Meet Levi Alexander | Writer

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

Hi Levi, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I always thought I was going to be an entrepreneur. In high school, I took ten business electives, and then I spent three years studying entrepreneurship in college. I was even on a competitive entrepreneurship team. My plan was to either take over my dad’s company or start one of my own. But reality hit when I failed accounting twice, struggled to understand economics, and found most of my classes to be exceptionally boring—except for the creative ones like marketing and graphic design.

After a few more detours (involving a year of competitive snowboarding full time in CO), I discovered that I loved movies more than almost anyone I’d ever met. I remember a friend telling me they watch about ten movies a year, which blew my mind since I average at least one movie a day. This was eye opening because it never occurred to me that not everyone watched a movie every night before bed. Truly everything in my life was influenced by movies – I played guitar because of Marty McFly in Back to the Future, I played piano because of River Phoenix in Running on Empty, I had a *very* quick foray into 4th grade soccer because of Goal!: The Dream Begins. I thought everyone was as intertwined with pop culture and media as I was.

And then I ended up on a film set while babysitting a director’s kids for extra cash in college. I got to meet a working director, famous actors, tons of amazing crew and, suddenly, a career in film felt tangible. I dropped out of business school and enrolled in film school in Vermont, where I thrived. Afterward, I went on to get my MFA in film production from USC thinking that I wanted to be a director. Covid hit and I pivoted to writing and realized that I have a lot to say and I know how I want to say it. I’ve really been locked in on a writing career ever since.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think what sets me apart is not just the sheer (admittedly insane) volume of movies I watch- I average between 400-500 a year- but how my extra film literacy allows me to see both the beauty of the filmmaking that came before me, but also the gaps in the stories not being told. I’m constantly inspired by the movies I watch, but I’m also acutely aware of what’s missing – especially when it comes to authentic representation.

For example: growing up, I’d never seen a trans person represented in media. Like… at all. I didn’t even know what the concept of transgenderism was. The first time I encountered a trans person was in the film Boys Don’t Cry, where the character is brutally raped and murdered simply for existing. I can draw a direct correlation between seeing that movie in high school and not allowing myself to come to terms with my own identity until I was 25 years old.

This really fuels my work today. I want to tell stories that don’t just reflect the human condition, but also offer positive, nuanced representations of underrepresented communities. Watching so many movies really helps me navigate the fine line between homage and innovation – I know what’s worked in the past and what hasn’t and I can use that knowledge to craft stories that, hopefully, resonate on a deeper level.

I’ve discovered that sometimes the wrong representation can be more harmful than no representation at all, which is why I want to create art that speaks truthfully and positively about the human condition – all of the human condition – through as many lenses as possible.

Based on what I’ve learned to this point, the best advice I can give is watch everything and say yes to everything. You need to watch everything, everything, everything so you can know what has worked and what hasn’t and why those things worked or didn’t. Plus, having seen everything means you can have conversations no matter what show/movie people are talking about. And then when you’re starting out in this industry – just say yes to everything and figure it out as you go. Someone wants help on set? Say yes and figure it out. You get asked to a networking coffee? Say yes and make it happen.

My brand and my story are about bridging the gap between inspiration and representation to write movies that not only entertain but also empower. At the end of the day, I’m just a guy who really, really, really loves movies.

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’m such home body so this is always tough.

Pre covid we’d be going to my favorite place in the world – the Arclight. RIP, Arclight.

Now I generally build an itinerary for visiting friends based around food, coffee and movies.

Food – Mel’s Diner in Sherman Oaks, Bob’s in Toluca Lake, Mendocino Farms (it’s a must), Humphrey Yogart in Sherman Oaks.

Coffee – Priscilla’s in Toluca Lake is my go-to.

Will definitely drag someone to Street Food Cinema if it’s in season, maybe one of the live orchestra screenings of movies at the Hollywood Bowl, Roof Top cinema club, or even just catch something at the AMC at City Walk – they all feel like pretty fun “LA” movie experiences.

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?
Filmmaking is so collaborative and I feel like my journey has also been a massive web of collaboration.

My parents, Sharon and Bob. My brother, Jordan.

Julia Swift from Champlain College and Irving Beleteche from USC – both really have shaped my screenwriters brain in a way that I’ll never be able to thank them for enough.

Peter Benedek, Eric Brassard and Rafe Judkins for being incredible mentors and the best series of first bosses a guy could ask for while entering this industry.

The homies: Hailey Robinson, Nick Powell, Josie Andrews for reading and reading and reading my work over and over again.

And lastly, as funny as it sounds – my summer camps growing up: Camp Half Moon and High Cascade Snowboard Camp – these places taught me that I have a voice and how to use it and spending my summers at these places is single handedly the most important thing that ever happened to me.

Instagram: @levitariff

Image Credits
Nick Powell