Interview w/ Actor, Producer & Writer Jason T. Gaffney

Over the years I realized that while I love acting (and still do it as often as I can) I also really love being a storyteller, which lead me to the writing/producing side of things.

Your new project Analysis Paralysis is available now on Amazon, iTunes & Google Play. Not only do you star in it, but you also were the director, writer & producer of it. Tell us about it.  

Analysis Paralysis is an LGBTQ romantic comedy where a young man struggling with massive anxiety fights his mental illness by pursuing a relationship with his hot neighbor. 

The story begins when Tyler O’Conner, a young gay author, visits a therapist and discovers that he suffers from an anxiety disorder commonly called “Analysis Paralysis” — an inability to take action without imagining the ways that each possible choice could go wrong. The problem is that, unchecked, the condition will lead Tyler into a state of complete inaction.

To confront the disorder, Tyler decides to fight through his anxiety and ask his cute neighbor, Shane, out for coffee. Despite a flurry of imagined disasters, the date goes well, and Shane and Tyler ultimately become involved.

Against all odds, the relationship moves forward, but not without every step of the way — sex, moving in together, and meeting Shane’s parents — preceded by an avalanche of negative, albeit hilarious, fantasies. Finally, convinced that Shane is leaving as a result of an uncomfortable interaction with Shane’s mom and dad, Tyler steels himself for what he sees as the inevitable rejection.

But Shane has other plans…

While the majority of LGBTQ films feature coming out stories or stories of struggle or stories that rely on the stereotypes of their sexuality, this movie doesn’t. Why was it important for you for that Analysis Paralysis to just to be a romantic LGBTQ+  movie about two out gay men—played by out gay actors—who meet and fall in love? 

Let me start with saying that LGBTQ films that are coming out stories are wonderful and very needed in this current world that we’re living in. It is important for LGBTQ youth (and older LGBTQ family members who have yet to come out!) to see the journey of coming out and how it can go.

And while equally important for LGBTQ people to see coming out stories, it is just as important for them to see what life can be like post coming out. After all, coming out isn’t the only thing that LGBTQ people do in their lives. LGBTQ people go on to live very rich, exciting, and rewarding lives after that milestone, and I want to tell those stories. Searching for love, finding work that fulfills them, etc.

So, in both my movies and my books, I deliver stories where the LGBTQ characters have moved beyond any conflict surrounding their sexual orientation. I make rom-coms where the gay main characters get to be conflicted by the same zany hijinks that straight, cis characters have been dealing with for decades. Boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy wins boy and they live happily ever after! 

How as it working with your father Ed Gaffney who also co-written it? 

It’s great! He’s incredibly funny and I get a lot of my sense of humor from him. Because we understand each other’s sense of humor, we’re able to ‘Yes, and’ easily and really spruce up those funny moments.

I realize that I’m insanely lucky that I not only get to work with my dad, but that he is incredibly supportive of me and has been from the beginning!

The way we write is kind of unique. We write the scripts in waves. Basically I write up a draft of the script and send it his way. Then he goes through it and spruces up some of the scenes and jokes. A polish pass. Then he passes it back to me and I then go over it again. This happens back and forth until we reach a satisfactory final draft. When things are running smoothly we actually will be polishing as we are finishing up the first draft, so it can make for a speedy writing process.