1 The point of view.

— For now, the text on the site is written by me, Evan [Sandoval]. I’m an actor and writer on the project. I can’t give you an exact starting point, but I got really into movies and television about a decade ago, in my mid-20s, and then pursued them professionally shortly after that interest began. I wrote scripts, first, and then, upon arrival in Los Angeles, I hustled in any production work I could get. Over the years, I did grunt work for larger companies, like HBO, and helped lead on smaller, independent projects. I really wanted to go for making Bound at the start of 2020 but then, of course, COVID hit.

When it took over, I made the most of the newly found free time. Pretty soon in 2020, I made way back to my hometown area of Raleigh, NC. There, for a time, I kept developing Bound and sharpening skills by self-studying in filmmaking and crafting stories across genres for practice and breadth. … Today, I have a whole other job - and thus life - outside of filmmaking and I’d like to try again on having a life inside of it. I’m ready to make not just So Far Bound but other future works in film and variety and to find and support other people who also want to try to make good things.

Looking back to 2020, I can see that both the series and myself wouldn’t have been ready anyway, but now, years later, after more life lessons and more industry digestion, it’s all more built to last.

2 The idea for the series.

— The general shape of So Far Bound was inspired by time spent traveling abroad in my early 20s. There were the short-term trips, with nights in hostels, where a few of us strangers would become quick friends and have a little adventure. But, I also had the opportunity to spend extended time in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, and in Granada, Spain, which offered insight into what it might be like to “re-settle” in a different kind of world (I grew up in the Southern US). At the time I was traveling, I wasn’t thinking on those terms, but later, when I got into movies and then writing, those travel experiences were all there to consider and to build stories from.

3 The pieces of the story.

— The earliest version of Bound was more focused on an individual (a “lead role”) who drove the story, before morphing into the ensemble story it is today. The reason for the shift is a long held interest in geography and social sciences. As a kid, I remember wearing the hell out of a world atlas workbook my mother got me. And in college, I regret not being a Geography or Anthropology major. I went with a broader, “safer” option in Journalism instead.

Then at some point, somewhere along the way, I started to think about Bound - because of the travel aspect - as a vehicle for those fields and as an opportunity to dive into them. It could be a second chance! God knows we don’t always get ‘em, but, by building up more characters, from different cultures, who are trying to make life in a dynamic and now more heavily featured setting, I’ll get to “major” in those human and environmental geography fields after all.

4 The catalyst for today.

— I wish I had a noble anecdote for how this version of So Far Bound came into motion, but I don’t. In fact, it’s pretty vain. Simply put, all of today is traced back to a class. In 2019, when I was still early in writing and doing odd jobs on production sets, I finally tried out performing, which is what I really wanted to do all along. I signed up for a class and loved it. I’m more introverted; I never raised my hand once, so it was fun to “act” out and be more open than I normally would be.

One day, a partner and I performed something that I wrote and the feedback from the teacher and class was really positive. The recognition was small, sure, but so are all sparks. It pushed me further. Next thing, I was applying and auditioning to acting roles and it was there - in that crapshoot jungle - that it solidified in me that I would need to write more - and better - for opportunity and experience and that I needed to dig into my own ideas for something that could be an engine for a career.

So, I dusted off “Runaways” which was the most practical and most beloved (to me) thing that I had written to that point and I got to work fixing it, because the early version was, to put it gently, rough. It got much better, then soon became Bound, then soon became So Far Bound for domain and trademark reasons, and here we are today. *

ONE NIGHT, OVER THERE — Until there can be video, please consider an illustration of a scene, currently in Episode 02 of the series. In the scene a couple of the passengers enjoy a night out in the city they’re stranded in while local residents watch on. It’s inspired by a similar night in those early, travel days of my own.