DAN LAWLER, PRODUCER / WRITER / PRODUCTION MANAGER
Dan Lawler is a producer and line producer, working non-exclusively with Miramax, and is currently producing his own slate of independent films with his company, Snow Day Conspiracy. Collectively, the slate is a diverse cross-section of genres, internationally appealing stories, and a proud moral compass. A 20-year entertainment vet, Lawler brings wisdom and efficiency to his sets, and employs an empowering leadership style that rewards hard work & ingenuity. Dan will be attending the festivals / markets at Cannes, Toronto and AFM in 2023; project info below. Use the Contact tab to schedule a meeting.
Born in Western New York, Dan studied theatre and mathematics until moving to Los Angeles in 2003 when he began improv training at The Groundlings. In 2006, Dan started writing & performing stand-up comedy and began making the rounds of the L.A. comedy circuit. From 2013 - 2016, Dan took his comedy on the road, performing at shows in Las Vegas, New York City, New Orleans and elsewhere. In 2016, Dan moved more fully into film production. Recent credits are listed at Dan Lawler on IMDb and include television and short projects along with 20+ feature films from Miramax, Scott Free Productions, FilmNation, Netflix and many others.
Born in Western New York, Dan studied theatre and mathematics until moving to Los Angeles in 2003 when he began improv training at The Groundlings. In 2006, Dan started writing & performing stand-up comedy and began making the rounds of the L.A. comedy circuit. From 2013 - 2016, Dan took his comedy on the road, performing at shows in Las Vegas, New York City, New Orleans and elsewhere. In 2016, Dan moved more fully into film production. Recent credits are listed at Dan Lawler on IMDb and include television and short projects along with 20+ feature films from Miramax, Scott Free Productions, FilmNation, Netflix and many others.
Current Projects:
THROUGH THE DESERT
FORMAT: Feature Film
GENRE: Thriller / Black Comedy
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Funding
IMMEDIATE NEED: Facial Mo-Cap / VFX Partner
Written by Dan Lawler, "Through the Desert" is a one-room thriller, where the one room is EXT. DESERT NIGHT. Inspired by Dante's Inferno, this 105-page darkly comedic FX thriller has been described as "surreal and often harrowing", "an intriguing thriller that offers an inventive twist", and "truly hilarious".
Lawler's intention is to direct the feature film himself, saying "the way everything unfolded, once all of the metaphors and allegories really started to click and the dialogue became complete second nature to the story itself, that's when I fell even deeper in love with the project, and I knew that I had to be the one to direct."
Assets: Dan Lawler (Director), David Walsh Heinz (Editor), Lauren Elizabeth Hood (Line Producer). In talks with agency for talent: James Earl Jones, Danny Trejo, Laverne Cox and others. Confidential script file available on request.
FORMAT: Feature Film
GENRE: Thriller / Black Comedy
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Funding
IMMEDIATE NEED: Facial Mo-Cap / VFX Partner
Written by Dan Lawler, "Through the Desert" is a one-room thriller, where the one room is EXT. DESERT NIGHT. Inspired by Dante's Inferno, this 105-page darkly comedic FX thriller has been described as "surreal and often harrowing", "an intriguing thriller that offers an inventive twist", and "truly hilarious".
Lawler's intention is to direct the feature film himself, saying "the way everything unfolded, once all of the metaphors and allegories really started to click and the dialogue became complete second nature to the story itself, that's when I fell even deeper in love with the project, and I knew that I had to be the one to direct."
Assets: Dan Lawler (Director), David Walsh Heinz (Editor), Lauren Elizabeth Hood (Line Producer). In talks with agency for talent: James Earl Jones, Danny Trejo, Laverne Cox and others. Confidential script file available on request.
After her son’s inexplicable suicide, a novelist is presented with the extraordinary opportunity to re-write time to save him.
THE REVISIONIST
FORMAT: Feature Film
GENRE: Psychological Thriller
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Funding
IMMEDIATE NEED: Director (Emerging, Female, POC)
An 'infinite time loop' story with a super diverse cast of characters, The Revisionist centers around a career-driven mother who is given a supernatural opportunity to revise her decisions after her son’s sudden suicide. Fate, however, proves difficult to alter as disaster after disaster prevents her from saving her son, and sometimes leads to other surprising horrors.
