Chateau Bow Wow
Château Bow Wow is a bold, culture-driven podcast celebrating Latino excellence across entertainment and beyond. Hosted by acclaimed writer, director, actor, and creator of the internationally successful sci-fi feature FLUX, Geraldo J Uscategui brings listeners powerful conversations with Latino artists, performers, singers, filmmakers, writers, and industry leaders who are shaping film, music, television, and creative media worldwide.
Each episode delivers raw interviews, authentic storytelling, behind the scenes insight, and captivating live performances that spotlight Hispanic heritage, independent film, creative entrepreneurship, and multicultural impact. From groundbreaking Latino filmmakers and recording artists to innovators making waves in business and the arts, Château Bow Wow dives into the mindset, resilience, and vision behind real success stories.
If you are passionate about representation in media, Latino culture, impactful storytelling, and unfiltered conversations with creators who are changing the game, this podcast was built for you. Château Bow Wow is more than a show. It is a platform amplifying powerful voices and celebrating the influence of Latino talent across the global entertainment industry.
Chateau Bow Wow
"Building Indie Film Dreams" - Featuring Director Alejandro Montoya Marin
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In this energetic and inspiring episode of Chateau Bow Wow, host Geraldo Uscategui sits down with filmmaker, writer, director, and actor Alejandro Montoya Marin for a raw conversation about independent filmmaking, creative resilience, fundraising, networking, and building a career from the ground up.
From film school in Canada to working in Los Angeles and producing projects in Mexico, Alejandro shares the unconventional path that led him to direct acclaimed indie projects like The Unexpected, Millennium Bugs, and The Wrong Guy. The conversation dives deep into the realities of indie filmmaking, balancing creativity with business, crowdfunding, surviving rejection, and why filmmakers need to stop waiting for permission and simply create.
Alejandro also reflects on working alongside Eva Longoria on Flamin' Hot, shadowing major productions, and learning how preparation and adaptability shape great directors. Geraldo and Alejandro connect over their shared passion for storytelling, building loyal creative circles, and creating authentic Latino stories that go beyond stereotypes.
This episode is packed with honesty, humor, filmmaking wisdom, and practical insight for creatives chasing big dreams with limited resources.
Key Takeaways
• Why indie filmmakers must stop waiting for permission
• The importance of networking and relationship-building
• How resilience and preparation shape successful creators
Episode Highlights
• Alejandro’s journey from Mexico to Hollywood filmmaking
• Behind-the-scenes stories from The Unexpected
• Working with Eva Longoria and learning from major productions
• Honest advice about fundraising and indie film struggles
• Why versatility matters as a filmmaker and storyteller
To learn more about Alejandro Please Visit https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3235413/
Hola mi gente, how goes it? Welcome to our latest episode of Chateau Bow Wow. Today's guest is an awesome dude I met out in LA, a very talented filmmaker. I'm a great dude with a great crew, which I've uh become friends with some other guys. I want you to welcome Alejandro Montoya Marin, awesome filmmaker. Say hello.
SPEAKER_04How are you guys? Manny. Herdo, thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_03Sure thing, sure thing. Where are you right now?
SPEAKER_04I'm in Medina, Yucatan, Mexico.
SPEAKER_03Wow. That's a lot of syllables.
SPEAKER_04Two hours south of Cancun. That's where people will know.
SPEAKER_03Very nice.
SPEAKER_04It was like a nice place though over there. It's dope. It's all jungle. It's super hot, but it's a different pace of life, which is great, and it's a good like step away from Los Angeles.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. What's funny is that's where we met. We met Los Angeles. I became acquainted with you. We went to the uh premiere for The Unexpected.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04Which was an awesome film. September? Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it was awesome. They went to dinner, we hung out, and that was cool too. Um, tell me about the unexpecteds, man, because again, that's the first time I came across you. And since then, I've been following your work and you know your crew and everything, and you guys are doing awesome things. Tell me about the unexpected.
SPEAKER_04The unexpected. Well, it's an action comedy, and it's about a group of friends who trying to better their lives, they invest on in someone that turns out to be a fraud and scams them of their life savings. So when they start feeling the repercussions, whether it's their families or their jobs or whatever, all their savings go to go kaput. They figure out another plan to get the money back, which is taking the money from the scammer. So it's uh it's a heist film between suburban friends, and we premiered it in September. It came out on mid-October of last year. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Very cool. Very cool. Listen, I it's a fun movie. I saw it and I was like, wow, this is really cool. And I got into your work. Um, what I didn't realize was how how much involved John Kaler was with your work. He is hilarious. Now, is he like a production partner as well?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we started push start together when we did The Wrong Guy. We did a short film in Jesus, 2020, 2021 called The Wrong Guy. So, what we met with my second feature film called Millennium Bugs. And Millennium Bugs, we did a Y2K comedy before Y2K A24, like for four years before. And that's where we started becoming friends, and we were like, hey, we should do something together. From there, from that movie, we did The Wrong Guy and another short film called Blood Positive, which is a short film that I did that has like no comedy whatsoever. Zero.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_04And which is very different from all the work that I do. And then from there, we've done commercials and and and then we did this movie.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I I I watched The Wrong Guy. I I saw it on YouTube. Hilarious. And again, dude, John Cale's a funny, funny dude. He's really great.
