#119: Patrick Willems - Wes Anderson X-Men & Becoming a YouTube Film Critic

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Episode Description

Imagine: Danny DeVito, dressed in a suit resembling a penguin, as he rises from the ground on a yellow duck boat. While Patrick looks back on this movie, Batman Returns (1992) with a laugh, he can’t help but credit it to where his love for films all started. Boasting 355K subscribers and 39 million views to date, Patrick Willems is a video essayist and film critic on YouTube. With videos such as “What if Wes Anderson Directed X-Men?” or “Why do Marvel’s Movies Look Kind of Ugly?”, Patrick has found his share of success and self-fulfillment from infusing a personal splash of creativity into his videos. But his path wasn’t an easy one — he experienced a handful of rejections, setbacks, and difficult self-reflections along the way.

Show Notes:

Batman Obsession: Patrick recounts his Batman obsession as a kid, and how it sparked his love for film.
Childhood Hobbies: Patrick’s passion changes from comics to filmmaking.
Love for Filmmaking: Patrick gets his start in home videos.
High School Filmmaker: Becoming the ‘filmmaking guy’ in high school.
Comfort Zone: Seeking solace from the future in filmmaking.
Looking Out of College: Creating his senior project film, and looking into his future prospects.
Back at Home: Finding solace, again, in filmmaking back home.
Space to Breathe: Finding some space and time for himself.
Regression and Spite: Some setbacks, and feeling like he regressed in his career.
YouTube Beginnings: Seeing YouTube as a potential career.
YouTube Setbacks: Success, and subsequent failure, on YouTube.
Re-inspired: Taking a break, and his final ultimatum to himself.
Full-time YouTuber: His (second) big break, and sustained success on YouTube.
Looking Ahead: Expressing creativity in his current videos, and future hopes.
Full Circle: His big feature film.
Advice to Younger Self: Things he would do differently.