Catching Up with Filmmaker Joseph Nasser
Joseph Nasser has produced films that stretch across multiple genres. He’s accomplished comedy with The Whole Ten Yards and For a Good Time, Call…. He’s produced action films with stars like Christian Slater, Ray Liotta, Steve Coogan and WrestleMania’s Steve Austin. His latest film, though, reveals the real reason he’s in the biz.
Amber Alert: Terror on the Highway explores the kidnapping of two young girls and how the community bands together to save them. For Nasser, who still serves as a reserve police officer, the film has a valiant mission. He’s out to promote awareness for Amber Alerts for both citizens that encounter them as well as law enforcement officials that handle the traumatic cases.
I had a second to chat with Nasser about his involvement with the Amber Alert system, how his time as an officer has influenced his filmmaking and his mission as a producer.
Paste: You’re a police officer and a filmmaker. How did that combo happen?
Nasser: I was intrigued by law enforcement and went to police academy—all the while reading about true crime stories and stories about bills that were passed and how the Amber Alert bill was put into legislation. I was a movie producer in college and high school and decided to not totally abandon the police department and take it into a hobby and volunteer basis. The two kind of married up together.
Paste: This film is definitely a passion project for you. Was there a particular incident that prompted you to make a film about Amber Alerts?
Nasser: Meeting with Amber’s Mom, Donna. She was the mother of the child that the bill was named after and talking to her about her story. I turned that into a movie several years ago. The results of that movie were so positive in that it was used to train people and used to even re-open the Amber case. I’m really moved by that. Her mom basically said that she looks at heaven and tells her daughter, “We did it again, sweetheart.”