Paul Sinacore '14

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Paul Sinacore ’14 knows something about career pivots. His most recent one, however, was ambitious even for him. He is currently in post-production on the feature film, “Towpath,” his directorial debut, which he also wrote, cast and produced.

“Making this film has been an incredibly arduous and challenging personal and creative journey,” he said.“It was a real-time writing experience and a full immersion into high pressure filmmaking, and against the most challenging set of production circumstances, which I could never have anticipated. I was introduced to the project only a couple of weeks prior to day one of shooting just to cast it. I ended up producing, writing and directing a completely new film.”

Filmed in only 11 days, “Towpath” tells the story of the 1964 murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer, ex-wife of CIA official Cord Meyer and mistress of President John F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated the previous year. Not a standard true-crime film or courtroom drama, it looks at the events surrounding the crime and subsequent trial through the lens of the political and social environment at the end of the Jim Crow era – one in which the defense attorney, a Black woman, was not allowed to use the restroom in the Washington, D.C. courthouse where the trial took place. The viewer is not led in any particular direction regarding the events that occurred or the involvement of the young Black man accused of murdering a socialite in the park; rather, Sinacore’s goal is to start a conversation – not only about the murder, but about the circumstances facing the defendant and his attorney as they tried to prove his innocence. Sinacore’s bachelor’s degrees in psychology and anthropology give him unique insight and empathy for all involved.

In addition to his work behind the camera, Sinacore plays the role of Washington Post investigative journalist James Truitt, who revealed Meyer’s affair with JFK in 1976; that article also stated that the victim had kept a diary and that her brother-in-law, Washington Post editor Benjamin Bradlee, and CIA counter-intelligence chief James Angleton, hid this fact from the public – and the defense attorney, Dovey Johnson Roundtree.

Sinacore was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and went to The Music Business Institute in Atlanta to study recording engineering and television production. A rock and roll drummer, he moved to Los Angeles in 1989 with his band East of Gideon, and in 1991 got a record deal with JRS Records and made an album with Garbage producer/drummer Butch Vig, who produced Nirvana's “Nevermind” and the “Smashing Pumpkins.”

When the band didn’t reach the success they had hoped for, Sinacore started acting, appearing in A-list films and commercials, and on television, including the beloved sitcom “Friends.” A journeyman actor, he became a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) in 1996. He met his wife, Rebeca Cristian, in Los Angeles, and they settled in Altadena in 2001 where he acquired his California Real Estate License and continued the home renovation business he had been doing until that eventually became less viable.

“Around 2008 or so, the real estate bubble burst. I decided I wanted to get back into education, and was still acting on and off here and there. I went to Pasadena City College just to improve my mind, if you will, at 41 years old.”

He earned associate degrees in humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and psychology, culminating in an UCLA Alumni Scholarship as a nontraditional transfer student in 2012. “I was very fortunate to get that scholarship at that age and to be welcomed into the Alumni Scholars Club. I came in as a psychology student and spent my third year getting a degree in social psychology with a focus on social cognitive neuroscience. I then took some diversity classes for my honors collegium courses and pivoted into anthropology. I was a dual major in psychology and anthropology and studied psychological anthropology (a subfield of anthropology that looks at the intersection between human psychology and culture) during my senior year and wanted to get out in the field. I wrote a lexicon on empathy for my senior thesis that sought to synthesize empathy terminology between the disciplines of psychology and anthropology.”

After graduating, Sinacore was accepted at USC for visual anthropology to explore the complex dynamics of empathy and radical activism at the crossroads of Taiji’s local dolphin hunters and global activists at the notorious killing cove in Taiji, Japan; needing money for graduate school, he took a high-level job at a renowned casting office and, knowing the business from the acting side, gained invaluable insight into the casting process and entertainment industry.

Becoming a casting director, he started his own company, Paul Sinacore Casting, in 2021. He is now part of the Television Academy and the Casting Society (CSA) and has cast many projects, including the Columbia Pictures film “Clika” and network shows such as “Eli Roth Presents: The Legion of Exorcists,” “Unsolved Mysteries,” “In Ice Cold Blood,” multiple independent films, student films, short films, music videos and commercials.