Written for a multi-racial cast and delving into thematic issues of privilege, fate and racial identity, "The Revisionist" is a horror / thriller / science fiction story with a modern twist.
Comps include "Happy Death Day" and "Russian Doll". Tagline: If at first you don't succeed, die, die again. Budget: $8M - $13M.
FORMAT: Feature Film
GENRE: Psychological Thriller
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Funding
IMMEDIATE NEED: Director (Emerging, Female, POC)
An 'infinite time loop' story with a super diverse cast of characters, The Revisionist centers around a career-driven mother who is given a supernatural opportunity to revise her decisions after her son’s sudden suicide. Fate, however, proves difficult to alter as disaster after disaster prevents her from saving her son, and sometimes leads to other surprising horrors.
Written for a multi-racial cast and delving into thematic issues of privilege, fate and racial identity, "The Revisionist" is a horror / thriller / science fiction story with a modern twist.
Comps include "Happy Death Day" and "Russian Doll". Tagline: If at first you don't succeed, die, die again. Budget: $8M - $13M.
Obsession is nine-tenths of the law
SAN GUILLERMO
FORMAT: Feature Film
GENRE: Action / Thriller / Western
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Final Funding Partner(s)
IMMEDIATE NEED: Casting & Stunts
An electrifying blend of westerns, mystery and action films, "San Guillermo" will live at the juxtaposition of serene Central American landscapes and high-octane action sequences that delve us into the depths of a looming conspiracy. Employing a meticulously crafted neon color palette that reflects the stark contrasts between light and shadow, truth and deception, we will infuse the visual style with a dynamic energy that mirrors the chest-pounding tempo of the narrative. From Writer / Director Jordan Santacana.
Logline: A Central American sheriff, and single mother, navigates a fractured relationship while investigating a conspiracy that grips her small town.
Comps include "Kill Bill", "Atomic Blonde", and "Hell or High Water". Production: Currently in-talks to shoot in Colombia, 2024.
FORMAT: Feature Film
GENRE: Action / Thriller / Western
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Final Funding Partner(s)
IMMEDIATE NEED: Casting & Stunts
An electrifying blend of westerns, mystery and action films, "San Guillermo" will live at the juxtaposition of serene Central American landscapes and high-octane action sequences that delve us into the depths of a looming conspiracy. Employing a meticulously crafted neon color palette that reflects the stark contrasts between light and shadow, truth and deception, we will infuse the visual style with a dynamic energy that mirrors the chest-pounding tempo of the narrative. From Writer / Director Jordan Santacana.
Logline: A Central American sheriff, and single mother, navigates a fractured relationship while investigating a conspiracy that grips her small town.
Comps include "Kill Bill", "Atomic Blonde", and "Hell or High Water". Production: Currently in-talks to shoot in Colombia, 2024.
The truth sounds like it hurts.
AUDACITY
FORMAT: Feature Film
GENRE: Highschool Dramedy
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Funding
IMMEDIATE NEED: Casting Director
Young people today are so over-exposed to social media and the "infinite scroll" lifestyle that some are now consciously unsubscribing from that culture and even foregoing the latest smartphone models and are, instead, opting for lower-tech old school flip-phones in order to break free and just live life. This fact alone demonstrates the market viability of this project.
AUDACITY is a feature film about saying what you mean and being what you say. Synopsis: Two teens -- a reclusive bookworm harboring an inner tragedy and a quick-witted computer wiz -- anonymously launch a podcast that becomes a smash hit at their school, to the curious dismay of a local pop starlet, by urging kids to get off their phones and carpe diem!
Director Nayip Ramos is known for his kinetic, emotion visual style. Nayip has worked with many of the biggest names in Gen-Z culture, from Disney stars to social media influencers like Sofia Carson, Camilla Cabella, Jordan Fisher, Alessia Cara, and Kelsea Ballerini. Nayip's videos have amassed over One Billion views worldwide. His short film "Allen" was an official selection at Cannes. 2024: Nayip's feature film debut, "Almost Popular" has moved into post-production in Los Angeles, CA.
