EXCLUSIVE: Indie flmmaker Jackson May has commenced production on Degrees, his feature directorial debut, where he stars alongside Michael Vlamis (The Odyssey), Lily Mo Sheen (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent), Milo Hutton (The Night Agent), David Koechner (Anchorman), Daniel Roebuck (House on Haunted Hill), and Kirby Johnson (Corporate Retreat).
Billed as an ensemble Gen Z tragicomedy, Degrees is set 10 years after a graduation-party mass shooting, following a documentarian that returns to his hometown to interview survivors and bystanders. But as memories resurface, the lines of blame begin to blur.
“I was motivated to tell this story after losing someone important to me,” May told Deadline. “People can’t live forever, but art can. Everyone signing on to do this is evidence that this story is bigger than myself.”
Joe Samaniego, who produced alongside May for South Eastern Production Services, in the company’s first feature outing, told us: “Degrees tackles a story that demands to be told. Jack has created something raw, honest, and essential. Degrees speaks to what it means to come of age in a world where mistakes are no longer private, where young people are forced to carry the weight of their worst moments before they have had the chance to fully understand them. I am deeply grateful to our dedicated crew, whose time, care, and belief are helping bring this vision to life. This is the kind of story that stays with you, because it asks us to look closer at blame, empathy, and the world we are leaving behind for the next generation.”
Also starring Matt Snoep (upcoming Lucy Boomer), Joshua Blayne (Ice Cream), and Landon Robinson, Degrees is associate produced by Sabby Fernandez at Manhattan Beach Studios, as well as Chris Kleinmann with Kronos Media.
May is repped by Anthony Ippolito at Heroes and Villains Entertainment; Vlamis by CESD and Artists First; Sheen by Independent Talent Group, 42, Brett Goldstein Management, and Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Klein; Hutton by Untitled Entertainment; Koechner by Gersh and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Roebuck by Leslie Allan-Rice Management; Johnson by Gersh and Canopy Media Partners; Snoep by We Speak NY; Blayne by Gersh; and Robinson by Mavrick Artists Agency and Endorse Management Group.
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