A Medic's Journey | From Herat to Hollywood

On September 8th, 2024, the Regent Theatre in Arlington will host Summerdance 2024, an eagerly awaited celebration of independent cinema. This event promises an immersive experience into the world of filmmaking, featuring a lineup of seven compelling short films ranging from experimental comedies to heartfelt dramas, and offers a prime networking opportunity for experienced and emerging filmmakers to showcase their abilities to producers, agents, and talent scouts eager to discover New England’s top talent.

Attendees can look forward to red carpet interviews by Friendly Filmmaker and a networking cocktail hour; screenings of diverse and innovative films with Special Guest "Oliver" from Embrace the Film; and an exclusive Q&A session with each director hosted by The Film Stock Podcast.

The following interview with Mark Meagher, writer, producer, and first-time director of the 17-minute mockumentary film pilot "Take 2," was conducted by award-winning journalist Shirley Ruhe.

Q. Do you write and produce films full time?
A. I work on union films full time, either as the onset medic or as a location medic. Some of my bigger films were Best Picture winner Coda, Hocus Pocus 2, Knives Out, and Little Women.

Q. What is your film background?
A. I helped some friends during my undergrad at Emerson and, while auditioning for a reality TV show in Boston, the producers offered me a job as a production assistant. I worked on that for a few months and once that company closed, I moved to LA in September 2008. I worked mainly on reality TV shows when I was out there and the first movie I worked on was “Never Say Never, The Justin Bieber Story.” I enjoyed living in LA, but I wasn’t happy with the person I was becoming. So, to right the karma ship, I joined the Army. I remember watching “Band of Brothers” and always told myself if I was ever in, I’d want to be in an Airborne unit. I will say it’s a good way to get over a fear of heights. I was a line medic and senior line medic with the 82nd Airborne, and did two combat deployments to Afghanistan. When I got out, I moved back to LA for a year, returned to Boston for grad school and became a union set medic. I’ve been doing that full time since the summer of 2018.

Q: Take me back. When did you first get interested in film?
A: I remember watching “Hocus Pocus” as a kid. I used to tell stories a lot. I always had different ideas; I should have known at the time. I always loved writing. In high school, I thought I was going to be a sports writer.

Q: Describe “Take 2."
A: It is a mockumentary about an aspiring actress trying to navigate going to auditions while working a normal job. In the film world, you encounter a lot of colorful characters, which I think is what made this so fun to make. The acting talent in this pilot is a murder’s row of ability, creativity and talent. My partners and actors/EP's on this, Becca [Lerman] and Anthony [Waldmyer], agreed it should leave room for the actors to improv lines and make the characters their own. Characters they will have fun playing in an environment they know they have the green light to go for something or try something spontaneous. We had some long takes because at one point I wanted to hear what someone would say next. We were only able to do that because the DP Erik [Dabrowski] could capture all of it in documentary style filming. I know it is hard to film that way, but he’s so talented he made it look easy.

Q: What has been the most difficult thing about preparing this project.
A: Believing in myself to be able to direct. It was a rather low point in my life, and at the time I didn’t think I was any use to anyone for anything. Becca and Anthony brought me in, and let me know they think I can contribute and be a big part of this project. The three of us wrote the pilot episode, and when I told them how I want this done, they let me know they believe in me. You don’t get that too often, and it truly meant a lot. During and before production; Ellyana [Stanton], Rosario [Corso], Halle [Curley] and producer/1st AD Cam [Morton] all let me know they trust me and they are with me on this. I had too many people on that set believe in a first-time director, and it meant more to me than I could ever express. I’ve spent a total of 13 years in military, and you quickly learn the traits of god leadership and the traits of bad leadership. For example, the leaders at the 82nd Airborne were not only experts in their craft, but they cared about their troops and never screwed over other people. Which is the opposite of my experience with the 102nd Medical Group in the Mass Air National Guard. After seeing how they operate, I knew what not to do.

Q: What are your plans/hopes for the future?
A: I’m going to see what movies or TV shows come to town and try to hop on them. After I screen “Take 2,” at Summerdance, I’ll decide what's next from there.

For tickets to Summerdance 2024 visit: https://regenttheatre.com/events/summerdance-2024/

About the Author: Shirley Ruhe is an award-winning photographer and reporter for the Connection newspapers in Virginia, a role she has excelled in since 2016. Prior to her journalism career, she served as the Director of Budget and Economic Priorities for the House of Representatives Budget Committee and as the Director of Congressional Relations for the RAND Corporation. Shirley also has a distinguished background in the arts as the former Chair of the Board of the Leon French American Theatre and as a Helen Hayes Award Nominator.