Matthew Thomas Laughter

I was born in the Bible Belt to two Sunday School teachers. Rebellion had to be quiet. No skinny jeans, no skulls on t-shirts, no going to the skatepark. Sneaking horror films and NC-17 arthouse films was my way of acting out. In that little slice of freedom, I fell in love with elevated transgressive cinema and schlocky horror. I palled around with friends making YouTube videos in college, but always thought of it as just a hobby, a fun outlet. I was on track to become an academic and left my “film stuff” to the weekends. Then, I took screenwriting first semester of senior year and realized that the biggest aspirations I had for my “film stuff” was actually possible. I couldn't avoid the draw. After that semester, I told myself, “Screw the Ivory Tower. I gotta give filmmaking a shot". After a couple of short films and working in the “prosumer" world out of college, I decided to get as close as I could to the "real thing”, real production. Without much qualification, I applied to every grip and camera house in Nashville. I landed two part-time positions where I cut my teeth and got on the short list for PA’s in town. After stumbling through departments, I found my place in camera department. Now, I work primarily as a 2nd AC (slater-loader) in the Southeast, but still moonlight as a writer-director.