For director Mills Cooper and producer Keith Williams, their newest film, “The Entrepreneur,” is all about following passions by stepping out on faith. Main character Jeffrey Thomas finds a way out of his dead-end life by starting up a successful car detailing business. Cooper and Williams find a way to share untold stories by shooting films.
But their art is now going farther than selling the latest copies of their feature film out of the back of a car trunk on the streets. They are in talks for a distribution deal with Maverick Entertainment Group, an independent film label based in Deerfield Beach. If the deal goes through, Maverick will help distribute the film in 2015 internationally and contribute to its marketing costs.
“For a film that had zero budget, no one knows us — it speaks volumes,” Cooper said. “This is just the beginning of it.”
The 75-minute movie might be released under a new title, but it will maintain its original storyline and flavor. Because of that, it might be released under the Christian genre.
“It’s a story about stepping on faith and just pursuing a passion,” Cooper said. “Not just working a job you’re not happy with. He’s religious but terrified of pursuing his calling.”
The film draws parallels to the creators’ own lives.
“We’re both entrepreneurs,” Williams said.
Williams always had an interest in film and art. He went to school for commercial art.
“I did a lot of stuff on my own, but there was still something missing,” Williams said.
He ended up going back to school for film at the International Academy of Design and Technology. Since then, he’s been working on a variety of projects including music videos, weddings, short films and commercials.
“If it deals with cameras, shooting and editing, I’ve done it all,” Williams said.
He saw some of Cooper’s work after working with a mutual friend and was inspired by it. Cooper had just wrapped up his film, “Generation Curse.” When he reached out to him on Facebook, the two got together to collaborate a project. Mills wrote the script within a week.
The film stars David A. Jackson as Jeffrey Thomas, a man with a criminal background and a series of unfulfilling and temporary jobs. He’s eventually laid off. His family and girlfriend push him to do better, but he still doesn’t rise up. After his girlfriend leaves him, he decides it’s time for a change. He starts his own detailing business.
They shot the film in Plant City, Lakeland and Tampa over the course of 20 days. After post-production editing, it was finally finished in early 2014. Over the summer, they reached out to Maverick Entertainment Group.
And even though they have hit some luck with Maverick Entertainment Group, they have no plans to stop filmmaking. They’ve been looking at a few scripts but have targeted in on one that deals with domestic violence.
“Now we don’t have to hit the streets,” Williams said. “We can focus on our next project.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.