I speak with director Spencer Glover about his experience with Disney as a participant in their coveted Launchpad program. Selected from more than 2000 applicants, the longtime Nashville filmmaker spent a year in the incubator, honing his skills under the auspices of industry execs.

The experience culminated in his Disney directorial debut BLACK BELTS, a coming of age Kung Fu story you can watch right now on Disney+.

Black Belts went on to win a 2024 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Performance in a Short Form Series.

Prior to the Launchpad experience Spencer created several films focused on stories that blend genre elements and grounded emotional characters. We met somewhere around 2018 when I was working on the web series version of Morse Code and he had just finished his award-winning film Message Read.

We talk about the launchpad experience, what was good and bad about it, and discuss the phenomenon known as “industry brain” — how in wake of that extraordinary opportunity Spencer has had to learn to resist the temptation to write or direct what the market says it currently wants.

We wax a bit nostalgic for the big budget films we both enjoyed as kids and then Spencer offers his perspective on whether it’s necessary to move to LA to elevate your film career. He himself moved for the Launchpad gig with his partner Kariss and has since stayed.

Finally we talked about the importance of spending your young years as freely as possible. In that context I share a couple stories from my younger years, including the time when I was 21 and drove my VW Bus to the end of an unmarked dirt road in southern Utah, hiked a days’ walk into the canyon and spent 5 days and nights in the with nothing but a gallon of water and five oranges.

Oh to be young.

Find Spencer:

Website: https://spencerglover.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spenceglover.mov/