Jan. 13, 2018 "Screen time": Today I found this article by Fish Griwkosky in the Edmonton Journal. It's about the Edmonton Screen Industries Office. I have emailed Josh Miller my The Vertex Fighter script way back in 2009. He read 2 versions of it and rejected it:
Last month, Josh Miller began his job as the first CEO of the new Edmonton Screen Industries Office — a rethink and update of the city’s film commission. Absorb the organization’s name to sense its new mandate beyond TV and film into the digital future.
The call for the inaugural screen industries office boss went out across North America, yet Edmonton-born Miller won its board over with his encourage-local vision and resume, which includes degrees in English and drama, film production and a fellowship at the American Film Institute.
This led to writing for TV in Hollywood, being director of development at Super Channel, a partnership at Minds Eye Entertainment and running his own indie production company, Panacea Entertainment.
This led to writing for TV in Hollywood, being director of development at Super Channel, a partnership at Minds Eye Entertainment and running his own indie production company, Panacea Entertainment.
With a laugh, 62-year-old Miller notes that before all that he was a keyboard player in an R&B band. “I used to play in the Grand downtown and the Klondiker in the basement.”
Although, he admits, “I plateaued. So I got interested in film. I was always pretty good at writing. And, this is such a nepotistic story,” he said, “but my dad’s secretary was Arthur Hiller’s sister.”
Hiller, also born in Edmonton, directed the 1970 international hit Love Story, and was shooting Silver Streak in southern Alberta, starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor — their first film together. Miller asked if he could hang out on set.
He recalls being inspired by Wilder, “a great guy. Every moment he wasn’t acting he was writing. I saw Richard Pryor one time between shots and went up to him and said, ‘Uh, I heard you started out as a standup comedian, and what made you get into movies?’ And he looked at me and said, ‘I’m kind of busy right now, kid — can you go away?’” Well, if at first you don’t succeed …
Given a $530,000 budget by the city for its first two years, the screen industries office so far is a board and Miller, who is figuring out the city’s baseline statistics and collecting anecdotes. Hoping to expand, the screen industries office will be housed for at least a year in the Edmonton Arts Council’s offices at the Prince of Wales Armouries, and it’s here Miller calmly talks about the landscape.
Q: Can you describe the kingdom within which you’re working?
A: Think about an airport lounge. Mobile devices, iPads, laptops. TV screens with CBC News and CNN and flight info. People are getting information, playing games, using apps, watching entertainment.
I’m looking for the unifying theory of the universe, but what’s in common is its companies and entrepreneurs all making what I call media products based on intellectual property, for screens. What we want to do at ESIO is help their businesses grow, give them a system with market intelligence. It’s all very business-y, not very art-y — although there’s my business in the arts council. My background is both.
I’m looking for the unifying theory of the universe, but what’s in common is its companies and entrepreneurs all making what I call media products based on intellectual property, for screens. What we want to do at ESIO is help their businesses grow, give them a system with market intelligence. It’s all very business-y, not very art-y — although there’s my business in the arts council. My background is both.
Q: There are a lot of expectations and hopes pegged on ESIO.
A: It’s a startup, really. There were surveys, stakeholder meetings — I’ve read all of that. January is me meeting with companies, filmmakers and entrepreneurs, interactive digital media people. I want to sit down with them and ask what is it exactly that you need, and that you think we can do?
Q: There are broad, general asks, like “make a strong industry in Edmonton” — but you’re looking for specifics …
A: Right. And then I’ll meet with the association boards separately — that’s Alberta Post Production Association, Alberta Production Industries Association, Digital Alberta, the Walkthrough Society — and also the unions. Hopefully the middle of February we’ll have a social gathering, and we can all get together.
Q: What else do you think you’re bringing to the job?
A: I have a lot of experience with non-profits, I’ve sat on film festival boards, on AMPIA twice, Canadian Media Producers Association. I think that gave the board some comfort that I could handle the governance side of this, the really boring stuff. But it is really important stuff if you’re going to go ask people to support you, especially if you’re asking for money.
Q: I’ve noted occasional tension between the film and digital camps — everyone wants a fair share of your efforts.