SPEAKER_04I agree. He's a funny guy.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, funny how he was great as uh what what what was the uh funny how? What was his character, Metal Mike and the Unexpected?
SPEAKER_04Metal Mike, yeah, man. It's uh I love that character.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, dude, his characters are awesome. But most importantly, it's your writing is is is is great, man. You know, because I see your films, yeah, and I I'm never bored. Like I know that whatever's gonna happen, like I'm what whatever I'm watching, is I've seen Millennium Bug. I saw the wrong guy, and I saw The Unexpecteds. Again, I you know I delved into your work somewhat. And um, again, your writing is awesome. And I I really appreciate you know because it's always something coming. So I tr it feel really great.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I I when when I read reviews of people like, oh, this movie's boring, I'm like, what the hell, dude? Yeah. I go and watch the movies and go, like, I I know I'm hyper, so I try to like slow it down. Not everyone thinks like you, so I try to not slow it down like I have to explain things. No, no, no. It's instead of just throwing out and I try to, you know, hey, this there's gotta be a rhythm, a beat. And so thank you for saying that because that's I try. I try to that's my importance as a writer and as a director, is I don't want to bore the audience. If they're paying money to watch my movie or our movie, I want to entertain them.
SPEAKER_03Right. Well, what I've learned is guessing, you know, I'm a writer myself, I don't read the comments because everybody's gonna have something negative or something positive. You know, you can't you can't even take the positive ones too like too seriously, you know, you don't want to get full of yourself. And people are always gonna drag you, no matter what. It doesn't matter what it is, somebody will find something wrong with it. So I don't read the comments, I don't bother with that. I think that you've earned the respect and the admiration of your fellow filmmakers and your and your peers, and I think that's what really counts most. You know what I mean? Because people always have an opinion. Thank you. What do you like more? Because I saw I saw you acting as well, and we'll get into that later. Then uh again, you now you but you you know you you write and you direct. Which one do you prefer?
SPEAKER_04Directing.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, me too.
SPEAKER_04A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_03Tell me why.
SPEAKER_04Why? Yeah, because I think you writing is awesome. I like to do it, I like to submerge myself with music, I like to feel something, and then from depending on how I wake up and how I slept, and if I had any issues with my girlfriend or my friend or whatever, that's the energy I put into the the genre. Usually I have about two or three scripts that I'm working at the same time. And if I didn't sleep, I'm in a bad mood. Well, I write a thriller or a horror. If I'm like very tired and I need to pick me up, I'll drink some coffee, I'll blast some good music, and then I'll write an action scene or you know, something like that. I like writing. I'm not saying I don't. I like being able to be by myself and think about these ideas. Like, oh, what if it goes this way? What if it goes that way? What if it does no, that's been done too many times, or like, like, I don't know, man. We need it, we need like a session for horror movies. I haven't been afraid of a horror movie in a decade. We already know when the music starts rising, something's coming, or the shot is if the shot is like this, something's gonna appear here.
SPEAKER_02I mean, yeah, no, it's so true.
SPEAKER_04And I think that there's people that were like, I can't hold my emotions because I know something's coming. I'm like, well, okay, then then I don't know. I just feel my point being in directing, you submerge yourself with all the other aspects of creating the artwork, not just the writing, but the acting, the music, the locations, all that stuff. So I I like being able to unite all of them to make the project even more evident or close to finish. So I think directing.
SPEAKER_03I feel the same. I I don't love being on camera and I've had to take like uh courses and workshops to speak on camera because I'm not naturally prone to speak. Like I always tell everybody I talk a lot of shit, but you put this mic on.
SPEAKER_04Funny because you have a podcast.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I talk a lot of shit. But you put this mic in front of me, and I used to get so just withdraw, you know, and I'm still kind of like that. I'm I'm still socially uh I pull back into corners and stuff because it's you know, I prefer being a wallflower now. But when it comes to filmmaking, going back to my question, I really love because I like to see the shot, and maybe you have the same process. Do you when I write a film, and you know, I have a bunch of films as well, and we kind of have the same process. Do you watch it with your mind's eye as you write it?
SPEAKER_04Well, you have to.
SPEAKER_03You have to.
SPEAKER_04I usually I I'm very involved in editing, so I'm also I'm I don't waste time. So I know what we need. I don't like directors that are always going 13, 14 hours, because that does just doesn't mean that means that they don't know what they're doing or they're unprepared or they want to cover their asses when they're when they're editing. So I don't like wasting people's time. But yes, you have to I I vocalize it often, like, hey, this shot, then we cut to this, or we cut to the like I'm trying to not only watch the movie, but edit it in my head.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I know the shot, right? So it's like even when I when I write and I do my cuts and I do my transitions, I know the shot. And so when I meet and we do the the the all the shots that we're gonna get and the shot list, I and I see it, I'm like, that's not the shot. That's not the shot. And I know it because in my in my head, I saw it a certain way. I can be persuaded to be different, right? I can be persuaded to be like, oh well, let's try this. And then okay, we'll try both, you know, but I'm probably gonna use mine, right? But um, but um, you you have an awesome eye, and again, you you're you're directing is you get every moment, and I love that.
