Blockbusters in the Bayou - Jason Waggenspack

David Adams: Thanks, guys, for joining us on the podcast today. We're here with Jason Waggenspack. How are you? How are you doing?

Jason Waggenspack: Good. It's good to see you.

David Adams: So I know we know each other a little bit, but it's time to get to know each other a little better. Where are you from? Tell us a little bit about your origin story.

Jason Waggenspack: I'm from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, so I grew up there, went to Catholic High and LSU, like everybody does who's from Baton Rouge. I was there for a couple of years, though, and I ran off to New York. I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to get into film, really thought I'd find inspiration there. I had some family and some resources.

David Adams: Well, I was going to say, what made you think, "New York is where I want to be"?

Jason Waggenspack: Well, really, it was family. And then also, I was playing basketball with a good buddy of mine at LSU, and he had graduated a little earlier than me and was like, "I'm going to go to New York. I feel like I want to get into film, and New York City is a great opportunity." I was actually acting in one of his movies. And I was like, "You know what? It's just not happening for me here in Baton Rouge. We don't have a film program. It's not inspiring." And, again, like I said, I had family there, so I said, "I'll venture off with you." So I decided to go with him and went to New York for a couple of years.

David Adams: I got you. Well, what did you do up there?

Jason Waggenspack: Well, I studied acting. I went to a storied actor's college called HB Studios, started by Robert De Niro. And I really thought I had this acting bug. Like, I was like, "Oh, I think I'm a tall, good-looking guy. I have this full head of hair," and I was a bit egotistical in that respect. Wanted to—like all of us creatives are—a little bit like that. But what I didn't recognize was, I didn't really want to be the story. I actually wanted to tell the story. And so when I actually saw the process, and with my roommate, my friend Brian, who was up there, he was editing, directing, writing the scripts. I was like, "This is where it's at." I wanted to really get into the meat of telling great stories. And so that's where I was more inspired.

David Adams: Absolutely. Well, you know, funny story about my family with the same thought process—when I was a kid, my grandfather and Darryl Berger had bought Canal Place, and they were doing the grand opening, the ribbon-cutting. I was there at the ribbon-cutting and all that stuff. And then, a couple of days afterward, I see the news article about it, and there's the big picture on the front page news. Darryl Berger is speaking at the podium, and in the picture, my grandfather is in the background shaking the mayor's hand. And I thought to myself, "That's the guy I want to be. I don't want to be the guy at the podium. I want to be the guy shaking the mayor's hand." So, similar thought process. But when did you decide to come back to New Orleans? I always say New Orleans is a hard place to leave. I know Baton Rouge is similar in the same feeling. So when did you decide to come home and start building something here?

Jason Waggenspack: Well, it's a good point. Here in Louisiana, we have something very unique—we have this culture, this camaraderie, this sense that everybody's together. We're all fighting for each other.

David Adams: Absolutely.

Jason Waggenspack: And so I come from a very large family. I did essentially think that I would eventually come back home. When I was in New York, I was having trouble finding a college where I could really study film. It was going to cost me an arm and a leg. It was ridiculous—$2,000 a semester. Like, it's just not going to happen. So I started looking around, and the only school in the area that was really well thought of was UNO. So I applied, got in, and came back home. I actually thought I was going to be at UNO for my three or four years and then take off to L.A., and that's where my career was going to start. But when I moved back in 2003, the film industry was really starting to boom. That’s actually when we began the change of the program in 2002, where we made it more of a full-fledged tax incentive that attracted more productions. By the way, we were the first state to ever write that kind of incentive, and now 38 states have it in place. So the industry really started to bustle, and I was in school when Katrina hit. I actually had to go to LSU for a semester, and that’s when I started connecting with my entrepreneurial spirit. I helped a good buddy of mine get his security company off the ground.

David Adams: It’s funny how a security company helped lead you into what you actually wanted to do. I tell people all the time, just because it might not be the opportunity you want in front of you, take any opportunity because that always leads to something.

Jason Waggenspack: Yes! People don't try enough things to figure out what they truly aspire to be.

David Adams: 100% agree with that statement.

Jason Waggenspack: It’s funny, the things you don’t recognize will send you down a path that ultimately leads you to success. The first movie I ever worked on was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

David Adams: Wow.