Forming his own production company, Five-Tool Player, in 2023, he soon started producing and developing projects, launching with the short film proof of concept “Babushka” that is now beginning a festival run. “I’m just trying to keep my hand in all aspects,” he said. “I’m a lifelong learner and I’ve always worn a lot of hats throughout my life – it’s just kind of the way I’m built and it’s how my father raised me: to learn and do things myself. I’ve discovered that my passion is for directing films. “It is a wonderful way to apply my life’s experience, education, creativity and passion for the entertainment industry and filmmaking all in one.”

Sinacore has been able to draw on his background in all areas for “Towpath,” which he describes as “a deep dive into the societal dynamic that existed at that level at that specific time. A lot of psychology, a lot of anthropology, and a lot of diversity and sensitivity training helped me capture the challenging elements in society and institutionalized systematic racism at the time. There are a lot of difficult and emotional scenes in the film, so I really leaned on my psychology training there – and empathy. I believe that collectively we walked away from the experience with a better understanding of ourselves, of each other and of society. The goal is to create awareness and heighten sensitivity for the viewer. I believe we accomplish that with this film."

“Mary’s diary having been burned, there’s no equivalent of a “Zapruder Film,” the home movie of the JFK assassination shot by a Dallas dress manufacturer, in “Towpath.” “I'm presenting the situational aspect of it rather than the Oliver Stone perspective on the “back and to the left” pinpoint accuracy of what it is. Because truly, we can't know what the truth is, but it entices the audience to open their minds to discover their own interpretation on what it is. It provokes thought and conversations that are profoundly relevant to today. And I think that is what Jim Truitt was going through himself. Trying to find the answers. Losing his mind while grasping to uncover the truth. So there's no targeted finger pointing at the CIA. Angleton is portrayed in the film, but he is who he is. The characters are who they are and they hold the positions that they hold. It's such an entangled and intertwined web; Ben is married to Mary's sister. There are several concepts on how the murder may have played out, how the diary is destroyed, and what her final days and moments may have been like. There are polarized societal perspectives, pivotal eyewitness testimony and key pieces of evidence being challenged. I'm hoping that it all adds up to a really visceral kind of physiological response from the audience. I want the audience to think about it in the context and framework of the time and era and also in terms of the relevance to today's societal challenges. I'm hoping it has a profound impact, and that it's a powerful learning experience for the viewer. It's not a forensic teaching experience, in the Oliver Stone sense; this is more of a Stanley Kubrick-ian David Lynch-ian style of presenting all of these amazing scenarios, that are true in history but are left open to a lot of interpretation and speculation. It should stimulate critical thought.”

While editing and other post-production is being completed, Sinacore is excited to network and look for the proper distribution for this project. “A theatrical release would be amazing, and then on to streaming. I am learning about funding and distribution. I’m beginning to have those conversations and relying on the experience and expertise of others. I’m asking for insight from my industry colleagues and exploring the most promising options. I want to do the best that I can for this film, my team and the actors.”

As he awaits his next opportunity to direct (“it’s a big passion”), Sinacore continues to cast for movies, television and commercials – he is very proud of his company and his membership in CSA and the Television Academy – and also still finds time to give back to his alma mater.

“George Brown [director of Student Alumni Programs] was a very strong proponent for me, coming in as a transfer student. Over the last six years, I've been mentoring back at Alumni Scholars Club, so paying it forward, giving back. I'm, the chair of the UCLA Alumni Executive Board Advisory Committee and have a standing seat with the Alumni Association. I was an ASC Executive Board Advisor for four years and now I’m the chair for a two-year term. That's just been wonderful; working with these amazing scholars, it always feels like home for me to come back here - to get back on campus.” I’ve really come to understand what it means to be a proud Bruin and endeavor to create wonderful opportunities for others. I continue to learn and strive to be the best possible version of myself. I always remember our motto… Let There Be Light.”