Draft:Derrick Acosta

Derrick Acosta is an American music video director, actor, podcaster and video gamer who co-created the sketch comedy group and public-access web series Mega64, hosts the Mega Strange podcast, and has written multiple broadcasts of the San Diego Film Awards. Acosta was nominated at the 2023 ParaPod Awards and directed music videos for Cult Records, Swami Records, Gary Wilson, and Shepard Fairey.

Early life
Acosta is from San Diego, California, growing up with a theater background in Santee and attending West Hills High School.

Mega64
While in high school drama class, Acosta met Rocco Botte and Shawn Chatfield and the three of them co-created a public-access show called Mega64 in 2003. He claimed early on that he became concerned about running into anyone he might know while filming. At the time, Acosta said YouTube was not an option so it was up to them to find other ways to broadcast their content online. He said there was no focal point to make money at first, but claimed it was an inevitable path to a sustainable career.

Years later, Acosta began hosting a weekly podcast. On one episode, he talked about getting bored with new video games because of his familiarity with them and how similar one game can be to the next. Acosta celebrated Mega64's 15th anniversary at San Diego Comic-Con in 2018 and attended a virtual panel in 2021. The group celebrated the 20th anniversary in 2023.

In an interview with Kill Screen, Acosta mentioned that people should not identify themselves with only one notion. He claims that although he is associated with movies and filmmaking, he wants to be known for his personality traits as well. "I believe the age of art is over. We’re in the post-good art era. The art of the slow-burn is gone. Companies have caught on to the fact that it's easier to make a bad game with a good trailer than simply making a good game in the first place. They bank on the fact that you'll just move on to the next thing, distracted by the latest, newest thing on your phone."

Outside Mega64
Acosta has produced content for Disney, Microsoft, Sony, MTV, Cult Records and Swami Records. As a music video director, he collaborated with Z-Trip, Shepard Fairey, Mrs Magician, Gary Wilson, and Dead Heavens.

In 2020, a doctored image of Acosta was used to portray Randall Sand, a fake political persona that claimed to be an Independent candidate for Arizona's 5th Congressional District.

In 2022, he worked with Jodi Cilley, Jonathan Hammond and Shannon Taylor on the San Diego Film Awards at Hotel del Coronado.

In 2023, Acosta and Johnny Weiss hosted the podcast Mega Strange and were nominated for Best Podcast Hosts at ParaPod Awards. That same year, Acosta was a judge at Demonic Brilliance Film Festival.

In 2024, he appeared in the film Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea at the 13th Oceanside International Film Festival and was cast in a lead role for the film A Corpse in Kensington.