Photo: Drew Reynolds ('97)

By Nora O'Donnell

Dan Asma remembered the blood—gallons and gallons of blood cascading over the elevator doors, splashing down the hallway, engulfing everything.

It was one minute and 22 seconds of pure terror, and for a 12-year-old kid from Waukegan, it was a watershed moment. No other cinematic memory burned in his brain quite like the trailer for The Shining.

Now Asma creates that excitement for others as one of the founding partners of Buddha Jones Trailers, a Hollywood-based company that produces and edits movie previews and TV and radio slots. In four short years, Buddha Jones has burgeoned from 8 to 50 employees and has created memorable trailers for films such as No Country for Old Men, Tropic Thunder, and Kung Fu Panda.

For Asma, Buddha Jones Trailers is the result of years of working in the industry. After completing his film degree at Columbia, he taught at an alternative high school in Chicago before heading to California to find a production job. He crashed on the couch of a couple of college friends, and “pounded the pavement,” taking work as an unpaid intern and a video store clerk before landing a gig as a production assistant for New Wave Entertainment, which marketed for Disney. While he was there, the industry experienced a technological revolution: editing turned digital. Asma set up a cot in one of New Wave’s edit rooms and mastered the new software, honing his skills and learning the language of movie marketing. He slowly accumulated “finishes,” or final cuts of previews that studios bought and put on the air. From there, he moved up at various companies, proved his editorial talent, and eventually found enough success to branch out independently.

Twenty-nine years after watching that terrifying trailer for The Shining, Asma still feels excitement during the previews, especially when people cheer (or even hiss at) one of his own. “You’re participating in the love of movies,” he says, “and you’re participating in a person’s emotional response—and that’s what it’s all about.”

Trailers courtesy of Buddha Jones Trailers