[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: HOT SEAT is currently the number two movie on Amazon’s Freevee. Number one is DEN OF THIEVES, I believe.
With HOT SEAT being number two, did you believe this could happen?
Collin Watts, Screenwriter: I did not. When my co-writer [Leon Langford] and I came up with the concept, we thought it had a lot of potential. It would be a lot of fun. But no, I actually didn’t know that. That’s very cool. That’s very awesome. I think it’s a fresh movie and I know a lot of people really enjoy it.
Film Courage: And is HOT SEAT the first feature script you’ve written?
Collin: HOT SEAT was the first feature script that I got produced. I had written several before, but that was the one that was the one that finally got made as a feature film.
Film Courage: Were you hired to write HOT SEAT as a spec or you came up with it?
Collin: No, me and my co-writer, we are always kind of cooking up with new action ideas. We wanted to do something kind of contained, really fun. We’re basically like SPEED in a chair would be very fun.
We came up with a concept. We wrote the script on our own and then we were pitching around and got some interest on it. They optioned it and I think about a year later they went to production with it.
It was a pretty quick process from option to production.
Film Courage: When you and your co-writer meet, because this is not your first project, I think that you’ve written?
Collin: Yeah, we write individually now, but for a while we were working as a writing team.
Film Courage: Would you meet and discuss, let’s say a news story and say, This would be cool if we added this twist to it.
Collin: Yeah. I mean, I think it was always kind of working on a current project and then we’d go grab lunch and we’d always just be spitballing ideas.
I remember vividly us coming up with this when we were just grabbing tacos and just talking about like, what can we do that is literally like one room?…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).
About:
Collin Watts is a Los Angeles based screenwriter with a focus on creating genre films with a personal touch. Originally from Illinois, he is a graduate of Florida State University and the UCLA professional screenwriting program.
Collin began his career by writing several successful short films that premiered in over 30 festivals worldwide including “The Wretched” and “Sunnyvale” which both premiered at Screamfest Los Angeles. Four of his feature scripts placed in top screenwriting contests including the Austin film Festival, the tracking board top ten, and the Cinestory Foundation.
Collin wrote his first feature, “HOT SEAT”. The film was released theatrically in 2022, and starred Mel Gibson, Kevin Dillon, and Shanon Doherty.
In 2023, he wrote and produced “THIS LAND,” a topical horror film that was released on VOD from Terror Films.
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