They say making a movie is like going to war. You're in the trenches of a battle, and sometimes you're winning with the ecstasy of how you dreamed a shot would look. Other times, you're just trying to not get shot by the daily bullets of compromise and through it all, you grow as a filmmaker. It all started years ago with a single scene in my head; the final scene of the movie. Listening to James Newton Howard's score to The Village, I could see the scene being played out. This spark remained in my head for years while I worked on other films.

  Finally I knew it was time to bring LAST BREATH to life. While Aaron, the film's Executive Producer, started the long process of raising the money, I completed perfecting the script. Once the script, locations and crew were locked, we started casting.

  Casting the role of Tina was incredibly challenging. The actress would have to do a lot of physical things in the film, not the least of which was being trapped in a room with 500 smelly, dirty rats. On our first audition for Tina in walked a Chicago actress who had recently moved to Kansas City. On her first read through-SHE BLEW US AWAY! As a writer, there is nothing like witnessing your words performed to their greatest degree. Mandy Bannon did just that. At call-backs Mandy amazed us again. I remember telling her what the film would require and she stopped me halfway and said, "Ty, I'll give it everything I've got." And she did. She is the best thing about this film.

  As to our crew-I was lucky to surround myself with the best that Kansas City had to offer. It is amazing to see people step up and go way beyond what you ask of them. They are the angels of someone's first feature. We tried our best to treat our crew with the same love and respect they brought to our projects. Shooting in March with a crew of KU basketball fans was an interesting experience. The AD, Mike Neu, and I worked the schedule so they could get home in time for the games. You give to your crew your crew gives back.

  After principle photography was done Aaron and I began the arduous process of post-production. Over the next five months we added 10 more days of shooting. Between these new shoots and cuts we had 12 test screenings, learning from every step of the process. Our first cut was just over 2 hours. Our final cut is just over 90 minutes.

  It's hard to put something out there that's so important to you and have people say what they like or hate about it. Thankfully as we began to get feedback and reviews people loved the film. Women in particular tell me they connect to Tina and her life.

  Looking back, I've learned so much from when I started this film until now. I've learned to trust people, but to stick to my instincts. I've learned the importance of listening to everyone, yet staying true to my own story. I'm so proud of this film, it's like my own child. Born from that tiny little thought I had which then grew into adolescent life and became something that we as filmmakers all want it to be: AN INCREDIBLE FEATURE FILM...READY FOR THE WORLD TO SEE.