Interview With David Lehre Before Hosting American Music Awards
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Films4Prizes.com recently met legendary producer David Lehre for lunch in Los Angeles. At twenty-four years old, he’s already accomplished more than many people hope to in a lifetime. He’s been featured in LA Times, Esquire, 20/20, GQ, and in Rolling Stone. This Sunday he’ll be hosting the American Music Awards on ABC. How did he get selected to host the American Music Awards? By winning a Coca-Cola video contest of course. Films4Prizes.com wanted to learn how Lehre got to where he is today. Lehre first began producing films while attending high school in the small town of Washington, Michigan. “When I was 16, I started doing high school theater, I was with a really bad group of friends – like the trouble makers. I joined the theater class and I dropped all my bad friends. I became 100% theater- it was like a family. I didn’t get a part in a play – Little Women- and I was so mad I decided to make a movie. I wanted to get back at them. So I spent $1,000 on eBay and bought a camera, got a copy of Vegas 1.0, filmed with my best friend, and brought it to the school. The school loved it. I realized I was never going to stop making movies.” By the time he was 17 he was producing music videos for rappers in Detroit. When he 18 he started attending a 3-month-long summer program at the University of Southern California film school . Unlike most students, Lehre entered film school with an extensive portfolio. His teachers were impressed. While he had fun at film school, it really didn’t teach him much. As Lehre put it “Film school in logic is flawed because you read books all day. And then when it comes time you think you’re really good. But the movie sucks because the theory is all there. It’s about trial and error. And learning how to do it. I’ve made over 100 films. My first one sucked and my first 50 sucked. “ Lehre made headlines not though film school, but through his own films on the internet. He produced a film with his friends and won 4 cars in the My Entourage contest. They worked hard and they played hard. “We got all the cars. I gave them to my friends, and then we ripped them-up just doing donuts in them – that video’s online. Then we sold them.” He went on to win other contests too. He won $10,000 from the T-Mobile Sidekick contest and was featured on the Jimmy Kimble show. He won $25,000 in the Verizon V-Cast contest too. Altogether Lehre has entered about 20 contests and won 6 or 7. Lehre made even bigger headlines by making a film just for fun. Almost overnight he had the biggest studios in Hollywood fighting for him. As Lehre recalls “I produced Myspace the movie. 60,000,000 hits later I was getting calls from agents and managers. They were flying me out every weekend. I was in 6 or 7 meetings a day with the biggest studios in the world. I met with the President of Fox, who’s son was a huge fan of my work. He asked me “Dave what do you want?” I was like dude I want my own show. And he was like “done”. He gave me $400,000 to make a comedy variety show.” Lehre went on to produce the show with his friends as cast and crew. It was called “Vendetta Revolution”. Now Lehre’s producing “Kings of Campus”. He’s got the backing of FremantleMedia – the same company that produces American Idol. He’s had over 3,000 actor submissions for the series. He’ll be shooting with a RED camera this December. He’s also writing a screenplay called “Michigan Spring Break” with the help of a writer from the “The Hangover”. Lehre’s got a style that’s energetic, bright and refreshing. It’s unique. We asked him where he gets his inspiration. “It’s just like me. It’s how my life is. At my place the walls are bright yellow and neon blue and there are graphics everywhere. My closet, my shoes, everything is bright.” He also gets his ideas from music videos – especially Korean music videos. “I watch a lot of music videos – three hours per day – I obsess with them. You get the newest, hottest, awesomest ideas, fresh to you in three minute bits. And if you don’t like it you change the channel and you get another. Feature films take a year-and -half to turn around, music videos take one-and-half weeks, TV shows six months. You get the newest film techniques, creative lighting design, and art direction in music videos.” When asked about gear, Lehre says cameras and software are “just tools”. He personally uses FinalCut and shoots with a RED camera or HVX. When asked if he had any final tips for aspiring filmmakers he said “ Just have fun and make movies, and keep making them. You’re only going to get better.” We want to thank David Lehre for his time, and congratulate him for getting on the American Music Awards. We wish him the best.
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