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How Emmy Award-Winning Film Producer Mark Maxey Brings Stories to Life

In this episode of Saint Louis in Tune, hosts Arnold Stricker and Mark Langston speak with Mark Maxey, an Emmy Award-winning producer and president of Rolling Pictures. Maxey discusses the critical role of producers versus directors in filmmaking, his storied career, and his passion for storytelling and social responsibility. Highlights include insights into his major projects such as 'Words of War,' 'Space Oddity,' and 'As They Made Us,' along with his significant contributions to charitable organizations and initiatives aimed at supporting at-risk youth and families. Maxey also shares personal anecdotes and valuable advice for aspiring filmmakers.

[00:00] Introduction to St. Louis in Tune

[00:45] Exploring the Role of Film Producers

[02:16] Guest Introduction: Mark Maxey

[04:18] Mark Maxey's Journey into Filmmaking

[05:42] The Magic of Centron Film Studios

[06:31] Transitioning to a Career in Production

[14:14] The Role of a Producer in Film

[15:24] The Collaborative Nature of Filmmaking

[19:00] From Television to Narrative Film

[27:34] Mark Maxey's Social Responsibility Initiatives

[33:02] Reflecting on Success and Gratitude

[34:05] Challenges in Financing and Distribution

[36:04] Unseen Films and Lost Stories

[39:41] Advice for Aspiring Filmmakers

[41:27] The Evolution of Filmmaking Technology

[42:15] Closing Remarks and Acknowledgements

[42:47] Hosts' Final Thoughts and Humor

This is Season 7! For more episodes, go to stlintune.com

#filmproducer #rollingpictures #emmywinner #motionpictureproductioncompany #washingtonwestfilmfestival #independentfilmfestival #uptosnuff #televisionacademy

Transcript
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Do you ever wonder what film producers do as opposed to film

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directors? We're going to talk to an Emmy

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Award winning producer today on Saint Louis and tune.

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In.

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Well, greetings, listeners and listener,

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and welcome to Saint Louis and tune. And thank you for joining us for

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fresh perspectives on issues and events with experts,

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community leaders and everyday people who make a difference in

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shaping our society and world. I'm Arnold Stricker along with

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co-host Mark Langston. Mark, good morning to you.

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Good morning. To you. I'm intrigued. Well, the difference between a

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producer and a director. I sometimes I think producers

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don't get the love. Oh, no, they don't know.

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And it's not their money that's making the whole thing happen or

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something like that, I don't know. They're like the wheels behind

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the machine. That's what I'm going to guess.

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We'll find out from our guests here in a moment.

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But first, our return to civility. We like to return to civility

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and encourage everyone to return that way.

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Perform company service projects require employees to volunteer

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at least three times per year, and offer them time away from

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the office to do so. Once a month,

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organize 4 to 10 people to either deliver hot meals to shut ins,

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or go help out at a local food shelf. I think that's a wonderful idea.

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It really builds a lot of unity and an investment in the community in

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which they the business is located. Oh yeah, and folks that wouldn't

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normally do that type of volunteer work, it's helping them get into it

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a little bit and reaching out and helping our fellow person. Yeah.

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And I know a lot of people may require them to do that. Yeah.

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There are require them to volunteer. Public companies do that.

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They give them a nice t shirt I think usually.

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Clean up kinds of things and. Yeah, get a day off. Yeah.

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build some camaraderie with your fellow workers and things like that.

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Absolutely. I think it's a great idea.

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I think I wish more companies would do it.

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Maybe they do and I just don't see it.

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And more companies involved in kind of what I would call social

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aspects of the community. And our guest is one who invests that

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way. Also our guest is Mark Maxey. He's an Emmy Award winning producer

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and president of Rolling Pictures, which is a motion picture production

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company in Burbank, California. His recent productions include

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the political thriller World Words of War, also Space Oddity,

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which stars Kevin Bacon and also Mayim Bialik. She directed.

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That was her debut as They Made Us Another One by Dustin Hoffman,

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and Candice Bergen starred in That Rare Objects, many others,

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The Kill Room, starring Samuel L Jackson and Uma Thurman. Wow.

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Maxie is on the National Board of Producers Guild of America

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and is a voting member of the Television Academy.

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He is co-founder and chairman emeritus of the Washington West

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Film Festival, the only film festival to donate.

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Get this mark 100% of box office proceeds to help at risk youth and

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families in need. Oh good for them. He serves on the board of Women

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in Film and Video, Artistic Fuel Foundation and the Rock and roll

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for Children Foundation, benefiting families fighting pediatric

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cancer at the Children's Inn at the National Institute of Health.

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He's a longtime supporter and volunteer for the USO,

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supporting American men and women in uniform and their families

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and kids in the spotlight, which changes outcomes for at risk

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foster youth in Los Angeles through innovative visual arts programs.

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He puts his money where his mouth is the social aspect in

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helping the community. Mark Maxey welcome to Saint Louis

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and tune. Wow. Thank you Mark. Thank you Arnold.

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It's almost sounds like a presentation for an Emmy or something

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for him. He's one way. He's he's won. How long was that speech when

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you got. Up there and received that award

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Mark. watermark. It was recorded in the introduction.

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They had the big hook over there on the side going, okay, well.

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We want people to know that. You have a very.

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Good pedigree of what you did. We just don't throw everyday people

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out here who have done nothing. We have everyday people who have

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contributed to our world and everything like that.

