Influences
Chris’ father, an avid movie buff, first laid down Chris’ interest in movies. When the family bought their first VCR, they rented every movie with a Black face on it at the video rental store. Chris, who at first was curious with acting, was encouraged to investigate being involved behind-the-scenes in the entertainment industry. His last year of High School, Chris’ older brother, Edward J. Odom IV, brought home a movie called She's Gotta Have It, edited by a young guy his age his brother’s age, Spike Lee Chris was impressed and amazed that a guy that young, who happened to also be African American, had made a movie. That same summer, Chris competed in the Junior NAACP ACT-SO competition in Washington, D.C., as a classical trumpet player, and witnessed a single high school student win an award for being the only person that year to submit a movie for competition. Chris would later go on to idolize Spike Lee, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Robert Townsend, Matty Rich, Allan and Albert Hughes and John Singleton for ushering in a New Black Renaissance in film.
Chris, a student of the arts (singer, actor, writer, dancer, musician) and hungry to apply all of his talents to the filmmaking process, would later become extremely intrigued by Robert Rodriguez, better known for being a “one man crew”. When Chris first moved to Los Angeles, California, he wanted to utilize all of his skills, but he was told that trying to wear many hats couldn’t be done. When Chris learned that Rodriguez was performing in several of the key roles in on a single major Hollywood movie, Chris fast forwarded his career and entered the world of feature filmmaking.
Being a three time film student, Chris is also greatly influenced by Steven Spielberg, Akira Kurosawa, George Lucas, Orson Welles and Peter Greenaway. When Chris first moved to Los Angeles, he was mentored by his father’s Omega Psi Phi fraternity brother Samm-Art Williams, then the Executive Producer of the television series “Martin”. At that time the seed was planted for Chris to solidify his skills and to one day run and own his own studio.
Read more about this topic: Christopher C. Odom
Famous quotes containing the word influences:
“The first in time and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature. Every day, the sun; and after sunset, night and her stars. Ever the winds blow; ever the grass grows.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise. Once and again one of those great influences which we call a Cause arises in the midst of a nation. Men of strenuous minds and high ideals come forward.... The attacks they sustain are more cruel than the collision of arms.... Friends desert and despise them.... They stand alone and oftentimes are made bitter by their isolation.... They are doing nothing less than defy public opinion, and shall they convert it by blows. Yes.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“However diligent she may be, however dedicated, no mother can escape the larger influences of culture, biology, fate . . . until we can actually live in a society where mothers and children genuinely matter, ours is an essentially powerless responsibility. Mothers carry out most of the work orders, but most of the rules governing our lives are shaped by outside influences.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)