Movies & TV / Columns

Bloomywood Star David Meyers On Making The Show a Short-Form Web Series, Possible Second Season

November 2, 2020 | Posted by Bryan Kristopowitz

The 411 Interview: David Meyers

David Meyers is an actor, writer, and producer who has been appearing in movies and on television, according to imdb, since 2013. Meyers has appeared in such feature films as Campus Code, Wild Nights with Emily, and Killer Caregiver, and has appeared on such TV shows as LA to Vegas and Duck World. Meyers is also an accomplished stage actor, appearing in shows in both New York City (Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway), Los Angeles, and in New Jersey. Meyers’s latest project is the web comedy Bloomywood, which you can watch right now on YouTube. In the show, which Meyers created along with Taylor Gregory and Rory Leland, Meyers plays Michael Bloomstein, a hopeful actor and writer who heads to Hollywood to get a movie made about his life, despite having zero connections and, really, no idea how to actually make his dream happen. That doesn’t stop him, though, as we see throughout the show (five episodes are available to watch as of this writing with more on the way). In this interview, Meyers talks with this writer about making Bloomywood, the difficulties involved with making a short comedy web series, and more.

Bryan Kristopowitz: How did Bloomywood come about as your next project? How did you come up with the idea for the series?

David Meyers: I’ve always tried to create my own content, because otherwise you’re always waiting for someone else to decide if you’re the best fit for a part.

My friend Taylor and I were talking one afternoon — I had just come from an audition where I waited an hour to be seen, and the director left right before I was supposed to go in. Taylor and I were discussing all the crazy stuff that happens when you’re pursuing your dreams, and Taylor said “Hey, why don’t we do this show where you play this guy who is so nice and tries so hard, but always gets stepped on.”

Taylor called it Doormat. I love to improv — so I said, “Yeah — and we can go out and do this with real people!” And that’s how Bloomywood got started.

BK: How did you decide on the format for the show? Was it always meant to be a sort of micro short internet series? And how did you decide on the ratio of improv to scripted sequences? Were those scripted sequences tightly scripted?

DM: We always conceived of it as 2-3 minute episodes, just because people are hesitant to watch new content, and we thought it would be easier to ask people to watch something for 2 minutes rather than 20.

My favorite form of acting is semi-scripted improv, so the whole show was done based on that format. All the interactions with real people are entirely unscripted, and things happened to us that we never could have scripted (someone giving me a card for a drug rehab center, for example).

For the scripted parts, it was all improv — and then we had some ideas of what we wanted the episode to look like, and then some specific lines we wanted to use. Then, as we were going, the three of us (Rory, Taylor, and I) would get ideas for more content.

BK: Where was Bloomywood filmed?

DM: We filmed it all over LA — everything before the finale we finished right before COVID. We filmed on Hollywood Boulevard, the Hollywood sign, outside Warner Brothers, and then some locations people let us use for the interior shoots.

BK: How was Bloomywood cast? Did you always intend to play Michael Bloomstein?

DM: From the beginning the idea was that I would play Michael. I had done some TV work, but I’d been getting so close to some major projects (the Aretha Franklin film, a few TV shows, a Facebook show, and more) and then not getting cast — so I wanted to make something where I just got to act and have fun.

For the other parts, I asked two absolutely brilliant actresses I know to do it — Krishna Smitha and Colleen Doyle. They’re amazing — and it made it so easy to act opposite them. It took almost no effort because they’re so talented.

BK: How long did it take to make a typical episode of Bloomywood?

DM: We shot each episode for between 1 and 3 hours total, and then Rory would do a first edit of each episode; then the three of us would edit together. So, most of the time was spent on Rory’s end. He did such an incredible job. It’s very hard to edit a show together when there’s no script; and there would be no Bloomywood without Rory.

BK: What was the hardest part of making of Bloomywood for you as a performer?

DM: Honestly, I had so much fun making this. The hardest part was to know we filmed something so great and have to sit on it for so long. We planned to release in the spring, then COVID happened. Then we planned to release during June — and there were the massive protests. We also lost our press agent and our social media person due to COVID, so we kept getting hit by bad luck at almost every turn. I’ve had to market the show largely on my own, so that’s why people like you and 411mania covering it has meant the world.

BK: How much footage is left from everything that you shot on the improv side of the production? Could you make something out of that left over footage?

DM: 100 percent. Some of the best content we filmed didn’t make the cut — and it’s just sitting there. I’ve released some clips of the career coach separately — because they’re so good. But some of the other footage would take Rory too much time to edit and release on its own. But I wish people could see it, as it’s really entertaining.

BK: How competitive is the world of the short form web series? Just how hard is it to make people aware of something like Bloomywood?

DM: Getting people to see our show has been our biggest challenge. That’s why when you were willing to take a look, I was so grateful. It’s hard to get people to take a chance on something new, especially the press. I’ve had people who I sent it to not watch it, then later they see it and say “I really love this, I should have watched it before.”

I also had 2 major critics tell me they’d review it if we weren’t only on YouTube, but it’s hard to get anywhere else without getting reviews — so it’s a Catch-22. People want to be told it’s worth their time before they watch it. So I’m trying to spend time every day putting it out there.

The whole reason we made the show was to uplift people, make them laugh, and encourage them to chase their dreams — so I’m hoping that will resonate with people. And if even a small number of people like it, that will be worth it to me!

BK: Any moviemaking heroes?

DM: For this show, the three would be Sacha Baron Cohen — especially the original HBO version of Da Ali G Show, Larry David, and then Warwick Davis for the brilliant show he created called Life’s Too Short. I can’t recommend that highly enough to people who like scripted improve. It’s a brilliant series that deserved a lot more attention.

BK: Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

DM: I’ve had a lot of great auditions — so hopefully soon 🙂 I wrote a play that Oscar-nominee Michael Shannon was supposed to do in New York before COVID, and we’re trying to develop it as a TV property that he’s now attached to.

I have some other writing projects — but right now my passion is to try and get people to take a chance and watch Bloomywood so we can keep making more of them.

BK: How did you get into show business?

DM: My mom took me to see Peter Pan on Broadway when I was 5, and I refused to leave until I could see it again. It was magical — and I was really hooked after that.

BK: What do you hope audiences get out of Bloomywood?

DM: The main goal is to make people laugh, and give people something to enjoy during this really dark time. The other thing would be to uplift people — fill them with positivity — and encourage people to chase their dreams. I think people like Michael because of his optimism — and I always remind myself that optimism like that attracts other people. Hollywood can be a bitter place, and that’s not healthy for anyone.

BK: Will there be a second season of Bloomywood?

DM: We hope so! We had some great ideas — but COVID makes it really hard, because you couldn’t do any of the real people interactions. So we’re hoping we can get some buzz for the first season, and then maybe some minor sponsorship or partnership to defray some expenses of making a second season.

BK: Realistically, how much do you think My Life would cost to produce?

DM: Michael’s life is so uneventful, I think it would be pretty cheap. We actually envisioned the climax of the film being Michael trying to open a jar of mayonnaise — so it’s probably more of an art house/indie flick!!

BK: How many times did you go up and down that escalator?

DM: Hahaha. Not that many — probably only 10 times total. The version in Episode 2 was the best take. You can hear a woman yelling at me when I tell her to be quiet because I’m trying to pitch my film. It was encouraging — but also scary — to realize how many people thought Michael was real!