Thursday, July 9, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Brain Dead Studios, Los Angeles
**In Person: James N. Kienitz Wilkins** In a tragicomedy about millennials turning forty, *The Misconceived* continues the journey of Tyler from *The Plagiarists* (2019). *The Misconceived* is a 3D-rendered feature film about home renovation that doubles as an acidic and comic treatise on the working conditions of the contemporary creative class. Starring John Magary, Jesse Wakeman, Jess Barbagallo, J. Dixon Byrne, and Callie Hernandez. #### Director’s Statement *The Misconceived* is a tragicomedy about millennials turning forty, which follows a struggling yet entitled white American male found throughout the annals of indie film who apprehends his likely cultural irrelevance during the Biden era. The film utilizes experimental 3D-rendered processes entirely within a video game engine, utilizing motion capture, facial recognition, voice performance, and a vast library of stock media. *The Misconceived* takes full advantage of the new ability to shoot in virtual worlds and a marketplace of 3D architectural and character models to create an uncanny mirror to contemporary society (notably, not using generative AI). In many ways, the movie is an argument for and against its right to exist.