In a heartfelt interview with Jerrod Sumner, our aesthetic and lifestyle editor, Alix Kendall, a beloved Fox News personality, reflects on her illustrious 25-year career and her deep connection to Minnesota.
Courtesy of Jerrod Sumner
Just over a week into her retirement, Alix shares her excitement about embarking on a new journey as a screenwriter. “Screenwriting was getting me up on the weekends, and the alarm was waking me during the week,” she reveals, highlighting her long-standing passion for storytelling. At 63, Alix feels the time is right to pursue her dream with the energy and commitment it deserves.
Alix’s love for movies, especially those with unique perspectives and rich dialogues, has always been a source of inspiration. She fondly recalls how films like “Rain Man” resonated with her storytelling aspirations. As she transitions into screenwriting, Alix remains grounded in her Minnesota roots, cherishing the community’s humble and grounded spirit. Her journey exemplifies the courage to follow one’s passion and the beauty of new chapters. We’ll see you at the movies, Alix.
Courtesy of Alix Kendall
Why was this the moment for you to move forward?
I was 25 years in at Fox 9, and I thought to myself, I’ve always wanted to get into that other phase of my life, which is screenwriting, and get involved in the film business in some way, primarily screenwriting. Screenwriting was getting me up on the weekends, and the alarm was waking me during the week.
Years ago, I tapped into writing, and it was always at the back of my mind, like, I’m gonna do that sometime; somewhere down the road, I am going to get back to that. And I truly looked at myself, and I’m like, okay, I’m 63 years old. I want to have the energy, commitment, and ambition to follow through on that.
Have you always loved going to the movies?
I love movies, yes, and it’s funny because I haven’t really been into movie theater in quite some time. I’ve seen maybe two movies since COVID in a movie theater. I’ve watched plenty of movies from home, but yeah, I had certain, you know, movies that I absolutely loved, and there was one movie in particular that I kept.
We always have those movies that we keep going back to that, for whatever reason, are calling us, and one of them for me was “Rain Man.” I love that movie. I love Barry Levinson and what he’s done. There was something that I saw a connection to my story and the way he told “Rain Man” that I could see that that is the kind of story that I wanted to tell, and it inspired me.
As far as being this crazy movie lover, I love movies just like everybody else, but there are some that I just fell in love with, and I really enjoyed movies that had smaller stories, much more dialogue, and less blowing people up.
I just rather find, stories that are being told from unique perspectives, and that’s what I enjoy.
You know what you like and what you want to create.
Most of the movies I’ve drawn to you look back and say, okay, so maybe that one, but I love something about that story and those characters. Hopefully, I will continue to find love in movies and being a part of the industry.
It’s not the easiest industry to get into; I’m just enjoying the process.
I think you have to be a reader to be a writer. Are you a reader?
I’m a listener of books. I know. I listen to books for sure. And I’m much more into nonfiction.
What are you listening to right now?
I’m currently listening to a book called “Real Americans” by Rachel Kong.
I’ve always admired your storytelling and your ability to draw the audience and viewer in. But what would you say makes a good news story?
Oh boy, what makes a good news story? Are you talking about just any news story, hard news? A good news story is a complex one. You gotta have somebody who understands how to tell a story. You need good visuals to tell the story, and I think you have to tell it from different points of view.
This is going back a long time ago now. I met a guy who picked up garbage in the neighborhood. He was an old guy, and he just picked up garbage every day on his walks. But he was such a character, and to hear his comments while he was picking up trash, I thought it was such a simple story of somebody who was doing good. It still makes me smile. There is good in the small things.
What makes a good screenplay?
Well, like most writers, you write what you know; you start there. I don’t know any writers who don’t do that. Or maybe they’ve had a story in their head for a long time and take it, like with my story idea. I have several of them, but I’ve been using this one as an example.
You have two people or how many people in a story, and you find conflict and common ground, and it’s a roller coaster. It’s very up and down. And you take people on this emotional journey, and both people or however many people, how many characters are in the story are flawed, but you have to find a way to write them that makes you care about them, that makes you love them. Even if you hate somebody in a film, there’s something about them that you can relate to. And if you feel like at the end of the film, whether you’re fulfilled, you don’t even necessarily have to know what the ending is. It can be a simple ending that makes sense. It doesn’t have to have this huge soundtrack that blossoms like a lot of them do. I think it’s just it’s a story that people can relate to and make the characters believable, that the writing isn’t cliche, and that the characters are developed in how they speak and how they might look at a different problem and their little vocal ticks or how they walk.
To me, it’s interesting to take one person and find all those little nuggets and then put them together in different people. I always think of weaving your way through a story, and sometimes the characters will clash, sometimes they’ll go off in different directions, but they may end up in the same spot.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Hmm. Just do what I love.
If you’re doing a job to pay the bills, then do something when you’re not at work.
People are so exhausted. If they don’t love their work it just kind of depletes them. What they, to me, get more out of is the more that you are interested in other things, and you never forget those things inside of you that motivate you, that that’s really what is gonna keep you going. I just feel like it’s this whole road from where I began. I feel incredibly lucky. I don’t see career advice as anything different than life advice. Do what brings meaning and purpose to your life, not only for you but for others. The path it takes you on is the right one.
Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker?
I’m a rule breaker. Absolutely. Not a rule follower. Maybe I had an unconventional kind of growing up and from people who are not rule followers. I think it is kind of in my nature not to be a rule follower. I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be rules in place ever, but I just see rules, and I’ll take the ones that make sense. And if the other ones don’t make sense, I’m like, well, I’m not following those rules.
Last question. It’s the most basic one. Minnesota Monthly is about the spirit of Minnesota. So, what does that mean to you?
I love the state. I love the people. I particularly love Minneapolis, the city in which I was born and still live. I really believe that, and being part of the Midwest, people kind of have this grounded place to start from, and maybe other parts of the country don’t. I love that about us. I noticed it when I was in other cities and other parts of the world, although it’s been a while, and I need to get out of the country for a while just to experience that again.
I like that we are centered here. I truly believe that, and I’ve heard it from other people who get to know Midwesterners. I won’t necessarily call it humble, but I suppose it is.
We have good examples of that, but there is a groundedness that kind of comes as a whole, as the community feels that way to me. And maybe it’s just our roots, maybe it’s having all the beautiful lakes and the four seasons to appreciate, but I think that helps people stay grounded.
We celebrate. We just can’t wait for summer and all the seasons. We have these wonderful seasons. We also have to get through a horrible winter, which can be brutal and isolating.
But I think that’s part of the process of being grounded. You have times when you wait for the glory after many weeks of a really hard freeze in Minnesota, and it just makes you appreciate everything that we have here because, you know, in other places, other people have not been so lucky.
