If you know Joshua Wilson, you may know him as Jay Wil, the former host of “Live From the Underground.” The Dallas-based online radio show provided both a spotlight for local talent and a connection to popular artists: Jay Wil interviewed or worked with B.O.B., Kendrick Lamar, Tory Lanez, The-Dream, and the list goes on.
Now a writer and director, Wilson intends to make a splash in the film scene with his debut, proving you don’t need a million-dollar budget or James Cameron to produce a quality film project.
Matters of the Heart, a scripted series that premiered at the Texas Theatre earlier this month and is now available to watch online, stars Wilson as Jeremy Watson, a local radio host who has recently lost the love of his life. Wilson, who also writes and directs, provides an in-depth look at the emotional rollercoaster men can go through post-breakup: the denial, the confusion, the anger, the late-night voicemail mistakes; everything that society’s depiction of a strong man doesn’t allow for.
Many men grow up being taught to be Paul Bunyan-Luke Cage hybrids that never show weakness or emotional distress, but when your significant other walks out the door, the tough guy pose goes right along with her.
Broken into five 15-to-20 minute episodes, Matters of the Heart take you through every stage of the breakup, from the initial realization that it’s over to the eventual realization that’s it time to move on. With some help from his two best friends, who each offers very different advice, the recently dumped radio host embarks on a true journey of self-discovery. There are plenty of laughs along the way — each episode aims for hilarity.
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Wilson says his own bad breakup inspired him to create the series, which took about two-and-a-half years to complete, filming with friends and using connections he had made over the years as a radio host.
“I was with a girl for five years,” he says. “Typical young relationship, it didn’t work out. We had been fighting for a while and one day I guess she decided it wasn’t worth fighting for anymore and she left. And I took it pretty hard.”
Writing Matters of the Heart proved to be therapeutic for Wilson, who realized his heartbreak was something many people could relate to.
“I would say that I didn’t fully get over my ex-girlfriend until I finished writing it,” Wilson says. “The minute I wrote the last page, I felt this whole weight lift off of my shoulders. And that was my motivation for doing something with it: ‘If it can make me feel this way, imagine what it can do for others.’”
To watch Matters of the Heart, visit the Entertainment That Counts channel on YouTube.
