Meet Wil Lewis III | Film Producer, Director and Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Wil Lewis III and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Wil, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’m a filmmaker so for me opening my own production company to make the type of films that I wanted to make made more sense than trying to move to LA or New York with out any resources or connections. My father ran his own home modernization business and I had an uncle who was a millionaire from his own construction company so I grew up around men who owned their own businesses and that played a big part in my thinking of doing it myself.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m the producer, writer, director and editor of two independent films Switch and The Bag Girls that were most popular selections on several streaming platforms including Amazon Prime, TubiTV, Roku and more. While we were filming The Bag Girls our previous film Switch had started becoming a hit on the platforms and no one from the company was even aware of it until about four or five days after production wrapped and we all started getting phone calls and texts about Amazon displaying Switch in its most popular sectiions on Prime Video. Switch started our trajectory upward in the indie film world and we received lots of love for the film nationwide… the small indie drama filmed in Detroit, Michigan was getting love from L.A. to New York and even over sea’s. Once we released The Bag Girls we knew then our production company UrbanCineplex Entertainment LLC was on it’s way to being a major player in the indie film space.

The film I’m most proud of is The Bag Girls because that was our biggest budget film up to that date and I didn’t have the money needed to film it. I tried to get investors to help but we could only get a few brave souls to believe in us. I tried to take out a loan from the bank but my credit wasn’t the best at that time and was denied. So I took a hard money loan out on my rental property to make the movie with crazy interest rates to pay back but within a year of it’s release The Bag Girls had made enough money so I could pay off my loans, pay back all investors plus interest and put our company in the black financially.

What Ive learned the most through this whole process is to bet on yourself. My business partner Howard Patterson and I spent a whole week in L.A. sleeping on my cousin’s couch and a blow up mattress trying to push our script The Bag Girls to anybody who would take a chance on us. We made it inside a handful of players in the film industry offices and was told no or never heard back from once we got back to Detroit. Once nothing came from our L.A. trip we decided to film it ourselves but to make it right we needed a bigger budget so we went on the hunt for financing. We didnt get much capital so I decided to put my only asset I had at the time up which was my rental property and we got the funds needed to make the film… the rest is history for us. The Bag Girls has been very successful for our company. We wouldve sold the script, we wouldve sold the whole film after it was completed but because no one was interested we have an IP that we own and it will feed our kids even when we’re not here anymore. We did it ourselves, we own it.

If it’s anything I would like to be known for it’s that I did it my way. I stood strong in my belief in myself and went for it… by any means neccessary.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Hopefully you’re talking about Detroit… in the D it’s all about our downtown. If it’s summer you have the festivals to visit, concerts at Chene Park, the river walk which is a beautiful place to spend the day and if your lucky enough to own a yacht you have all water on the river to enjoy. We have a bridge or tunnel you can take to Canada and you can have a totally different experience in Windsor. The Canadian females are friendly… I mean friendly friendly. We would have to stop by one of the many black owned food spots like Spud Headz, Cuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles or Sloppy Crabz and get some great eats. Also summer time is when all the car guys show off their classic and exotic rides on Woodward Ave. It’s a car show like never before seen and thats almost daily when the weather is right. It’s never a dull moment in the Motor City.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give a shout out to my brother Keith Bradley and my cousin Collis Burch. They were and still is two of my biggest supporters since I started my film making journey. Both helped me in different ways and I wouldnt be where I’m at today with out their strong support.

Instagram: @urbancineplexcom

Linkedin: https://linktr.ee/Urbancineplexentertainment

Youtube: Wil Lewis III films

Image Credits
Wil Lewis III