It has been 10 YEARS since I interviewed Screenwriter & Producer Caytha Jentis. I was introduced to Caytha in 2011 when her romantic gay comedy The One had its NYC premiere, a film I still watch today.

Now, Caytha’s latest movie, a coming-of-age road trip comedy Pooling to Paradise has just been released. I was able to get an advanced screening of the movie and Pooling to Paradise is a road trip worth taking.

In this NEW interview, Caytha once again answered my call, but this time around she shares:

• How Pooling To Paradise was made
• A time she met a stranger whom she felt like she had nothing in common with, but ultimately found a connection
• Reconnecting with friends, family & colleagues as we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Her most bizarre share riding experience
• So much more

Connect with Caytha: Website, Facebook, Instagram

Pooling To Paradise is an indie comedy about a ride share that turns into an unexpected road trip to Paradise, NV for four strangers each at a crossroads in their lives, who find an unexpected connection. The cast is phenomenal: Jonathan Lipnicki (Jerry Maguire), Dreama Walker (Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, Don't Trust The B**** in Apartment 23), Lynn Chen (Saving Face, Go Back To China), Jordan Carlos (First Wives Club, Broad City), and a special appearance by Taryn Manning (Orange is the New Black).

Pooling to Paradise can be watched as VOD on Amazon, Vudu, Comcast, Charter and more. It is also available on DVD in Walmarts around the United States.

Pooling to Paradise Cast
L to R: Jonathan Lipnicki, Dreama Walker, Lynn Chen, Jordan Carlos
Photo Credit: Pooling to Paradise

1. It's been 10 YEARS since we did our last interview! We first talked at the time your film The One was being released, a movie I still watch to this day. What is something you learned about yourself from making that film that you bring with you to every project you've made since then? Hard to believe it’s been 10 years. That makes me so happy to know how much The One still resonates with you. I refer to that as my "summer of love" movie. It was very special. This new film is also very much a love story too – a love story to friendship.

What have I learned? That I must fearlessly throw my heart and soul into every story I tell and find and fight for its truth. Every story is to be a passion project…and to trust my instincts.

2. Going back to that interview, you had mentioned, in your career you hope you get to work with Alex Skaarsgard. Has that dream come true yet? Haha. Sadly, I have only worked with Alex in my dreams – really good ones though!!!

3. Now, let's talk about your brand-new indie comedy, Pooling to Paradise, that I got an advance screening of! I watched the movie before bed and let me tell you, it stayed with me all night...I had dreams of being in the desert. I am still thinking about it as I write these questions.

• How did you come up with the idea to write this movie which involves four strangers, where one accidentally hit "pool" on their car riding app? A friend and I were in a rideshare with an endearing hipster driver. We were deep in a conversation about philosophy, so when we got to the destination, I invited him to join us for dinner. Over dinner he told us about how his friend found love in Paradise. That night became the catalyst for the movie story. The characters are composites of several older millennial friends grappling with the challenges of adulthood.
• How long did it take you to write this movie? It took about a year to write.
• How long did it take to film the movie? When did you actually film - before or during the pandemic? We filmed the script in three weeks last December right before the pandemic.

Caytha Jentis at the Fort Myers Film Festival

4. The cast assembled for this movie is fantastic! It's Lynn Chen (Saving Face, Go Back To China), Jonathan Lipnick (Jerry Maguire), Dreama Walker (Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, Don't Trust The B**** in Apartment 23), Jordan Carlos (First Wives Club, Broad City), and a special appearance by Taryn Manning (Orange is the New Black). When writing this film, did you write these characters with these specific actors in mind or did they just happen to audition best? Thank you! I didn’t write the script with them specifically in mind, but was fortunate to get them as they embodied how I imagined each character. The four leads – while strangers – had incredible chemistry.

5. As the writer/producer, how involved were you in the casting? I was very involved with the casting. Jordan is a comedian/actor who I personally knew from New York and was delighted by how much he loved the script when I shared it with him. Jonathan and Taryn came through other producers on the film. Lynn knew the director and Dreama came through our casting director as we are all fans of hers. Beyond the core, I had worked with Bradley White, who plays the husband, so went to him directly. The barista, Claire Kniaz, is the wife of my friend who is also the father of the kids!

