USC graduate sees first feature film hit theaters

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Dylan Moran is a recent graduate of USC film school. He wrote a script called "Get Big" and decided to both direct and star in the movie. His shooting schedule: a mere 14 days.

That's often where a story like this ends, but not for Moran. "Get Big" made it to the big screen.

"Get Big" tells the story of two friends. Moran plays the one who is more on the straight and narrow, but his best buddy is a little more reckless. Many characters in the movie are based on people the filmmaker grew up with in the San Diego area. The chief troublemaker, played by Tanner Stine, essentially represents several people.

"It really wasn't one friend. It was sort of like a group of my high school friends that I grew up with," said Moran. "You know, I was sort of the goodie-two-shoes and they were kind of the guys saying, like, 'hey, let's get beer tonight,' you know, 'let's get this and that.' Let's get into a little trouble tonight."

"Get Big" cost about $200,000 dollars to make with Moran's businessman father investing most of the money. Friends also helped out, offering up shooting locations to keep costs down. He also got really lucky with some of the music, thanks to a fortuitous Uber ride.

"I drive Uber on the side, you know, just to make some cash," said Moran. "And there's a great band called the Mystic Braves in San Diego and I really wanted to get in contact with them. And I was driving Uber one day and a guy got into my car. We started talking about music. I said, 'Oh there's this band I really want to get called the Mystic Braves. They're amazing.' And he said, 'Are you screwing with me, man? Like, I'm their producer.' And he's like, 'here-here's my email. Let's get this going."

He did it all under the banner "Pelican Club Pictures." The name comes with a lot of history.

"When my cousins and I were really young, we'd make movies," said Moran. "We'd make movies like every weekend and for some reason, we're like, 'What's our production company going to be called?' And we said pelican club pictures. So, I don't know, I just kind of kept it."

And if you're wondering where he got the film's title, "Get Big," Moran thinks it means to be the "biggest" that you can be.

"To just sort of get out of your immaturity and sort of grow up," said Moran.

"Get Big" will be in theaters Sept. 1.