Bryan Cranston is a cool guy. Loved and acclaimed from both inside the industry and those at home, we already know Anthony Hopkins is a fan, and you can now add Brandon Polanco to that list.
In 2012, Cranston was filming “Cold Comes the Night” when production halted due to Hurricane Sandy. Being the cool guy that he is, Cranston wasted no time and created a short film contest for the production assistants working on the film. He challenged them to write and submit scripts, with the winner landing Cranston in the lead role, in a film they would shoot during the downtime. PA Brandon Polanco’s script won, and three hours later “Writer’s Block” went into production. The 13-minute black-and-white short film stars Cranston, Chaz Rose, Lela Edgar, and Spenser Granese, and the whole experience is one Polanco treasured and learned from.
“A piece of advice that I got from Bryan that I keep is ‘just keep making’ — I have a short film called ‘Passing By‘ that I’m releasing next month,” Polanco told No Film School. “I have a web series called ‘Pride‘ that I’m releasing. I think it’s just staying focused and putting out work and hopefully people will find it relevant. People can get their hands on a camera and tell a story. It’s a moment I’ll always get to hold onto. The amount of response has been great, so I’m just really grateful.
“Cold Comes the Night” dropped on January 10th, and you can read our review right here. Watch “Writer’s Block” below.