat. I recognize how grossly millennial it is to express the sentiment of “adulting is hard…” but it’s f*ck*ng true! Especially in this business. I’ve found a lot of comfort in discovering that that feeling is actually pretty normal amongst my peers.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m going to sound like a total jackass, but is it annoying to self-proclaim as a modern day Renaissance Man? I like to refer to myself as an “artist” because I dabble in many mediums of art, including (but not limited to) screenwriting, illustrating, journalism, comedy, and acting. I like telling stories that are human, character-driven and identity focused, but also funny, entertaining and WEIRD.
I was really lucky to find my close friend and collaborator, Fiorella Vescovi, so soon after touching down in LA. We were both hungry to create and tell stories, which is how our first LGBTQ comedy short film, Mal de Amores was born. Off of our successful festival run, I was selected as a writing fellow for Film Independent’s 2024 Project Involve, where I developed and wrote my second short film, #1 Bad Dad. This project was exciting for me because it’s a comic-book-inspired comedy directed by Natalie Camou which has gone to screen at prominent film festivals like Slamdance, LA Shorts, and won the outstanding VFX award at the Micheaux Film Festival. I also illustrated a lot of the visual artwork featured in #1 Bad Dad, including an animated version of our poster, which was inspired by some of my favorite comic book artists like David Mazzuchelli and Darwyn Cooke. My alter ego, Groovy Gaucho, likes to draw, paint, and get crafty. I’m trying to be better at sharing my artwork on my Instagram art page.
I wrote, illustrated and self-published my first children’s book, “Christmas Isn’t the Same Without You,” after my dog died and I didn’t know what to do with all of those intense emotions. I found myself inspired by a lot of music about grief and wanted to contrast that melancholy with the often joyful spirit of Christmas and holiday cheer.
I think I’m also at a point now where I consider myself a martial artist. As a kid, I was put in karate and taekwondo classes and just as easily pulled out without ever getting very far. I’ve always had a great respect for the martial arts and it’s always been a space I’ve wanted to reintegrate into. Recently, I joined a great local dojo, Valley Martial Arts Center, and it’s genuinely become my home away from home. I still have a lot to learn, but I currently have a green belt in Shotokan Karate and I owe all of my progress to Senseis Taichiro Kaijima, Eiko Murata and Jon Budd. Truly the coolest people I know.
I’m probably most proud of the work I did as a journalist. It was small-town news, but that also made it very personal and intimate. I met many people on those assignments, sometimes very heavy and other times light, but they all individually touched me in a way that forever changed me and I hope the sentiment was mutual. Sharing our stories is important, and it’s one of my greatest honors that I got to do that for so many people.
I have a couple of upcoming projects in development right now that I’m pretty excited about. In the new year, I’m looking forward to putting on my directing hat for the first time with an action-packed proof-of-concept script called The Dishwasher that’s unlike anything I’ve ever written. I’m developing a dramedy series with Vescovi called Stunted that’s going to make everyone take a good, long, hard look in the mirror. I’m also working on the graphic novel follow-up to my children’s book–although this time, the subject matter will be more adult and closer to my own specific voice. My magnum opus is this workplace comedy series I’ve been developing about my early 20s, working in a small-town corporate grocery store in rural California. It’s hilarious and I’ve got an amazing title that I don’t want to give away, but I might just let it slip for the right television exec! Having said that, I’m currently seeking representation that can help me transition into the TV writing space. What’s it gonna take to get James Gunn to notice me?!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Do I believe in luck? I don’t know. I think “good luck” and “bad luck” might just be two different sides of the same bullshit coin.
I don’t think I attribute any of the good or bad things that have happened in my life to luck–I think they happened due to specific sets of circumstances. Good things don’t happen to people because they’re lucky. Bad things don’t happen to people because they’re unlucky. Can you imagine earnestly telling somebody they’re unlucky because they have stage 4 cancer? Hell no, and you’d probably deserve a hard punch in the face for it. I think every now and then, we’re dealt really great or really sh*tty cards, and a lot of the time it’s simply out of our control.
I don’t even know how I feel about the term “manifestation.” I think setting an intention toward a goal is always a great first step, but sitting back and waiting for it to happen is not the way I achieve my victories. I chase them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13547361/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylejselby/ and https://www.instagram.com/groovygaucho/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylejselby/
- Twitter: https://x.com/kylejselby
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Isnt-Same-Without-You/dp/1736181602
Image Credits
Robert Martinez
Kyle Selby
