When Dates Go Wrong…RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

7 million views

Created by Martha Williams

The Inspiration

“Run for Your Life” is a fiction show motivated by my personal quest to understand both the absurdity and complexity behind the/my search for love in modern technological times. With the onslaught of dating and hookup sites comes more accessibility, more options, more noise, and even more dating stories… Like the time I went out with “Ray-Ban Man,” who refused to take his sunglasses off for the entire date. In fact, the third time I asked him, he said, “The more you ask, the more it won’t happen.” Uh-hem, do I smell a power struggle?

I know I’m not alone in both the PAIN and COMEDY of online dating and wanted to make something that could bring us together so we can find love in better ways.

Winner of the NYWIFT Outstanding Creator of a New York Series

Run for Your Life is Run Lola Run meets Tinder

— Pilotlight TV Festival

ZACK GOLD GETTING READY TO SHOOT A FANTASY SCENE.

The Maker’s Inspiration

“Run for Your Life” is a fiction show motivated by my personal quest to understand both the absurdity and complexity behind the/my search for love in modern technological times.

And I know I’m not alone in both the PAIN and COMEDY of online dating.

I’m asking, “How can we do it better?!”

Ep. 01: MENAGE-A-DOG

Richard meets Sarah for a late-night hook-up only to be inundated by her dog AND ex-boyfriend/roommate/supervisor. Will the mishap go into Richard’s performance review?

Ep. 02: LATE NIGHT FOODIE CALL

Looking for a little adventure, Celine decides to meet chef Dan at his restaurant after hours. Turns out Dan’s into “green beans.”

Ep. 03: FREELANCE CEO

Richard hopes for a more substantial connection with Kendra, a “freelance CEO” who is more than hard core.

Ep. 04: MAN-BUN & MALA BEADS

Celine meets Paul a “new-age guy.” I mean, what could go wrong?

Technology Can Help You Find Love, But Why Can It Inspire Cardiovascular Activity?

WHY ? (1) No more rules = upside down town

Although technology has made us way more connected, it has also made us think ANYTHING GOES. Now, this CAN be great, but it can also turn the honeybees around. Rules help us live in a shared reality, but there’s no more town hall or church center that says this is it! Hence, bad behavior can create upside-down town.

WHY ? (2) Stranger dating = stinky petri dish

Online dating is mostly strangers colliding their varying degrees of fetish, freak, size, lies, mental illness, beliefs, drinking problems, and desire for love, sex, marriage, or distraction.

WHY? (3) Dating surplus = disposable diaper mentality

When I first started online dating, I treated men like disposable diapers. I was careless with myself and them. Thankfully, this eventually changed.

RESULT

Run for Your Life

If you’re truly looking for a connection, The accumulation of the “I can’t believe this is happening again,” feeling will inevitably inspire you to work it out like Forrest Gump.

The Team

MARTHA WILLIAMS (CREATOR, WRITER, DIRECTOR, EXEC. PRODUCER)

Martha comes from a ridiculously “diverse” background that gives her the creative juice of a Mack Truck. Preacher’s kid, too-tall girl forced into basketball submission, saleslady, life coach, sustainability activist, valet car parker…you get the picture. She’s been making art since 2003. First as a choreographer and since 2007 as a writer/director for video. Her work has been recognized by the London Film Awards, Knoxville Film Festival, West Fest, Broken Frames, CineRail Festival, Dance Magazine, etc., and has been seen at The Flea, Joe’s Pub, The Joyce Soho, to name a few.

LUCKY CHENG (DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY) Lucky Cheng is a filmmaker and cinematographer from New York. When he’s not out exploring the world you’ll find him behind the camera across narrative, documentary, fashion, music video, and branded content work. He seeks silver moments in the mundane, and likes brass objects and long walks on the beach.

ASHLEY GEORGE (PRODUCER) Ashley is a director and producer based in New York, New York. Her work has exhibited at festivals and theaters such as Picture Farm Film Festival, GLITCH Film Festival, New York No Limits’ Queer Film Initiative, Bideodromo Experimental Film Festival, MIX NYC Experimental Queer Festival, National Queer Arts Festival, Santa Cruz Film Festival, and San Francisco’s Roxie Theater and Castro Theater. She’s a Gemini firecracker in a sugar bowl and is a sucker for all things 90s.

