We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matt McClung a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt , thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I wouldn’t ever claim to know the magic ingredient to becoming successful because the definition of success varies wildly from moment-to-moment. I so rarely feel like a “success” or define myself as that, even when it seems like things are going well (possibly more of an issue with me.) However, there are entire industries devoted to overnight success formulas, so my answer would be the exact opposite of that: time! Time, and a sustained, consistent work ethic with the knowledge that it’s likely gonna take awhile, no matter what.

Also, with the artists/creators I know who produce good work and treat others well (my definition of “success”), I’ve noticed that there’s an underlying, unbreakable passion for what they do. Public and financial recognition are so fleeting and far between that you need to find pleasure in it on a day-to-day basis. Time and time again, this is what I’ve noticed and has inspired me to keep going! Protecting that passion is the key to sustaining yourself, or at least it has been in my case. Seeing my peers accomplish different things encourages me to keep going, because I know how much they care and I’ve seen the amount of work they put in.

Matt , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a filmmaker originally from Corpus Christi, TX. My parents are not in film or television, but they regularly took my sister and I to the movies and we inherited our love of the medium from them. Similarly, there was not a commercial film industry in Corpus, but there was a small, devoted group of filmmakers who regularly participated in a local filmmaking competition every summer. It was here, in addition to making movies with my friends on the weekends throughout high school, that really helped me practice my craft and build my enthusiasm for cinema. In high school, I wrote, directed, and edited a feature film over the course of my senior year that turned out to be an enormously instructive experience, and emphasized something I’d learn over and over in the coming years: it’s good to collaborate with other people. That carried over into my time at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and in the years since then, too.

“Proud” is a complicated word because I often feel quite critical about my own work, and it sometimes takes a long time for me to gain a more even-handed perspective on my own contributions to a project. However, I’m currently in the middle of wrapping up my first (official, non high-school) feature film and, so far, that has been the project I’m the most proud of and am excited to share with the world. Getting to collaborate with our actors and watching their performances take shape has been one of the highlights of my life as a filmmaker. That experience was equally matched by seeing the work our production/post-production team did behind-the-scenes and how much insight, expertise, and personality they each brought to their respective roles. The best moment on any film project is when you suddenly feel like you’re just an audience member experiencing the movie for the first time. Working with them, I frequently find myself in this position.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, there are two: The first one is working with other creators and seeing how their interpret our initial ideas and then bring their own unique personality and sensibilities to the project. Those moments make the entire experience worthwhile and justify the more challenging parts of the process.

Also, finally sharing the work with an audience is a big reward – seeing them hopefully complete the sentence that you started. It’s the final step of finishing a project for me.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to make entertaining and accessible (but also thought-provoking) genre films that deliver the goods to an audience while also containing dynamics, ideas, and experiences I feel personally connected to. I want to make movies that grip people, engage them, move them, and (hopefully) remind them why they love movies.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mattmcclungfilm.com/