“I love this industry,” said Corbin Pitts, reflecting on a career that, with the upcoming thriller “The Neglected” and his own feature film in post-production, has reached a crescendo but still promises more to come. “I’ve kind of already achieved my dreams and goal, which is to just do it, and so people always ask me [to] define success, and I think success is whatever you measure it to be.”
Pitts, 18, of North Little Rock, began acting as a child and founded his own production company, Heroe Productions Entertainment, at age 11. His latest role sees him in director David Lipper’s new serial killer flick, “The Neglected,” for which Pitts acts alongside soap-star-turned-action-protagonist Josh Duhamel and Dylan Sprouse of “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” fame.
Corbin Pitts and Dylan Sprouse
Pitts said his character, Aaron Shaw, and his relationship with his detective father, played by Duhamel, exemplifies an age-old struggle between parents and children.
“It’s the perfect example of a Gen X’er trying to use Gen Z terminology, and it just doesn’t work,” Pitts said. “He’s just from a different generation, and he fails very hard.”
It is the third film he has worked on with Lipper, who Pitts said reached out to him on social media for the role. Pitts previously acted in “Murder at Hollow Creek” and “Crescent City,” both of which premiered in 2024.
Corbin Pitts at the Beverly Hills Film Festival
Pitts said “The Neglected,” now in post-production, was shot over 12 days in Clinton, Mississippi. He added that he enjoyed working with his co-stars and that Lipper has a “very quick” direction style.
“Josh is just so down to earth, so sweet. We got to do a few really fun, cool scenes,” Pitts said. “Dylan’s really awesome, really sweet. They’re just fun people to work with.”
Also in post-production is the first full-length feature film for Pitts’ production company, which he wrote, directed, shot, edited and produced himself. The film “Good Time Charley” follows astronomer Charley Codwell as he uncovers a comet conspiracy.
On set of “The Neglected”
“It was probably the most stressful thing I’ve ever done in my life up until this point. I know that there will be more stressful things that I’m going to do, but up until this point, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Pitts said. “I basically went to film school for three weeks. I feel like I learned everything about everyone’s job and everything, but it was the craziest experience.”
He added that the film exemplifies Heroe Productions Entertainment’s mission to set the bar for youth-led filmmaking.
Photo Credit: Matthew Sewell
“With ‘Good Time Charley,’ I wanted to create an environment on set where kids felt safe to work,” he said. “In this industry, it’s dangerous. It’s a very mature industry, and I feel like with that being such a well-known thing about this industry, I wanted to create, like I said, a safe environment for kids, but I always wanted to show that despite us being young, we can still make art and make it at a high-quality level.”
Pitts is currently studying at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia and said he has lots more projects in the works. The premiere date for “The Neglected” has not yet been set, and Pitts said he plans for “Good Time Charley” to debut in the festival circuit toward the end of 2025.
Photo Credit: Matthew Sewell Photography
He added that he is grateful to all those who helped make the film possible.
“It literally takes a village, so to have this, I’m honored,” he said. “I’m grateful for the people that decided to spend their summer helping me make this and helping me make my dreams come true.”
Feature Photo: (Left to Right) Josh Duhamel, Corbin Pitts, Elena Sanchez
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