About Laura

Laura Cross is my professional name (it’s easier to remember and fits nicer on film and book credits than my full name Laura Holycross). I’m a writer/producer, published author and visual artist. I have been a lover of true stories - especially history, crime and American innovation - all my life (in other words, since I was a munchkin growing up in Detroit).

MY FIRST FILM

My first produced film is the low-budget short action/war drama “Devil Dogs”. Designed as a proof-of-concept for a feature film, the short premiered at the 2017 GI Film Festival in Washington D.C. over Memorial Day weekend, and was picked up by ShortsTV for television broadcast in the U.S., Europe & Latin America, and is now available to watch for free online.

I am the writer, producer, and second unit director of the film. I had no personal military experience. Because my family have fought in every American conflict beginning with the Revolutionary War, I am a voracious reader of war and military histories, and spent two years researching the battle of Fallujah (during the Iraq War) prior to shooting the film – BTW the experience of making my first film is a story unto itself (and you can read about that in my Q&A about the film here).

PODCASTING

I produced and hosted the podcast and blog Ink & Cinema for writers and filmmakers, and produced and narrated the audio documentary series Battlefield Fallujah.

MY BOOKS

I develop military and Americana stories inspired by true events, and have published how-to books and material for authors, screenwriters, and filmmakers. 

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

I earned my certificate in Feature Film Writing from the University of California, Los Angeles, Extension (UCLA-E), and completed courses in UCLA-E’s respected Independent Film Producer Program.

Prior to launching Rebel Seed, I spent several years in finance, including the accounting departments of production companies, and as the controller in the Los Angeles office of a global private equity firm, as well as in special event sales.

I was also a professional ghostwriter and author-strategist for narrative nonfiction and practical nonfiction (business, self-help and how-to) books, helping clients establish their expertise by becoming published authors. My author-clients have appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, and CNN, were featured in People magazine, Entrepreneur, Publishers Weekly, and The New York Times book review section, and landed on Amazon's bestseller list.

MY "ARTIST" STATEMENT

As a storyteller, I am inspired by true events and tales of service, justice/injustice and innovation in which an ordinary person experiences or achieves something extraordinary, and courage outweighs fear. I am drawn to gritty, realistic images that evoke a sense of the impact the place or object has on the characters, and narrative that considers questions and blurs the lines of interpretation allowing the viewer or reader to uncover the answers for themselves and render their own connotations and inferences.

I am a fan of directors Scott Cooper, John Hillcoat, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Ridley Scott and Michael Mann, cinematographers Conrad Hall, Roger Deakins and Dante Spinotti, and writers Taylor Sheridan, John Fusco, Robert Towne, James Ellroy, Elmore Leonard, and Walter Mosley.