Meet Alexander Watson | Indie Film Writer and Director

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

Hi Alexander, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Growing up I came from a family who always had a great sense of humor. I was also taught at a very young age about art, theatre, and of course film. I remember the very first thing I started doing when exploring being artistic was doing magic shows for my family. When my parents got divorced, I took care of my little brother a lot while my mom was working the nightshift. One day we got an old camera from my grandpa. I started to use it to make little movies with my brother. We blew up Legos, made a batman short video with an old costume we had, and of course we made a horror video about a haunted mask. Clearly just ripping it off from a Goosebumps book we loved. I think the reason it hooked me was seeing my mom’s reaction when she would come home and see what we made. Laughing and enjoying it. I was usually a pretty shy kid. But movies had a place for me, and I loved helping others escape.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I realized that maybe I should try to make a go at filmmaking when I was in the middle of making a documentary about Star Wars Fan Films. Some people were putting tens of thousands of dollars into these projects, all for just the love of the film. While I was making it, we got word that Disney had bought Lucasfilm and was going to start doing the film festival again at the Star Wars Celebration. I submitted my film, and we won audience choice and best non-fiction film. And if that wasn’t enough, Disney ended up buying my documentary. I used those funds to move to Los Angeles and have been here ever since 2016. The honeymoon phase was amazing. The best food in the word around the corner from my apartment, working on set with actors and crew I’ve always admired, but then my car died. I couldn’t go to work as a PA on sets because you need a car. I had to walk to my part time job working at a comic bookstore that was pretty far from me. After, I would take a bus from the valley into Hollywood so I could keep up with my comedy writing and film classes. When I finally got a new car, and a new job as an editor, thing started to look up. Editing really took off, and I soon found myself working on the television department at the Fox lot. I was working for shows like 911, Simpsons, American Horror Story, Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and more.

But I wasn’t super happy. I was so honored to be working on shows that I loved but wanted to tell my stories. All that came to a halt when we all went into lock down in 2020. There was nothing much to do but write. So, even though I’ve worked on several feature film scripts up until that point, I decided to write one that I was going to make no matter what. I would write it using elements that I know I could use. For example, I have friends who own a theater in my hometown. So, my movie would take place in a theater. That’s how my first film Bundy Manor starter to form. Once the script was complete, I asked all my filmmaking friends for support, and they hopped on board. We started a Kickstarter and we raised $60k to make it happen. It was brutal but was seriously so much fun. Once that film was released, we actually were on the “top horror movie list” on Tubi during the month of October.

Then came my next film that is currently in post-production, Demonetize. We started off knowing that we wanted this film to be bigger than Bundy Manor but also weren’t above doing the Kickstarter route if it meant getting out movie made. I spent a lot of time with my co-writer Janine Hogan working on the script. Fine tuning it, getting feedback, and working for almost two years to get it to a great point. The hard work paid off. As we sent it to some of our favorite actors, we were actually getting responses. The movie came together and everything I learned from my first film I applied to this film. And I can already see the difference.

I think the biggest thing I would want anyone to take away from my story is that no one is going to just knock at your door and hand you a check to make your dream film. But if you build your own door of opportunity and walk through it, you have a much bigger chance of becoming a full-time filmmaker and reaching your goals. It’s not easy. And I have had a million Nos before I get the YES. It’s a process. But it’s so worth it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love showing off this great city of Los Angeles. What I love about it the most is that there is a place for everyone. And I love when someone comes to visit because I can tailor a trip to what they are interested in. But in general here are some of my favorite places to take people.

For breakfast you got to do Bobs Big Boy, Horror Vibes Coffee, Aroma Coffee, or Castaway for brunch.

Day activities have to be the Warner Brother Lot Tour, walking down Magnolia and checking out vintage shops, Aquarium of the Pacific, the beach, driving down Topanga Canyon,

For lunch we got Kura Sushi, Mucho Mas, Porto’s, and Birrieria San Marcos.

For night activities you can’t go wrong with Karaoke at The Good Night, Mystic Museum, catching a movie at Vidiots, and seeing improv or comedy at The Comedy Store or Dynasty Typewriter.

And a special shout out to my all-time favorite place ever that EVERYONE should go once in their life: Grand Central Market!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people to shout out in my story. My mother, my family, my best friends, my partner, anyone how had worked with my company J-WAT Productions. But I think my biggest shoutout has to be my uncle Chris Zollinger. Ever since I started showing love for making films, he took me to my very first festival. Which just so happened to be Sundance. Living in Utah does have its perks when it comes to the amazing film festivals featured there. He has always championed me, been my biggest fan, been on set, and always giving me new movies to watch.

Website: https://jwatproductions.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wattymcfly/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-watson-a6853614b/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jwatproductions

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jwatproductions

Other: Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-j-wat-podcast/id1677148226

Image Credits
Photo Credit Josh Bragg