We continue our conversation with USC alumnus and filmmaker Steven Aripez, the director of “The Director’s Cut.” Aripez, in this conversation on filmmaking, references a former USC Trojan who is included in our lengthy list of famous USC celebrities and alumni, published in 2022.
Trojans Wire: Who are your favorite teams to watch?
Steven Aripez: Clippers, Heat, Timberwolves, Chargers and the Arizona Cardinals. As far as college sports the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans I’m interested to see how they do in the Big Ten, RIP to the Pac-12.
Trojans Wire: If you could put one current athlete in a movie directed by you, who would you choose?
Steven Aripez: Anthony Edwards. He’s got the charisma and from what I saw from him in the film Hustle, he can act. Second would be Israel Adesanya. I believe he has acting chops.
Trojans Wire: USC film school has produced some of the biggest names in Hollywood that include George Lucas, John Chu, Ryan Coogler, Paul Feig, John Singleton and many more; who are your favorite USC alumni in the film industry?
Steven Aripez: The great one for me is John Carpenter, who directed “Halloween,” “Espcape from L.A.” and “The Fog.” He’s a huge influence on my filmmaking and aesthetic. He’s on my Mount Rushmore of filmmakers and deserves more respect for his excellence in filmmaking.
Trojans Wire: What movies are you currently working on for the future?
Steven Aripez: Right now my producer and I have started shopping around a horror script of mine titled “Switchblade Holiday.” I’m currently writing a raunchy rom-com script. I’m almost done with it. And I’m finishing editing a short film of mine.
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