School of Cinematic Arts Alumni

Alexis Auditore (BA '05)
Director of Physical Productions, Marvel Studios Streaming
Alexis Auditore, who was part of SCA’s first graduating class, is currently the Director of Physical Production at Marvel Studios Streaming. Prior to that, Auditore was the Manager of Physical Production for Marvel Studios for nine years, working on projects like the Avengers films, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Black Panther, and collaborating with various museums and partners around the world to curate Marvel exhibitions featuring costumes, props, and set pieces.

Daniel Willis (MS '12)
Director/Writer (Grey’s Anatomy, The Blacklist, Twenties)
Daniel Willis is a director, writer and photographer who draws on his experience growing up on Chicago’s south side. Willis began his production career as a writer’s assistant on the ABC drama, Grey’s Anatomy. Willis was a 2017-2018 Sony Diverse Directors Fellow and 2018 Film Independent Project Involve Directing Fellow. His short films and television projects have screened at festivals around the world including The Chicago International Television Festival, SeriesFest (Best Writing - Public Housing Unit), The New York Television Festival, ITVFest (Best of Fest - Public Housing Unit), and the Cannes Short Film Corner. Willis is currently directing network television (Grey's Anatomy, The Blacklist) and writing for the shows Boomerang and Twenties. He is also developing on his first feature film.

Chaz Bottoms (BFA '17)
Owner, CBA Studios; Character Designer, Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Chaz Bottoms is a director, animator, writer and owner of CBA Studios, a boutique animation studio based in Los Angeles that strives to represent diversity on screen and behind the scenes. He is currently working with Oscar winner Matthew A. Cherry (Hair Love) on developing Battu, an animated musical series for Cartoon Network. The series is based on Bottoms' short film of the same name, which is currently in production. Bottoms has collaborated and produced content for Springhill, Adult Swim, Steve Harvey Global, Bleacher Report, John Legend, Samantha Bee, Sony Music, Columbia Records, Atlantic Records, and Snapchat, and is currently a character designer for Nickelodeon Animation Studio.

Alex Thompson (MFA '17)
Director/Writer/Producer (Saint Frances)
Alex Thompson is a director, writer, and producer working in Chicago. Saint Frances, directed by Thompson, received both the Audience and Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Voice awards at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival. The film was selected by Variety as one of the best movies at the festival and by RogerEbert.com as a standout, powerful film. Thompson's newest project is the dramatic thriller Rounding, which reunites him with several members of the Saint Frances crew.