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So take us back to, uh, Lawrence, Kansas, which I'm very familiar

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with and I'm very familiar with. I'll tell the audience I'm very

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familiar with the family. And actually, Mark's father was

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my clarinet professor. Oh, and I got to know the family

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and actually stay in the home when they were on sabbatical.

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But tell us a little bit about how you got involved and what

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you're doing here. As you mentioned, my father.

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Thank you both. My parents are classical musicians,

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but though I grew up in a very in a household that was very

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focused on music and the art, which was a great way to be raised.

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I always loved film and visual art. Um, and that in part may have been

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because across from where we where I was raised was, uh, the only the

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only film studio in Kansas was across the street from our house.

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It was an early introduction to the magic of moviemaking and what

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went on in that we were extras in some of the films that they did.

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There was mostly educational thing. That's where I learned about video

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and sound and lighting and craft services and all the different

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elements that go into putting together a production and.

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Got the bug. It sounds like that's a good place to

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get the bug right across the street. That's yeah, it's amazing.

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Just a magical place and perhaps an inspiration that returned later on.

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In a pretty famous place. Cintron Film Studios, that was. A.

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Pretty, pretty prominent at the time, wasn't it? Yeah.

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For their neat educational films Professionally,

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they were a very well-respected, award winning film production studio.

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They're on the commercial side. They're perhaps best known for the

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cult classic B-movie A Carnival of Soul, with their one of their few

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commercial ventures in the 60s. That was a double feature at the

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Brighton back in the day. Now you did you go on to get a

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degree in filmmaking or journalism or what happened?

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How did that proceed from there? Yeah, no.

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So my, my, I was not one of the people that wanted to be a

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filmmaker when I grew up. And so that is not what I

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pursued academically. I really go I moved to the East Coast

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and was working for a technology company and the interactive

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television space, but I was part of the marketing department there.

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And then that kind of evolved into our role with the production

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company doing television and corporate and industrial production,

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and I fell into the role of producer. I started off putting together

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project and productions and budgets and team and then crafting stories,

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and I just found my, you know, found my place.

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But I was not one of the kid that grew up making movies in my backyard,

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just like friends. And I dreamed of going to film

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school and being George Lucas or Steven Spielberg. That love it.

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That maybe they'll play. And I just fell into it.

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And you've had an opportunity to work with Lucas, haven't you? Oh, no.

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I've worked with people that, um, that have worked with them, but I've

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not yet had had the opportunity to work with them directly now.

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Now, you've you've also written and you're known as a producer,

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but you've written, produced and directed something on your own.

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Can I ask Mark real quick? This goes along the same lines

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that you're talking about. You are a producer,

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a director and a writer. Is there one of those that you like

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best? Oh yeah, I'm a producer. I wish I could write, and I'm envious

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of the people who have that gift, but it eludes me largely.

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I know enough good writers and good directors to know that I am neither,

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in the same way that I can change the oil on my car.

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But that doesn't mean that I should write. Well put. I'm a producer.

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That's where I sit that the the project that you mentioned,

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that I directed, that wrote and produced was a very personal story,

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the documentary about my dear friend and and partner in rolling pictures,

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Duffy Walbert. Bobby is just a remarkable person,

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perhaps best known for being the composer of the television shows

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The West Wing, The Wonder Year, 30 something, Friday Night Light

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and any other television program that you've heard of.

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He's just a remarkable man and brilliant composer,

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and the film that I did was really a look at his journey musically.

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He started off in the 70s as the touring guitar player.

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He toured with Emerson, Lake and Palmer and, you know,

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recorded with Stevie Wonder and Doctor Kahn and just had this

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incredible career during the 70s and the heyday of sex, drugs,

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rock and roll and hit led to the excesses of that era,

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and at a certain point in his career, he chose sobriety.

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He realized that he was on a self-destructive path and needed

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to get sober. And when you're a touring guitar

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player, that's all you know. And once you got over,

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he realized he couldn't go back out and keep doing what he'd been doing,

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and he'd fall back into the lifestyle he was trying to escape from.

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So he at that point had to reinvent himself.

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And and that's when he got into drawing for television and film.

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And it's just a remarkable look at his journey.

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And it's much a story of a redemption.

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The musical look at the career. But if that was a very personal

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story, they'll be told through his friend, the people on the dome

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there in Sorkin, Martin Sheen, Fred Pavard, Tom Arnold,

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the guitar player for Toto and the keyboard player for The Who and

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the drummer for the band Chicago. And through their stories, we reveal,

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uh, who cannot be of and and the other thing about Mafia American

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is that one of the themes of that film and of his life is of being

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a servant to others, which kind of fits in with how you started

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this program with the beautifully cooked the his whole reason for

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living is to be a servant to others, and that just such a beautiful thing.

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And I think the world needs more of that. Yeah.

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Well, let's talk about that, because the organization that you

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have that you are president of really has a social responsibility.

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And we mentioned that at the front end when I read a little of your bio,

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what was the impetus behind that? And I know just in even in D.C. with

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the Washington Film Festival and the proceeds was there discussion amongst

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the people of the film festival or of of rolling pictures and like,

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what are we going to do with this? Should we save this for new artists

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or should we just help the community? How was that process?

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Yeah, I think in the case of the Washington White Film Festival

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specifically, that was the brainchild of the friend of mine,

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Brad Walthall, who conceived of the idea of starting a film festival but

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using it as an agent for good to to take the world for the better.

