Filmmaker Spotlight
Danny Dolan
Next In Line
Director: Danny Dolan
Country : USA
Runtime: 20:45
Genre: Queer Horror
Language: English
Completion Year: 2026
Links: Instagram
Synopsis
Reeling from the loss of an international Adidas campaign, the job he thought would be his big (and well-deserved) break, jaded choreographer Travis drives to a friend's desert retreat for a therapeutic getaway to forget how the world still hasn't recognized his magnificent potential.
Travis is surprised to find one of his contemporaries at the house when he arrives - the washed-up, faux-spiritual Willow - but tries to make the most of this unwanted company. When an unexpected phone call from his agent with some good news suddenly spins the unhinged Willow even more off balance, Travis' safety and sanity are thrown into jeopardy.
Director Statement
I’m a choreographer, and I wrote Next in Line out of the frustrations I feel and see my peers dealing with in the LA choreography community - the competitiveness, the desperation from not working, the need to grow and evolve and still be accepted - these aren’t unique to our part of the industry, but I have not seen a movie based solely on choreographers, and I wanted to tell a story from this perspective.
So often, our self worth gets tied up in our work (yay Capitalism!) - what job we just did, what celebrity we just worked with, how much money we make or what our next opportunity will be...we allow that to define us, to dictate how we feel about ourselves and this film is a direct reaction to those feelings.
Our industry, across all media, has been trying to recover over the last 5 years, magnifying what I feel can be a competitive and cutthroat aspect of our community. Through horror and comedy I was able to heighten the stakes and storytelling to create an environment just slightly removed from reality, yet grounded in very real issues.
NEXT IN LINE is an unhinged psychedelic tale that dances with absurdity and violent folklore. In an industry where you're only as good as your last job, and nepotism and youth upstage hard work and experience...what chance does anyone have to advance and make a name for themselves?
About the Director
The son of a choreographer and a traveling salesman, Danny has movement-based storytelling in his blood. A Kansas state champion gymnast at the age of 8, Danny somehow found himself in a community theater production of A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream where, as a forest sprite, he back flipped across the stage, not knowing something else was flipping - the switch to be a performer.
Years later, Danny graduated from Truman State University with a double major in Acting and Creative Writing, and now with 20+ years working as an LA based industry professional, he has been sharing the screen with the likes of Pedro Pascal, Kristen Wiig and Harry Styles under the direction of Spike Jonze, the Daniels and Sam Levinson, to name a few.
Growing up queer in the midwest, Danny always knew his perspective was…different. He sees things through a darkly comedic lens, with notes of camp, absurdity and a constant curiosity to find the most captivating perspective. While having directed movement for most of his adult life, Next in Line marks Danny’s narrative directorial debut.