Pierce County has hosted many people that have reached high heights in many different fields. One of those people, Prescott High School Class of 2016 member Andrew Taylor, is finding a place in film, directing five short films before his latest project, a television pilot that features a handful of stars.

Taylor grew up in Prescott, but is now based in the Seattle area, and has brought parts of the Midwest mentality to the West Coast. Taylor said he still calls Pierce County home.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about this too… I’m very, very glad that I grew up where I did,” Taylor said. “It grounded me.”

After graduating high school, Taylor went on to Northwestern University in Chicago and graduated in December 2019. Taylor’s move to the West Coast was supposed to be temporary, but COVID-19 quickly changed those plans.

It was not always in the cards for Taylor to join the film industry. Taylor had many different dreams and aspirations until he realized where those dreams were really coming from.

“Growing up, I wanted to be an architect and a doctor and all this stuff,” Taylor said. “And then I realized I kind of just liked movies about those professions.”

Taylor is currently working on a pilot for what could become a full television series in “Finding Chaz.” The pilot is based on the 2022 young adult novel “Finding Chaz” by Anisa Ashabi.

“Roxie Nazari's had it. She's been subjected to Chaz Humbert's creepy come-ons and inappropriate antics for three years--and she's not his only victim. With teachers, guidance counselors, and school administration unwilling to end the harassment, Roxie exacts revenge on an anger-fueled impulse. What she doesn't realize is how her actions will completely change her life--and her worldview,” the book’s synopsis states.

The synopsis goes on to say Roxie ends up at in-school suspension with Chaz, who had a change of behavior. Roxie did not believe in this change until Chaz revealed an “unexpected truth.”

“It’s a really, pretty awesome step up, especially considering that the industry is very much still in rebound after COVID and the strikes,” Taylor said.

Stars aligned for Taylor, as not only is this a major opportunity for him, but some well-known actors and actresses took the opportunity as well. Members of the cast include social media star Alyssa McKay, who has over 800,000 followers on Instagram in addition to over 10 million followers on TikTok, and Bryson Robinson, who appears on Peacock’s “Odd Man Out” and is known by some for work on Nick Shorts on Nickelodeon.

Taylor said there will be a nine-day filming period with the goal of selling the 43-page script to a network to get a series made from the pilot. The filming for the project is expected to take place in July, with the release soon after.