Grey Black Simple Darkness Documentary Movie Poster (Desktop Wallpaper).jpg

A Reckless 5 Feature Film in Pre-produciton

Pantsing The Plot

A group of old friends enjoy one last hurrah at a family cabin they used to visit as children, but, when one of them is murdered, friends become enemies and everyone is a suspect…

Someone dunnit… but WHO?

A couple of young procrastinating Hollywood screenwriters are scrambling to break the story and turn in their Murder Mystery screenplay by a Monday morning deadline.

The Murderous Plot…

The Directors

Pat Dill graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Cinema-Television. Since then, he has written, directed, produced and/or edited numerous commercials, documentaries, short films, promotional material, web videos, sketches and other content.

Lauren graduated from CSULB with a degree in Theater. While studying film acting at an on-camera studio she fell in love with filmmaking and was asked to coach the intro level classes.

Pat will know how to make this movie look amazing, Lauren will drive him nuts asking for one more take in order to adjust an actor’s performance.

The Produces

The Reckless 5 • Patrick Dil • Leanne Huffman • Steve Coleman • Anthony Schoepfer • Lauren Taggart •

The Reckless 5 • Patrick Dil • Leanne Huffman • Steve Coleman • Anthony Schoepfer • Lauren Taggart •

We are the Reckless 5. Welcome to our corner of the web. Feel free to sleuth around this site to collect evidence of our criminally creative past.

The Writers

Steve and Lauren (aka Smoke & Bitters Productions) have been writing together since 2020. Pantsing is the 4th screenplay they have collaborated on. Of the two, Steve is the smokey “pants-er” and Lauren is the bitter “plotter.” But somehow, we’re not sure how… it all works out, words get compiled and “FADE TO BLACK” can eventually be penned .

The Cast

  • Brandon Baker

    Brandon Baker was born and raised in Fresno, CA, but prefers to be associated with London, England because he is a fan of Harry Potter, mumbling nonsense to himself, and Dick Van Dyke’s British accent. He has been acting for over 20 years and has been in ads for Grocery Outlet, Apple, Satisfye Gaming, Maya Cinemas, Deli Delicious, Chukchansi Casino, and at least four solar companies in Fresno. His film credits include Among the Willows, Zoombies 2, Above Snakes, Muscle Draggers, and the award winning Dirty Bomb short from Valerie McCaffrey. He is a father of two micro-actresses, and his hobbies include reading and writing good, and teaching English good. And tiki mugs.

  • Darren Hummel

    Darren is a versatile creative professional with a passion for visual storytelling. A graduate of the UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC, Darren quickly found himself in the fast-paced, highly creative world of advertising. With a dynamic career that spans editing, directing, post producing, and cinematography, Darren has amassed an impressive portfolio of editorial and commercial work. Notable clients such as Nike, Cetaphil, Jack in the Box, C4 Energy, and Roblox have all benefited from Darren’s sought-after talent and discerning creative vision. A popcorn adventure movie fanatic at heart, Darren continues to challenge himself in the magic of storytelling, utilizing a unique blend of visual storytelling skills honed through years of experience.

  • Stephen M. Coleman

    Stephen grew up watching the world and the people in it, trying to figure out the why behind everything. He has always been intrigued by people’s stories and truly believes that every person has at least one “movie worthy” story in them. It was in college that he became interested in radio, television and film. He worked in radio for 7 years where he wrote, produced, and acted as talent on-air.

    Since then, he’s strongly felt the calling to write and produce. So, here we are… you’ll find him on the weekends searching for surf and discussing ideas over a whiskey with friends. Constantly trying to encourage other writers to get their ideas out there and hoping that “the business” will take a chance on something new brought him to the point of teaming up with people who will just make it happen.

  • Leanne Huffman

    Leanne grew up a lover of theatre and film in the city of Fresno, CA. After graduation she packed up and traveled the long journey of 4 hours to Los Angeles to pursue her love of acting. Attending classes, working on set, taking a stab at writing, and crafting characters has been where Leanne's time's been spent the past few years.

    After winning "Best Character" in a 1 Minute Monologue contest Leanne was tired of waiting around for work, so she created her own. Leanne wrote and starred in a drama short, "Sisters" accrued some laurels on its film festival circuit including Best Supporting Actress. Leanne has also been a co-creator of a web series, "The Unremarkable Escapades of Jenny and Jules". Season 1 is available on YouTube

  • Christina Lyons

    Christina Lyons, a Cali native has been pursuing the performing arts for more than 10 years. Not only does she have an extensive list of credits in film, television, commercials, and voice over work, she also has a great talent for makeup and special effects. Some of her principle roles include “Firefall”, “Family Betrayed” and most recent “Sisters”.

  • Chrysta Marquez

    Chrysta Marquez is a well rounded Actress and Model. She has been involved in short films, commercials, runway and print. She is known for being in The Mercedes Benz Fashion Show, crowned Miss Teen Earth Texas 2011, Pantene Pro-V Commercial, and a lead role in a commercial for LA Boxing.

  • Jack Stuart

    Born in 1986, in Harare, Zimbabwe, his childhood was spent moving around different countries with his parents in the Foreign Service. His learning of different cultures and languages, has led to prepare him for what has become a very promising career as an actor. He attended the College of William and Mary in Virginia earning a BA in Theatre. Jack is known for his work on Shrinking and Franklin & Bash.

  • Lauren Taggart

    Lauren is so very tired of talking bout herself. She has written this project, collected the people to get it done, and now she just wants to make the darn thing happen already.

  • Laith Wallschleger

    A former student-athlete, Laith Wallschleger graduated from the University of Delaware with an MBA in Finance and Theatre Minor. After setting multiple University and NCAA records on the collegiate football field, he went on to play in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals. Retirement from professional sports marked a transition to a career in entertainment.

    After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he began work as an actor, voice actor, and stuntman. Primarily a TV/Film actor, Laith’s work can be seen on Oxygen Network, NBC, Lifetime, and HBO. Aside from acting, Laith’s stunt work spans TV’s “Ballers,” “Euphoria,” and “All-American,” as well as the feature films; “Brian Banks” and “Paterno.” In addition to his on-camera work, Laith has commercial voiceover credit for Mercedes, ESPN, Intel, Burger King, ABC, and countless Fortune 500 companies.

The Crew

  • AJ Lovelace

    AJ Lovelace is a Los Angeles-based award-winning director, cinematographer, writer, actor & photographer. AJ's work has been featured in publications such as the New York Post and Deadline and has been recognized by the Webby and Telly Awards. AJ credits his rich cultural background as the child of immigrants for his imaginative curiosity. With his artistic career beginning as a portrait painter at seven years old, AJ continues to tell the stories that he sees on the faces of his subjects through film and photography. Communicating the stories of marginalized peoples is steadily at the core of AJ’s creative pursuits. He enjoys creating with diverse collaborators on stories that elevate his creative and technical abilities. Some of his career highlights include his film “Expiration Date” receiving an official selection at the Oscar®-qualifying Pan African Film Festival, his series "Onyx" winning a Telly Award, and the internet sensations “Blood at the Root” and “Transplants,” in which he was director, and cinematographer, and starred. The intensely authentic and immersive cinematic experiences he creates have earned him acclaim across North America, Asia, and Europe. AJ is driven by a deep passion for highlighting the beauty of life, including its darkest corners.

  • Tristan Welsh

  • Tyler Smith

Executive Producers

  • Courtney Stewart

  • SILVER GUARDIAN PRODUCTIONS

  • Danielle Argyros LeFever