SPEAKER_04Well, thank you, man. Yeah. I wish more people thought like you, more people saw it.
SPEAKER_03I think I think I think most people do. And like I said, I I I just don't look we, you know, we get dragged a few times in some of the things that we've done, and that's okay because people are always gonna you know have an opinion and people always gonna say, Oh, I could have done this, then then do it. If you could make a better film, if if you're a better writer, what's stopping you, right? So ahead.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, go go ahead. Go entertain me. I want to see good movies.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Um tell me something about your background. Like you you you you ended up in LA how? Like, how did that end up saying, you know, did you one day say, you know, I gotta move to LA?
SPEAKER_04This is my background, my mom.
SPEAKER_03Oh, well, that's it. Like, um, how did you end up in LA saying, you know what? I'm gonna be a filmmaker. When did that happen when you got that boom? This is what I'm gonna do with my life.
SPEAKER_04I was in Laredo, Texas. I mean, I was born in Laredo, Texas, raised in Mexico here in Medida. I lived for a good six or seven years, and then I went to Monterrey in the in the north part of Mexico.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_04After Monterrey, I went to Canada to study film school. From Canada, I went to Albuquerque and then Albuquerque, LA.
SPEAKER_03Good God. That's a that's the traveled road right there. And and every time I talk to you, you're on the road. You're too big, right? How many times have we messaged the dude? Because I've been meaning to get you on this podcast. Um, again, a lot of things didn't work out. You came to Orlando and I was traveling then when I got here.
SPEAKER_04Dude, I was in Orlando. What the hell?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, which was it's actually like 90 minutes uh kind of north of me. But I was trying to make that happen. But the same week that you you ended up coming here, I had Mylene um Gallienes here.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03We flew her in from Latino Filmmakers Network, so she was here, and then I also had uh Grisel Del Valle. And so I took Mylene to the airport, waited at the airport, and Chachi flew in. So that whole week was like completely, you know, just you know, and again, you weren't here for like five days.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, exactly. No, and I totally get it, homie. I uh I've been coming a lot to Mexico because I'm trying to I'm I'm trying to film my first feature film in Mexico, but also uh there's there's opportunity Mexican film is blowing up and a lot of new productions are happening, and a lot of productions from other parts of the world are coming over. Um what's that uh Chenning Tatum movie that Zoe Kravitz directed? And yeah, they shot that here in Isamal. So I've been coming a lot to Mexico recently because film in the country is blowing up.
SPEAKER_03Very nice. My friend uh Alejandro, um sorry, you're Alejandro, my friend Oscar Torre just uh he just did a film, Pedro Pan, which is pretty big. I think they were in Mexico as well. And it was like an all-star casting. But they were in a different part of Mexico. I don't know where where they shot. I know he told me, so I was like, is it dangerous over there? He was like, No, it's actually like a vacation over here.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. It's the same where you're at.
SPEAKER_04Well, I don't know where he's at.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03I'm saying it's safe over there, and it's you know there's not a lot a lot going on.
SPEAKER_04Dude, yeah, man. Look, it's dangerous everywhere in the world.
SPEAKER_03True.
SPEAKER_04You know, if you go to LA, you go to Jersey, you go to New York, you go to Orlando, you go to there's different kinds of crimes here.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_04We don't have to worry about going to school and being shut up. And we and that there's there, it's it's very different. I think that in common, every everywhere is common. If you pull out five grand and you're driving in a jaguar and blasting me, yeah, you're gonna pick up attention, but if not, I've you know, I've been that's pretty much everywhere. It's everywhere, and maybe that Yucatan is one of the safest states in the in the country.
SPEAKER_02Beautiful. Like beautiful, yeah.
SPEAKER_04No, you can walk here at night. People say no, not anymore, but I ratto. I'm pretty big, so I don't have a problem.
SPEAKER_03That's cool. That's cool. Flaming Hot, another good movie. And I I think that's the first time I saw you acting, right? I think I think for me it was the first time I saw you.
SPEAKER_02Maybe.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and um uh again, super entertaining film. How was that? How was that film? How was was that a lot of fun on set?
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah, that was a lot of stress because of the category of talent in that movie. Like, yeah, it's not just you're being directed by Ivo Longoria, but then you have Jesse, which is like one of the promising Latino faces in film, and David Haysburg and Matt Walsh and Nanny Gonzalez. No, no, no, the the cast, Bobby, the cast is stacked.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the cast is super stacked.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, for sure. So no, it was it was a lot of fun, but also it was you realize, hey man, there's a lot of people in this industry that are trying their best, so it makes you step it up, you know? I think they shot for two months. I was there for a month. Wow. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Where'd you guys shoot?