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So the kind of the tagline, the mantra for the festival,

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the story can change the world. And I believe that, you know,

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through stories and visual and musical art, you can make the

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world a better place. And as part of that, um, you know,

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we wanted to take 100% of the box office and use it to solve the

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narrative made in the community, not just in an The oversized Photoshop

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sort of way, which oftentimes is what fundraiser turned into.

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But in a very targeted, specific way, so much so that we

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would actually create a short film that would play the next year's

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festival that showed how the funds were used and the impact it had

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on the community being helped, that the audience could see the

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impact that they were having just by buying a ticket and participating

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in the festival that year. It was a beautiful thing that

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evolved over the last 12 years, and it's something I'm very

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proud to still be part of. Or we're preparing for our next role,

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which will take place in October. I think that's a just an outstanding

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way to do that, especially showing people the following year.

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Hey, this is where the funds went. Yeah.

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And have other organizations in the DC area and even in the California

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Burbank area picked up on that theme, like giving back to the community and

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some social responsibility ways. I think a lot of people Or I can

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tell you that from a different perspective.

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Giving away your largest source of revenue is a terrible business model.

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I don't think other festivals have necessarily embraced or adopted

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what we do here, but but certainly that commitment to serve it.

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I mean, one of the things that we're doing now, actually,

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in partnership with Kevin Bacon, Adam and I had lent into my

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introduction, I, I've had the pleasure of working with an MLA.

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He has a foundation called degrees, and Washington Film Festival and

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Kevin Bacon Foundation have teamed up to create a Servant Day.

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So we're going to bring 100 volunteers from the festival.

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We're inviting our audiences to participate in that, and we're going

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to put together backpacks with supplies and things that are needed

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that will be distributed throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia to

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foster get them at risk youth. That's an example of leveraging the

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festival and and taking it beyond the train into the community and

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have a positive impact on people in need around. Bravo, Bravo! Yes.

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Anytime you can help at risk youth. I've been involved in projects

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that have. It's so worthwhile. It makes such a difference and

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impact on the community and on these young lives and where they

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end up as they grow. It just gives them a new perspective

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on what life in society is all about. Bravo to you, Mark,

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for your efforts there. You don't need me to tell you that,

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but good for you. Yeah, that's. Arnold Stricker with Mark

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Langston of Saint Louis. And two, we're talking to Mark Maxey.

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He is a film producer. And Mark, I guess the question

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that we tease the audience with at the beginning was the difference

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between a producer and director. And I said, the producers don't

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get a lot of love because their name's not last on the screen.

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And it seems like you do all the front work and a director does

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the work with the actors. Explain that, yes or no?

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Am I right or wrong on that stuff? No, you're spot on.

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I think producer is one of the most misunderstood roles in Hollywood.

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My father recently appeared with me a quote from Hal Wallet,

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who was a prominent producer back in the 40s and 50s.

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The films like The Blocker, and even at his time, he was trying

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to explain what a producer does, and he explained to the producers,

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the person who chooses the film he's going to make and hires the writers,

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and the time to decide what will be filmed and treated to the director

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will be in the cast and all the different aspects of the production

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and that. I think that that's true. The director, the director,

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the director's vision that translated the film and the

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director's vision that audience did. But the producer that that puts all

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the pieces in play to the label that directed vision to be realized.

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Another way of looking at it is that, and this is one of the things I

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love about film is that it's such a collaborative medium.

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So if you want the movie, you see all the names and the

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credit to the end to take. So many people eat in their own wall,

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working together in concert appropriately to create the two

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hour film that you see. But someone has to hire those people,

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and someone has to do the logistics and make sure that everything's

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in place and have the permits and have the funding and have

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the trucks and the equipment and the stages and the actors, them.

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It all has to be in place. There's writers and people that are

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involved in preparing for production. There's all the department heads

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and the director that are involved in the actual production.

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Once production that finished, then in post-production,

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there's editors and composers and colorists and proud people doing the

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things that they do necessary to deliver the film, and then the people

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that sell it and distribute it. And there are different roles in

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each of those. Then the producer is the only

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one that's there from the beginning to the end.

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And that's why when you if you watch the Oscars, there's an award

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for best actor and best director and best costume, the makeup and

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all the other heads of department that go into creating the film.

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But when the order is given for Best Picture, it's given to the

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producer because it was the producer that put all those pieces in

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place and allow that to happen. You know, that corrects me,

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because I and I did know that I always thought the director got that

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award, but it is the producers. I'll be darned. Wow.

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And rightfully so. Sometimes I see numerous producers,

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even. Maybe one of the stars of the

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piece is one of the producers. I've always found that to be

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fascinating, too. There's 3 or 4 producers, and one

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of them is the star of the show, and that's an interesting one.

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That's one of the challenges, I think, for producers as a whole,

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is that there's many different types of producers on many

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different types of producer credit, so there's executive producers

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and producers and the third year producers and co-producers them,

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and they can serve a different role and have the different function.

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And even between film and television, it's different on film.

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And executive producer is oftentimes a financier,

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or in some cases, an actor who contributed to enabling the film to

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get made in some meaningful way. And then television executives are

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is oftentimes the head writer and was in a very creative hands on.

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Well, even between television and film, the title don't always

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mean the same thing. So I think that adds to a lot of

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the mystery that surrounds the the role of producer.

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And, um, it is amazing, Mark, to, to watch those credits.

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Like you said before, it's the so many people,

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so many hands are involved in making a film that lasts a couple hours.

