Until You Walk the Path: Stephen Mitchell

Until You Walk the Path, You Don’t Know Where it Goes will be hosting producer and networking expert, Stephen Mitchell on September 12 at 5 pm eastern.

Although born and raised in Southern California, Stephen Mitchell began his film making career in Paris, France with the satirical Montmartre, followed shortly by The French Chef, which starred the Cesar-winning actor Philippe Leotard. Since returning to California, Stephen has written, produced and directed 12 movies, created and produced more than a thousand televised one-act plays and the critically-acclaimed Confessions web and (Interview) television series. He judged Best Directing in a Comedy Series for the Cable ACE awards during the last nine years of its existence. In 2001, he authored the book How to Start a Hollywood Career Without Having to Go There.

In 1980, Stephen founded an entertainment industry think tank in the guise of a repertory company for film and television labeled The New Hollywood Studio System. In the repertory environment, Stephen authored a number of intellectual properties including the Action/ReAction technique for actors and a curriculum for writer/directors; both bearing directly on advertising and marketing concerns. .In formulating the New Hollywood Studio System, he felt it was important to take into account the present-day dynamics affecting the world of entertainment content, advertising and public relations as well as the development and management of talent..

In 1985, Stephen pioneered a unique application of product integration in branded entertainment with his cable TV series (Interview). .I wanted to sell a product that nobody wanted to a public that had an aversion to buying. It was important to him that the show, which was actually a 28-minute commercial, be perceived as entertainment and not as a product pitch. Furthermore, it was imperative that, in purchasing the product, the buyer was made to feel part of a select group of cognoscenti.. The series was lauded by critics and attracted a cult following that included Oscar, Emmy, Peabody and Grammy winners. It succeeded in attracting buyers for his ideas and garnered a first-look deal for him with Tri-Star Pictures. (http://www.cineparis.net/ints/int.html)

Mitchell has been one of the driving forces behind InterFund. A new business social networking site, which provides entrepreneurs and project originators with a venue in which to privately expose their business plans to qualified and vetted funders. It is often the case that networking groups suffer from the fact that the membership consists entirely of those seeking funding and lack parties able to bring funds to a project. http://interfund.biz

Currently, Stephen is producing a documentary on the Ferrari GTO, one of which he used to own, and he is co-producing a documentary on the tobacco industry with Charlie Evans Jr (The Aviator).

Tune in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theresachaze on September 12 at 5:00 pm eastern to learn more about film industry from insider Stephen Mitchell.. The phone lines and chat will be available for those who wish to talk to Mitchell call (347) 324-3745 or Skype is available by using the click to talk on the show page.. The interactive chat room is also available.

Operation Home Base: A New Military TV Series

Operation Home Base: A New Military TV Series
By
Stephen Mitchell

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to writer Theresa Chaze about her new military series, Operation Home Base, and her other upcoming projects.

Stephen: I’ve read your proposal, pilot and the first season. You have been describing Operation Home Base as the newest military series, yet most of the stories are civilian based.

Theresa: First and foremost, OHB is about people. Although, I decided focus on military personnel, vets and their dependants, civilians also faces the same issues. I know the military and I care. I never really had the discipline to enlist myself, but I have a great deal of respect for those who do put their lives on their line. Like so many people, I never really considered what the families go through when their loved ones are deployed. Those who have loved ones who serve pull double duty with one foot in both military and civilian worlds.

Stephen: What inspired you to create OHB?

Theresa: A very good friend of mine used to volunteer for the Red Cross. The stories I heard planted the idea. But passing messages wasn’t active enough to create an hour drama. After doing research, I found several organizations who were helping military families, including one called Operation Homefront.



Stephen: From where do your your story lines come?

Theresa: From the back pages of newspapers. Unless a vet or military personnel does something really naughty, their stories don’t make the front page. I will also be using history. WWII, Korea, and Vietnam--they all have stories that need to be told. Some of them won’t be so nice to hear. But the healing has to start somewhere. So many vets came back and just buried what happened. But no matter how deeply they dug or how much denial they dumped on top of it, those experiences don’t just disappear or heal themselves.

Stephen: Can you give a few more examples from the first season?

Theresa: A Marines therapy dog was killed by two people just for the hell of it. His story will not only raise awareness about therapy dogs, but it is also the basis of a fund raiser on the show that I would really like to see blend into real life.

Someone in the had intercepted letters sent to military personnel, serving over seas, and wrote “Returned to sender. Deceased.“ Can you imagine what it felt like for the friends and family members to get their letters back? The Post Office traced the letters back to one of their hubs. Toward the end of the first season, this real life event will become Michael’s obsession.

Stephen: How does OHB compare with other dramas?

Theresa: I looked to the most successful dramas as my models: MASH, Medical Center, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, The CSIs. I took the best pieces of all of them, added in real life and mixed well.

Stephen: I'm surprised to hear you list Little House and The Waltons.

Theresa: Both shows were about family. That is the foundation OHB is build on. Not only the families of vets and military personnel, but the brother and sisterhood of the military. The Marines say Semper Fi, but the concept applies to all the branches as well as to service in general. The Army vs. Navy game might have them fighting on the playing field, but when push comes to shove there is only one team--The United States.

Stephen: Which is your favorite character?

Theresa: I love them all, but I have a special fondness for Walter. He is going to be a lot like JR; the viewers will love to hate him. The thing about Walter is that he is all about family and country. Everything he does is motivated by those two things. It is the blind spot that others will use against him. He is the apex of the conspiracy or so it will seem, but even Walter doesn’t know who he is actually working for. But that is further down the road than I would like to talk about.

Stephen: I’ve noticed that most of your cast choices are older. Why?

Theresa: The characters and actors have to be older to have the experience to truly understand. Until you lived a little life, there is no way you can bring that kind of wisdom to the table. It would be very easy to bring beef cake and bikini’s to the table; that is what most shows are doing these days. But OHB is swimming in the deep end of the pool. The characters have issues. They are damaged on many levels, but in spite of all their pain, they still are willing to help others heal even if they can’t help themselves.

My site address is www.theresachaze.com. It’s the best starting point to learn about me and Operation Home Base.

InterFUND.biz debuts at Cannes Film Festival

InterFUND.biz debuts at Cannes Film Festival

InterFUND.biz, a new social networking site that bills itself as “A meeting place for entrepreneurs and investors”, debuts at the Cannes Film Festival.

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) May 14, 2010 – InterFUND.biz launches as a new social networking site today at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Characterized as ”A meeting place for entrepreneurs and investors”, the site offers a venue for the private showing of projects and business plans from virtually every sector of business with special attention given to entertainment projects.

InterFUND (www.interfund.biz) is unique in that it makes a connection between the entertainment industry and other business sectors in forging branded alliances which promote product integration in entertainment content.

InterFUND takes the Hollywood concept of a “First-look” deal and applies it to entrepreneurs and their projects. The network also serves the advertising world by providing resources for advertisers to integrate their products into content as a solution to DVR technology which allows viewers to bypass commercial interruption in traditional programming.

The website features bloggers from various sectors including General Richard Wilmot (US Army, ret.), William Foster (Automotive), Kathi Carey (Film), JT Grimm (research), Arthur Whitten (Security), Joe Gossett (Nonprofit), Peter Canalichio (Branding) and John De SA (Accounting).

The purpose of InterFUND is to create a greenhouse--an environment conducive to vigorous growth or development—for entrepreneurs and project originators with a venue in which to privately expose their business plans while strategically expanding their potential with brand alliances.