Aaron Hendren said he is a bad actor.
"You know when it's someone's birthday and you have to start singing 'Happy Birthday'?" he asked. "There's that moment in your life where you start singing before everyone else and they all look at you and you feel weird and stupid. That's what acting's like for me."
Despite his acting deficiencies, Hendren is the writer and director of the short film "Stuck." The film will be playing this week at the Guild Cinema.
Hendren said the 18-minute film was shot in one day in one room. The idea was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope," a movie filmed entirely in one space.
"There are three characters in the room: a good guy, a bad guy and a girl with a gun to her head," he said. "They're all trying to get out of the room without anybody dying."
After working with the now-defunct film troupe Kids on Coffee, "Stuck" is Hendren's first solo project. The cast includes UNM student Babak Tafti, Stash Banner and DJ Outlaw.
A former UNM student, Hendren said his favorite thing on campus was the Zimmerman Library. He said he misses campus life.
"I want to be one of those goofy guys who comes back and hangs out sometimes, but I hated those guys so much in high school that I haven't come back yet."
Also a former reporter for the Daily Lobo, Hendren said the experience helped him develop skill and discipline as a writer. He said writers are a little neurotic and crazy because, by definition, they spend so much time in solitude. He also said he has a few rituals he does before writing, including straightening the trinkets on his writing desk and putting on a pot of coffee. He said his weirdest ritual is playing a game of solitaire before working with words.
"If I don't win the first game, I have to win three in a row before I can start writing."
Hendren's advice to aspiring writers is to sit down and do it, and have a lot of confidence. He said Albuquerque has influenced his writing because it is a quirky city for a quirky writer.
"A friend of mine says Albuquerque is a great place to live, but he wouldn't want to visit," Hendren said.
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He said he plans to make a goofy horror flick next summer, in which Albuquerque is not only the setting, but a character in the film.
He said that a great movie is made from good writing and a strong cast.
His two favorite movies are "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Exorcist." He said he can't wait to see "Land of the Dead," since horror is one of his favorite movie genres.
He said movies are important because they are cathartic and allow the audience to step out of the real world in order to enjoy an emotional journey.
"Movies are so much better than real life most of the time," he said. "Real life's kind of boring."