SPEAKER_04In Albuquerque.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay, New Mexico.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Okay. That's funny. I just had uh Christina Escobarja yesterday. She's from she's from New Mexico because the way it's worked out with all of us is I remember I wanted to have everybody in the studio and I wanted to keep doing that way. But I said it yesterday that, you know, in yesterday's episode, uh, Manny got sick, and then I got sick. Again, with with with this business, everybody's traveling, everybody's going somewhere. So it's very hard to just you know get somebody to sit down. So we ended up doing it remotely. We happen, like I said, John Kaler's one of our connections that we again we follow each other as well. Also, uh, Kevin Smith and Ernie O'Donnell, those cool dudes from Jersey, right?
SPEAKER_04Um so Ernie O'Donnell and Kevin Smith, yeah, hell yeah. I love Ernie.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So how do you come across those guys? Yeah, I give you, I give you when I came across them was I was looking for a spot for my independent film. So how did it happen for you?
SPEAKER_04Oh, I've been a fan of Kevin since I was 13. I went to film school, to Vancouver Film School. Not because he went to school there, but it was one of the deciding factors for me to go. And when I found out he had a film festival, we submitted The Wrong Guy. The wrong guy was the first short film that they that we got in there, and it did really well. And from there we we submitted chicken, I think. And then this was the third project that the The Unexpected is what's the third project that got in. So it was going to film festivals and talking and hanging out and seeing other movies, and we just started to get to know each other.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, they have a great group over there. But they're all funny guys, they're hilarious. What they seem to have is a cohesive unit, and they all like always show up for each other. And that's what I love. I have, you know, I have the same kind of thing with my guys. So it's a beautiful thing to have a circle. From these two projects, I've I've used uh, you know, I just finished on my second film. So we just wrapped uh uh in at the end of April. I Nice, congratulations. I want to do different things. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Um uh I'm trying to do different things now. I want to I want to do, honestly, more of a uh some Latin-based theme, you know, some something that's Latino oriented. And because I've been doing horror and I've talked about this before. It seems to be the easiest way in, right? It's the easiest to shoot and probably the most uh the cheapest to shoot. So that's kind of got a foot in the door. How about you? What do you think is your your is like the next thing that you want to do as far as as filmmaking?
SPEAKER_04Oh, well, I want to go the other way. I want to do a horror. I haven't done a horror.
SPEAKER_03Really?
SPEAKER_04I would love, I mean, you can be a one-trick pony that just does the same thing. I mean, you can. Cool. There's a lot of people that have a career doing the same thing, Ryan Reynolds.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Some people did it the same way. That's fine. Same guy.
SPEAKER_04The man's got a billion dollars, right? What do I know? But I prefer directors like Danny Boyle, Aang Lee, that you're able to do multiple genres. The point is to, hey, how are we gonna see this world? How is this gonna stand out, or what's gonna be different from this genre? So I think I have a rom-com script I'm working on, a comedy, obviously, and I'm working on a thriller. But it's like, well, it's a thriller comedy, and then I have one that's horror comedy. There it is.
SPEAKER_03Right. That's cool. Listen, it's it's important to be uh versatile. And um, you know, again, I you you I don't know if you read some of my writing, but I tend to to I go dark a lot, you know. But I do I do have a rom-com. Uh actually I have a uh a pilot for a rom com. I do also have uh some really dramatic stuff, and then I have a dramedy as well. So I like to stay. I well I like to stay in in again, primarily Latino-based, right? You know, but it doesn't mean that, you know, again, it it it it's gonna be about, you know, uh a bodega or something like that. It's just, you know, different people, different walks of life. They just happen to be Latino, you know, us having such a big population here, right? Yeah. Um so when you get you get to set and you you arrive, you ready, you already pictured everything. What's the first thing you wanna do? When you get on set, first day, production one, you and you get on set, what's the first thing you do?
SPEAKER_04I get a coffee. I get a coffee, yeah. Chill out, man, and meet everyone. And I always tell people, if anyone has an opinion, please give it out. I if it's not good, I won't accept it. Or not if it's not good, if it doesn't fit, I won't accept it. If I do, I will accept it. I'm not shy of other people giving opinions because if it's better, it's gonna make the movie better. So I always tell people, don't be shy, don't take it personal. I'm not. At the end of the day, it's gonna say directed by me. So if your idea is great, we're adding it.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_04That's that's it. I mean, we have to have a good time. We're not I'm not Tarantino, I'm not fucking Spielberg for before oh, everyone let him think. It's like just I'm the same way.
SPEAKER_03I'm the same way, you know. Again, I don't I don't want to hear a hundred of your ideas, right? With every scene, right? Sometimes I just wanted to say the lines, right? You know what's funny?
SPEAKER_04I get more nervous at the premiere than on set.
