Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Boylan.
Hi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hello, thank you so much for having me. I am a self made filmmaker, born and raise in Massachusetts. I moved to Los Angeles at the age of nineteen all by myself to pursue acting. I pounded the pavement for years not getting very far as an actress in Hollywood. After ten years of waiting for someone else to choose me, I decided to choose myself. I packed my backs and loaded up my Toyota Corolla and moved to Albuquerque New Mexico. Where I began creating my own films. I found an awesome group of indie filmmakers and we started making our movies. Starting with short films and web series, a small group of us ventured out to make our first feature film. We decided to make a horror/thriller movie, know that they are easily sellable without a star name. I paid out of my own pocket to make our first feature “Home Sweet Home.” We had access to a house in the middle of nowhere New Mexico, so we wrote the film around the location. I casted some of my friends, and with our crew of 3 and 5 on a good day, we successfully shot our first film. Once the film was complete we secured a sales agent and sold this movie to RLJ Releasing and the movie landed on the shelves of Walmart, Video Stores, Red Box and anywhere you can rent or buy a film. That movie jump started my whole career, and I have now taken eight feature films from conception to completion and have sold them all to major distribution companies including Universal Home Entertainment, Netflix, Hulu and Vertical Entertainment. I write my films and produce them, all along the way teaching myself the skills you need to tackle all aspects of the filmmaking process. My next adventure in the film biz will be directing. I just got a group of friends together and we shot a short film, so I could practice directing. I will be directing my next feature film that I wrote alongside my sister. My sister and I own The Boylan Sisters Entertainment, creating strong positive female driven family films.
All of my films are available on Amazon, iTunes and anywhere your rent or buy your entertainment.
- Home Sweet Home
- At Your Own Risk
- Catching Faith 1 & 2
- Wish For Christmas
- Switched
- The Greatest Inheritance
- And the soon to be release “Identity Crisis
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This is a great question. There are so many challenges in being an independent filmmaker, and I have learned many many lessons along the way to building my own career. One of the biggest challenges has been raising the private investment for my films. It is a big responsibility to take peoples money and I don’t take it lightly. That’s why I paid for my first feature, so that I could learn and possibly fail on my own dime. Thank goodness my first feature was very successful and I could use the knowledge from that film to incorporate into all my films to come. Every movie is a building block to learn upon, to grow and become better with each film endeavor. I am tenacious and I don’t give up, and I have earned the respect and trust of my financiers. I have learned the importance of listening to experts in their field, to surround yourself with people who smarted than you, so you can learn from them. I am also very loyal, I have been working with some of the same people for over ten years now. We have all grown together and continue to hone our craft. Always be kind, always be gracious, you are building your tribe that will go on this journey with. No man is an island, and it takes a village to make a film. Looking back on my trajectory of my career, I am so thankful for the perfect timing that has brought me to where I am today. I believe we made “Home Sweet Home” at a perfect time, right before the industry started to change significantly. Had we made that movie even a year later, I’m not sure we would have sold it. There have been so many challenges along the way, but also so many blessings in being at the right place at the right time. I met a lot of incredible talented people at the beginning of their careers, and we have literally come up the ladder together. I thought I would go on to make more horror films after my first feature, but when the opportunity arouse for me to make faith based family films, I quickly pivoted my career. I have always been willing to pivot, to change, to listen, and that has made all the difference in my career. Whenever you set out to trailblazer and create your own career it is never easy, it takes determination, and grit and grind, the hustle is real and it never ends. Things don’t get better they get bigger, so continue to prepare yourself for the next up hill climb.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I published a book called “Create Your Own Career in Hollywood” which is available on Amazon. I want to inspire, encourage and equip other indie filmmakers to create their own career. Do not wait for someone to choose you, choose yourself and begin to take the steps today in securing the future you have always wanted. No one will ever hand you anything, or give you your career, you must work hard and really love being a filmmaker. The love of the craft will sustain you through the hard times and the rejection. My book goes through my career trajectory from my first feature film to my seventh. I share all of my tricks and tips that have served me. From teaching myself how to write screenplays, to securing locations and a cast and crew, to what you need to grab the attention of a distribution company and an audience that will buy your film.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Happiness to me is when my heart is filled with joy. When I come up with a screenplay idea that sets my heart on fire, I feel happy. When I hear messages from young girls from around the world that my movie changed their lives, I feel happy. In this industry it is really important to have a well rounded life. Filmmaking can be all consuming and it has taken me years to slow down and enjoy my life, not just hustle to make the next film. I am a workaholic, and it can be hard for me take down time. But I learned that taking breaks is so important for a healthy mentality and a creative spirit. I come up with my best idea’s when I’m not in the office working. I love hiking, and laying by the pool reading books, and I love being with husband playing cards in our backyard. Being in nature makes me happy, and it also gets my creative juices running. Being happy to me is to be fulfilled creatively and personally.
Contact Information:
- Facebook: Alexandra Boylan
- Instagram: @alexandraboylan
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