I like to tell stories. This is mine.
I was working at a design firm in the bay area when I first read Pound of Flesh by Art Linson. Like most, I had no idea what the word “producer” really meant until I closed that book. And when I did, I began searching for my first job in Hollywood.
I had 2 rules: no agents, no celebrities. But when I read the job list a friend sent me weekly, the second listing read: John Cusack needs a personal assistant, and I almost spit out my coffee.
Five minutes into my interview, John put his feet on his office desk and lit a cigarette. Me: “I’ll give you $5 if you can tell me the name of those Nikes.” John: “I don’t know.” Me: “Air Cortez.”
A month later I was on my first movie set in Toronto, Canada, and the producer of that film was Art Linson.
My four years alongside John on the sets of Pushing Tin, High Fidelity and Being John Malkovich were magical. I was mentored by John and his partners, D.V. DeVincentis and Steve Pink. And from there, I spent a year working for Sofia Coppola. But eventually I realized I wanted to be a director, not work for one. So, I moved east to begin my Masters of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) at Columbia University.
New York was full of highs and lows. Tuition was insane, having to hire actors in NYC for class projects was exhausting, and, as a California kid, I was miserable without the daily sight of a horizon line. So, despite the demeaning comments from my Dean, I ran back west and continued my M.F.A. at a science documentary school in Bozeman, Montana.
During my thesis year, I received a Fulbright Scholarship to make a film about nuclear nonproliferation in Kazakhstan. (The Soviet Union’s nuclear test site was located there.) But the DoD prevented me from getting anywhere near the site I’d visited the year before. Instead, I met a screenwriter at a coffee shop and adapted a 2-minute script he wrote into a 14-minute fiction short film called, The Receiver. The film won me my second “Best Film” in grad school and was an official selection at the Athens International Film Festival, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Cannes’ Short Corner and Aspen Shortsfest. Seated on the tiny plane from Denver to Aspen, I said hello to my former Dean at Columbia as he boarded the plane and walked by me. He was a judge at the festival. He was also very surprised to see me.
After graduation, I stayed in Montana, spending several years as a camera assistant on commercials and indie films. I was a Series Producer at Grizzly Creek Films for four seasons of the Nat Geo Wild show, America the Wild. I moved on to Helio + Company where I spent five years as an Executive Producer of film, web, animation, opening title sequences and graphic design. In collaboration with four directors, I produced creative for Oakley, Intel, The North Face, Columbia Sportswear, Gerber, Leica Cameras, NetApp, Nike, Nimia, Outdoor Research, Oracle, Patagonia, Red Bull Media House, Brain Farm, Salesforce, Shotover, Suunto, Teva, Vans and Yeti.
In 2016, I went out on my own and have spent the years since creating content for technology companies. I’ve had 10-year run making content for NetApp, and have created work for Juniper Networks, Zuora and Armis, as well.
I’ve had the pleasure of producing shoots in amazing places like Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Serbia, Italy, France, Germany and the UK. I attribute my longevity in this space to the fact that I value relationships, customer service and superb work above all else.
Let’s talk!