Past President Alan Rogers and his Academy Award-winning son, Paul

Alan Rogers, President of the BBA in 2018, is the proud father of his Academy Award-winning son, Paul, who won the Oscar for Best Film Editing for his work on “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” It was an honor to talk with Alan about this exciting experience and his overwhelming pride in his son.

Please tell us about how Paul broke the news to you that he had been nominated for an Oscar.

Paul texted and called to let us know. Actually, he was nominated for numerous awards for his editing work in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award (known as the BAFTA), the Critic’s Choice Award in Los Angeles and the so-called “Eddie,” an award given in Los Angeles by the American Cinema Editors organization.

Paul won each of these awards for his editing. He flew to London and gave a wonderful acceptance speech at the BAFTA.

Other Oscar nominees were editors on movies like Top Gun, Elvis, and other big screen pictures. Paul admires all of the other film editor nominees and he was not expecting to win.

What was your reaction to the news and how did you feel when he told you about this honor?

We were proud. We told Paul we were proud. Our extended family meant Paul had a support squad here in Alabama and in Pasadena, where he and his wife, Becky, live with their two children.

What was the experience like to travel to the awards with your son?

Oscar nominees are allowed only one guest at the Dolby Theatre, where the ceremony is held. Paul took Becky. Susan and I helped keep the grandchildren at a rental house in Pasadena that had a small pool in the back. Paul’s older sister Taylor and her husband, Jim, brought their two children. Paul’s sister Chancellor and her fiancé, Sam, were there. Paul’s mom, Melissa, and her husband, David, were with us. Melissa actually scored a last minute ticket to the ceremony and sat in the balcony. We had a grandkid fest around the pool and watched the Oscars on television. We yelled and jumped around when Paul won, which scared the grandkids.

We got to spend the day after the Oscar ceremony with Paul, director Daniel Scheinert, his partner Stephanie, and Daniel’s mom from Alabama We have known Daniel and Steph for a while, so it was great fun. Paul brought his Oscar. It’s really heavy.

What other awards has Paul won?

He won something like 37 awards from different film groups, including the South by Southwest Film Festival best editor award given to Paul in Austin, Texas.

Have you seen “Everything Everywhere All at Once”?

Yes, we’ve seen the movie more than once. Fast paced, quirky, not your typical Oscarmovie. The two directors wrote the movie from scratch. It is not a book-based, adapted screenplay. They wrote it out of their back pockets and acted it out for Paul in his garage one day. Paul was moved. They asked him to be the editor. Paul worked with them through the shoots and after. The team, including Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Tsu, Ke Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Paul, the Daniels and others who have a lot of respect for one another.

What did you think about the film?

There is a lot to digest in the movie, including some wacky stuff. It challenges the viewer. I like that.

What does Paul’s creative process entail?

Paul and his three partners have a company called Parallax. They are a

“post-production” company. They take a story in a movie or a video, together with the footage (many scenes are shot more than once so that the editors can add and remove parts of the scenes and offer alternative cuts) and turn it all into the visual story and soundtrack that the directors are seeking.

Please talk about your other children and your thoughts on fatherhood.

We build stages for our children. They write the scripts. They are creative. They know they are loved. I stay out of their way, unless they are on a wrong path.

Just out of college, Paul worked at Alabama Public Television and loved it. But he wanted also to work with directors in Los Angeles he admired. Paul drove to L.A. to find those directors. He left his job at Alabama Public Television. We tended to Becky here in Birmingham until she sold their house and moved to Los Angeles. Out there, Paul met Daniel Scheinert, an Oak Mountain High School graduate. They became fast friends. Paul also found his current partners. They now work with a number of directors and actors. In America, you can do anything you set your mind to.

“Everything Everywhere” is about family, one of the great treasures in life.

Kelly Alvarez*

Kerry Baswell*

Robert Beck*

Myesha Bester*

Regina Burpo*

Tierra Campbell

Rhoderick Clayton*

Christopher “Bay” Flowers

Shelia W. Goodwin

Kerturah L. Hale*

Hunter A. Hanks*

Cassidy L. James*

Wesley A. Johnson*

Joseph A. Jones*

Justin Lynch*

David J. Mattson

Stephen M. McGlathery*

Hanna B. Milam*

Jennifer F. Olive

Kayla L. Patterson*

Richard Postma*

BJ Savage

Julius N. Shanks

Tanya N. Skelton*

Amanda R. Tello*

Sarah M. Tidwell*

Michael Varchetta*

Stephanie M. Wadsworth*

Robert W. Winslett*

Ragan T. Youngblood*