I’ve Never Listened to the Man I Owe My First Film To

That’s about Marc Maron. But I Might Owe More to Lynn Shelton, Whose Work I Do Know

Something tells me that Marc Maron would be bothered by this essay if he only read the title and the first few sentences and moved on. Because this essay is in part about him and his influence on me but also admitting that I have never listened to the WTF Podcast. And that I saw him do stand up a few times at The Comedy Store in LA, but only vaguely remember it. 

What I remember is not his words, but his delivery. His anger. His frustration. His anxiety. The way his voice perfectly suits what he has to say.

And yet, it is his podcast (that I have never listened to) that has influenced me the most. Without his garage and the future success of WTF, I’m not sure if podcasting as a medium would be what it is today. And if podcasting wasn’t a successful medium, I wouldn’t have been able to make my first feature film Sydney (2025) that takes place over the course of one day in mostly one room.

In a tangential, spiritual way, I feel connected to Maron. It was his appearance on GLOW that I truly believe made him a household name. And I realize that might be upsetting because he had a lifetime of standup before this and WTF. But this is coming from a complete unknown who has 17 years of films and writing the world will almost never see other than the two works I mention in this piece…specifically Sydney…which I am saying would be nothing without him.

On GLOW, he played the father of Britt Baron’s character. Baron is someone who would never remember me. But we went to college at the University of Michigan and I worked on some films she acted in. I remember one day in the forest no one could get focus on her in a dolly shot. I learned my craft on sets like the ones she worked on. So it was strange as she was the first person I’d met who had a real character on TV. And that pros were pulling focus on her and Maron, together. 

But the real connection I have with Maron, isn’t really with Maron at all.

It’s with Lynn Shelton.

I started watching Maron’s new doc (Are We Good?) on the Criterion Channel and found the emotional core of it was not Maron, himself. But his connection to Shelton.

The situation reminded me of watching the documentary Free Solo where the emotion wasn’t from Alex Honnold, but his partner. 

I first heard of Lynn Shelton in 2012 when I saw her film Your Sister’s Sister. I saw it in theaters, believe it or not. A film like that would not get a theatrical run in modern day. But I loved it. I think it was the film that solidified my interest in mumblecore. Shelton proved to me that you could make an amazing movie in basically one location with great acting and writing alone.

After I graduated college in 2014, I felt the mumblecore movement was dead. I’d missed the boat.

I worked on shorts and then in 2019 my short film Timmy and the Dreamkillers played at Hell’s Half Mile.

(It was co-directed and animated by Esteban Melean — who I met in the same class I filmed movies starring Britt in.)

I got the chance to see the incredible film Sword of Trust at this festival. 

A film directed by Shelton and starring Maron.

It took place pretty much in one room with only a few characters.

I was blown away. Mumblecore was not dead. Shelton proved to me that nothing was dead. Creation would always continue in any form. There were no rules.

I could still make a film that takes place mostly in one room if that was what I wanted to do.

So with Maron making podcasting a legitimate medium…with Maron expressing seemingly without fear…and with Shelton proving to me the beauty and wonder and comedy of what a film could be, I made my first feature Sydney.

I may have never heard WTF. And sadly I’ll never get to thank Shelton for showing me what was still possible…but these two souls gave me something…something that perhaps intertwined them…and that intertwining spun in a way that shaped me too.

I’m sorry to Marc for his loss. 

But just as his work lives on now, Shelton’s work lives on too. 

I am a filmmaker because of two people who just so happened to have each other. 

Maybe one day I’ll listen to WTF.

But I think Maron would be happier to know I know Shelton’s work.

Then again, what do I know? I never met the guy.