Meet Chase Korzep | Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chase Korzep and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chase, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born and raised in Las Vegas. I’m from a family of educators who really showed me the importance of curiosity and perseverance. I never fit in to the school system or the lifestyle of Las Vegas. It’s all desert and a strip of parties, so I really had to lose myself in adventure storytelling and other worlds to be excited about life. I became extremely curious about animals, other planets, unexplored territories, and history. I learned a lot just by being curious. I became a proficient SCUBA diver, I’ve learned piano, I learned how to drive a stick shift (thanks Fast and Furious), and I’ve left the only life I knew to come make movies in LA. All of that curiosity stems from my parents who have been astronomically supportive and my fiancé who’s moved with me to see it through. I really strive to tell stories in new ways and explore worlds that aren’t touched at this level. The secret to life is to stay curious.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The stories I’ve been most inspired by are adventures. Movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, Lawrence of Arabia, Jurassic Park, Troy, The Godfather, etc. have been insanely inspirational. I love epics. That’s really where I want to make my career. I’m very excited about my new movie Underneath about treasure hunters in the middle east. It’s my first attempt at an epic in short form and I’m excited for everyone to see it.

As for challenges, any filmmaker will tell you anything that can go wrong, will. Staying curious and rolling the dice (No Vegas pun intended) is the way to overcome your odds. I’ve been lucky enough to find collaborators willing to do that with me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My life belongs to the beach. If friends come to town and they don’t want to stop at Zuma beach or Santa Monica then they’re not friends. If you’re coming for a week, we’re going to Santa Monica, taking the PCH up to Malibu and stopping for the Broad Street Oyster Company. Then we’ll take a nice ride through the mountains into the Valley to visit my dogs. Can’t go long without them. If you’re here to take in LA, we’ll go to the Hollywood Walk of Fame (but not for too long. It’s smelly), do some studio tours for Warner Brothers, Paramount, Sony, then Griffith Park, downtown Culver City. If you’re here in June, we’ll go to Fuel Fest for the cars and the racing. At night, we’ll go to some clubs in Hollywood. You’d have to ask my fiancé on those, that’s her specialty.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My fiancé deserves a lot of credit for pushing me to meet new people, to try new things. She really helps me leave my comfort zone. I’ve been able to make strides with her that I otherwise would not have alone. I was lucky enough to have four parents, each with their own family of characters that are really right out of the movies we love.

Creatively, I have to acknowledge my main producer Lily Campisi and talented friends like Codee Mixon, Ahmed Abu Shamma, Timmy Hanlon, Sean Singer, Julia Bresnan, Michael Hooper, Sina Tadayon, and Melanie Valero. Davey Parks, he’s a production designer and he’s damn good. He’s another close friend and collaborator. These people have taken me places creatively that I’ve been lucky to experience. These are my closest collaborators and the people I get excited to work with.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chase_korzep/

Other: https://letterboxd.com/kingkorzep/ https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm14513831?s=5cc4398e-9c4d-1064-8ad0-ea2978577e7d&site_preference=normal