An Emmy-award-winning producer who has worked on Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad credits his love of the movies to regular cinema trips in High Wycombe and work experience at Pinewood Studios.

Simon Hatt, 36, is an undeniable success story. Growing up in a working-class household in Loudwater, he didn't always consider a career in film to be an attainable option for him, with much of his education in the medium taking the form of weekends spent at the former UCI Cinema on Crest Road in High Wycombe.

In his mid-twenties, Simon got a job as a runner at Pinewood Studios, a modest first step on the career ladder which, on his first project, comprised turning on and off the air conditioning on set.

Over the following decade, however, his career skyrocketed, first through credited roles in productions including Skyfall and X-Men, then under the tutelage of the CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn, which saw Simon rise through the ranks from personal assistant to executive producer on the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. 

Most indicative of his star's ascent, however, is the Children's and Family Emmy Award the 36-year-old picked up last month for his work producing The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special - a recognition he was so unprepared for that he initially stood at his table applauding before his partner nudged him to go up onstage. 

Simon's success since moving across the pond can also be measured by an upcoming feature-length adaptation of his short film Hammer Down, which was released in 2020 to critical acclaim and inspired by memories of tagging along with his trucker dad while growing up in Buckinghamshire. 

"Packing up my life and moving to the States was really scary - I was 5,000 miles away from my family and High Wycombe is very different from LA. It's funny, though - my first movie at Pinewood was Gulliver's Travels with Jack Black and I actually saw him at the Emmys. I said, 'Jack, I have to tell you, my first job was turning on and off the air con for Gulliver's Travels'. He was like, 'Wow, that's so great'."

READ MORE: Look inside Omniplex cinema as chain opens at old Empire site

Although he lives in Los Angeles and got his green card this year, Simon has a special place in his heart for those early days of his career, when he discovered the magic of film at Pinewood before stopping for a swim at Handy Cross Sports Centre or having a pint at his favourite pub, The Royal Standard in Forty Green. 

He's optimistic about the opportunities that could be created for other local talent by approved and pending film studio projects and believes it is possible to follow in his footsteps with a combination of curiosity and determination. 

"Loving movies is obviously crucial, but I would tell people to love and watch as many as they can, and don't be afraid to press pause, rewind and watch that moment you loved again to figure out how it was done.

"There's nothing better to me than huddling up in a room with people and saying, 'We need to create this moment in the story - how do we tell that with costume, with makeup, through a fight coordinator and a dance coordinator? How is the camera going to capture it most viscerally?' It's unlike anything else in the world.

"If you really want it, I think persistence basically beats resistance. It's funny - when I was younger, I thought you only got a limited number of opportunities. You get as many opportunities as you're willing to make for yourself."