In Focus Profile: FMA Alum Mark Landry
FMA alum (2001) founded the Cinema Club at 海角社区 in the fall of 1999, and produced the first two annual Outhouse Film and Video Festival events in 2000 and 2001.
Mark鈥檚 first professional experience in the entertainment industry came in the form of a dream internship between his junior and senior years at 海角社区, when he was invited to spend the summer at Skywalker Ranch in the marketing department at Lucasfilm, Ltd. The internship exposed Mark to both the artistic and business sides of the film industry, and provided rare access to the marketing, distribution, and technical areas of the company.
In the Fall of 2001, he entered the prestigious ranks of filmmakers such as George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, Bryan Singer, John Singleton, and many more as a student of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Mark鈥檚 first day in Los Angeles was spent on the set of Steven Soderbergh鈥檚 Ocean鈥檚 Eleven, where he had the opportunity to observe an Oscar-winning filmmaker and fellow Louisiana native at work on the Warner Bros. studio lot. As a student at USC, Mark produced and crewed several film projects and was invited to join a hand-picked team of producers in creating the school鈥檚 75th Anniversary live show and documentary videos. The event was executive produced by Brian Grazer (The DaVinci Code, The Cowboy Way, A Beautiful Mind) and Michael B. Seligman (鈥淭he Academy Awards,鈥� 鈥淭he Primetime Emmy Awards鈥�), and included presenters such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Clint Eastwood, Will Ferrell, Ron Howard, and many more.
Mark鈥檚 USC thesis film, AutonomousLESs, screened in several festivals internationally and aired on the Independent Film Channel. Last year, Mark and business partner Vince Marcello started Silver Cities Pictures, which has several projects in various stages of development, both independently and with studios.
Mark hopes to bring productions back to Louisiana whenever possible.
What have you been doing since graduating from 海角社区?
I went to USC film school for grad school. I was in the production program, so I got amazing hands-on experience in every aspect of filmmaking. It was incredible. There were always A-list filmmakers guest lecturing and attending events. Since I graduated from USC in 2004 I鈥檝e been working project-to-project as a producer/editor, and writing constantly. Like anybody else in L.A. trying to make it, I have a day job as well. I鈥檓 the marketing manager for a software firm called Dekker, Ltd.
How's the other LA?
The city itself is very interesting and colorful. It has its amazing, beautiful qualities and its horrific sides as well. Just like any person or place. You鈥檒l get a good feel for it by watching three films: L.A. Story, Mullholland Drive, and The Big Lebowski. They pretty much cover it all.
The people are interesting, and they鈥檙e what make the city what it is. Almost everyone is from someplace else, so in that regard it鈥檚 like permanent summer camp (with all the ego drama that comes with the type of pubescent posturing one finds at summer camp). And everyone you meet can become a friend, but they鈥檒l never just be a friend. They鈥檒l always be business associates too.
There are those who come here looking for fame and the love that their parents didn鈥檛 provide, and that鈥檚 sad. Those people will never find what they鈥檙e looking for. It鈥檚 like the first circle of Hell in Dante鈥檚 Inferno, in which the naked people are running around a track chasing an elusive bit of cloth to cover their nasty rotting bodies, but they鈥檒l never reach it.
There are the trust fund-ers from the Palisades who have to work hard, but in a different way than someone like me. They went to Ivy League undergrad schools, and seem to have more control over timing their calculated entries into the business.
Then there are people like me who come from working-class families in working-class towns and are committed to one thing and one thing only, and we鈥檙e not asking for permission.
The cinemas here are the best I鈥檝e seen. If you ever come here, you have to see a film at the Arclight in Hollywood. Because of all this - and the weather - I am in love with Los Angeles.
Tell us about your filmmaking projects.
My business/writing partner and I, through our company Silver Cities Pictures and others, have a script that we鈥檝e written and that is out now to producers through an agent at one of the top agencies in town. We have also optioned four other screenplays from aspiring screenwriters. Now we鈥檙e working with these writers to develop new drafts, which we鈥檒l take to studios and producers once they鈥檙e ready. We have one project that we plan to shoot in Louisiana, but it鈥檚 still too early to discuss.
What are you proudest of doing in your work in film, so far?
Wow, that鈥檚 a good question. I would say that it鈥檚 a trick question, or rather, I鈥檝e got a trick answer because it鈥檚 not as though I鈥檓 proudest of one project or another. I鈥檓 proud that I came from Louisiana and simply will not give up doing what I know in my bones is the only thing I鈥檓 good for. I love that. I鈥檓 proud of the skills that I鈥檝e added to what I believe are my natural inclinations, and I鈥檓 proud of my instincts and decisions thus far. But most of all, I鈥檓 proudest that in such a cutthroat industry, I manage to keep my integrity intact. That is a difficult thing to balance.
Any fond memories of 海角社区?
I believe the fondest memories in my life thus far are set at 海角社区. As amazing as my life in Los Angeles is and potentially will become, my greatest nostalgia is for the people and experiences from my time at 海角社区. Learning from Trish Suchy, Lenny Stanton, and Rick Blackwood sharpened my mind. Meeting Kyle Crane, Britt King, Paul Orr, and Jeff Roedel of the Cinema Club and making films with them was the most magical thing I鈥檝e ever experienced. It was a community of artists and genuine cinema lovers, and the things we were able to learn together will always be my firmest foundation as I move forward.
How did you first get involved in cinema? What was the attraction?
Ghostbusters. That鈥檚 it. Ghostbusters did it to me. I was hooked by age six.
What films are on your desert island list?
(In no particular order, and can change depending on my mood)
Ghostbusters
The Neverending Story
Cinema Paradiso
Rushmore
Superman (the Richard Donner)
The Goonies
Dr. Strangelove
Annie Hall
Schizopolis
Network
Taxi Driver
Moulin Rouge
Edward Scissorhands
Batman (the Tim Burton)
Ferris Bueller鈥檚 Day Off
Favorite director(s); actor(s)? Why?
As far as directors go (and I feel the same about titles and actors), I believe that the objective 鈥渂est鈥� occupy one category, and one鈥檚 personal 鈥渇avorites鈥� are a separate beast. I鈥檒l deal with my favorites.
Kubrick: while he is one of the best, he also happens to be my favorite and most respected.
John Hughes: I grew up looking up to his characters, and I feel like my life is very much a John Hughes movie from the 80s.
Scorsese: another of the best who happens to be a favorite. I love the way he even thinks about cinema. He puts together a moment more viscerally than any other living filmmaker in my opinion.
Steven Soderbergh: is there anything he can鈥檛 do? Plus he鈥檚 a good person, as far as I can tell.
Any advice for current FMA students who want to work in the industry?
This is an interesting question, because 鈥渨orking in the industry鈥� could end up being many varied things. There are literally hundreds of different positions one can fill within the entertainment industry.
My advice would be to try to figure out as best you can which area of interest you have, and then focus on that. Learn the other areas that surround, depend on, and support your focus, but keep your focus no matter what. Also, you have to have a thick skin and incredible stamina. Start getting used to not sleeping very much and working your butt off. If you like that sort of thing, then you鈥檙e in good shape. Having a ton of money is probably the best advice I can give, but it鈥檚 obviously not within everyone鈥檚 control.
Other than that, just do what makes you happy because this is your life. Don鈥檛 waste it. Learn as much as you can about what you鈥檙e trying to get into and go for it. Be smart, work hard, treat people well, and never ask for permission to dream big.