You're not likely to find many 20-year-olds outside of film school who've even heard of Paul Schrader, let alone count him as an influence. But that's the case with John Beahan, who holds the Taxi Driver scribe in high regard. "Schrader seems undeniably comfortable wading in the sewage-filled waters of the real world," Beahan states, and it's in this moral quagmire where he's chosen to set up shop with his own filmmaking enterprise.

Beahan is one of the minds behind Soul Breed Films, which has provided YouTubers with film at its most guerilla style for the past few years. However, Beahan and company have no intentions of polluting the web with another remix of the Super Mario Bros. theme. Their focus is set on Runners, a crime series which is blooming into a full-fledged saga. The show follows two residents of society's underbelly: gun runner Benjamin Bryce (Beahan) and drug runner Manny Foster (fellow Soul Breed cohort Justin Lincoln). Beahan describes the series as "a twisted version of The Odd Couple," which encapsulates its penchant for blending violence with gallows humor.

As a homespun endeavor, Runners often utilized locations and actors from around Beahan's former stomping grounds in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. But not content to rest on his laurels, Beahan has plans to take Runners beyond the land of the Numa Numa guy. The boys of Soul Breed are currently set on crafting a feature, Runners: The End, which they hope will further the adventures of Benjamin and Manny. A DVD release of the film and a new pilot are in the works, though Beahan plans on keeping his indie cred close to heart. "I don't rely on any kind of schooling or books to tell me how I should do something," Beahan says. "I trust my instincts every step of the way."

Filming for Runners: The End is currently underway, although Beahan's list of projects appears far from dwindling. He and Lincoln are also starring in an improvised comedy series about a pair of roommates, and both have various scripts they continue to noodle with. Although bemoans the Megan Fox-addled state of modern cinema, Beahan holds out hope for the future. "A film has the ability to touch every nerve, excite every sense. A film can do anything," professes Beahan, whose own list of favorites runs the gamut from classics like 1931's Dracula to current indie wunderkinds like Brick.

"I just know that I put more of myself into every single part of a production than most do in only one," says Beahan. He plays writer, director, actor, and whatever other roles are necessary throughout his many productions. "Experience is the best system of education," Beahan declares.  If that's true, then, with the support of his family and friends, Beahan has learned more in the last few years than a squadron of Michael Bays will in their lifetimes.

Past Runners episodes and other Soul Breed videos can be found on their YouTube channel by clicking here: 

(FULL DISCLOSURE: I recently filmed a cameo in the latest Runners installment, but the content of my article would be the same without that experience.)

Photo: John Beahan