Filmmaker shows it’s never too late
Bill Cox of Sugar Land recently premiered “Beer and Seed,” a film he had been working on for three years.
When Sugar Land resident Bill Cox was growing up as a pig farmer in Michigan, he never dreamed that he would one day be working as a filmmaker in Texas.
Cox knew from an early age that pig farming was not the career for him, so he joined the Navy as a way to get out and see the world. Upon his discharge, he enrolled at Central Michigan University and eventually moved to Houston due to what he describes as “economic migration.”
Although he works as an events coordinator for a DJ company as his day job, film is his true passion. He got his start making a number of shorts, but he always hoped to complete a larger project.
“Doing shorts is fun and easy, but you’re nobody until you’ve done a feature,” Cox said.
Cox’s newest project, “Beer and Seed,” is a novel take on the college film genre, focusing on a man who receives a second chance to go to college later in life, only to find that it is not what he expected. Cox wrote and produced the film, which was directed by Seth Conway and features an all-Houston cast.
“It’s a movie about second chances,” Cox said. “I like people who are imperfect and continue to try hard regardless of circumstances. It’s a dark comedy, loosely based on my own experiences in Central Michigan.”
The film’s Aug. 28 premiere was the culmination of three years of work, an amount of time and dedication Cox did not anticipate when he first began working.
“If I would have known it would take three years before I started, I’m not sure I would have taken it on,” he said with a laugh.
Nevertheless, he stuck with it, and now that it is finished, he looks at it with pride, saying it compares favorably with many mainstream movies. Cox credits his versatility and education with helping him through the process
“The nicest thing about my film career is that I have a job,” Cox said. “I’m versatile enough because I do acting and writing, and I understand what it takes to get a project done. My management degree probably helped me more than anything as far as getting this project done.”
ABOUT BILL COX
AGE: 54
OCCUPATION: Events coordinator at DJ company
COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Resident of Sugar Land
FAST FACT: Often volunteers at a local soup kitchen