6. Did any of the cast come in to audition for a different role, other than the one they were ultimately cast as? We didn’t do auditions; they were all offer only.

7. I love how the movie is all about four strangers who, initially feel like they don't have anything in common, but as the car ride continues, they find a connection with each other. Can you tell us about a time you met a stranger whom you felt like you had nothing in common with, but as you talked to them more, you actually did find a connection? Haha – that is my favorite thing to do with people I meet who initially seem very different from me. The young rideshare driver that inspired the movie and I spent the night talking until 2am.

8. The human connection in this film is one I really related to, especially coming out of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, when we are all looking to reconnect with family, friends, and colleagues. Can you speak about what it's been like for you to reconnect with your own friends, family, and colleagues? I was able to find ways to safely connect with my closest friends, family and colleagues during the pandemic as human connection is so important to me. Sadly, the pandemic also negatively impacted a couple of important ones too.

It’s great now to physically reconnect with old and new friends as social media became a way to foster relationships. I also got a pandemic puppy, so I have a new dog friends that I meet in Central Park every morning.

9. What has been your most bizarre car sharing ride story? I once had an impassioned conspiracy theory 'flat-earther' driver. He effusively explained to me why the earth was indeed flat and the moon landing a hoax. (This was before Q-Anon)

10. There is a line in the movie which is said by Lynn Chen's character "Jenny," "Paradise isn't a place...Paradise is about the journey."

• What has been the best part about your journey thus far? The best part of the journey was the rousing standing ovation we got at the Fort Myers Film Festival. So many from the audience approached my team after and told us how much they loved and connected with the films’ themes/messages etc.
• What has been the most challenging part? Everything is challenging when you make an indie film, but this was not my first rodeo! Sadly, the pandemic took away the ability to have a live festival run, so finding ways to share the film safely with as many live audiences has been a challenge. There is nothing better than experiencing an audience enjoying your art after all the blood, sweat and tears that goes into making an indie film.

11. What is something we didn't get to talk about, that you'd like my readers to know about you? How much philosophy and psychology informs my story-telling. I’m particularly inspired by Jung, Sartre and Becket.

More Caytha Jentis Interviews:

2025 (Read Here): Flying into Cirque du Gold Standard, a Circus for performers over 50-Years-Old
2011 (Read Here): Finding The One

Caytha Jentis

More on Caytha Jentis:

Caytha Jentis began making movies while driving carpools in suburban New Jersey. Her stories typically are heightened reality contemporary existential comedies about an under-served population.

Four features later, her most recent is Pooling to Paradise, a millennial coming of age road trip comedy stars: Jonathan Lipnicki, Lynn Chen, Dreama Walker, Jordan Carlos and Taryn Manning. The film opened two festivals - Female Eye Film Festival and Fort Myers Film Festival where it won Best Feature Film.

Bad Parents, a dark comedy about suburban sports culture, was licensed to Cinedigm and Relativity Media and currently streams on HBO. The cast includes Janeane Garofalo, Cheri Oteri, Christopher Titus and Kristen Johnston. Bad Parents was an Opening Night Selection at the Austin Film Festival and LA Comedy Festival.

And Then Came Love, a romantic comedy about a donor inseminated single Mom was licensed to Warner Brothers. Its cast includes Vanessa Williams, Eartha Kitt, Anna Camp and Ben Vereen and had a limited theatrical release.

The One, a gay romantic drama was distributed by TLA Releasing and had a limited theatrical release.

Her other major credits include: The Other F Word, a short form series about four women coming of age in midlife. The cast includes Steve Guttenberg, Judy Gold, Alysia Reiner and Gilbert Gottfried. The series was recognized as a Top Episodic Performer on Amazon in its first four months of release. The Other F Word has been subsequently licensed by The Girlfriend and Reel Women's Network and under option as a half hour series.

April Showers is her most recent work, a short film that stars Bill Sage and Lorraine Farris.

Caytha began her career as a literary agent in New York. Caytha was profiled by the Writers Guild as well as Screenwriter Magazine. She is a member of the Writers Guild, Film Fatales, NYWIFT and the Producers Guild.