Rising Stars: Meet Matthew Pelton of Culver City, CA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Pelton.

Hi Matthew, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I first found my love for movies through my dad. Every time there was a new kids movie in theaters as my brother and I were growing up, he took us to it. If I’m being honest, most of the time he was completely miserable or asleep, but my brother and I were having the time of our lives. The theater, the popcorn, the giant screen (especially to a 3 year old kid), I genuinely couldn’t get enough and it very quickly turned into an obsession. From the age of 5 to around 22 I had a giant Ferris Bueller’s Day Off poster right next to my bed, so I woke up every morning with Matthew Broderick staring at me telling me how awesome leisure was. Life was great.
Middle school is really when I started getting into film-making. I met a couple of new people in 6th grade that I thought seemed cool and were into film-making, so I just hopped on board and feigned an interest so I could be in the group. We called ourselves the Movie Gang (great name, I know) and my fake interest slowly transformed into a real interest. I started going through directors’ filmographies like Kubrick and Spielberg , and I refused to look back. Before I knew it, I was graduating Emerson College with a bachelors In Film, going to Loyola Marymount University for a masters degree in Directing Narrative Features, and launching my own production company, Quaywood Productions. So cheers to the movie gang!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not. I won’t bore you with all the details, but for some reason I initially thought it would be a good idea to go to Emerson as a poetry major. Lord knows what I was on at the time, but let’s just say I very very quickly learned my mistake. At the end of my freshman year, I tried to transfer into the film program, but Emerson shut me down saying I didn’t come close to meeting the GPA requirement and didn’t have enough experience in filmmaking to qualify. I wasn’t gonna quit that easily though, and for three months I sent the head of the film department and the registration office an email every single day begging them to reconsider. Finally, they caved and I got a meeting with the head of the entire film department at the time.
I vividly remember walking into her office because she was clearly very annoyed with me before I even spoke. In her defense, I did sort of harass her for three months. I think the first words out of her mouth were “what do you want?”, so if that doesn’t immediately set the tone, I don’t know what does. I sat across from her and begged to be let into the film program for about 10 minutes before she finally cut me off and agreed… kinda. She said I had to “prove myself”, refused to elaborate, and then kicked me out. So I worked hard to get straight A’s, got on as many film sets as I possibly could, took as many film classes as they would let me, joined a film fraternity, and even made my first short film, Riverfork Community College, all within one semester. I sent her an email in December outlining everything I did to “prove myself”, and it worked – they let me into the film program! From there, it’s been smooth sailing!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a writer/director (though mostly the latter). I’ve written and directed four fully independent short films so far: Riverfork Community College, A Triptych About Water, Please Don’t Lick The Psychedelic Toad, and Your Mama’s Pie. We’ve been incredibly lucky and fortunate that all four have gone on to have a ton of success in multiple film festivals, so with that, I guess I’m known for being at least half-decent at what I do.
I would like to sit here and say I’m most proud of the accolades my short films have received, but I feel like I can’t actually take full credit for any of those four. I got to work with such an amazing cast and crew on each project, some of them being people I want to work with for the rest of my life, and those short films wouldn’t be what they are without them. I just got to stand on set and shout directions – they did all the actual hard work. So in reality, I’m actually most proud of getting to be the leader of amazingly talented groups of people.
And what sets me apart? I don’t know anyone else coming up with titles like Please Don’t Lick The Psychedelic Toad and Your Mama’s Pie, so at the very least I got that going for me.

What matters most to you?
I want to create something that’s meaningful. It doesn’t have to be meaningful to everyone. As long as it’s meaningful to just one person, I can die a happy man.
I think movies, unlike any other art form, have this weird ability to seem like it was made just for you. I remember watching The Way Way Back for the first time and having my mind blown. It was like seeing my life on screen as these fictional characters seemed to embody my exact worries and struggles. Going further, movies like Into The Wild showed me a side of myself I didn’t even know was there: a side of adventure and discovery that would have sat dormant if I had never watched it. I’ve seen so many movies that have changed the way I view the world, have made me a better person, and have truly taken permanent room in my heart. If I can replicate that feeling for someone with something that I make – I don’t know what else could be better than that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.quaywoodproductions.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/immatthewpelton/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Quaywood-Productions/61576260956354/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-pelton-92a6b0191/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@QuaywoodProductions

Image Credits
Ally Giust: Behind the Scenes Photography
Nick Warner: Film Stills from Riverfork Community College, A Triptych About Water, Please Don’t Lick The Psychedelic Toad, and Your Mama’s Pie