Jason Waggenspack: I was an intern, literally working at Keshawn Restaurant, which had just opened after Katrina. One of the busboys, his mom was in extras casting. She needed some help and said, "Hey, they’re looking for interns to help." I applied, and when they looked at my resume, they said, "We don’t want to put you in casting. We think we want to put you assisting the producers as a PA in the office." I immediately gravitated to that and just worked my butt off. I was like, "I'll do anything."

David Adams: I know you're in the film industry. And I was like, yeah, and I applied and when I applied, they looked at my resume and what I had done, they're like, well, we don’t want to put you in casting. I think we want to put you, you know, assisting the producers, become a PA in the office. Right. And so I immediately gravitated to that and was just, you know, I just worked my butt off right there.

Jason Waggenspack: I was like, I'll do anything. I need anything, right? Here’s what I want to learn. Here’s what I mean. We don’t need to tape down anything. Yeah. Do I need to sit right where I need to hold? Yeah, I just hungry. I was also a little older than everybody else. I kind of had my time where, between LSU and, and, you know, to really kind of figure out what I wanted to do. So I was aggressive.

David Adams: Right. 100%. Well, and you were a little more focused on, on the future, I guess you can say. Well, that's, that's awesome. I mean, yeah, you never truly know where that opportunity will come from. So just keep working, I guess, is the best advice you can give.

Jason Waggenspack: So Benjamin Button was your first film. Where did that lead you next to? What was your next segment?

David Adams: Well, it’s interesting because, I was it, you know, as I mentioned, I got this internship and then my professor at, you know, she and her husband, and you got a teacher who's, he's a legend here. He's a Cajun legend in Cajun movies. They had taken on a project to produce this French movie called Cigarets and Nylon, which was made for TV. French. And, and they, you know, noticed what I had done. They really enjoyed my work ethic in school. And they were like, look, we need a location manager for this low-budget feature we’re doing, and why don’t you come in and help us do that?

And it was like, I don’t know what I’m doing, but happy to dive in and do it. But I knocked out of the park. I had a blast with it, right? You know, it was all about communication and connection points. And I work really well with that. And I did great. And from that, they recommended me for, you know, a couple of other shows. And next thing you know, I’m working on a show called Red.

Jason Waggenspack: Yeah, yeah.

David Adams: The location scout and location assistant. And then I literally worked on almost every single movie from that point forward, you know? And so I was working on Stolen with Nicolas Cage and, you know, The Host and I was working on Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.

Jason Waggenspack: Wow.

David Adams: I became a manager who was working on Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, which took me down to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which brought me into, you know, Terminator: Genisys, which really culminated to where I am today, which is starting the studio in Chalmette, Louisiana, where I had found a space that we put Terminator: Genisys.

(Continued discussion about the film industry, infrastructure in Louisiana, the founding of The Ranch studios, the state's economic benefits from filmmaking, advancements in LED technology and AI in production, the importance of storytelling, and reflections on past and future projects.)

David Adams: Well, I do like to ask everybody at the end—what brings elation to you in your life?

Jason Waggenspack: Well, I mean, my family. I love my two daughters, you know. Got my little girl. Daddy’s here. My, my daughters make more. Me and my wife, you know, my family is my rock. They have been. You know, I moved back from New York to Louisiana and my wife and I, you know, got together, and that was it. Like, I literally came back to start my career and start my family. And she’s been with me along this crazy ride because I literally told her, like, I got to finish some school. I got to, I got to go and make a mark in this industry, and I’m going to be working long hours. If you’re willing to stick with me, you know, I have a feeling we’ll get somewhere someday. You know, I’m not finished going somewhere, right? Sure. I have a lot of goals ahead of me, but she has been that guide. She’s been that North Star to point me in the right direction.

David Adams: That’s awesome. Well, can you tell us a little bit about your socials for The Ranch and where people can find the studios and look you up?

Jason Waggenspack: Sure. You can go to wearetheranch.com to find anything you want to know about The Ranch. You can hashtag #WeAreTheRanch, and you can find just about anything on any socials. So that's where you can find us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook. But also with the, the new association, you can go to filmlouisiana.com. Right. Learn anything about the stats that we talked about today. We also give great stories of small communities that have been affected by film all over the state of Louisiana. And then I was giving a lot of updates on what’s happening legislatively. And then you can, you know, you can follow on any of the socials with the hashtag #FilmLouisiana. You can find out more information.

David Adams: Awesome, awesome. Great. Well, thanks for joining us today. And thank you guys for joining us on the podcast. We find exhilarating euphoria through creation and collaboration.