SPEAKER_03Do you really? Yeah. Well, you know, listen, everybody everybody's different. I'm never nervous on set. Never. I I just I know because I know what I want, right? I know the shots that I want. And I don't get nervous. But I think you're right. When you get there and there's a crowd, people, and there's lines and stuff, that's when you get a little anxiety, right? And you're like, oh, Jesus Christ, here we go again, right? That kind of process. Yeah, exactly. Like in a voice?
SPEAKER_04Oh, of course. You have to, you can't it keeps you grounded.
SPEAKER_03So, how do you feel on being when you're on Evil Angoria set, let's say, for instance, right? How does your process there? And now you have to switch, right, from being a director to being talent. What's your process there?
SPEAKER_04I pay attention. I pay attention and I see what they're doing. She's very efficient, she's very smart, she's very relentless, she overprepares. Like, dude, no, it's it's I love that. I love someone who prepares, but you have to be able to be, you have you have to prepare hardcore so you know what you're doing, but you have to be volatile so you can adapt to any change that comes.
SPEAKER_00Welcome to Chateau Bow Wow. This is where culture speaks loud, where Latino excellence takes center stage, where stories are raw, unfiltered, and undeniable. Hosted by acclaimed writer, director, and creator of the international sci-fi hit Flux, Heraldo J. Uzkategi brings you powerful conversations with the artists, filmmakers, performers, and visionaries redefining entertainment worldwide. This is heritage. This is hustle. This is impact. Chateau Bow Wow, where powerful voices shape the future.
SPEAKER_04But the more prepared you are, the easier it is so that you can improvise. So I think that that's perfect. Yeah, you would be dumb if you went on a set with Eva Longorian. You think you know everything. You know what I mean? This man, this woman produced John Wick. Like, get the f get out of here. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, learn as much as you can.
SPEAKER_03Right. Because you got to shadow her as well, correct?
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah. I shadow her in her last movie. That was, dude, she had this whole notebook. Like, you have to admire stuff like that. A notebook this big with all this the script divided, all the shot lists, all the all the scheme, all the diagram, um, camera diagrams, schematics, everything. Everything. Referential. No, no, no. It's ridiculously prepared. And not only that, every department gets it.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_04It was pretty hard. The days I was there was pretty harmonious. You can tell when there was a little bit of drama, pero bato. Nothing lingers past several minutes.
SPEAKER_03Right. It looks to me like, again, this is just a guess. And you know, I I think you saw some of my some of my stuff that I wrote. I'm like, yeah, she's on my wish list, right? For talent, which I'll never be able to afford, probably. But uh, but um again, this is just to guess. She looks like a person who's super nice, but will rip your heart out if you if you mess around. She looks a type, you know. Oh, yeah. With the switch, you know.
SPEAKER_04She's very cool, she's very friendly, but she has no problems. Uh hey, calm down.
SPEAKER_03Right. Um, so Smart Castle to me has become a great place because I and you as well, right? Because you debuted there. And I did see when I saw the wrong guy, I saw the uh the logo that played there and then film festival and stuff. I was like, oh, I guess that was the first connection. And the way I came across Ernie was my friend, my producer actually, a long, long, uh lifelong friend, Russell Terra, he knew Ernie from prior projects. And he was and I was looking for a place to to screen uh Flux, this film here. And everybody wanted so much. And he's the actor in Flux, right? Yeah, Manny's the cameraman. Yeah. He's also in Lord Valley.
SPEAKER_04Heck yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I knew I knew him. We talked about that before, getting a core group that we could work together, right?
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So when I came across Ernie, was it was very unexpected because again, I was looking for a place to have Flux and it was so expensive. They wanted $7,500, $10,000 to just to have, you know, the place to drill is whatever. And then uh I got in touch with Ernie and Ernie heard me back, and they really they, you know, Ernie and and and Kevin have that theater in Jersey, and they really took care of us. And they really made the place welcoming to independent film, you know, with the price tag and the way that, you know, with the deals that they work out with you, with concessions and the gate. It just makes it super, super friendly to indie filmmaking. Because they're not trying to hit you over the head, you know. So that's that's how him and I became friends. And now we have an office stair. Heck you upstairs. So Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm on the second floor. Um and they they're great guys. And I I think I think when we spoke about it, I was like, hey, you're in town, come use my office, chill out, you know. I have, you know, Bustello Cafe, you know, we're chilling. I can't get rid of these guys. They're always they're all stealing my coffee. Um but they but they're great guys. Um and then again, through Ernie is how I met you. And so it's nice little circle, right? And I hope that one day you and I could sit down and do something together and write something together or work. You know what I mean? Because you can't. Yeah, yeah. I I love your eye. I love the way you direct, and I I've probably talked about this way too long already, but I'm very I get it. I'm I just I'm happy watching your films. Does that make sense to you? Like my eyes are happy.