A: Where my learning curve is, is on the interactive/digital media side, which I’m sure they’ll be the first to tell you. (Laughs.) There’s some really interesting stuff coming up with virtual reality, augmented reality, some of the 3-D development that’s happening. I had a great, three-hour conversation with Owen Brierley (executive director of Edmonton Digital Arts College).
Q: You don’t have to fire cannonballs, but what were we missing in the past film commissioner concept?
A: We were chasing an old paradigm, which is hire a film commissioner and get that person to bring business back by attracting film or TV to shoot here. We’ll always welcome guest production, but what we want to do is enhance and build up our local companies.
They’re committed to being here and working here. If they can grow, that’s more work locally. Here’s the most important part — the stuff we used to attract to shoot here was good for employment, but we didn’t own the IP. So it’s a longer game we’re working on.
They’re committed to being here and working here. If they can grow, that’s more work locally. Here’s the most important part — the stuff we used to attract to shoot here was good for employment, but we didn’t own the IP. So it’s a longer game we’re working on.
Q: How do we start doing that?
A: The thing that’s right between my eyes is the Edmonton Film Fund. That was originally made to invest in features that would shoot here. (The city) did an analysis of it and decided to put the brakes on it. We just have to go in there with a strong proposal. They want to do something — they just have to feel like there’s a plan. They want outcomes.
Q: Can you say anything specific about that, or do you have to hold your cards close?
A: I’ll just say in general terms it’s going to follow the philosophy of having local, quality IP that attracts investment, so there might be a development component. The beforehand marketing you have to do — networking — you go to people’s head offices and show up not once, but five times. It’s hard for some companies to do that on their own, so if there’s a way we could support that. There’s skills development I think we can help with as well.
Q: When you were hired, the Forsaken movie production came up on social media. Can you talk about what happened?
A: After doing a lot of projects without any issues, I was a co-producer on that one, and my co-producer was bringing in most of the financing. My role was to bring in the Alberta grant and manage the relationship with the unions. Some equity partners we thought we had vetted just didn’t fund.
We actually had redundant financing in case one fell out, but they all fell out. We were able to raise bridge financing that got us almost to the end of production, but we had payroll failure.
It took us about a year and we paid off all the wages and benefits. There are investors and vendors that are still owed money, including me, and as the film generates revenue we’re slowly paying them down. I don’t blame people (for being upset), I’ve been not paid. Unfortunately we fell victim to a bit of a scam.
We actually had redundant financing in case one fell out, but they all fell out. We were able to raise bridge financing that got us almost to the end of production, but we had payroll failure.
It took us about a year and we paid off all the wages and benefits. There are investors and vendors that are still owed money, including me, and as the film generates revenue we’re slowly paying them down. I don’t blame people (for being upset), I’ve been not paid. Unfortunately we fell victim to a bit of a scam.
Q: Is there a lesson from this that informs this job?
A: Yeah, but not just that, from everything I’ve been through. I can say, ‘Here’s the pitfalls, here and there.’ Or bring in relationships with banks to help projects move. I want to be someone people can call and say, ‘Here’s the situation,’ and I can give that feedback.
Q: So if someone wants to talk to you …
A: Here’s my card. (Hands it over.) Send me an email is the best way to start, and we’ll go from there.
http://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/movies/a-chat-with-first-ceo-of-edmonton-screen-industries-office-filmmaker-josh-millerESIO Josh Miller to retire:
2020 has been a year of significant change and the ESIO is no different. Our CEO, Josh Miller, is retiring at the end of December. The Board and staff are grateful for his stewardship and fully support his decision to spend more time with his family after a long and distinguished career in the screen media industries as a screenwriter, producer and executive.
Josh is proud of what has been accomplished to date. “When I was hired in December, 2017, we were truly a start-up. Now we have a fully-staffed organization and our programs are all operational, most prominent among them the Edmonton Screen Media Fund. Having charted the first leg of this journey, it’s time to step aside and allow the organization to take its next strides under new leadership.”
The ESIO Board is currently undertaking a search for a new CEO. Those who may be interested in applying for the position should contact Rick Vogel at rick@thevogelgroup.ca for information.
ESIO CEO Josh Miller to Retire | ESIO (edmontonscreen.com)
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