EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
The Connector By Echo Mont gome r y Ga r re t t from start to finish,” says Stiemke. “We do true stories, horror films, happy-go-lucky films, thrillers, docudramas, children’s shows — a number of different styles of films.” The entrepreneur discovered his gift for selling and event management early on. He’d been scouting for a modeling agency, but when the agency went out of business, the twenty-nine-year-old was at loose ends. A friend told him about an opening at the Sheraton on the sales team. He was hired and given 90 days to prove himself. “Then 9/11 hit,” he says. “I was the last in and
W hen Mark Stiemke first got involved with location scouting with the film and entertainment industry in the late 1990s, he never expected it to lead him to the web of connections it yielded. The result of more than a quarter of a decade invested into various aspects of the business — executive producer, producer, investor, and global locations and onsite management — is iKonic Entertainment, established two years ago. “Over the last dozen years, when the TV and film industry really took off here, I became the go-to guy for high-end locations,” says the Atlanta native, who first made a splash as a national accounts manager with the Sheraton Atlanta and then the Georgian Terrace Hotel by coordinating epic events that garnered national headlines. “I started getting all these calls to coordinate, negotiate and be the liaison between homeowners and the studios or celebrities wanting to rent,” he says. The challenge? “Atlanta is not a resort town. It’s a different type of location, because these are not second and third homes. I take the time to really educate homeowners about the process.” Because the properties involved are
I figured I’d be the first out. My boss came in and dropped this huge book filled with lost business contacts on my desk. I just started calling them.” A few weeks later, his boss called him into his office. “I thought I was in trouble,” says Stiemke. His boss asked what he was doing. “I told him I was
Mark Stiemke
“ The Wall Street Journal wrote about how we’d pulled that off.” That same can-do attitude serves him well in his primary role with iKonic where he continues to drive success to the core of his business. iKonic has an all-star lineup of talent from producers, line directors, ghostwriters, and every role needed to make a film. “iKonic is a well-greased machine. We all stay in our lane. It’s taken
iKonic has an all- star lineup of talent from producers, line directors, ghostwriters, and every role needed to make a film.
usually multi-million-dollar mansions, when Stiemke is wearing his location management hat he often stays on-site to make sure the homeowner is protected and that the movie people get what they need. “Most people do it for the novelty of it, or because they like a certain actor. However, the money isn’t bad either.” A handful of his more recent credits on the location side include projects for What to Expect When You Are Expecting, The Haves and The Have Nots, Anchorman 2, Need for Speed, An Actor Prepares, and What Men Want. The former model/actor has negotiated
Above: Mark with Morgan Freeman, Jeremy Irons. Photos courtesy of Mark Stiemke.
us ten years to put our whole package together. One of our partners is VFX Crafty Apes, one of the biggest special-effects companies in the business. They did LA LA Land . We’ve all worked together on projects and have our own companies. Then we decided it made sense to partner/and co-produce.” The combined years of experience on the core team adds up to one hundred plus years in the business. Says Stiemke, “I took a lot of risks early in my career, and I still take a lot of risks every day. I create, connect, and find new opportunities.
just calling everybody in that book,” he laughs. “Then he informed me I was the only one booking business and was outselling the entire sales team combined.” When Stiemke noticed that the hotel was slated to be lights out for New Year’s Eve, he came up with an idea for transforming the 765-room hotel into a party scene with seven different environments with music staged throughout. “It took me and several partners, but we sold out the entire hotel in 35 days, with seven different environments of sound, entertainment, casino, and a 500-person dinner. We were written up in Rolling Stone as the 15th biggest New Year’s Party in 2001,” he says.
location contracts for every major studio and network from Paramount, Sony, Universal, HBO, Showtime, Tyler Perry Studios, Starz, Netflix, ABC, Fox, and more. “I’m the guy they call for hard-to-find stuff,” says Stiemke. His reputation for making the impossible happen turned into long-term relationships with several industry heavy hitters. He launched his own production service Stiemke Productions in 1995 and added executive producer, producer, and investor to his resume. With iKonic Entertainment, he and his partners currently have 17 different projects — two of which are episodic series — in development. “We can do a film
To contact Mark, go to mark@thebuckheadmansion.com or www.theBuckheadMansion.com.
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