FORMAT: Feature Film
GENRE: Highschool Dramedy
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Funding
IMMEDIATE NEED: Casting Director
Young people today are so over-exposed to social media and the "infinite scroll" lifestyle that some are now consciously unsubscribing from that culture and even foregoing the latest smartphone models and are, instead, opting for lower-tech old school flip-phones in order to break free and just live life. This fact alone demonstrates the market viability of this project.
AUDACITY is a feature film about saying what you mean and being what you say. Synopsis: Two teens -- a reclusive bookworm harboring an inner tragedy and a quick-witted computer wiz -- anonymously launch a podcast that becomes a smash hit at their school, to the curious dismay of a local pop starlet, by urging kids to get off their phones and carpe diem!
Director Nayip Ramos is known for his kinetic, emotion visual style. Nayip has worked with many of the biggest names in Gen-Z culture, from Disney stars to social media influencers like Sofia Carson, Camilla Cabella, Jordan Fisher, Alessia Cara, and Kelsea Ballerini. Nayip's videos have amassed over One Billion views worldwide. His short film "Allen" was an official selection at Cannes. 2024: Nayip's feature film debut, "Almost Popular" has moved into post-production in Los Angeles, CA.
An eye for an eye leaves the Old West blind.
YOUNGER'S BEND
FORMAT: Limited Series
GENRE: Gangster Western / Drama
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Investment
IMMEDIATE NEED: Writer Engagement
Younger’s Bend is a ten-episode limited series with the epic scope of a great American novel. It’s a period piece based on true events involving actual relatives of the writers. It has sweeping arcs, complex, difficult and sympathetic characters, as well as themes that resonate directly with the world we live in today.
The setting is Oklahoma and Arkansas in the late teens and early 1920s, a fascinating “in-between” time full of change and contradiction. The state of Oklahoma had only recently been created out of what was previously “Indian Territory”. Ordinary people still rode horses on dusty, unpaved streets alongside the newly wealthy in their shiny new Fords. The upper classes grew richer than ever thanks to war profiteering and an oil boom; yet for most everyday Americans, especially those who weren’t male and weren’t White, prosperity was impossibly out of reach.
War veterans, half-Cherokee brothers, and bank robbers... and that's just one family! When sheer poverty drives good men to violence, and the greed & corruption of dangerous bankers, maybe life in America 100 years ago wasn't all that different from today.
Assets: Silas Weir Mitchell (Actor / Writer / Producer), Eliot Rockett (DP / Writer / Producer), William Rockett (Writer / Producer).
FORMAT: Limited Series
GENRE: Gangster Western / Drama
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Investment
IMMEDIATE NEED: Writer Engagement
Younger’s Bend is a ten-episode limited series with the epic scope of a great American novel. It’s a period piece based on true events involving actual relatives of the writers. It has sweeping arcs, complex, difficult and sympathetic characters, as well as themes that resonate directly with the world we live in today.
The setting is Oklahoma and Arkansas in the late teens and early 1920s, a fascinating “in-between” time full of change and contradiction. The state of Oklahoma had only recently been created out of what was previously “Indian Territory”. Ordinary people still rode horses on dusty, unpaved streets alongside the newly wealthy in their shiny new Fords. The upper classes grew richer than ever thanks to war profiteering and an oil boom; yet for most everyday Americans, especially those who weren’t male and weren’t White, prosperity was impossibly out of reach.
War veterans, half-Cherokee brothers, and bank robbers... and that's just one family! When sheer poverty drives good men to violence, and the greed & corruption of dangerous bankers, maybe life in America 100 years ago wasn't all that different from today.
Assets: Silas Weir Mitchell (Actor / Writer / Producer), Eliot Rockett (DP / Writer / Producer), William Rockett (Writer / Producer).
Astral Dick: A psychedelic whodunit!
ASTRAL DICK
FORMAT: Feature Film
GENRE: Absurdist Noir
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Funding
IMMEDIATE NEED: Production Designer (NOLA local)
Astral Dick is a psychadelic whodunit in the style of an absurdist noir with a side of banana nut lattes. Dive into James Mathers' maniacal poetry and anarchristic ear-wormery with one of the craziest feature screenplays this world has ever encountered.