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It's which, as I know, takes years sometimes to make.

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But wow, the amount of people, the logistics that have to be involved.

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You wonder why isn't anybody making a movie? I've seen some wow.

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And they sometimes they've got a whole nother crew and a whole

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nother country. It's just amazing to me how it all

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comes together. It's above my head. Yeah,

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it's like that on a larger scale. I think similar to what an

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orchestra is. And an orchestra. You have all these different

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instruments and they each have their different parts,

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and they all have to work together in perfect harmony to create the result.

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That is the music that's being performed.

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And, and with so much the visual interpretation of that.

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I think that's a great analogy. That's a great analogy.

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Now, I know you mentioned film and television and you've worked

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in both mediums, and obviously you're now in really in film,

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but discuss a little bit why you like film more than you like television,

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because you've done a lot with Armed Services, and we're going

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to get into that in a little bit. But why do you like film more than

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the television side of it? Yeah. So the television, the television

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work I've done has been unscripted. And generally I'm not doing.

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I'm not creating the Big Bang Theory or friends or episodic

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entertainment theory. The television programs I've been

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part of have been Marvin Hamlisch from the National Symphony,

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doing a live broadcast from the Kennedy Center for the Troops on

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Christmas Eve. That was a PBS battles and

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things like that. It's been very singularly focused

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and generally unscripted, which was incredibly rewarding work.

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The story that I was privileged to help tell on the program are

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stories that are near and dear to me because of thay, but but they're

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you're you're telling coming up the story and part of the magic of

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film is creating your own story. And so that's one of the reasons

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why I think I gravitated toward narrative film.

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Scripted film is that it's a chance to create something from Grant.

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That is a story that hasn't been told yet, and it's a very different

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process than what I've been doing with the television production.

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I've been involved with, and for me it's just a little more fun.

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And I did a lot of that earlier my career.

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The unscripted side of things. And then I reached a point in my

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career where I looked at the next 20 years, but do I want them to

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look like the last one year? Do I want them to look different?

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And so that that was the moment that I created Rolling Pictures and

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focused solely on narrative film, which is what I've been doing then

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and, and just loving, you know, every the story that I'm telling you,

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the people I'm working with every day when I get up,

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I'm excited to get to work. That's a great, great place to be.

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Because, man, if you don't like what you're doing and you're miserable.

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Everybody else is miserable. Around you, it seems.

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And we're going to we're going to take a quick break.

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And come back because. I've got some questions related

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to that. What you were just talking about

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narrative films, and we've got a couple other things we want to

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discuss related to your work with the your armed services and what

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projects you're currently working on. And what are you down the road in

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the industry and for your career? This is Arnold Stricker with Mark

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Langston of Saint Louis and Tune. We'll be right back.

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Welcome back to Saint Louis and tune. This is Arnold Stricker with

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Mark Langston. We are talking with producer

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Emmy Award winning producer Mark Maxey from Rolling Pictures.

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And Mark, as promised, what do you see is you mentioned

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the importance of narrative. And I guess my question relates

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to this. What is it about storytelling

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and narratives that resonates with people.

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I'm not sure different people connect with different elements of story,

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but one of the things that I think film does both of the two new worlds

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or new ideas, or take them to places we couldn't go or bury things

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that we haven't experienced or in some ways helped us connect with

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things that that is relevant to us, that we have experienced in a

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different sort of way. So I think that's just the magic of

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film, is that it could be so many things to so many different people,

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as opposed to documentary or something that's not scripted

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that very when you're making a documentary like journalism,

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you're sticking to the facts and trying to faithfully tell the story.

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You're using the people and places that were part of it.

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And with the narrative film that she's done that you could make it,

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could make it anything. And that creative freedom.

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I think that it's just the magic of film and and it's one of the

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reasons why I'm really enjoying the story that I'm part of today.

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How do you go about choosing a story that you want to be involved with,

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that you want to produce? Yeah, that's a great question.

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Of all the stories that I've been part of have come to me

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from from that I know, and I get a lot of there's a lot

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of great ideas and great stories and great material out there.

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And it's we're not a huge company. We're doing a couple films a year

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that I tend to be very chubby and collective with the the project

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that Rolling Pictures gets involved with and the story that we tell.

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I think in all cases, the stories have been character driven and

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compelling, at least for me. You mentioned I had the good fortune

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of helping produce my own Bialik directorial debut as they Made Up,

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which starred Dustin Hoffman as an abusive father and Candice

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Bergen as an alcoholic mother. And that was a very different

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kind of story than Space Oddity, which was directed by Kyra Sedgwick

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and starred Kevin Bacon and Alexander Shipp and Kyle Allen,

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which was more of a love story, just completely different,

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but in both cases very character driven, very compelling and

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story that in some level I just thought were were worthy of

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sharing with with the world. And the response in those has

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been really good. Yeah, I think that my attachment

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to the director and the actor as that to me as a producer, again,

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I just put the pieces in play. But they're the ones that make

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you make the magic happen. But yeah, I'm,

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I am grateful that the film have been as well received as they have.

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And with the next film that, um, that I have.

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But you had mentioned words of war with out the spring of next year,

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the after clay in the US and then move elsewhere around the world.

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That's the story of of an American born woman who was a

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Russian journalist who, early in the Putin administration,

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exposed some of the atrocities of what he was doing at that

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time to the people in Chechnya, and was poisoned on a flight from

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Moscow and survived and detained and harassed, but persevered and

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continued to write truthfully about what was happening in Russia and

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ultimately with family and friends, is just one story of more than

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1800 journalists who have been killed so far, just a century.

