Biographie
Will was born in Dallas, Texas, in April 1972 and raised in the New Orleans, Louisiana metropolitan area.
He played trumpet in his high school band and marched annually in Mardi Gras parades alongside his two brothers and sister, who played saxophone, trombone, and clarinet, respectively.
After graduating from Belle Chasse High School in 1990, he attended Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, where he earned a B.A. in History in August 1997.
In September 1997, Will relocated to Los Angeles and interned with several of his favorite film directors and producers, including:
- Director Oliver Stone at Illusion Entertainment (Wall Street; Platoon)
- Director James Cameron at Lightstorm Entertainment (Titanic; Avatar)
- Director George Lucas at THX (Star Wars)
- Producer Roger Corman at New Horizons (Little Shop of Horrors)
In the summer of 2002, Will made his writing, directing, and producing debut with the comedy Bill The Intern (2003), a feature-length film shot on Super 16mm with a budget of about $30,000, similar in style to Swimming With Sharks and Office Space. The film satirizes the Hollywood intern system. Will self-distributed several thousand DVDs door-to-door across seven states, from New York to California, to recoup part of the budget. The film is available on Netflix via their DVD rental service but is not yet available for streaming.
In spring 2001, Will began pursuing an M.F.A. in Cinema Production at the University of Southern California (USC), graduating in May 2004.
From 2006 to 2012, Will dedicated six years to writing, producing, and directing his first feature-length documentary, With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story. This biography chronicles the life of Stan Lee, the 91-year-old creator of Marvel Comics, who co-created many iconic characters such as:
- Spider-Man
- Fantastic Four
- Iron Man
- X-Men
- Avengers
- Thor
- Daredevil
- and over 500 others
With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story toured the festival circuit from 2011 to 2012, screening at 26 film festivals, including:
- Slamdance Film Festival
- New Orleans Film Festival
- Anchorage International Film Festival
- DOC NYC Film Festival
- Rhode Island International Film Festival
- Salem Film Festival
- Catalina Film Festival
- Guam Film Festival
- Warsaw Film Festival
- Calgary Underground Film Festival
- Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival
- Nevada Film Festival
- New Hampshire Film Festival
- Albuquerque Film Festival
During 2011-2012, Will spent significant time traveling to promote the documentary through screenings and Q&A sessions at various festivals. After winning awards at eight festivals, the film was distributed across multiple platforms, including:
- DVD and VOD through retailers such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, and Time Warner
- Domestic premium cable via Viacom’s Epix
As of January 2014, Will is producing, writing, and directing his second feature-length documentary, King Cake: A Big Easy Story, which explores the history of Mardi Gras and the city of New Orleans.
In addition to King Cake, Will is developing three other projects, including two dramas titled Aura and Turmoil, as well as a comedy/horror/musical called Barely Love: A Bear Mauling Love Story.
His parents are Jean and Rick Hess. He has an older brother named Bruce, a younger brother named James, and a younger sister named Alicia.
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