This is the twentieth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

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This is PHOTO ARCHIVE. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

Deputy baddies Kali Kennedy, Julia Fox, and Devon Lee Carlson.

We made a bridal magazine for Julia to read in the film. My friend Alessandra is on the cover.

Molly’s room. Two people with no connection to each other suggested the same actress for the role: Devon Ross. I met her once and gave her the part. She is such a star.

Shooting with Billie Lourd. Thunderstorms came through and everything became covered in mud. She cried every take. I felt bad asking her to do more, but I was mesmerized by her. We ended up using her first take.

Her character lives in a trailer, but her costume is a Dior bikini that George Cortina picked. He insisted she be barefoot with dirty fingernails, which was a lovely touch.

In one scene she cracks her neck and the microphone caught it, super loud.

She can’t help but do this.

Billie with the twins who play TJ, and their mom.

Best guys.

After the thunderstorm passed, we found toads fucking.

Driving with a baby.

Julie Toche, our production designer.

The final day of our shoot was mostly driving. We ended it by flipping Toby’s car.

The stunt and special effects teams in a safety meeting.

Cory Demeyers, our stunt coordinator, built a roll cage and replaced the seat in Toby’s car with it. Then he drove it with precision over a hidden ramp to flip the car. It went way further than anyone expected, and everyone was scared. A thick silence ended when we heard him on the radio say “all good baby,” and we all cheered.

After we wrapped, beers came out and everyone partied in the road as the sun came up.

Saying a final goodbye to Toby’s Cutlass.

This is the nineteenth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

I was so impressed by the technical skill of Stephen Dorff. He always asked what lens we were on and shaped his performance to fit the frame.

Dorff and Duke in front of Toby’s car.

Tiffany brought the most energy to set. She was constantly cracking jokes and making everyone laugh.

I met her at a party years ago and thought she was amazing. The role was written to be kind of boring, with no personality, and I thought of her to bring it to life because she is so buoyant and light.

After I sent her the offer, I went to Hawaii and she was coincidentally on my Maui to LA flight. A small signal that we were aligned.

On her last day of shooting, Tiffany’s eye swelled up from the Mississippi bugs, or something else in the air. It coincided with her gunshot scene and looked like a reaction to being shot.

Bill Macy brought his ukulele to set and played songs for everyone between takes.

I grew up on so many of Bill’s movies. I was so happy when he signed on.

He liked to rehearse. We spent a lot of time on his plans and backstory, and his dedication was unlike anyone else’s.

My cousin Louisa was his personal PA.

Alejandro hitting his angles.

Devon arrived and lived in the house with us. We would wrap around 5am and get back to the house, and she would wake up and cook us macaroni and cheese. Easily the best food of the entire shoot.

Craig and Ritchie visited set every day to hang out. Here with the twins who played Toby Jr.

Alyssa, Ritchie, Claris and Craig.

Brennan and Treylan.

Our production designer (Julie Toche) built the sheriff’s station out of a car mechanic shop. At the end of week two we wrapped the location and threw a big party inside the set.

Faba our steadi op.

We put money in a raffle and Andre (right) won. He split the money with Jake.

This is the eighteenth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

Making a film like this is a task for the delusional or people who enjoy suffering. It was awesome. Here is week one.

Duke came to mind immediately when I read the script. I called him around page twenty and told him I’d found a film for us to make.

The DP I had been working with for a year dropped out three weeks before production. I was terrified. The day after his message, I went to a wedding and got seated at a table with a talent agent for DPs. From the rest of the wedding, I wouldn’t leave this man alone, pitching him on my movie. He set up meetings for me the next week, and that’s how I met Alejandro. He was a perfect fit.

George, my assistant, on an early scout. George worked so hard. I think he would have killed someone if I asked him to.

On the first day of production, we shot Duke and Craig’s scene. Craig was there the day Duke was born.

O (right) has been my sound mixer for ten years. I have him on every project I can. He was paired with a local boom operator named Burne. They got along well. They both chain smoked.

I cast Alyssa off Instagram. I thought she had one of the most beautiful faces I’d ever seen. I wasn’t sure if she could act, or if it even mattered. I had her send an audition tape anyway, in character, explaining the plot of the film to her best friend. It was awesome. She got the part.

I asked her to get long acrylic nails. When she showed up on set, she was apologetic that she’d broken one on the trip over. I told her it was better this way.

The cars on our set constantly broke down. Every single one gave us trouble. Toby’s was an Oldsmobile Cutlass. On this night we were already in overtime, rushing to get to an intersection, when it broke down. Here we have a stunt double, a grip, two PAs, and two transpo guys pushing it into position.

Ben Smith-Peterson. A triple named triple threat: good stunt man, good actor, good looking.

Daniel Diemer after being blasted by squibs. Took it like a champ.

The sheriff station toilet on our set wasn’t operational. When we filmed the pyro scene and Duke had to put the fire on his foot out in it, we learned some of the crew had been using it.

Matt, the armorer.

Clearing the gun for the migrant actors.

David (left) was discovered by my friend Aris at a bar in Brooklyn. He had a glass eye. I loved his face so much I hired someone to drive him to Mississippi so he could be in the movie, because he wouldn’t fly.

Angel (right) played Oscar, the hardest role to cast. I watched so many audition tapes but they all felt inauthentic. We ended up finding him at the local high school. He had never acted before. He was phenomenal.

Flynn, our BTS photographer. Local to Natchez.

Duke and Devon with the motel owner. He was cool and got pictures with everyone.

