Actor Eric Mamann writes and to star in the film Jane’N’Fitch. “A former MMA champion, and current drug addict, enters rehab where he meets the love of his life and chases romance and a future, only to be faced with Co dependency, Triumph, failure, love, loss and redirection”
So what gave you the idea to decide to write your own project?
E: To be honest, I have had this lingering idea for a while but I just never get around to it. By the time I do, I usually have to prep for a project. It gets very difficult to keep picking up where you left off with writing after months of working as an actor on various projects. Then came along the pandemic, the world shut down, the industry was obliviated. I finally had my chance and I capitalized on it.
So you made lemonade out of lemons pretty much.
E: (he laughs) that is correct actually.
Did you find the writing process difficult?
E: I didn’t really think about that, at first it seemed very easy to get going, but once that first draft was done, I realized this is where the difficulty begins. The rewrites and more rewrites. It never ends basically. Sometimes I had to put it aside for a couple of weeks and come back to it fresh or you start to loose perception of what is what.
I also feel that writing at this stage in my acting career is actually a blessing. I believe actors have a very unique approach to writing because we have done the internal work on so many characters over the years that you tend to have a deeper-rooted understanding of who you are writing about. So it did not feel like I was starting from scratch. I felt much more prepared then probably most novice writers would be starting out.
When do we get to see Jane’N’Fitch go into production?
E: I’m projecting for around 2024. I have signed on with March Forth for 3 Films total. The last project of the three we are doing is for Jane N’ Fitch contingent on my involvement in another 2 projects from them. By 2024 the latest, but we will have to see how long it takes them to shoot, edit and distribute the other 2 Films. Usually, it’s about a year long for producers to go through a single film. Sometimes longer.
Do you prefer Acting or writing?
E: Oh god acting (bursts out laughing) Writing is a gut-wrenching process that takes so much endurance and follow through. Acting for me is like water, I need to water to live, it’s same with acting. The reason I wrote this is because we don’t always as actors get to work on exactly what we want to work on in terms of the exact characters we would like to play. We work on what’s up next basically. This allowed me to write a character in Fitch that I would only dream to play if it came across my table.
How did you get the script optioned so quickly?
E: It’s a combination of having a decent script and connections. I think because I have been around the business a while, it wasn’t like searching in the dark with a flashlight. I sent the script around, got more feedback and made more changes. Finally, it landed in March Forth possession and they loved it and optioned it. So a combination of luck, connections, and timing.
What are the other two projects?
E: Due to the stage in preproduction and another in development, I cant discuss the details until after the production company has openly discussed the projects themselves. As much as I would love to spill the beans, it’s not within my rights to do and not my property. Jane’N’Fitch is my child, so at least we have that for now.
You have had a strong stage career in New York as well as done some pretty big films in LA. Do you prefer Los Angeles or New York and why?
E: Definitely New York. I lived In LA for 5 years. Something about NYC just resonates with who I am as an individual a lot more. LA is nice and actually my whole father’s side of the family lives there, but new York is home and I surely feel more rooted and connected here.
Do you like performing on stage or film better and why?
E: This one’s a tough one. They both have their strong points and I love them both really. But, if I had to choose one? Stage, something about doing the whole performance live gives me that feeling that I love as an actor. It’s the feeling where you are standing on the edge of a cliff and every moment is pivotal. Film, we have the luxury of shooting the same scene 20 times. But with this, the benefits are that I can turn in many different variations of how I do the scenes and how my character chooses to react in a given moment, then leave it up to the director in post-production to choose which versions he liked best from my character. So it’s a tough one, I love them both dearly, but I somehow always gravitate and miss stage work after doing films for a while.
