We had the good fortune of connecting with William Bonnell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi William, what role has risk played in your life or career?
My entire career path is known as a risk. Film directing is a tumultuous and competitive career, and in my high school student advisor’s words, a risky one. So, what is risk? Risk, defined by Google, is the exposure to danger, harm, or loss. Why then is the film industry known as risky? No one dies because of directing a film, even though many will claim they’ll take the offer if given the change. Yet, it’s a risk to bet on yourself. It’s a risk to seek for success. Yet, with hard work perfecting a craft, years of experience, and pocket aces in the form of creativity and passion, a bet on yourself doesn’t seem so bad.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I want the word to know that I made entertaining art. The dream is to make films to be entertaining rather than just thought provoking. Art, despite what’s told to us by modes of media consumed as children, does not always need to be critiqued. I remember when I first came to film school, I was asked the age old question of my favorite film. I answered, not to look foolish in this crowd of critics, Citizen Kane. Yet, this was not even close to the truth. Don’t get me wrong, for being a 40’s movie I thought Citizen Kane was great, but it was no Indiana Jones. In a group of film buffs my favorite film was a movie made for children. Why? Not for it’s camera work or performance, but because of the fact that ever since being young boy I was entertained by the film. I knew that at any point and time I could get transported into a world of adventure. That’s what I want to bring back to the movies, true entertainment… not to shock, not for critique, and certainly not to polarize. I want to entertain.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Me and my friends like to hit the same spots, it’s the AMC Century City for new movies and the New Beverly Cinema for the classics. Tacos Tu Madre in Westwood for a late night snack. We like el Porto or the PV cove to surf. And last but not least, we like to explore Los Angeles for interesting locations and fantasize about what we could possibly shoot there in the future.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To my little sister Katherine. Thank you for making me watch all of those silly movies when we were kids, and thank you for surrounding me with the artistic language of ballet.

Website: Willbonnell.com

Instagram: @willbonnell

Other: https://www.newfrontier.pictures/

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