How We Created Loves Company: A Healthy Dose of Delusion Can Be Beneficial

      Jason Laurits is the director of Loves Company, featuring Rachel Dratch, which will premiere this month at Dances With Films. In the following piece, he shares how delusion benefited him as a filmmaker.—M.M.

      Although an outsider in the film industry, I fearlessly embarked on the journey to create my first feature, Loves Company (a blend of Misery and Ruthless People that serves as a reminder to avoid meeting your heroes). I had no clear plan; I simply embraced the delusion that I could actually accomplish it. By this time, I had learned as an artist that it’s normal to start off with some delusions. That's completely fine.

      Within six months, I began "scouting locations" in Florida and Louisiana and meeting with line producers. Did I have the funding yet? No. I wasn’t even sure how much I needed. I was advised to create a budget. Fine. Then a pitch deck. Sure. A proof of concept teaser? What? Now I needed a lawyer. Great.

      Yet, I somehow pulled it all together, keeping all rational thoughts at bay while making my delusional choices. I set a production date for the following October in Louisiana and pressed on relentlessly. At times, it felt like I was running a Ponzi scheme.

      Yes, we’re shooting in October 2024!

      What are we shooting? How will we shoot? I wasn’t entirely sure, but I kept repeating it until I started to believe it myself. I had saved just enough money, perhaps for catering and porta-potties, but it was nowhere near what Loves Company required, even as a low-budget indie. I launched a crowdfunding campaign and found myself reaching out to everyone I knew, asking for $50 in exchange for a video of me in a gator costume thanking them for their support.

      What had I turned into?

      Nonetheless, I managed to reach the crowdfunding target. People were incredibly generous, yet it still wasn’t sufficient to complete this project.

      October!

      The foundation I had built began to feel shaky. After putting myself out there through crowdfunding, I was exposed to EVERYONE. Classmates from high school, fellow filmmakers I had briefly encountered at festivals, friends’ parents who still questioned my life choices. What would it look like if I accepted all their generous (and tax-deductible!) donations and never crossed the finish line? For the first time, I started to come out of my delusion and began to panic.

      However, soon enough, the same universe to which I had pitched my wild idea a year earlier sent me a saving grace. A fantastic person I had known for years from my writing group, executive producer Sarah Davie, wanted to support the film by investing in Loves Company. It was enough to greenlight the project. My delusion was beginning to morph into reality.

      Recruiting Rachel Dratch for Loves Company

      Now I was energized. October was approaching fast. I leveraged one of my scarce Hollywood connections and contacted a reputable casting agent (Josh Ropiequet). We created a casting wishlist. Then I reached out to one of my few New York connections to pass my script along to someone on that list, Rachel Dratch. Before I knew it, I was on a Zoom call with Rachel!

      Yeah, it’s looking like October, Rachel. Are you in or out? (Okay, I wasn’t that suave.)

      I guess I once again willed it into existence, because suddenly Rachel agreed, and we had formed an amazing cast, including Jack Plotnick, Sarah Baker, Dustin Ingram, Bryan Batt, Tristen J. Winger, and Rex Wheeler (aka Lady Camden). October was just weeks away!

      I chose a cinematographer (Joshua Bagnall), an art director (Sara Nyquist), and an assistant director (Liana Cockfield). Our incredible producer, Laura Singleterry, arranged travel for the cast, booked the crew, and secured SAG approval. The main interior set began construction at New Orleans’ Fishpot Studios. I had a prop person (Kaley Daniel) who could create anything I requested (Could I have a toilet seat with stirrups, please?).

      Securing exterior locations proved more challenging. Finding an old, eerie house on a large plot of land in the outskirts of New Orleans was difficult, as many had been rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. I eventually discovered one perfect location... next to a busy train track. I loved it so much that I was willing to risk having to pause filming for a 50-car train to pass by.

      Thankfully, I was dissuaded from that choice. We also needed a Walmart-like store. I drove all around New Orleans, desperately searching to no avail. Then I stumbled upon a small, cinematic grocery store (not the big box type specified in the script). I had to adjust my plans—there was no more time. I booked it immediately and rewrote the script to fit the new location