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And I think that's just a staggering statistic and an important subject

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that I think more people should be aware of through bringing this woman.

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Her name was Dana Politkovskaya, uh, bringing her story to to audiences,

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hopefully will be just a reminder of the importance of

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the work that journalists do, the importance of protecting a free

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press and and journalists right to report what is happening truthfully,

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without fear of death or reprisal. Both types of stories are so

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important. I think. So important. Yeah, right. Yeah.

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Your Emmy was for the honors. A Salute to American Heroes.

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And that was in 2014. But you've also done some television

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specials that really related to our veterans American Valor,

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Salute to Veterans, The Wounded Warrior Experience,

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National Memorial Day Parade, and as you mentioned,

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the concert, holiday concert for the troops with Marvin Hamlisch.

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What is it about? Is it just D.C.? Is it the environment of veterans

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that are at the time when you were where you were working and

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how you were working? That was projects that you were

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really embracing? Yeah, I did not wear the uniform,

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but my father did, as did some of the others in his

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generation and in generations before, and I have so much respect for

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the men and women that do serve in the armed forces at that time.

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This was during the Bush administration and 911 had happened.

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We were at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we're deploying

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large numbers of people overseas. And there were so many stories

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of heroism and valor and courage and service that, you know,

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it just made sense to try to share some of those with viewing

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audiences here back home. So each of those programs you

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mentioned all focused on different American heroes and from our

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servicemen and women, and it's truly just remarkable stories that were an

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honor to to help kind of spotlight on unsung heroes, everyday hero.

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Now you live in the DC metro area, but The Rolling Pictures is in

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Burbank. So I know electronic media is is

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great phones and and Skype and Zoom and all that stuff.

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Do you travel back and forth from coast to coast,

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or how do you deal with all of that? I do, yeah,

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I go where the work dictates. So the company is based in

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California. I choose to reside on the East Coast,

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which has been my home since I left Canada. Back bleak.

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And and then the work is where it is. So the words of film I mentioned

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had me living in Latvia. We filmed that in Eastern Europe

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because in the film it was set in Moscow and we needed complete

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to look like Moscow, but with, say, for us to work in.

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We spent several months in Latvia for the the Kevin Bacon film.

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We found that on a flower farm in Rhode Island.

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So it was a month in Rhode Island or the Dustin Hoffman

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film we filmed in new Jersey. So it was spending 4 or 5 weeks

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in new Jersey. In my work, I tend to go where

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the work is, which gives me the freedom to live where I want and

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then have my company where I want. Now, as you look back on your career.

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What? What are you most proud of in

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your accomplishments? What? We've mentioned highlights and

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things. But do some things rise to the

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surface above others? I think I'm most proud of my kid.

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Good for you. I think my greatest work,

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my greatest accomplishment, producing two remarkable young men,

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uh, one of whom is, uh, is a music music educator.

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Um, as with my father, um, he's a he was a choir kid growing up

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and is now a music teacher for Loudon County Public Schools and in Virginia

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and and in my other thought that getting a master's and psychology,

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currently having completed the undergraduate in psychology at

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Michigan State, I think they're my two greatest accomplishment

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or contributions to the world. But I think if I had to choose a

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favorite film or a favorite story, I think it's always the next one.

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So in that case, that would be the. The. Story about the journal.

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I think that currently my favorite I'm always excited about what's

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that next? Very compelling. Story. Oh, yeah. Wow. It's fantastic.

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You've met quite a few people. Do you ever get autographs from

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these folks at the Crazy Game? It's funny, I, I don't I've

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never been an autograph seeker. And, uh, I do have a few photos

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of people from over the years, which has been fun.

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But yeah, that for I think for maybe the upper story was perhaps the

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most rewarding for me personally in that sense, because not only

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not for your friend, but I. I like the West Wing,

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I like The Wonder Years, and I like the show that he had worked on.

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So to tell the story by sitting down with, I mean, I spent my

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birthday with Martin Sheen one year because he was who we were

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interviewing that day for that film. Or Aaron Sorkin is one of my

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favorite television writer. And so to be able to sit down

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with their, uh, Aaron and talk about his stories

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about working with snappy and why not be has been an prison for him.

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Both were real treat for me. That's where it doesn't feel

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like work. I feel like I'm getting the

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better end of that deal. I really enjoyed the people that

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were part of telling sign. Mark, you're not in Kansas anymore,

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that's for sure. Thank you. Thank you. All right.

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What a journey to end up in Burbank, California, from Kansas.

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It's just it's just happens, right? I mean, absolutely.

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It's just it's one of those things that you follow your dream,

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you follow your heart and just find out where you end up.

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It's just amazing in the end. That's one of the things I tell

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my kids that follow the farm. If you're having fun and if you

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love what you do, then every day is a good day and going to work

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does feel like going to work. So I think that's the important

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lesson that some people don't learn early enough and like is

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to follow the fun you. Yeah. So you're you're you pinch

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yourself every so often is. I yeah No, I, I am in awe of where I

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am and the things that I'm doing and the people that I'm fortunate

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enough to work with. Yeah. No one's more surprised than I. Yeah.

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And I'm sure they feel the same way about you, though, Mark. I'm sure.

