for treasures, etc. My mother would tell me that when I was really little, she’d hear me talking to someone and when she’d come down stairs, I’d be under the covers with my two hands in the air talking to each other. What do they say, “There’s a fine line between being creative and just being downright insane.” LOL. In 3rd grade I invented a fictitious Italian Restaurant called Capadioni’s. I made the menu, and prices and even drew a little sketch of what the restaurant would look like. I was either 7 or 8. I also made up a couple of games for Atari (on paper) and sent them to the company to see if I could get one made. Instead, I got a nice thank you note – and I swear to God to this day that my game came out a year or two later. I had always loved to write. Funny thing was my English scores were much lower than my Math scores on the SATs. I had to train myself to work harder to become a better writer. I remember writing down words that I didn’t understand in books I read, looking up their definitions and studying them all the time. Luckily, one of the most influential teachers I have ever had in my life is now a famous author by the name of “Thomas Cook.” In his 7th grade class I learned so much about the English language. I came to love telling stories through my own words more than at any other time in my life. Thomas was the basis for my grammatical knowledge. He helped me to discover I had something – a passion for writing. I started as a novelist, finishing my first manuscript when I was 21. And my second novel at 25. I just thought I’d write books, then make them into movies, and so on and so on. If it only worked like that. My first manuscript still sits there 22 years later waiting to be published. The crazy thing is it will be, and it will be made into a feature film. I feel confident saying that now that we (Heidi Segal, Kevin McCafferty and myself) formed Salmon Sky Media Group (an independent film and television production company). We are on the right path to producing high-quality, entertaining independent films and television series with global appeal. LM: How did you meet your Salmon Sky partners, Kevin McCafferty and Heidi Segal and how does the “Dream team” envision the “R World and Salmon Sky” slate of projects moving into 2018 together. Give us a quick tour of highlights of your top upcoming projects. RS: I met Kevin 7 years ago through a mutual friend. He and I hit it off right away. We immediately started producing Sizzle Reels and writing treatments for shows and began our journey of trying to sell anything to anyone – just
to get that first one picked up. Kevin is an Emmy-Award winning DP and Director and has been in the business since the mid 80’s. He was there when they turned the lights on at CNN, so having him as a friend, a mentor and a teacher really helped me on all levels of my production acumen. Heidi, I met two years ago, and I have to be honest, she’s been like an angel sent from heaven. I’ve always had a lot of great ideas, manuscripts, treatments, sizzle reels, pitches, and an award-wining short. I mean…a lot, but it wasn’t until about a year after meeting Heidi that I was able to take a lot of those great projects and put them in a format that would actually sell. I mean back when I first started pitching shows, I would literally go into meetings with an idea written in pen on a piece of paper, and we’d talk about it. I was at MTV when Bunin and Murray just worked there. Times were different to get shows picked up – the competition was a TON less. Now, you have to have a sizzle, a treatment, and a business plan, a cast, a unicorn and be able to make rainbows appear when it’s not even raining – Oh, and let’s not forget that elusive Pot of Gold!. And that’s where Heidi comes in. Besides being extremely creative herself, a great editor and someone who has single-handedly brought around 15 projects to Salmon Sky’s development slate, she can put together the best looking business plan/presentation I have ever seen. After becoming really good friends, I learned that she is Ex-Air Force and then moved on to be the Development Executive of dozens of multi-million to multi-billion dollar US Government proposals for 25+ years. Two years ago, she suddenly and impulsively changed careers; going from making a six figure salary to diving head first into the uncertain, unforgiving, high-risk, high reward or high-risk, no reward world of Film and TV Production. I thank God every day that she appeared on the scene because without her on this team, we would be nowhere near where we are today. Salmon Sky Media Group (www.salmonskymediagroup.com) has 52 film and TV projects slated for production over the next 4 years, starting in 2018 with 4 films and 3 TV series (scripted and unscripted). The first film that is planned to go into production in 2018 is “Beyond the Rush” (www.beyondtherush.com), a feature based off the short story I wrote in high school that evolved into the short film I wrote, executive produced and cast in 2016. It won a few big awards during its festival tour, but has really been most meaningful as an inspiration for a feature. It lead me and Heidi into a friendship/business relationship that is helping shape my career future. The other films that are on our 2018 slate are “Affluenza Unleashed,” an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller, “True Nature,” an adventure/thriller grounded in the mystery surrounding the
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