Daniel Gibb - A Hollywood "Break" with Niwot roots

The call of the movie industry can be challenging to heed for a local kid, but for Daniel Gibb, well... let's just say the Force is strong with this one.

"I was always a lover of film-making, the art of it," Gibb said, "and I always wanted to be involved in that."

Gibb grew up in Boulder, and his parents, Meri and Paul Gibb, have lived in Niwot for many years. Meri Gibb says her son's passion for the entertainment industry started early.

"When he was like, four, and he saw videos on MTV, he kept saying, 'I want to grow up to be a singer or a movie maker.' He started doing theater in probably fifth grade and continued all the way through high school."

In 2002, after taking courses at what was then the Colorado Film School in Aurora, Gibb made his way to Hollywood. His first job was doing grunt work at a post-production house, but he quickly moved up to the finer aspects of finish work: editing, sound mixing, color correction. Still, his dream of film-making proved elusive.

"I got kind of side-tracked with TV. Once you get compartmentalized in Hollywood, it's hard to get out of that."

Gibb neglected to mention that, during his sidetracked phase, he earned two Daytime Emmy nominations editing Dr. Phil.

"Yeah, that felt good," he stated... or understated. "Felt like an accomplishment."

Gibb made a short film of his own and worked on a few documentaries, but as it turns out, his biggest movie-making break to date originated in Niwot. He was living in Los Angeles, when a contact from home came to town, also looking to make movies.

"We hit it off and started working together."

That was back in 2011, and the contact was Will Wernick, a now-accomplished film director who grew up in Niwot. Wernick's parents, Pete and Joan Wernick, are famous names in the world of bluegrass. They share a longtime friendship with Daniel's parents.

On April 26th, Will Wernick's feature film "Break" will be released in theaters. Daniel Gibb is the film's editor, and the aptly titled "Break" is his very first feature-length narrative film.

"It looks really beautiful," Gibb said enthusiastically. "Going into it I thought it would be more daunting than it turned out to be." He added that he frequently works with footage of very different quality..."shot on people's cell phones," he laughed. "This was beautifully shot, scripted. Quite a nice change, to be honest."

According to the International Movie Database, "Break" tells the story of a man who discovers his absent father was a legend in Detroit pool halls. The main character, Eli, "must confront the realities and danger of the game – and himself."

The film was shot in Los Angeles and Detroit in late 2022, but it was edited in Colorado, a fact that Gibb considers a fortunate side effect of the COVID pandemic. He was able to bring his work home, to the Longmont house he now shares with his wife and child.

"It was fantastic," Gibb explained, "to do it in Colorado and work close to family and close to the beautiful mountains and nature.... We would work into the night pretty late sometimes. Some days we'd take a break and go for a hike.

"It was definitely nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood," he added.

And working with Wernick? Gibb grew even more animated when he described their collaboration.

"It was directed and shot really well. Will has a good, clear vision. It's great working with a close friend."

For Meri Gibb, her son's realization of a dream is no surprise. "We knew he would find his way. He always did."

"He was always big-eyed and excited about doing this kind of thing," she added. He's a very artistic, creative person."

The real surprise for Meri is that Daniel can fulfill those dreams right here in Boulder County, something Daniel calls "a blessing."

"I'm definitely grateful," he said. "It's a dream."