Jason Russel Waller
Writer/Creator Con Man Daddy
15 Screenwriters To Watch 2022, AFF and MovieMaker Magazine
AFF Second Rounder
Winner—Virtual Pitch Competition, 2021 Austin Film Festival
3rd Place—Live Pitch Competition, 2021 Austin Film Festival
Scross down to read MovieMaker's interview with Jason here!
One Hour Drama - Series Based on a True Story, Written and Created by Jason Russel Waller.
Logline:
An imaginative boy and his brothers hold on tight as their con-man father and unstable mother keep the family on the run during the 1970s and '80s, but as his father's crimes become personal, the boy must make a decision that will change the course of all their lives.
"Con Man Daddy" on NPR's Snap Judgment Radio
"It’s just great. I can’t stop thinking about it and letting it sink in...it gets better the more I ponder all the layers.”
“AMAZING! I sat in silence for several seconds afterwards wishing for more!”
“I was laughing through so many of the things and then at the end, I burst out crying.”
Jason Russel Waller attended a snap Judgment Live tour in Austin, Texas, and was captivated by a performance from Producer/Writer/Comedian Don Reed.
Following the show, Waller spoke with Don Reed and the two realized they had similar pasts. Their backgrounds were made of different circumstances but shared the same emotional journey.
That fortuitous meeting led to Mr. Reed serving as a mentor throughout Jason’s writing process and creation of the One-Hour Drama CON MAN DADDY.
Don Reed introduced Jason’s story to Producer Glynn Washington of NPR’s award-winning radio show and podcast Snap Judgment. Soon after, Snap Judgment was asking their own questions concerning the complex relationship between Jason and his father and produced a moving half-hour radio episode aptly titled
CON MAN DADDY.
Listen now by clicking the illustration above.
Competition Winners Austin Film Festival 2021
Jason Russel Waller grew up on the road and on-the-run during the 1970s and ‘80s with a con man father and unstable stepmother, always staying just one step ahead of the law. Movie theaters were a frequent hideout for his family, and the vast assortment of films Jason watched as a boy served as lessons about different people, places, cultures, and life.
He dreamed of one-day making movies of his own and as an adult realized his passions. At 27, Waller wrote and directed his first feature film The Devil’s Cello. Six years later he wrote and directed a second feature Transcendental Butterfly, shot on location in Uganda, Africa.
But it was only a matter of time before Jason’s own unique past would find its way into his storytelling. In recent years Waller has written extensively about his true adventures of a childhood filled with car chases, ludicrous scams, and escape through imagination. The result is CON MAN DADDY.
CON MAN DADDY is a One-Hour Drama (Series) based on Waller’s true story. “Life can be pretty tough sometimes. Everybody needs hope—and that’s what this story is—it's inspirational. Never stop believing in tomorrow. I’m living proof that there’s laughter at the bottom of heartache.”