MARLENE NICHOLS (STORY EDITOR) Marlene Nichols is a writer & producer who’s worked in feature films, documentary, and reality. As a performer, she has created 5 solo shows and toured theme through the festival circuit in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York and Paris. In 2013, she was the recipient of The Arctic Circle residency program and spent three weeks sailing and making art in the arctic circle.

MARIA MARRONE (PRODUCTION DESIGNER) Maria Marrone is a Venezuelan photographer and filmmaker that just recently received her BFA in filmmaking from New York University. She had production designed a variety of projects including short films, music videos, and commercials.

website

MARIA CATALDO (EDITOR) is a NYC-based filmmaker. Her feature editing credits include Rain, Children of God, Wind Jammers, and Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life. Maria has supervised post-production through The Weinstein Company, and in 2014, co-directed MTV’s Clio Award-winning Rebel Music. Maria is also a founding member at Fictionless.

NORM SCOTT, COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER has been recording and archiving sound since he was five years old. He is a video editor, sound designer, recordist, composer, turntablist, and tinkerer-maker based in Ithaca, NY.

The Cast

MIA DARROW as CELINE

Mia Darrow is a 3rd generation New Yorker. After attending the HS of Performing Arts, she tried to square-peg-round-hole it studying neuroscience. Now she acts, makes music and is writing her first feature film. She is so psyched to be part of Run For Your Life!

website / IG: @miadarrow

ZACK GOLD as RICHARD

Zack Gold has appeared on television series Adam Ruins Everything, DIG, The Colbert Report and had a recurring improv based role on the hit prank show Deal With It, created by Howie Mandel. In 2014 Zack was nominated by the International Academy Of Web Television for Best Comedy Actor in A Web Television Series for his leading role on the viral comedy hit series Stockholm. He performs sketch and improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade theatre.

MICHAEL AURELIO as PAUL Ep. 04

Michael Aurelio is a Brooklyn based actor. TV guest star roles include TNT’s “Murder in the First” and “We Are Men” on CBS. A lifetime stage actor, Michael has performed at The Old Globe, Redcat, Boston Court Theater, Theatricum, and HERE Arts Center. He has a BFA in acting from Cal Arts.

MANDY SCHMIEDER as AMANDA Ep. 03

Mandy Schmieder can be seen as “I’m So Bad” Mandy, the bi-curious fitness student, the apologetic scientist, and the pregnant cannibal, as a recurring guest on Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer. She teaches improv comedy at The Peoples Improv Theater (The PIT) and has an M.F.A. in Acting from UC-Irvine. She’s signed with Danny Prather at Hudson Artists Agency.

NICHOLAS FEITEL as DAN Ep. 02

Nicholas Feitel is an actor, writer, former modern-dance critic, minor reality show person and current dog walker living in New York City. Credits include HBO’s Divorce, Adult Swim’s Neon Joe and the upcoming James Franco Show The Deuce. He sweats more than most people and is usually happy to meet you.

NICK JORDAN as HUCK Ep. 01

Nick was most recently seen guest starring on the Emmy award-winning ID series “A Crime to Remember” and making his Off Broadway debut with the historic Pan Asian Repertory Theater in Damon Chua’s Incident at Hidden Temple. In 2016, Nick was nominated for the MITF’s Best Actor Award for his work in John Adam’s In the Shadow of a Dream. He’s worked on several indie features and shorts, as well as some of NYC’s best theater, including UCB improv and The PIT’s sketch comedy. You can catch Nick as series regular on Trunk Face Media’s darkly comic “House of Dreams” web series.

TAM SHEPHARD as SARAH Ep. 01

Tamara is from Idaho. She went to the very prestigious Idaho State University where she got her bachelor’s and then ran away to NYC. She enjoys collecting vinyl records (her recent finds include The Best of Doobie Brothers and Wham!), and walking to meet the step goal on her pedometer. Otherwise, you’ll find her at home with her 2 cats Maddie Zeigler and Bruce Springsteen.

MERRIE CHERRY as herself Ep. 01 & 2

International Performer/ Creator of the Brooklyn Nightlife Awards/ Mother of Brooklyn Drag.