Born in New York, raised in the British West Indies and Los Angeles, I’ve been fortunate to experience various cultures while developing an appreciation for education, the arts, and physical prowess through the study of classical ballet, gymnastics, and yoga. Los Angeles, given its position in the film industry created opportunities to study, mentor, and work under masters in finance, film production and theater over the years. Television producers like Alan Landsburg, Linda Otto, Woody Frasier, Steve Friedman, David Lee, and Chuck Lorre, film director Tony Richardson, as well as cinematographers in film and tv.
Half hour comedies of the seventies first fanned the flames for my love of filmed entertainment as an audience member with shows like; "Get Smart,” "The Beverly Hillbillies," "The Munsters," The Adam's Family," The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, as well as feature films like; the Pink Panther Series by Blake Edwards, The Sergio Leon Westerns, well as the aught comedies of the early 2000's like; "Hangover," "Zoolander," "Tropic Thunder," etc.
In search of identity, in dealing with trauma from archaic childhood injury, I found it first as a gymnast, then later in study of classical ballet, mediums within I could exercise self-efficacy, develop attributes like; curiosity, discipline, grit, stature of stamina, achievement, tenacity, innovation, and style.
It’s surprising the industry seems incapable of innovation with regard to fresh entertainment. “Everything is derivative. We’ve seen the same characters, and storylines before. How do we show unique characters doing something different together that we’ve never seen them do before, in unique storylines? Combining the intimacy of the emotional journey between the lead and dynamic character, with the intricacy of plot - events along a timeline. New talent in all areas of entertainment must develop on an ongoing basis, to adequately reflect change, inherent in the dynamics of culture.
A lifetime of study in various disciplines that only now are coming together, a denouement so to speak, innovation melding disparate entities into a unified whole. My best work is yet to come. I attended film school, then worked as a technician at Panavision Cameras, which led to a fifteen year stint as a camera assistant for celebrated Directors of Photography in feature films, show runners/producers in television, as well as the study of theater, and writing.
We are at the end of the heyday of the superhero. Audiences want to identify with the characters they see on the screen, role models overcoming obstacles relevant to today’s culture, and issues. Character conceit, and story conceit. A unique take on things. “If we as creatives content ourselves with regurgitating worn out solutions we run the risk of losing sight of ourselves as a culture and society.
Having been raised in a single-parent household helped to shape my interest in socio-economic factors which affect the lives of Americans since the founding of this country. Surprisingly, there is still quite a bit of work to do with regard to telling truthful, and authentic stories about ourselves, and the many cultures which comprise America today. Stories about the “American Experience” have been adulterated based on the cultural bias of America’s historians, and as such we as producers of content bear a moral responsibility, an obligation really, to entertain, educate, and inform responsibly through our art. If one were to analyze social issues affecting Americans over the last two hundred years, themes relating to housing, jobs, wages, healthcare, access to opportunity, bigotry, and racism surface again and again.
