EVERY morning when Susan Montford wakes up, she nods to the Hollywood sign reflected in her bedroom window and gets ready for another day of meetings with the likes of Kim Basinger and executives from even Spielberg's studio.

She then heads to the set of the latest blockbuster movie she is producing and starts another day's work living out her widest childhood dreams.

Glasgow-born Susan is one of the busiest and most successful young producers in Hollywood right now. in the last few years, she has made acclaimed movies featuring stars like Basinger, Hugh Jackman, Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti and Adrien Brody.

Married to Transformers producer Don Murphy, Susan has also worked with iconic Spanish director Guillermo del Toro.

And she has a whole slate of exciting new films on her to-do list, including a production for Spielberg's studio DreamWorks.

But despite her star-studded call sheet and high-powered schedule, Susan says the thing that excites her most at the moment is the prospect of seeing her latest film get its British premiere in her home town later this month.

Scary sci-fi movie Splice will have its first UK screening at the Glasgow Film Festival next week.

Co-produced by Hellboy director Del Toro, it was a hit at the hip Sundance festival in America last month and is one of the most talked about horror movies of the year.

It stars Oscar winner Brody and Sarah Polley as two Frankenstein-style scientists who merge human and animal DNA to create a terrifying new form of life.

Susan, the second cousin of legendary Scots football commentator Arthur Montford, says even though she has spent most of the last decade working and living in Hollywood, she's delighted to have her film premiered in Scotland.

She said: "Every day that I get to work in the film business out here is incredible.

"I feel blessed to do this for a living. It's hard work but I know I'm really lucky to get this chance.

"It's not been easy, and there have been times when I could have given up because projects collapsed, but the moment I first sat in the cinema with an audience watching one of my films was just the best thing I could ever imagine.

"When I was a little girl, I used to dream about working in films - and now I'm here.

"All I want to do is keep doing this. I love the process of making movies and if I can continue to do this I'll be very happy indeed.

"I've really enjoyed working out here but I'd love to make a film back in Scotland one day.

"It's a real honour for me to be showing Splice at the Glasgow Film Festival. I hope people like it."

Susan was obsessed with movies as a little girl and would spend hours at home watching films like The Birds, Night Of The Hunter and Bonnie And Clyde.

When she was older, she went to the Glasgow School of Art and started making short movies. She earned a place at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival and impressed enough people to get her name known around Hollywood.

Susan moved to Los Angeles, where she started working to get her first feature film - a drama based on the lives of the women in serial killer Charles Manson's murderous family - off the ground.

When funding for that film disappeared in late 2001, she began to concentrate on producing projects rather than directing.

She said: "There are no film schools or classes that teach you about producing films. You really have to learn it as you go and sink or swim.

"It can be a very difficult job. You never know if something is going to come together or not but, when it does, it's magical.

"The first film I made was Shoot 'Em Up in 2007. I was really hands on with that one, from the casting to the music, and it was a great feeling to have it come together.

"Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti were great. Clive was pulling practical jokes all day and Paul was just hanging out and chatting to everyone."

When this violent action epic, which also starred Monica Bellucci, turned out to be a hit, Susan had her wish fulfilled when she got behind the camera for indie thriller While She Was Out, starring Kim Basinger.

She said: "Kim was amazing. She taught me a lot and was a wonderful lead. I got to know her well and she was a great person to work with.

"Next up is Real Steel, which we're making for DreamWorks, so that's a really big deal for us. Hugh Jackman is starring and Shawn Levy is directing."

But for now, Susan's focus is on the premiere of Splice.

She said: "I'm very proud of Splice. It's a project we've been working on for a long time and we brought in the director Vincenzo Natali, and got Guillermo del Toro as producer. We've been very lucky with the cast, too.

"I think people will like it. It's something new and scary, and we were so pleased to get some good buzz from the Sundance festival."

Coming back to Scotland, Susan is aware that her surname will be a conversation point.

She said: "Whenever I speak to anyone Scottish, I always get asked about my surname because Arthur is such a legend.

"When I was at school, people used to always whisper about me because I was related to him. But I know how much he means to a lot of people and I'm very proud to be related to him."

Splice premieres at the Glasgow Film Theatre on Saturday, February 27, at 9pm. Go to www.glasgowfilmfestival.org.uk to book tickets.

WHY SUNDANCE KID ROBERT WAS DYING TO MEET DIRECTOR DIANE

IT was when she sat down to brunch with Robert Redford that Diane Bell realised she had arrived as a movie-maker.

The Scottish writer and director was one of the most talked about young stars at the Hollywood legend's Sundance film festival this year.

Redford founded the festival - named after his character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - to promote independent film-making.

And every year he hosts a special brunch for upcoming directors competing at the event, who this time included Dumfries born Diane, 37.

Her debut movie, Obselidia, won two prizes at the Utah event after proving a hit with industry insiders and critics.

This was despite it being of the smallest-budget films competition, having cost just £200,000 to make.

Diane said: "Yes, I met Ro Redford and he came to see our movie.

"Every year, they take all the competing film directors on the on buses out to Sundance resort to meet Robert Redford. It was one of the most brilliant experiences of my life.

"It was an incredible honour for me because he is one of my absolute heroes - not just for his acting and directing but for supporting the festival and giving a platform to film-makers."

Redford and the festival jury certainly appreciated Obselidia, which was presented with the award for Best Cinematography and also won the prestigious Alfred P.Sloan prize for use of science themes in a film.

Diane said she was delighted that the festival audiences got her quirky film, a love story mixed with environmental lessons. It features Home And Away star Michael Piccirilli as a door-to-door salesman who starts an affair with a film projectionist, played by Scots actress Gaynor Howe.

Diane said: "I was never sure if I was getting it right but we have had people of all ages telling us how much they like the film."

Based in Los Angeles, she made the film in California.

It was funded by Scots producer Dave McWhinnie, who said: "Diane is a major talent who is going to be a big star. To win an award at Sundance is a huge boost to her career."