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There. I do, I bet they do. They say I'm working with a fantastic

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producer here, and they put a lot of faith and trust into you, I think,

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as well. And it says a lot, I think. I don't think they would do that if

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they didn't have that, that faith and trusting in you. That's true.

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They wouldn't do it with me. I think. That's.

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Why that's why producers don't get the love at first.

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But when you look back on a on a production that's completed, um,

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what immense work went into organizing and oh, the logistics of.

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That's crazy. And the money. I don't understand how they find the

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money for some of these projects. That's it's got to be, uh.

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Where do they find the. Money? It's a remarkable feat. Yeah.

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Financing and distribution are the two most challenging aspect, at least

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to my various independent filmmakers. I think if you're working with the

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big Hollywood studio because the money and the distribution provided

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to the studio, but for companies like Rolling Pictures, they had the hot

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package and financed and produced and then fell to a distributor

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of the book that we've created. So that's definitely the things

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that make it feel like work. And it didn't like, work.

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It definitely. And things related to financing

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in distribution. Sure. So would you think some really

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great films may fall through the cracks because of distribution?

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Like here's a fantastic film, but it never got the legs, the sea

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legs or whatever got the distribution that it really should have had.

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As a result, it didn't get out there like it should.

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I think both films, there are films that that have been made that didn't

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get the distribution, get up and so aren't getting the visibility or

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having the impact that they got us. And then I think there are some

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stories that just never get told because things didn't line up.

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There's a screenplay that I had acquired the right to.

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It was a story about a remarkable person of color who had a very

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unique place in American history, and I thought that the kind of story

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I wanted to help tell and the type of story I wanted to spotlight,

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but for a variety of reasons, we actually were able to find the

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funding to help put that together, but couldn't find the right team,

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couldn't find it. We needed a very specific type

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of director. You want a director who loved

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the material as much as you do, and make it their own, and have the

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vision for how to carry it forward. And it just it took a while to

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to find the right person. And by the time that, that we did,

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you know, I think when they would pay for making the kind of

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movie I wanted to make their. That's a story that I still

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think is a great story, but it may never be told.

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I think that's just one example. I was just reading, actually,

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and maybe the New York Times or the Post, I forget.

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But there's a filmmaker that made a nine hour documentary on

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the musician Prince. Yeah, the article said this may be

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the best movie about Prince that no one will ever be because of some kind

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of complication in the right to the light of the thing, or something

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to do with that post-production, where it's possible that that

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film will never be released. But the filmmaker spent a year making

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this nine hour epic feature film about this incredible musician,

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and it's possible. I hope, I hope things turn

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around and the film is really I love the type of story.

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The Beatles documentary was brilliant.

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I loved that look behind the music and into the people that

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have been the soundtrack of our life in the background.

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But yeah, that's another example of that for

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whatever the challenges are facing that project and that filmmaker.

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This article was lamenting that the film might never see the light

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of day, which would be tragic, and it would be.

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Almost seems like there could be an industry waiting for distribution

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of these kind of films. I've heard of it before.

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We have another movie and more show than, and they discuss this as a real

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issue with films that are great, films that just aren't getting there.

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They're not getting out to the public.

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And it's, it seems like such a shame. So much talent, so much effort,

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so much heart that goes into many of these films.

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And like you say, the Prince film may not even see the light of day.

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That's just tragic, I think. Yeah, it really is.

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It seems like that the money is in the big superhero couple

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franchises and films like Barbie with with our great film that

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I'm glad that they did so well. But there's so many other stories

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that are not those that are equally deserving and equally compelling,

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that are smaller films. They were the a classic film

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called My Left Foot that was an award winning film back in the

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day starring Daniel Day-Lewis. But if that were made today,

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I'm not sure it could get distributed and that it's just the market's in a

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different place and audiences are in a different place, and and stories

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like that might have been considered arthouse film 30 years ago, um,

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are not as easily finding a home and in a very crowded marketplace.

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That is the the state of the film industry today. Is that why you.

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See more of film festivals popping up and really entrenching themselves and

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in large cities or communities and, and then films can make the circuit

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on those rather than like in the, the big box office kinds of things. Yeah.

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I think that both play an important role for, for independent film.

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And I love gold and not just my, um, but I've been to dozens of

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festivals across the country, and I think that the stories that

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they find and the films that they share with audiences are powerful

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and and oftentimes overlooked. I think that's an important way for

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filmmakers to connect with audiences. And the downside is that it's

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not a good way to monetize it. If you're making a film and it

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doesn't find any type of distribution beyond the concert circuit,

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then go make another film. It's not a model that helped the same

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filmmaker, but it is an important step and in the filmmakers journey

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with the story to try to connect with audiences and gain the visibility

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necessary to hopefully secure a distribution deal that'll make the

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film more widely available. Mhm. Now, I know you've been asked

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this question multiple times, so you could you probably have

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it memorized, and I want you to approach it from two different ways.

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So the question is you're talking to individuals maybe in high school

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or even middle school or even at the university level, and their

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interest in becoming a film producer or involved in the film industry.

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And then that's one perspective, but also the perspective that

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you're talking to yourself. Who had no idea you were going

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to end up in that industry? So what suggestions and what

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recommendations do you give? And you can't say run?

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I think that one of the great things about this industry is that

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if you want to be a filmmaker, all you need to do is to do it.

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You don't need any stamp of approval. You don't need to go to a film

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school. You don't need a certain degree

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or a certification. Anyone can be a filmmaker.

