I attended the Gen Con 2011 convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was very lucky to have time to attend a number of panels and discussions hosted by the Gen Con Film Section. I met Kate Chaplin during the panel on How to Get Into the Movie Biz.
Ms. Chaplin has worked on a number of films and projects including “Leah Not Leia” (which she was screening at the Gen Con Film Festival). She agreed to spend some time telling us about her projects, thoughts and views.
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What pathway, journey, or series of happy accidents did you follow to a career in the entertainment industry?
My life has been guided by the movies I’ve seen. I like to think it’s no accident. The first film I ever saw was Star Wars, I was 3 months old sitting on my mother’s lap. I doubt I could see the screen but my mother tells the tale that I was so calm and content. I think it was the sounds, the colors, and the comfort of people all sharing the same moment in time.
When I was about 10 years old I saw “The Gold Rush” by Charlie Chaplin on TV. Trapped in a log cabin during winter he became so hungry he ate his own shoe. For the first time my mind switched from entertainment to questioning how did they do that? I went to the library (way before a Google search) and studied Chaplin. I learned that he had shoes made of licorice and that is what he was eating. I felt as though I saw behind the curtain of the wise and powerful Wizard of OZ and saw the little man pulling the strings. From then on I wanted to know all the tricks in the movie biz.