Hanna Hall, with her 30 years of film experience, is attached to direct the project after previously helming a live theatre version of the story in Venice Beach, CA. 2024: Production is complete on the official Teaser for Astral Dick, more updates to come.
FORMAT: Feature Film
GENRE: Absurdist Noir
PRODUCTION STATUS: Seeking Funding
IMMEDIATE NEED: Production Designer (NOLA local)
Astral Dick is a psychadelic whodunit in the style of an absurdist noir with a side of banana nut lattes. Dive into James Mathers' maniacal poetry and anarchristic ear-wormery with one of the craziest feature screenplays this world has ever encountered.
Hanna Hall, with her 30 years of film experience, is attached to direct the project after previously helming a live theatre version of the story in Venice Beach, CA. 2024: Production is complete on the official Teaser for Astral Dick, more updates to come.
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LIFE OF RILEY
FORMAT: Short Film GENRE: Romantic Drama PRODUCTION STATUS: Released IMMEDIATE NEED: World Premiere Event Partner LIFE OF RILEY is a modern love story with a twist. Riley, an American woman haunted by her past, falls in love with a successful Dominican architect where a seemingly innocent event threatens to pull apart the very foundation of their lives, in which things are not always as they seem. The film tackles such timely themes as unconscious cultural, racial, and gender biases, immigration, and the after effects of trauma in the post #MeToo era while still maintaining a sense of hope and humor. It combines the realistic, cinematic humor-with-heart storytelling of the BEFORE SUNRISE trilogy, the multiculturalism of the Zoe Saldana led Netflix series, FROM SCRATCH, and a dash of the New York City chic and edge of SEX AND THE CITY, with a Latin flair. The show tackles authentic, timely, and often challenging subjects. 2024: With the success of the "Life of Riley" short film, including winning Best Short at LA International Film Fest 2023, and Best Foreign Short at London International Film Fest 2024, Writer / Director / Lead Actress, Lisa Datz has developed the story into a limited series and is seeking production partners. Use the CONTACT tab for inquiries. |
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(UNANNOUNCED FEATURE-LENGTH MUSICAL)
FORMAT: Feature Film GENRE: Musical / Dystopian / Revolution PRODUCTION STATUS: In Development PLOT: (CONFIDENTIAL) ASSETS: (CONFIDENTIAL) |
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LEFTHANDED & COLORBLIND Co-created by Dan Lawler and Yorn Stevens, "Lefthanded & Colorblind" is a fish-out-of-water comedy web series that has been described as "Workaholics" meets "Always Sunny" if Guy Ritchie was on a bender & slumming it on the internet. Currently packaged as a 6-episode mini-series, project in development. Proof of concept & materials on request. |
"Lefthanded & Colorblind" from Dan Lawler
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COMEDY ARCHIVE:
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COMEDY MUSIC & SKETCHES Sketch comedy, live stand-up recordings and comedy rock & hip-hop songs! Check out some Dan Lawler original comedy right here, via ReverbNation. You can visit Dan's full profile page, including videos, press releases & show dates at ReverbNation.com/DanLawler. |
Dan Lawler on the Rock N Roll Cheeseburger podcast
ROCK N ROLL CHEESEBURGER
A weekly one-hour comedy podcast, Rock N Roll Cheeseburger is an audio variety show for your ear holes, from the minds & mouths of Dan Lawler, Kyle Duncan Graham, technical producer Tikku Sircar and guest hosts, comedians and musicians.
Comedic round-table discussions, scripted audio sketches, commercial parodies, and weekly special guests made this a premiere up-&-coming comedy podcast on the webbernets circa 2014.
Coming next: a feature-film adaptation described as "The Trip meets Spinal Tap". Buckle up and burger out.
Dan Lawler, photo by SAP Photography
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Dan Lawler, photo by Colin Young-Wolff
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Dan Lawler, photo by Zach Stebbins
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Dan Lawler at The Comedy Store
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Dan Lawler, photo by Tough Guppy Prod.
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Dan Lawler © updated for 2024