SPEAKER_04Course, that means a lot. That means someone cares about the movie and all the work you put into it. So thank you so much for expressing what the movies made you feel and uh thank you. That that means a lot.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I I wish that I could write happy like you, right? I I can't. I don't know why. You can. Because again, no, I just I don't I just naturally I don't go there. Naturally, I'm like, yeah, nobody dies, right? I'm like, you know, it's such a terrible habit I have. It's going dark. But I I really I watch your films and I'm like, oh, I enjoyed that. And I walk in and I walk out like this this is fun, you know, and and I I want to do something like that. I want to do something like that. That's awesome. Going back to LA and the opening with uh Unexpected is and how do you feel about the uh like you had Matt Walsh, you had a great, you had a great, you know, and you know, again, uh just a great, great turnout there for the for the uh for the premiere. How do you feel about how it was received? Do you feel like the unexpected is is performing and and you are you happy with with the end product?
SPEAKER_04I'm very happy with the end product. I think as an independent film, there's always room for improvement in marketing, especially well, obviously in all the aspects of making a movie from production to everything. But I mean, I have no regrets or no, I have nothing negative to say about the movie. I mean, I wish we could have had more money for marketing to make a bigger splash, but you know, it is what it is. You do the best job you can. I think the movie has has helped other uh like I know Kayler, like Kayler, I wouldn't have to say this. Like, dude, he gets a lot of people to follow him and hey, I saw your movie and gets text messages and stuff. And I think that that's the that's the barometer of your movie doing something like five people, 10 people. Then I know it means nothing for bigger productions, but to me, getting 110 reviews and letterbox actually written, that means something. That's everything. You know, like they took the time and and and and it that to me means a lot. So uh I think the movie has helped open doors for me. I have a couple of projects that I I I signed on to direct that I didn't write, but I can't touch we're not gonna do them until March of next year. So it's still a ways away, but it's gotten me into rooms where people now, when I talk, it doesn't seem like, yeah, yeah, kid, whatever. Kid, even though I got a bunch of white hair. But you know what I mean? Like they always talk to you like uh in a certain way. And I think that that wouldn't have happened without this movie and without all the hard work that everyone from this movie put in and and the premiere and having Kevin and Ernie attached and Blastilina Mosh, et cetera, et cetera. So no, I'm very, I'm very happy with the movie. I I I can't stress that enough.
SPEAKER_03That that's great because I I feel the same way. Again, flux was very stressful for me, and you know, everybody was traveling and we've been we try to put all the pieces together and it was something. And that was everything again. As any, you know, it was indie filmmaking. I was ironing clothes, I'm doing travel, I'm organizing, you know, craft services, and that's what it is in indie filmmaking, right? But same as you, I felt like this is gonna be our calling card. This is gonna be our hey, this is what we can do with a little bit of money, you know, take a chance on us because we have talent, we have, we have product, you know. I mean, we we we have it, you know, we have a uh a nice package, and we want to put our name down as hey, we're here too. And and I think that that opened a lot of doors for us as well. And obviously it led to to Kevin's uh Kevin Smith's theater and Ernie's theater, uh Smart Castle, and I learned to the different connections, and that's all from Flux. As difficult as it was to put that in the can, all those pieces, all that stress led to probably even this conversation right now. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_04Oh, a thousand percent. Yeah. I tell I've been I've been going to talk to universities or high schools with kids, and I always tell them I was when one of the I I am and but was way more. When I was younger, I wanted the results to come quick. And at 44, you realize that life is like two trampolines like this, and you go from here to here to here to here.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and it's I never heard that before. That's that's a great way to put it. Right?
SPEAKER_04It's just that's all it is, because you're like, you're like, oh, I'm gonna get to this level. No, you don't. You get to this level, but diagonally a little bit higher, and it's oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03I we don't want to keep everybody here all day, but I um, you know, I wanted to just uh ask you real quick. Um when it comes to fundraising, what do you think the best your approach is to to to you know going around? Because to me, the travel kills me. The travel is just really tough on me, man, you know, and you're always on the road and you're always film raising you know, uh film raising. I'm sorry, uh fundraising. Um what do you think the best approach is with that?
SPEAKER_04Why does traveling get you?
SPEAKER_03It's just it's it's a lot on me. I'm old. And I'm gonna go. Wait a minute, wait a minute, hang on, hang on. How old are you? I'm 52. I'm 52. Okay, you're 52.
SPEAKER_04I'm 44. You're not that old.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, I'm I'm a little older. But I I do have a few health conditions that we'll talk about it later on off the off the air. But it just beats me up, man. It just beats me up. Even that flight to LA and then coming, because maybe it's five hours, you know, and they just take it off.
SPEAKER_04Five hours, that's enough, dude. That'll get you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know? So yeah, yeah, it just beats the hell out of me. And again, even traveling with the film when I was doing all the film festivals, so that all kills me. But going back to fundraising, it seems to be the hardest thing to do. It seems to be that everybody comes to you and says, Hey, I want to get involved, I want to do this, I want to do that. And then you come to them and say, Oh, great, but here's what I have, and they're going, yeah, it's a bad time. Have you got that experience?