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Anyone can be storyteller. Anyone can put together a group

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of people and make a film or a story or a television program.

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It's just a matter of finding the right story and finding

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yourself at the right people. And so I think that's one of the

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things that that I learned early on, is to try to help with people that

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are more talented than I, if I'm the smartest person in the room,

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then I'm in the wrong room. Me too. The way. I look at it.

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I think about. It all. Thanks for the really talented

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people. And you'll end up with really

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terrific results, though. So yeah, I think that would be my

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advice to just do it and then find other people that are as passionate

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and as or more talented and learn from each other and work together.

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It is a collaborative medium. It could take the village, but

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find your tribe and just go do it. And there's nothing that would stop

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anyone from being a filmmaker. And these days, I mean my iPhone

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create video that was better than what cotton market would go on.

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It's amazing how technology has evolved.

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The tools have made everything more accessible.

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It used to be you'd have to go and do an editing suite and pay

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a lot of money, and you're doing things on film, and it was a lot

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more difficult to make a film in the old days than today were,

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and that with YouTube being the internet and TikTok and all these

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people that are now Influencers and content creator people are making a

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phenomenal living somehow just off of creating and sharing content with

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the public, which is just the same thing that the filmmaker is doing.

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I think it's an acceptable, attainable goal.

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You just have to believe in yourself and and and do it. Mhm.

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Great advice, great advice. We've been talking to Mark Maxey who

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is a Emmy Award winning producer. And Mark, it's been a real honor

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and privilege to talk to you. And it's been a long time in

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talking with you and greatly appreciate your time today. Yeah.

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Got to get you back again soon. And yeah. Thank you both.

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Yeah, I know it's early there in Burbank,

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California. Yeah, he's in DC area. Oh, he's in DC. Okay.

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I beg your pardon. So he's got to get ready for lunch

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here. Oh, probably. All right. I thought you were in Burbank. Okay.

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Mark, thanks very much. Thanks, Mark. So much. You, Arnold. Thank you.

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Mark. Okay. Take care. Bye bye. What a fun. What a fun fella.

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Oh my gosh, the kinds of things that he has accomplished, not only

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the documentaries and the things with the military, but the movies,

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and how he has intertwined himself in the film industry with Space

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Odyssey rare objects as they made us beyond 60 up to snuff.

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Burst the silence. Words of war. These are the films,

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the projects that he's been involved with. Soul. Prison. No.

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Rain in hell. Another one. So you folks,

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you need to check out his website. Rolling pictures, dot com, rolling

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pictures, dot com and the kinds of people that he's surrounded himself

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like what he was talking about. Get yourself with people that

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are smarter than you, which isn't hard for me.

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I got everybody who I seem to see is smarter than me, and that's great.

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That's why I guess I love I love to be around people.

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And he has been involved with so many great actors and so many

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great directors. When you were going over that list?

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Just. Dustin Hoffman, Candice Bergen,

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I'm just Alan Cumming, Katie Holmes. I can't. Who else is on here? Just.

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These are just a few. Jason. Isaac. Ben. Miles. I can't believe it.

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Martin Sheen. Tom. Arnold. Yeah, Aaron Sorkin. I know it.

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Ed Asner. So the all of that. And that's one of the things that

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I think is really important that, you know, on here.

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You know, he wouldn't be anywhere around that thing is what he said is

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so true that and I learned this, and I know you learned this of

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what to do and what not to do. And you can be around really

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wonderful, intelligent people and watch what they do.

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Watching is very important. Listening is very important.

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And sometimes they make mistakes and sometimes they don't.

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You remember, I need to remember the things that they did,

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and I remember the things that they did that didn't work.

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And those are all things about and those are things you pass on

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to your kids so they don't have to learn those lessons again.

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And it sounds like he's done that with his sons.

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And kudos to him for doing that. Oh yeah.

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Yeah, it was just a lot of fun to talk with. Oh yeah.

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Yeah, we don't get Emmy Award winning. I know. We don't.

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Pass often, but we are I yeah. Anyway, I.

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Got to thank his mom and dad, Linda and Larry Maxie,

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who I know very well. And you know, it's not what you know.

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It's who you know. Is that what you're saying, Larry?

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Maxie, my clarinet professor was just announced.

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Does his dad play the clarinet? Pardon me?

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Does his dad play the clarinet? Oh, yeah, he's his father.

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He has clarinet. Professor. Really? Yeah, he was clarinet professor. Wow.

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He was, you know, never a really good clarinet player.

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I don't mean to. Laugh, but I just. You don't hear that there's a

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professor of clarinet. Oh, yeah. If you go into clarinet

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performance or any kind of instrument performance,

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there's always a professor of that particular instrument. Wow. Who?

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They've mastered that instrument. And doctor. I call him doctor Max.

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I won't call him Larry. Doctor Max, out of respect,

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he would say he's still learning. He's still accomplishing?

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Yeah, uh, the instrument. And. But there's more to playing than

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just mastering the instrument. There's life, there's the music.

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And how do you translate what's on a written page right into

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something that people will enjoy? And then his mom, Linda,

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who I will call Linda because she was never one of my professors,

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is an outstanding marimba, an international acclaim. Really? Yes.

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And just outstanding individuals, people that you really like to

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be around that you have great conversations with, that you again,

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you learn from you. They are models and role models

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for you and that kind of thing. The kudos to the Max's, Larry and

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Linda Maxie for raising a great son, Mark, and they also have a daughter,

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Kim, and she's very successful also. So do we need to call you Doctor

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Arnold then? You could, because I do have a

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doctorate. Yes, in education. So I should be Doctor Arnold.

