We recently had the chance to connect with Joey Coalter and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joey, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I like mornings. I like to take it slow, make myself some coffee and sit with my thoughts. But most importantly, I try to start writing in the first hour of the day. I find if I start writing the second I wake up, I’m still too tired to think to myself if what I am working on is a bad idea or not. It eliminates any self doubt I have, and I just get to work on the idea and let it unfold. By the time the caffeine kicks in an hour later I can reflect on it, see if it’s an idea I want to continue for the rest of the day or move on, but at that point I already have a couple pages of an idea. Even on bad days I try to write a page, because I realized very quickly that a page a day builds up and you’ll have a short story or film or scene or whatever at the end of the week.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a Writer, Director, and Producer. Most people know me for the short film I made Arizona State University
I just started my own production company, Magic Bottle Entertainment,
In May 2025, I finished my Master of Fine Arts degree at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. My latest short film, The Stolen Wish (2023), premiered on the opening day of the 2024 Phoenix Film Festival and was awarded 6th Place for Overall Score at the 2024 Show Low Film Festival. and continue creating films that blend dark comedy with the whimsy of everyday life.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I never thought I would have the ability to do what I am doing today. As a kid I was quiet, shy, and very anti-social. I still am those things to some extent, but I remember seeing directors I admired as a kid on TV, like Spielberg, they lead crews of hundreds of people. I thought I could never do that. When I first wanted to get into film, I wanted to be an animator cause I thought I could sit in a quiet room and never talk to anyone, which also is not true by the way. But I have grown so much, now I have done dozens of projects leading large teams of people and getting to know them as friends. Even on a smaller scale, one of my favorite parts of the job now is getting to work with actors, have deep conversations about the emotions of the scene and getting them into the moment. I don’t think my childhood self would believe we are the same person, but I think they would be proud.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I would tell myself to keep creating and be proud of everything you make. I think a huge reason why I pursed an artistic career was the simple complements I was given as a child. I have memories of parents and teachers saying my drawings were in elementary school. That’s all I needed to keep going.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Everyday I read about how the film industry is failing or ending or whatever because you see the dwindling box office numbers all the time. I don’t think that is true. I think where and how people watch things changed and the industry is still struggling to keep up. I try to talk to non-industry people about where and what kind of things they watch, and it’s rarely in theaters anymore. It can’t be used as a measure of success. Please don’t get me wrong, I love the theatrical experience. I love it so much and have been thinking long and hard how to keep it alive in the modern day. To the public eye the theatrical experience has changed, it’s become a niche experience. It’s expensive, and everything that’s in theaters now they can watched on a streamer they already pay for a month later, so they are encouraged to just wait. One of the goals of my production company Magic Bottle Entertainment is finding new ways to make movies that are still worth the theatrical experience, that don’t have to be blockbusters to get people into seats. The best part of the theatrical experience is that it is communal. I love making comedies, and no matter how much I laugh at a movie at home it’s even funnier when laughing with strangers in a room together. I think theaters still have a place in the world, but they need to evolve and we can’t judge the success of the industry on them anymore. Of course most content people watch today is online, Netflix, TikTok, etc. and I love that experience too. It’s a very personal viewing experience and the once most people prefer right now. That’s full of opportunities too. I have many thoughts on that too, too many to talk about here, but I have exciting plans for that too.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
It hit me when I graduated from my Masters at USC a few months ago that I had accomplished everything I had set out to do at the age of ten. I attended college, I worked as a cartoonist, I build the Lego USC Millennium Falcon that I had wanted since childhood, and I had become a director and made multiple films I was proud of, all before I have even turned thirty. Now I still have a long way to go career wise, but at the simplest level I accomplished that I set out to do as a kid, and that really brings me joy every day. And even though I just mentioned how the industry is changing, theaters and streamers are failing, AI is taking over, and everything else. It’s kind of scary, but I am embracing it. The industry I work in is changing and I am a young filmmaker and artist in the middle of it. I get to be that change. It’s very exciting.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joeycoalter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joeycoalter/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@joeycoalter