SPEAKER_04I have that every week.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I think we have to we have to challenge this conversation in two ways. Look at it this way: you already dislike traveling. Imagine if you become successful that you're gonna have to travel all the time. So I would start finding the pleasures of traveling. That's what I do. Because it's true, dude. I hate the airport. I would get nervous. Now I figured out what gets me nervous to go to the airport. So, like an older man, and my flight leaves at 10, I'm there at eight in the morning. I don't care. I'm there, I pay an overpriced breakfast because then I have that to look forward to. So I go, A, you're stressed. There's an hour to drive, don't worry about it. You're gonna have some scrambled eggs, a nice coffee. So I can go and and then you're in the good mood because then you're there sitting down, you're like, you know what? It's this ain't that bad. But my point being is if I don't like hotels, but if I'm gonna make movies, I better start getting used to the fact that I'm gonna have to say it hotels, right? It's super true. I don't make the rules.
SPEAKER_03It's super true, but like I said, I do the same thing. I get the I get to the to the, I'm gonna pay $35 to $40 for breakfast right now. And I do that all the time, and it's so true.
SPEAKER_04You know that you have that to look forward to, and then you realize that once you get there for two hours that there's no anxiety, the anxiety is all brought in because you're not prepared, you're rushing. I sit down and have coffee and I see couples running, running across the airport, screaming at each other, and I go, Why the hell would I want that?
SPEAKER_03That's so true, man. We we we have we have very similar existence, you and I, you know. We're always in the airport. I like commodity. Um but fundraising.
SPEAKER_04Back to fundraising.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Thank you. Sorry I interrupted you, but back to fundraising. Well, no, no, go ahead. You can't say that any project has been similar. Let me explain why. When I did Monday for that reality show with Robert Rodriguez, they gave us the money. So that was easy, but it was 7K, so it was nothing. But then Millennium Bugs, I crowdfunded. There's been short films where I there's a short film called Leslie on my YouTube page that's about a girl that gets pregnant, so she has to decide if she's gonna be she's gonna continue singing or not, because she's a singer-songwriter, but she's not really hitting. So that's pure drama. And my point to that is that when I got that movie funded, I put a pink slip to my car because the person that was gonna give us the money bailed a week before after we had camera, insurance, actors, their plane tickets, hotel, everything ready. After we had everything ready, and then they canceled. So I had to either find money or lose money. There was no other way. So I put my car in pink slips. So my point being is I have a lot. Yes, it's very hard to raise funds, but you cannot fool yourself in thinking, why should someone give you a million dollars if you haven't raised 10 grand in a movie? That's not gonna make any sense. Or why can someone give you half a million dollars if you've done one that was 50k shitty looking? And it's it's it's not, I'm not being the bad guy. It's everyone's like, oh, I don't understand why they don't give me any money. I my idea is brilliant. It's an idea, homie. It's just in the air. I have ideas, I have so many ideas. It's grabbing that idea, making it a reality, and then having things go right, and then the actors like it's it's it's not easy. But I think the traditional way why I travel is because I go to a lot of dinners and I meet a lot of people and they want to. I'm not just working on film, I'm working on another couple of things that are kind of film related, but it takes a while. Everything in film takes a while. Those days of like, here's your check, that idea's brilliant, they're over, or I'm not talented enough. The what works for me is building a relationship with people organically, and then maybe something happens. But you can't go off the top and do it. You know, it's like that man, you're a businessman, Kevin's a businessman, Manny's a business, people know business, and you know that when you're doing business, the business doesn't come out to like the last five minutes of the hour. You know this. So with those set rules, that's kind of like how you move along. And it's always going to film festivals. Like, dude, I for a decade that I lived in Albuquerque, my mom that's sitting right here, who can tell me if I'm lying, I would use my vacation time to go to film festivals. Some people just think I'm gonna release my movie in New York and all of New York is gonna be enchanted. No way, it doesn't work like that. No, so you go to New York and you have a short film and another one, and then maybe a feature, because then you have three projects that you were able to grow a fan base in New York. Like if I go to New York now, I know I can get 150 people to go see my movie, but it took me fucking five years. Oh, it's yeah, it's true. It's seeing what works and it's meeting new people because not everyone operates in business the same. So you just try to keep it chill. You want to make investors feel comfortable with you because it's film, it's not certain. If you want it to be then go have them invest in medicine or or whatever, right, right.
SPEAKER_03That they have to believe in the art as well.
SPEAKER_04They have to see you work, they have to see you willing to go to the ends of the earth for this project. And that's what I feel like I did. Once everything was like settling, I didn't stop working on the unexpected for almost two years in promos and trailers and submitting, and then and you really gotta love what you want because if you don't, you know, how we are with a kid, you stop playing with the toy, and you're like, eh, I'm bored.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. I've asked that question several times, and it's probably the best formatted answer I've gotten. This, you know, of all the all these different uh episodes that we've done. That was a great way to put it, man. That was really great. Before we close, you went to Sundance this year. We'll Sundance people as well. Uh, how'd you feel about it?