Plenty of Bandz, Mob Diablo, and Sswaggy played the polleros. All rappers out of San Antonio, cast off Instagram with help from Chedda. They brought amazing energy to set.

Dream blunt rotation.

When I first moved to LA in 2010, I met Colleen Camp and nothing was the same. She watched my short films from college and was very encouraging of me as a filmmaker. It was an honor to have her in my first film.

This is the sixteenth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

This is the fifteenth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

January, 2010. Joshua Tree, California.

September 2018. Black Rock City, Nevada.

January 28, 2012. Lerome, South Africa.

July 3, 2016. Sullivan County, New York.

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This is PHOTO ARCHIVE. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

This is the fourteenth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

Four boys kicked a soccer ball around in a yard. I introduced myself and told them I was from New York. They asked if I liked Lil Wayne and one of them rapped “A Milli” for me. A man invited me inside their house, and asked me to photograph a pin he was proud of. His wife arrived, walking slowly with a stick. She came inside and began to pray.

This is the thirteenth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

This is the twelfth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

As we drove on, I learned the real purpose of the trip: Lola wanted to spiritually connect with Gram Parsons. She was going to sleep in Room 8, where he died. I slept in a different room.

Once we checked in to the hotel, we read through letters other girls had written Gram, each in pursuit of the same dream. Lola wrote one longer than all who came before her.

Later that evening, Lola went to the bathroom and came out shaking. She had discovered human organs sitting on the toilet tank. After a moment of panic, Audrey revealed she had secretly bought beef kidneys at the supermarket and hidden them for us to find. It was a successful prank.

The next day we listened to the Flying Burrito Brothers and drove through the park. I took pictures of the girls at Cap Rock. As they flashed their boobs in honor of Gram, it started to rain.

This is the ninth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

JUNE 18, 2014. Rome, Italy.

AUGUST 2012. Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

SEPTEMBER 2014. New York City.

JUNE 7, 2018. Shambala.

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This is PHOTO ARCHIVE. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

Tippi had been a hero of mine my whole life. My mom showed me The Birds and Marnie when I was a kid. I loved The Birds. I told Tippi this. She said my mom had good taste. Undoubtedly, that exact conversation happened hundreds of times before, but it felt like she meant it. She signed a DVD of The Birds and gave it to me.

At lunch, a six foot gopher snake appeared in the grass. I got up and went for it. I’ve been catching snakes since I was four years old. The same woman yelled at me to get away from it. She said it might be poisonous. She meant venomous. It wasn’t. I could have had it in five seconds. Out of respect for Tippi, I listened, though I could tell from a silent look between us that she wished I had caught it.

Before we left, I asked for her portrait.

This is the eighth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

His family owned Sixth Street Specials, the motorcycle shop on 6th and C where we took these pictures. As adults, we got along really well.

This is the seventh post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

This is the sixth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

I’d been to Rome before, but I’d never seen Pope Innocent X. I went there first thing in the morning, then walked around the Vatican for a few hours thinking about what makes a good painting. I still think about this. Is it because I think it’s good, or because people say it is. Pope Innocent X was both. I stopped by The Calling of St. Matthew before looking at the wedding program and realizing I hadn’t packed enough outfits.

I finished the day shopping. I couldn’t find anything I liked. The next day, before my train, I bought an expensive but mediocre outfit and wore it to the rehearsal dinner.

These were the people I found interesting.

This is the fifth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

JULY 4, 2024. Sullivan County, New York.

JANUARY 4, 2014. Tijuana, Mexico.

DECEMBER 3, 2015. In Flight.

APRIL 2009. New York City.

This is PHOTO ARCHIVE. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

Tarik worked nights at the deli on my dad’s block. New York Village Deli, green awning, yellow light, between d.b.a. and a Chinese takeout, open 24 hours. He was from Egypt.

I would go before school for a breakfast sandwich on a croissant. As I got older I started showing up later and later at night. He was always smiling. Even at 3AM. I remember how amused he was the day I switched from a fake ID to a real one to buy beer.

I came in alone, with family, with friends, with a date, with a stranger. He saw every version of me. He knew what cheese I liked melted on a chicken cutlet. They closed about ten years after I took this photo. I don’t know where Tarik went. The deli is now a Popeyes.

This is the fourth post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

This is the third post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.

The first night was fun. The second night, Alex (fake name) wanted to stay in. I couldn’t really wrap my head around it. We had two nights in Tijuana, and the Hotel Nelson, at thirty-five dollars a night, was not a place you spent more time in than necessary. I was going out. Alex said fine, be back by midnight. I agreed to my curfew.

I walked down Avenida Revolución with my camera, in and out of dark bars. I had a couple drinks and talked to strangers. Midnight was approaching. Then I saw David. I introduced myself. He was skeptical. I told him I was visiting from New York and I liked his tattoos. I bought him a beer. He asked if I wanted to go to another bar. We went to a few. I took his picture and he talked. We were the same age. He had a kid coming soon and he was nervous. The money was faster in Tijuana. He was putting it together to bring back to San Diego. He told me this while we sat at slot machines. When it was time to go, he gave me a number so we could stay in touch. He wanted the pictures.

I walked into the Hotel Nelson at 3 a.m. with a big smile on my face. Alex was sitting in the lobby, wide awake, threw something at me, and went up to the room. The drive back to LA was somber. The next time I saw Alex, we broke up.

I reached the number once. A woman answered. She said she was David’s baby mama and he still hadn’t come back from Tijuana. The next time I called, it was disconnected. I never regretted those extra three hours.

This is the second post from PHOTO ARCHIVE. Twenty years of unreleased 35mm. New post every Tuesday. One email a month.