In a digital era of streaming and binge-watching, people are always looking for new shows. Two Texas State alumni will soon have a new show coming to Amazon Prime Originals.
Texas State alumni Shane Scott and César Manzanera took on to direct the 8-episode project, “Father Militant.” The action thriller series follows a war veteran, now priest, who becomes a church militant.
Over the past two years, Scott and Manzanera have been filming the first four episodes of the series in the Los Angeles and San Bernardino areas.
Scott, main director of the series, is a San Marcos native who graduated from Southwest Texas State in 1990 with a degree in criminal justice. Despite having a degree in criminal justice, Scott decided to take an alternate route in his career and has seen much success in the film industry.
Post college, Scott started working on cars, which then led him into the movie industry working on sets. Scott has worked on multiple films including “Spy Kids” and “XXX,” which starred Vin Diesel, as well as his own independent films.
“You gotta do what you enjoy doing and money will come,” Scott said. “Focus on what you enjoy doing. Doing what I love opened up all sorts of doors for me.”
Scott said he believed in “Father Militant” so much when it was pitched to him that after expense battles with a production company, he decided to finance the project himself.
“I wasn’t originally supposed to be doing it for me but I thought it would be fun and it tells a good story so I ended up owning it,” Scott said. “One thing about working with Amazon is that it also gives more opportunities for people to put their work out there.”
Scott said although making films is a lot of work, the work makes the whole process worth it.
“For some reason, I’m kind of addicted to it and I enjoy storytelling,” Scott said. “I enjoy creating these worlds that don’t necessarily exist and tell some type of moral story.”
Manzanera, assistant director of the series, graduated from Texas State with a degree in exercise and sports science pre-physical therapy in 2017, but always knew his passion was in acting and film.
Manzanera worked closely with Scott traveling back and forth to California to help bring “Father Militant” to life while maintaining his job as a video creator for the city of Austin.
Manzanera said while the series still needs a lot of work, he is excited about the outcome.
“I think it definitely has a shot,” Manzanera said. “We’re just taking it slow and making sure it has the right stuff to pitch to Amazon. It’s about making something people really want to watch the whole way through and want to see more.”
Scott and Manzanera have worked tirelessly for the past two years to put together a seemingly promising series that will show success.
Mark Alvarez, Texas State alumnus, is the CEO and owner of Light Wings Promotions. Alvarez was asked to help promote the series and helped hold a screening in town at the Embassy Suites Jan. 25. Over 100 guests attended the event.
Alvarez said he is excited about the premiere of the promising show. He said it felt special returning to San Marcos to showcase such a big project done by Bobcats.
“I think it’s really humbling for Shane Scott to return to town and showcase his work within a community he’s really familiar with,” Alvarez said. “It brings a special sense of pride as a Bobcat.”
With the series heading into post-production, Scott is hoping to hold one more screening at Texas State to get students’ opinions on the pilot episode before producing the next four episodes in order to release on Amazon. There is no definitive premiere date yet.