Reel Ambition: Kevin Kraft’s Second Coming and Beyond
Filmmaker Kevin Kraft got his start in entertainment in 2006 working for The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM in NYC. He has been writing screenplays since high school, been a part of the festival circuit, and worked in radio through his adult life.
Kraft found it difficult to break out of radio and enter the world of filmmaking for many years. Then, he met a group of filmmakers who helped guide him and create the foundations for what would become his movie The Second Coming of John Cooper.
INFLUX: What are you currently working on that you can share with us?
KRAFT: I’m currently working on a slasher screenplay as well as a super fun and ambitious horror comedy musical with Trevor Goober who also starred in The Second Coming of John Cooper as Clint. Now that I’m seeing how difficult it is to sell an independent comedy, I’m trying to make my next project a horror film.
Luckily, I’ve loved horror movies since I was a little kid. Most of my screenplays are comedy so hopefully the tides turn and people become interested in comedies again.
INFLUX: What are your hopes for your current project?
KRAFT: My goals for The Second Coming of John Cooper are to find a buyer and home for the film so the masses can enjoy it.
INFLUX: What have been your greatest challenges as an indie filmmaker?
KRAFT: Outside of trying to find a home for a comedy film, which it appears is nearly impossible these days, the biggest challenges were all the surprise problems that came while handling production with an incredibly small budget.
We shot the film during the SAG strike and had to get a waiver to film with the unions permission, a massive spike in covid cases during principal photography, and having both of our hard drives crash losing everything we shot after we wrapped.
Initially, we were going to shoot a fake music video for the end credits but we had to spend $15,000 of our post production budget for data recovery which took 4 months.
INFLUX: What has been your most significant accomplishment as a filmmaker?
KRAFT: Shooting an entire film in 13 days. I’ve only made one film so far but I’m very proud of how it turned out and all the awards that it’s won.
INFLUX: Tell us about some of your past projects and where we can watch them if they’re available?
KRAFT: I directed a short film for the Messhall Film Festival, written by Julie Durk and Gretchen Enders, called Waiting for Gosling, which is available on the Bonus Level Productions YouTube channel.
INFLUX: What goals to you have for yourself moving forward?
KRAFT: I’ve wanted to make movies my whole life and didn’t make my first one until I was in my 40s. I have a lot of catching up to do. I’m sitting on a stack of screenplays that I’ve written throughout my life that I would love to make into films, and an endless supply of ideas for more. My goal is to eventually make at least one feature per year.
INFLUX: What advice would you give to your younger self just starting out?
KRAFT: For the love of god, go to film school.
INFLUX: What is your favorite part of the filmmaking process?
KRAFT:As much fun as it was being on set, I really loved being in the editing bay. Watching the difference the tiniest edit can make is fascinating. Taking 2 hours and 10 minutes of film (from a 104 page script), and whittling it down to 94 minutes, was more daunting of a task than I thought. A lot of jokes and gags that I absolutely loved had to die on the editing room floor.
Want to learn more or follow the career of Kevin Kraft?
Instagram: @KevinKraft
Instagram: @JohnCooperMovie
https://www.youtube.com/@BonusLevelProductions
Photo Credit: Matthew Scott Granger
