Out of respect to the first cannabis shop that hired me, I never filmed ads for any of his Portland rivals
Over the last twenty years Portland, Oregon has developed a reputation for being friendly to TV and movie crews. This city has always been a patron of the arts. Galleries, art museums, and open forums have been common since the land was first settled. That’s one of the many things that makes Portland such an awesome town – it supports artists. I first moved here about ten years ago, at the time it was supposed to be temporary but I just never left. I was slated to star in a low budget horror movie being shot in Portland. We made the movie, but we never saw the inside of a movie theater, except for the old venue in Portland we rented to screen it to our friends. I wound up getting a job in a Portland cannabis dispensary, and the rest is history. I applied for a job as a budtender, but once the owner saw my credentials he asked if I would be interested in filming TV commercials for a local Portland TV station. I jumped at the chance. Filming TV spots for cannabis shops wasn’t my dream, but I loved being in Portland and hoped this would lead to something more. The commercials were a minor hit, which led to other Portland businesses contacting me to direct their ads. Out of respect to the first cannabis shop that hired me, I never filmed ads for any of his Portland rivals. Now that the film community in Portland is starting to become more active, I hope I can start making movies again.