Behind the Scenes of 'Dear Mr. Mailman'

I think one of the biggest things I remember from the production of Dear Mr. Mailman was just how fun it was. When you're surrounded by incredibly talented people who have decades of experience, who can execute, can solve problems creatively, and are good to be around, it creates for a good experience - and always better when you're telling a great story.

The Concept and Inspiration

When I was around ten years old, I started writing letters to our mailman. I'm not sure exactly what moved me to do it — maybe I naively thought no one was writing them. Whatever it was, I wrote. And to my surprise, they wrote back.

What I remember most isn't what the letters said. It's the feeling the letters created between us. That stayed with me for a long time without me fully understanding why.

Dear Mr. Mailman grew out of that memory — and out of watching my father in his retirement years move quietly through his community, fixing things, showing up, serving people who will never know his name. There's something about that kind of invisible goodness that moves me more than almost anything else. It doesn't ask to be seen. It just does the work.

I think most of us are Hank to some degree. Life is hard, and it takes its justifiable toll. We close up. We stop noticing. We get so consumed by what's wrong — in the world, in our own lives — that we forget to look for what's right. This film is, in part, my own attempt to navigate that. To remind myself that purpose and meaning don't usually arrive in grand gestures. They often arrive in small ones. A letter. A raked yard. A plate of cookies left on a doorstep. A connection made.

Children understand this instinctively, even if imperfectly. Yes, they can be selfish — but there are also these moments of pure, uncalculated kindness that are powerful and real. Ellie carries that quality. She's not trying to fix Hank. She's just noticing the world from her window and sharing what she sees. And somehow, that's enough.

What I hope you feel after this film is a quiet pull toward the people around you. We are all struggling with something. We are all capable of relieving someone else's suffering — even a little. No one else is going to do it. That's the truth the film keeps returning to. And it's one I needed to hear myself.

I chose Super 16mm because this story needed texture and warmth and imperfection. Film grain is a kind of memory. It makes the world feel lived in. It reminds us that what we're watching actually happened — to someone, somewhere — even when it didn't.

This is a small film about small acts. I hope it lands somewhere real.

Assembling the Team

Once the script was finalized, the next step was to assemble a talented team. Issues will always arise on production, but when you have the right people in play, obstacles can be worked through extremely well. I was genuinely impressed with our crew. I felt fortunate to have such a dedicated team who brought their best. Here's just a few crew members on our team.

I naturally wanted my wife Chantelle to produce because she's gifted at it and has the skill set that's required of a good producer. Even though she didn't have much experience, I knew anything she was over would be handled with a natural ability for organization, specificity, and a good environment for the cast and crew to work in. She is one of the single most reasons the film production went as well as it did. Anybody would be lucky to have her produce their films for them.

We were fortunate to get veteran D.P. Gordon Lonsdale ASC on board. He showed up because of the script and his experience elevated the quality of the film we were making. He was an absolute dream to work with.

With a 1st AC like Josh Contor, some crew members didn't even have to ask - they just knew if Josh was running the set it would be great--and it was.

Casting the Right Actors

As we started thinking through actors, Michael Flynn eventually came up. I knew there was no question he was our mailman. After a table read with him, my inklings were absolutely confirmed and boy did he deliver!

The Filming Process

Filming took place over 5 days. We originally planned for 4 days and planned to keep a 5th day in reserve in case we needed to push shots to another day. This ended up happening and I'm so glad we had that 5th day as we were able to get everything I felt we needed to tell the story I wanted to tell.

Location Scouting

Chantelle found our incredible picturesque street and neighborhood in Salt Lake City. It was an incredibly beautiful area and it really helped create this almost nostalgic/storybook quality including Ellie Bellie's home.

Post-Production Magic

We had our film developed by Fotokem who were great to work with. I loved going into their studio to watch dailies after production wrapped.

After getting our edit completed by Bill Lynch who's a long-time film and tv editor, we sent it off to Picture Shop in Burbank to be colored by an extremely talented Freddy Bokkenheuser who Gordon had worked with many time before. Freddy is a master of his craft and it showed.

Sound Design and Music

The film was scored by the talented Micah Dahl Anderson. I had some songs I was considering licensing, but after meeting with Micah who knows his craft, I felt confident I could let him score the whole film and he did an amazing job. Not only was music beautiful, but he was so pleasant to work with and was willing to do whatever it took to get it right.

The Premiere Event

We have officially been accepted to a major US film festival. And although we've been asked not to share which festival quite yet, I am so proud of our team for making something that's been accepted into such a highly regarded festival. I'm excited for the world premiere of "Dear Mr. Mailman".