Meet Todd Kniss | Writer, Creator

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

Hi Todd, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Short and sweet…having kids. I started working on my passion project (For Blood Or Justice) over 10 years ago. During that span I went from being single and living in a beachside apartment, to being married, buying and remodeling a home, and having two children. In short, I went from having plenty of free time and was beholden to no one, to desperately trying to find thirty precious minutes of solitude to write, edit or otherwise be creative. The struggle is real. But I will say that I am a better artist now, partly due to age, but mostly due to living a much richer life. Joy and sadness are now more profound.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Nearing graduation from CSULB with a BA in Film and Television I found myself needing something more. More insight. More education. Something more to prepare me for the next chapter in my journey. As if by chance, at around the same time I was pondering my next move, an old friend dropped an entertainment magazine at my parents’ house that listed the top film schools in the US. I later explored the magazine and discovered, sitting atop the list, not USC as I had expected, but the American Film Institute. I was immediately confused and intrigued. The deeper I dug into AFI and its storied history, the more I became enchanted. I had to be there, enrolled with other like-minded, up-and-coming filmmakers. This was to be the next step in my journey.

In order to enroll at AFI you had to choose a discipline. But I enjoyed the entire process of filmmaking (well maybe not casting and producing) so how was I to chose just one? My current film professor suggested I pursue Cinematography. I’d lensed many of the other students projects during undergrad and seemed to have an eye for it. I figured why not, my dad was a photographer so maybe it ran in the family. I applied to AFI in the Cinematography discipline and was somehow accepted amongst so many other talented fellows.

Fast forward two years, dozens of projects, and hundreds of hours of schooling later, and I deemed myself ready to dive into the deep end. I was ready to make a feature film! I had returned to college as an older student and was ready to make something of myself. I didn’t want to wait any longer. But I also didn’t want to shoot…I wanted to direct. That’s a story for another day, but suffice it to say that it was the most difficult undertaking I’ve ever experienced. I learned many lessons making that movie (Homecoming – available on Tubi) but none more insightful than this – I came to the realization that I didn’t want to shoot. Nor did I want to direct. I wanted to write. I wanted to focus on the act of writing. Of creating a universe, building it from the ground up.

All of this to say, it’s been a long, hard road, filled with many twists and turns. And the destination I envisioned is no longer the end goal. I made a lot of wrong turns and had many missteps, but ultimately I found my true voice and passion. I suppose I had to experience the entire arduous journey to become the artist I am today.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
You’d need to start by flying into Long Beach’s airport. It was completely reimagined a few years back, and today it’s an excellent and beautifully designed space. Then we’d travel to 2nd Street in Belmont Shore to have a Shoot the Root (a shot of Root Beer Schnapps dropped into a glass of Coors Light – their specialty…and it’s better than it sounds at Shannon’s), and then a delicious lunch at the best restaurant in town, Nick’s on 2nd.

We could then kayak in the bay around Naples Island, taking in the scenery and beautiful homes that ring the coastline. Next would be a trip across Alamitos Bay for a beer (or two) at Ballast Point. The two-story, all glass restaurant and brewery has the best view in town – over looking the bay and the Pacific Ocean beyond. From there it’s only a short walk for dinner at the Boathouse on the Bay, where there’s always a perfect view of the sun setting across the water from almost any seat in the house.

The following days would be filled with visits to Dodger Stadium, Seal Beach and other little gems around Long Beach, including Bixby Knolls, Retro Row on 4th Street and Fingerprints Records (where the Foo Fighters and Silversun Pickups, among others, have played in-store concerts).

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?
For Blood Or Justice would never have made it as far as it has without the unwavering support and teamwork of my partners Scott Weil, Eduardo Lopez and Brian Wright. Tangentially, I’d like to thank John Carpenter and Elmore Leonard for supplying so much of my formative years with scintillating stories filled with rich and brilliant characters. They, maybe more than anything else, helped forge the worlds I have myself created.

x

Website: www.forbloodorjustice.com

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

Twitter: @bloodorjustice_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forbloodorjustice

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEB&search_query=forbloodorjustice

Image Credits
Cover art by Paul Sylva @SpaceKrunch