Meet William Boodell | Writer / Director / Editor

We had the good fortune of connecting with William Boodell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi William, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Right now I think about risk in my career and life as doing the things I want to do but which also frighten me. In fact, these things frighten me the most. For a long time I avoided them because I was afraid I wasn’t skilled enough or worthy of success. I was afraid to fail, afraid of disappointing others and myself. In the last ten years I’ve been learning that this is all nonsense. I am recognizing that I am immensely talented and powerful, and that all I need to do is create. Some work will turn out better than others. That’s the nature of doing anything in life. You work with what you have. You put your mind, body and soul to it, and you work. That’s what matters.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m still a beginner, but I’ve gotten this far by getting out of my own way, working hard and persistence. I’ve also learned to be patient with myself and others. What sets me apart is absolutely my creativity and hard work, and my ambition to empower people through story. I have very definite tastes about what to do as a storyteller, and that changes from story to story. These stories tell me their secrets, and I just listen. Often many outside and inside elements try to distract me from the voice, but I just keep listening to the stories.

I’m a writer/director through and through. When I step onto a set, I know I belong there determining what happens and how it happens. It comes as naturally as breathing. I greatly enjoy bringing out the best in my cast and crew. It’s terribly exciting to watch. My editing has been a remarkable learning process that has shown me every other facet of filmmaking and helped me to previsualize when I’m on set. I’m very proud of helping to turn a tiny little throw-away tv movie into a global billion dollar sensation. As a novice editor, I saw that we could do something fun with it rather than let it be boring like so many before it, and to our good fortune, millions of people agreed. That was gratifying because I worked hard to protect that story and help it be weird and fun. It taught me something I knew intellectually, but there I saw it firsthand. Trust that inner voice. I’m proud of all the movies I’ve worked my way through as an editor helping them to be the best they could be, whether anyone was paying attention or not. That’s another thing I’ve learned. Take the time to appreciate your own work. Your own appreciation matters by far the most. I’m incredibly proud of the short projects that I’ve been writing and directing, and the recognition and awards they’ve won, from premiering at festivals like Fantasia to showing at the American Cinematheque. The relationships I’ve formed on these movies and as a result of them have been wonderful.

My journey into features and television thrills me. I cannot wait to show audiences stories they’ve never seen before, or at least in ways they’ve never seen before. Currently, I have a few features that I’m extremely excited to shoot. I don’t want to talk about projects still in motion, but go see them when they’re out! I’m also excited to meet more soldiers of cinema who want to go on this crazy journey with me.

My focus is on writing and directing suspense thrillers. The play between suspense, dramatic tension and catharsis is fascinating, and thrillers are endlessly malleable, as many have shown. In fact, I believe one can do just about anything with any genre. I love to show people something they haven’t seen before, present questions and leave them thinking about it all afterward, preferably for a long time.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would probably take them around Hollywood, my hood. We’d hit some of the tourist traps like Sunset Strip, the Walk of Fame, The Whisky a Go Go and the Chinese Theater but also the parks and canyons. I love hiking as cliche as that is. You work out and experience nature and the city. I love climbing things. You also get to people-watch, and in LA people love to be watched! I would probably take them down Mulholland Drive with its lush, sunburned views of the city. Maybe I’d show them things that mean something to me like The Egyptian Theater, places I’ve lived or where fun cinematic things have happened. I’m not a foodie, but I typically like to tell my friends about El Coyote restaurant and take them there if they’re interested. I’d want them to experience The Valley. It’s an interesting place to me, and each section has its own flavor. At some point we’d go to the beach and jump in.

Are there people you’d like to give a shout out to in thanks?
The people who deserve credit for my survival and success are truly myriad. It took a village to raise this one, and it wasn’t easy: My parents, Elisabet and William; my close friends and additional parents, Patsy O’Daniel and Valerie Franklin; extended family like my cousin, Dorothy and uncle, Tom; remarkable teachers such as Eugene Moutoux, Kenny Karem, Joe Czarnik, Christian Messenger and Virginia Wexman; countless friends throughout life such as Daniel Amos, David Narang, Anders Hoffmann and many, many beautiful people I haven’t mentioned. Incredible studies, art and ideas of all kinds have also played an enormous part in my formation thus far. The universe and its inhabitants teach me daily.

Website: www.williamboodell.com

Instagram: @instaboodell

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boodell/

Twitter: @boodell

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3116399/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_8

Image Credits
L-R, Top to Bottom William Boodell William Boodell Shiva Jabbari FilmQuest William Boodell Samantha Chadbourne William Boodell Brent Dunham