Meet Elinor Keyes | Filmmaker, Company Owner, and Multidisciplinary Artist

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

Hi Elinor, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Throughout the course of my career in the arts, I’ve continually seen myself and my friends and colleagues forced to contend with elusive, arbitrary criteria in order to be given the chance to do the work that they love. Things like financial situations, access to a network and resources, and even personal appearance often serve as massive barriers that can prevent the most talented and hardworking among us from gaining any professional ground. A couple of years ago, I decided that I wanted to try and sidestep some of those hurdles by starting to produce my own work, and created Cotton Candy Flavor Media, LLC in order to release my first project. The company’s inaugural production, a seven-episode micro-budget webseries entitled Olympic Proportions that I wrote and directed, served as a way to create more opportunities for the people around me without having to wait for anyone else’s permission or approval. The final product was goofy and unpolished, but full of so much heart, and really showed me how a group of enthusiastic, skillful creatives can truly make something out of nothing. (You can still find Olympic Proportions on YouTube if you’re interested to see how all this started– it’s a ridiculous, wild ride of a show, but one I’m so proud to have made.) A few of us who had been working on the production realized the value of what we had started, and wanted to keep that momentum going after the series had wrapped. Out of this desire to continue creating original, independent work of our own accord, the Paper Cones Group was formed: a cooperative, democratically-run company of artists operating under the umbrella of Cotton Candy Flavor Media to hone our skills as filmmakers and produce projects that we’re fully excited to make. We’ve already filmed two productions so far, with many more on the docket. I hope to keep the group running and expanding it to include more artists, so that we can continue building our community and sharing new, unique projects with you all for years to come.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The story of how I got here is a little bit… unconventional, to say the least. When I was 13 years old, I started attending university full-time through Mary Baldwin College’s Program for the Exceptionally Gifted, which allowed me to earn my bachelor’s degree at the age of 17. After graduating, I moved overseas to England to earn my master’s degree in Performing Shakespeare at 19. Coming from such a high-pressure academic background and pursuing a career in the arts has been a unique and often disorienting experience. Academia is a field that demands a certain degree of meticulousness and focus, and I’ve struggled to balance my desire to achieve perfection with the mental and spiritual freedom that is necessary in order to make art. I think it’s partly because of this disconnect that I became drawn to the style of work that I like creating now: I started developing a taste for out-of-the-box comedy, and I fell in love with all things absurd, ridiculous, and weird. When your main goal is to make someone laugh, your entire view of what “perfection” refers to becomes skewed. You don’t have to abide by the strict rules that define beauty, or clarity, or what makes something “good”– things that are generally considered “bad” can be just as enjoyable, and if your hope is only that your work will be enjoyed, then you’ve already won. Finding this sly little loophole allowed me to move past my hangups about whether or not I was worthy and just start allowing myself to make whatever dumb thing my heart desired– and, believe me, my heart has desired some truly dumb things. My aforementioned series, “Olympic Proportions”, is a mockumentary-style sitcom about the Greek gods. The first short film I wrote, “Getting Hit On”, is a goofy spy thriller/romantic comedy about an assassin who takes a man out on a date in order to kill him. The short that I’m hoping to get produced next, “The Garage Door”, is an absurdist parody of 1950s American realism that arose from my intrinsic need to dunk on Arthur Miller. There’s a wide world out there waiting to be made fun of, and who better to make fun of it than me? On the other hand, I’ve discovered a use for the meticulous, focused side of me as well, and put my obsession with efficiency and precision to good use by becoming a producer. I finally feel like both parts of my personality are getting adequately exercised: I get to use my diligence and creative problem-solving skills through directing and producing, and I get to be artistic and unhinged through writing and acting. Having such a wide range of interests has given me so many amazing opportunities, and I am absolutely floored to have been able to have some of the experiences that I’ve had so far. “Getting Hit On” has received a number of awards and accolades, and premiered recently on the big screen at the Chinese Theatres. I started working on Oswald: Down the Rabbit Hole, which is by far the biggest project that I’ve ever gotten the chance to be a part of to date. I’ve acted in various films and series in Hollywood, and I’ve performed on the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe. I am so proud of everything I’ve accomplished, and I can only hope that there’s plenty more to come.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a bona fide space nerd, I’d take them to the Griffith Observatory– preferably by starting out in Griffith Park and taking a nice desert hike up the mountain to get there. As a bona fide bone nerd, I’d take them to the La Brea Tar Pits to show off the prehistoric beasts that used to roam this land before the humans arrived and put in a Taco Bell. We’d go to Los Feliz for some chaotic thrifting, and visit the WACKO Soap Plant to buy some assorted baubles and oddities. For food, I’d bring them to Koreatown for barbecue, and probably brag a little bit about how my mom also makes amazing galbi. For drinks, I’d take them on a coffee shop tour of the city: notable stops including Groundwork, Intelligentsia, Javista, Miss Melbourne, and Coffee For Sasquatch (to give them the full Hollywood experience, I’d also give them an unfinished screenplay to stare at in existential dread while they sip). Obviously, they’ll have to see some movies in the place where movies get made, so I’d take the opportunity to plan a trip to the theatre and introduce this friend to my Hollywood friends (THE most fun, interesting, exciting people in the city). Also, escape rooms. I like escape rooms.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Well, first of all, I of course have to thank Lilton Stewart III for recommending me as a participant in the Shoutout series in the first place. Lilton is my professional mentor, creative colleague, and one of my closest friends. An absolute force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry, Lilton directed the first short film that I ever wrote (“Getting Hit On”), and I’m thrilled to be working with him again as the associate producer of his upcoming horror/adventure feature, “Oswald: Down the Rabbit Hole.” I can’t imagine a better person to guide me through the ins and outs of this crazy business, and I’m forever thankful for his encouragement and support.

Second, I want to give my utmost gratitude to all my fellow members of the Paper Cones Group. The importance of having a community of people that you enjoy working with cannot be understated, and I consider myself so fortunate to have found that in this team. The enthusiasm, care, and joy that these people bring to their work on a daily basis is truly inspiring, and getting together in a room with them every week to do work and throw ideas around is an experience that anyone would be lucky to have. I can’t wait to see what we do next.

Lastly, a few people that I simply can’t resist the chance to mention. To Mom and Dad, who send me their support even from the opposite corner of the country. To Bill, who I love getting the chance to share good news with. To Ambrosia and Brian, who are always there to listen to me ramble about my ideas, even the ones that never actually come to fruition. To my cats, Jack and Algernon, who actively deterred my progress on multiple occasions by sitting on my computer keyboard, but who deserve appreciation anyway because I love them. A huge thank-you to you all.

Website: cottoncandyflavormedia.com

Instagram: @nellkeyes_

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfSgCiUUeTZSkU9eJEN-i7w