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Oh, it was amazing. It was amazing. It was the last year in Park City. I met a bunch of people. I I have my I met my attorney. I'm working with an attorney from New York, uh Steven Beers. Yo, he's great. He's great. I loved it. It was it there was an energy. There was a you can feel people's radiantness and and being happy and available and like, oh, there is like I didn't know Undertone was gonna be that big, and I met the director super. They were both very nervous, ridiculous and nervous. Good people, though. Good people. We went and recorded. So at Sundance for the past 20-something years, there's been the travel lodge where a bunch of bands like Sting and Yeah Take Your Pick. We went there, and we were able to record a bunch of bands, including Foxy Sassam, which are in the Peacemaker soundtrack, and Superman. They're gonna be in Supergirl as well. So we were able to record all that session that Saturday night, and we're gonna be releasing very, very, very analog ish looking, cool videos. We shot with very retro cameras and kept it mega indie, which I really dug. So that's gonna be coming out in June, and it's gonna be just kind of like an unplugged, but in Sundance. Nice. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Are you going to Colorado for the new Sundance?
SPEAKER_04Sir, I yes. And I am very close to we want to try to do the same thing we did in Park City and Boulder. Nice. So we're working on it. Yes. That's tough.
SPEAKER_03Very good. Very good. It's gonna be just as cold. So I'm gonna bundle up a lot better because I was miserable over there.
SPEAKER_04Oh yeah, dude. That that climbing up the hill cold is the worst.
SPEAKER_03Well, I fell down the hill. Manny was there. Manny was fine. I was like a turtle on his back. I was like how many, how many steps did he roll down? I didn't roll down. I just kind of fell, right? And I slipped, and I started just slipping down back down the hill a little bit. Like I just slid on my back. I was like a turtle on the show. I'm telling you, it was so embarrassing. Yeah, yeah, it's pretty much like that. And these guys didn't even bet an eye. Like he looked at me like, what's wrong with you? And I'm like, come on, like this. It was so embarrassing. Yeah, you're sliding.
SPEAKER_04No, they're like, hey, get up, get up.
SPEAKER_03But to get to the goal up from the bottom of Main Street to the top where all the other things are, bro. I was out of breath. I'm sitting there sucking at my asthma pump. It was a mess, man. But it was the energy that you said was so dope. So dope. Uh, you know, we'll we're probably going this year. We're probably going this year. Uh uh. You guys have two. Um yeah, yeah. Uh it's gonna be super cool. And I've never been to Colorado. I don't know if you have.
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah, dude. Colorado rules. Denver's a great town. Denver's an amazing town, great food, great restaurants, great bars. I had a great time. I I said great way too much.
SPEAKER_03But it's true, it's fun. It's a fun situation. If you enjoyed it, it was it was fucking great. I did it. Um I did. This has been really cool. This has been really cool. And again, I appreciate you taking the time to see us. Um you know, it's it's been something that I wanted to do, sit down with you for a while. I know we we went back and forth, you know. Um, I think next what I'm taking the midseason break, actually, uh probably after this week. And then um I want to have John on as well, you know. Ernie Sanders. Oh, that'd be amazing. Yeah, yeah. So it'd be kind of cool to have, you know, uh all these different people here. Um over here at Chateau Ba Wall, we try to focus really on the focus is Latino talent and Latino filmmakers, artists, singers, everything. But it doesn't mean that's all we're gonna do, you know, because all these other people are are also contributors to our art. So it's not necessarily just primarily just only Latino, but you know, that's that's the focus. Um for you. Uh we are entirely, entirely uh grateful and for your work and for everything that uh that I've seen. Again, it's I really enjoy it. I really, really do. And um Thank you, sir. Um I hope to work with you in the future. I really, really do. Let's um we'll put something together, man. You know, we'll we'll either link up at SMOD or something. Uh I wrote something with uh for Ernie at SMOD too. It's a maybe maybe we'll I'll send it to you. It's it's it's kind of funny. We appreciate you coming here and um we appreciate you taking uh the time and not to be too repetitive, but you fucking rock, man. You really, really do.
SPEAKER_04Dude, stop. People are gonna watch the movie and go, man, that was baloney.
SPEAKER_03That's what I would maybe maybe a little biased, right? But no, but you really rock. And um, you know, again, give us your handles, where to find you, where to find your movie, let us know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, man. Anyone can search for the unexpected. It's on Tubi, it's on iTunes, it's on any platform you want. Um, and you can find me under Alejandro Montoya Marin on my handle or my company, push start films, which we're gonna be doing a bigger, bigger, bigger push on the company this year. So, some cool stuff happening, not just music, but with other productions. So I'm very excited. Yeah, Alejandro Montoya Marin on Instagram, give me a shout out. Let's see what we can do.
SPEAKER_03That's awesome. Thank you so much. And also, Colorado, sir.
SPEAKER_04If you're serious, we should chat about Colorado and Sundance next year.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, for sure. Again, Alejandro Montoya Marin, super awesome filmmaker, took the time out to come see us here at Chateau Bow Wow. We hope you enjoyed the chat. And um that's about it. Stay blessed, everyone. Thanks for tuning in. Chateau Bow Wow, stay cool.