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I don't know that I've been called a whole lot worse might.

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Be Doctor Stryker. Arnold, I don't know.

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Yeah, I like Doctor Arnold, but. But I had a lot of fun and and really

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seeing what he's done. Oh, yeah. And if we've had a lot of film people

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on and and talk to them through the new Jewish Film Festival and also

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the the Saint Louis Film Festival, International Film Festival, and.

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Yeah, so those kinds of things, and it's always fascinating to talk

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to individuals who work like that and pick their brains and wonder what

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they're thinking and how they've come across different roles that

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they've played, or how they've approached a different theater

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production or something like that. Okay. It's very fascinating.

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I hope he. Comes back soon. We'll have to have him back when he's

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done with that particular project, and we get a chance to view it.

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Oh yeah. Oh, that'd be great. Yeah, it sounds like a fascinating

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film. A little real on it. Yeah. Sounds like a fascinating film. Okay.

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Do you have any days of the day, Mark?

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Actually, there's a couple national TV dinner day. Did you. Know.

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It takes me back to those Swanson's? Yes.

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You peel off and the peas were kind of fried. And what is it?

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Swiss steak in the mashed potatoes. Stouffer's TV dinner.

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I just can't wait. It's mouthwatering. Yeah, yeah.

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Now, the round building that's empty in downtown Saint Louis

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used to be sold first. Yes. Owned by the Stouffer's TV dinner

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people. Really, I know that. Wow. It's, uh, swap ideas day.

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Oh, it's a good day to swap ideas. We do that every day. Do? Yes we do.

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I know just a couple others here. Let's see. Libraries remembered.

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Libraries are treasure troves of knowledge.

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And you should think about that National Hot Cross Buns Day.

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Where is this. One? A penny to a penny?

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Yeah, and also one of my favorites. No news is good news day.

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Oh, that's every day. No news is good news day.

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Who would have thought that? It's no news is good news day.

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Are you okay? Day. Are you okay? You should call someone and say,

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are you okay? And that goes along with the National

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Day of Encouragement. Oh, yes. Today is the do a bit to uplift

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uplift those around you. So again. Should be in every day a.

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National Police woman Day. Ah, how about that. There you go.

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Thank a police woman for her service today, National School picture Day.

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That's one that I know. All right. So a story about that. Yes.

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Let's say there was this teacher who, every year from his first year

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to when he retired, wore the same outfit. For.

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School pictures. I love it. What a great idea. Oh, yeah.

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Oh, yeah, that's a fantastic idea. I do. Okay, that's about all I got.

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Okay, I. Can't. I've got a couple of funnies here.

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Oh, no. Uh, never make snow angels in a dog

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park, Mark. I think that'd be right. That'd be a good idea.

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I never make the same mistake twice. I make it 5 or 6 times just to

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be sure. Okay. And have you ever talked to someone

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about something and they laugh? Maybe. Especially appearance.

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We all know that mirrors don't lie. And I'm just grateful that they

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don't laugh. Oh. So after winning the game,

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I decided to throw the ball into the crowd like they do on TV.

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Apparently it's unacceptable in bowling.

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You think sometimes you meet someone, and from the first moment that

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you want to spend your whole life without them, I get.

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Yeah, I understand that. I know. I know, passwords have changed.

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They also asked, funny that I've seen this before.

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That technology is now asking us to prove that we're a human right.

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But passwords. Sometimes you say it's got to

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have this and got to have that. So here's one.

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It says sorry, but your password must contain at least eight characters.

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Upper and lower case letter, a symbol or number, a hieroglyphic,

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a haiku, a musical note, the feather of a hawk, and a drop

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of unicorn blood. Wow. No kidding. Yeah. Some of them are like that.

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Oh, yeah. Yes they are. Oh, my gosh, that's just not right.

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What are. You trying to do to. Us? Oh, I know, it's okay.

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Let's see here. I told my suitcases that there

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will be no vacation this year. Now I'm dealing with emotional

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baggage. Oh, wow. Oh, golly. Then there was this sign.

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That's almost a. Dad joke that said, you can't change

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the people around you, but you can change the people around you.

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I'm going to say that again. You can't change the people around

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you, but you can change the people around you. Got that horse out here.

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And the longest drum solo. You think maybe buddy Rich or

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Gene Krupa or somebody like that back in the day.

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But the longest drum solo is ten hours and 26 minutes.

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It was performed by a child sitting behind me on a Delta flight from

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LA to Tokyo. Yes. Yes. Oh my gosh. And the parents don't do anything

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about it. No, no. They smile. What a good. Boy. I know. Yeah.

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As he kicks the seat also. Oh, that's all for this hour,

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folks. We thank you for listening. If you've enjoyed this episode,

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you can listen to additional shows at STL and toon.com.

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Consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Pod Chaser or

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your preferred podcast platform. Your feedback helps us reach more

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listeners and continue to grow. Thanks to Bob Birtwistle for our

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theme music. Thanks to Mark Maxey,

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our guest and co-host, Mark Langston. We thank you for being a part of

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our community of curious minds. Saint Louis and Tune is a

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production of Motif Media Group and the US radio Network.

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Remember to keep seeking, keep learning, walk worthy and let

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your light shine for Saint Louis and tune I'm Arnold Stricker.