SEATTLE (2015) – What if everything… flipped? SECOND NATURE is an original comedy starring Lee Majors (THE FALL GUY, SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN). Logline: A woman and man in a small town who compete in an unusual race for mayor when gender roles magically reverse.
Seattle director Michael Cross (COMMERCIAL, MULLETVILLE) is embarking on his first feature after twenty years of award winning commercial and documentary work. “There are many strong female role models in my life,” says Cross. “It’s appalling how few strong female leads there are in the movies.”
According to SECOND NATURE’s Academy Award Winning Production Manager, Susan LaSalle (SWITCHMAS, THE BREACH) “This film is a comedy with a social conscience, trying to change the way that we see women in film – written as a collaboration by a team of both women and men.”
Cross co-wrote the screenplay with fellow USC School of Cinematic Arts grad, JC Ford (WEDDING ROAD TRIP, AMERICAN FAIR, and former editor of Sheryl Sandberg’s LEAN IN website), and actor / comedian Edi Zanidache (BETA TEST, MATT’S CHANCE). Cross, Ford and Zanidache shine a light on gender behavior by transporting the lead male and female characters into an alternate reality where typical roles are backwards. Ford says that “SECOND NATURE is specifically important right now because it delves into issues of women in the workplace in a way that is fresh and innovative.”
The film is being scored by Grammy winner Mateo Messina (JUNO, BEST MAN DOWN). Respected costume designer Ronald Leamon (BLUE VELVET, SMOKE SIGNALS) will be helming the wardrobe department. Cross is preparing his team for production in his hometown of Ellensburg, WA.
The SECOND NATURE team just launched its Kickstarter campaign, which ends July 16, 2015. If they reach their $55,000 goal, this will complete the film’s funding and the project will be green-lit for production.
SECOND NATURE on Kickstarter:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/crossfilms/second-nature-a-feature-film-comedy-with-a-twist
More about SECOND NATURE: Press Photos:
www.secondnaturemovie.com https://app.box.com/secondnature-images
About the Director / Cowriter
Michael Cross has been winning national film awards since age fifteen, starting with the American Film Institute’s Visions of U.S. Award and Robert M. Bennett Award. After graduating magna cum laude from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, he has earned both Telly Awards and Davey Awards for directing and editing commercials for Disney, Warner Brothers, Microsoft, Dell, NASCAR, AMGEN, Seattle Mariners, Alaska Airlines, Jim Beam and T-Mobile. Michael edited the PBS series, The Meaning of Food, the award-winning documentary The Lord’s Table, and served as both editor and director of photography for independent feature, Mulletville. His short film, Commercial, is a comedy with themes of consumerism, which mirrors Michael’s belief that films should have a social conscience. Commercial has screened in fifteen international festivals.
Michael is a member of Women in Film/Seattle and IFP/Seattle. He has taught various editing workshops to media professionals in Hollywood, and filmmaking workshops in Seattle and Philadelphia.