Chris Pratt launched his career by directing the 'worst movie' he had ever seen

In a 2017 interview with Vanity Fair, Chris Pratt shared how he landed his first gig. Pratt was an athlete in high school and dropped out of community college to take odd jobs, even working occasionally as a stripper. As described in a biography in EW, he eventually landed in Hawai'i, sleeping in his van and working as a waiter. It was during this part of his life that Pratt had a chance encounter with Rae Dawn Chong. As Pratt tells Vanity Fair, her conversation with Chong was brief, direct, and very exciting. As Pratt reenacts the encounter, he says, "I'm your server." Chong said "I am Rae Dawn Chong." He replied, "You are a movie star." She commented "You're cute. Do you act?" and he said, "Fuck, yeah, I'm acting. Put me in a movie."

One would guess that Pratt's conversation was not verbatim related. Anyway, Pratt gave Chong his best friend Michael's phone number because he didn't have a phone in his van. Chong ended up calling—Michael almost forgot to deliver the message—and Pratt was invited to come to Los Angeles to audition for an unknown project of Chong's. At first, Pratt turned down the opportunity, thinking he would have to buy his own plane ticket to Los Angeles, which he could not afford at the time. Luckily, Chong could afford it, and he left.

The reading went well and Pratt took the lead. The movie he auditioned for was “Cursed Part 3,” a satirical horror short that Chong wrote and directed. In a metanarrative twist, "Cursed Part 3" is about an aspiring young horror filmmaker (Donna Mills) who seeks to create her own "Blair Witch"-style mockumentary.