Before A.J. McLean (Backstreet Boys) and Chad Vaccarino (A Great Big World) achieved success as singer-songwriters, I had the opportunity to work with them, when they were quite a bit younger, on two short films that I directed.

A.J. made an appearance in the award-winning, poignant drama "Tickits," which was adapted from the acclaimed short story of the same name, written by Paul Milenski. The film also Co-Stars Mark McEwen of the CBS network morning program "The Early Show." In A.J.'s scene, he calls out to the central character, a young boy named Toby.

Chad Co-Starred in the Emmy winning comedy "Paul McCall" as Josh, the leader of a trio of mischief-makers that take delight in chasing little Paul on his way home from school. Throughout the film, Paul's imagination rivals that of Walter Mitty, and we see him, Josh, and his cohorts, pulled into several of Paul's wild fantasies, including becoming race car drivers and cowboys.



Below you'll find videos of:

Chad and Ian Axel, his partner in A Great Big World, along with Christina Aguilera performing in their new music video of "Say Something." The song quickly jumped to #1 after recently being performed on NBC's "The Voice."



The comedy short film "Paul McCall" (12 minutes). Chad appears throughout the film as Josh. Details about "Paul McCall," including awards, cast, and crew, may be found by scrolling down on this page.



The complete short film "Tickits" (17 minutes). A.J.'s scene begins at about the 4 minute mark. Details about the film "Tickits," including awards, cast, and crew, may be found by scrolling down on this page. The original, award-winning short story "Tickits" by Paul Mikenski, may be found in several anthologies including "Sudden Fiction: American Short-Short Stories."





"Say Something"





"Paul McCall"



* This video must be licensed for television broadcast.





"Tickits"

