Movies, Pizza, and the Stories We Share

Before Reel Slices was a website, a YouTube channel, or a name attached to my screenplays, it was Friday night.

One of the great joys of raising our family was going to the video store together at the end of the week. We would wander the aisles, debate what everyone wanted to watch, finally choose a movie, and head home to make pizza. The movie mattered, but so did everything around it—the anticipation, the meal, and the conversations that followed.

Our children are grown now, but the pizza tradition never left. Every week, my wife and I still make what I will confidently call the best pizza you have ever had, complete with sourdough crust and homemade sauce.

My son Travis and I have carried that tradition into our Reel Slices movie reviews. We talk about films from different generations—what works, what lasts, and what each of us sees from our own perspective. Whenever possible, we also make a pizza inspired by the movie.

For The Naked Gun, we made a chili-dog pizza. Hit Man inspired a jambalaya pizza. For The Surfer, we combined Canadian bacon, pineapple, and anchovies. Some combinations are safer than others, but that is part of the fun.

Those nights capture what Reel Slices is really about. Movies are not simply something we watch. They bring us together. They start arguments, inspire laughter, stir memories, and occasionally send us into the kitchen with a questionable culinary idea.

A Family Creative Endeavor

Reel Slices is also a family creative endeavor.

My wife, Cristal—Kitty to me—is my muse and my most trusted sounding board. She has a remarkable ear for dialogue and helps me find the authentic voices of the women at the center of my first three screenplays. She also continues to push me toward what she calls my opus: a story she believes no one has ever heard before. I am not ready to reveal that one yet, but she is not going to let me avoid writing it.

Travis and I talk about movies constantly. We agree, disagree, challenge each other, and often discover that we noticed completely different things in the same film. In addition to our Across Generations reviews, we have two original projects we plan to develop together.

Stories Worth Telling

My screenplays may move between psychological horror, speculative thrillers, holiday drama, and romance, but they grow from the same beliefs: begin with a great story, fill it with memorable characters, give them something worth losing, and leave room for redemption.

This blog will share the stories behind those screenplays, the movies that influenced them, and the lessons I am learning while building a second career as a screenwriter. We will also share some of our family movie conversations—and perhaps a few pizzas along the way.

Welcome to Reel Slices. Pull up a chair, grab a slice, and let's talk movies.