A Journey through Alzheimer’s with Faith, Hope and Humor…

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Greg O’Brien & Steve Ecclesine

STEVE ECCLESINE has produced over 700 TV shows and 16 movies and recently produced/ directed the documentary Have You Heard About Greg? A Journey through Alzheimer’s with Faith, Hope and Humor. He produced Justin Bieber’s 2020 Dance Videos on YouTube that cumulatively have over 100M views. Chasing Happiness: Jonas Brothers can be seen on Amazon Prime. Demi Lovato: My Truth is a documentary for Google/ YouTube.

His first Hollywood job was as an assistant editor on Roger & Gene Corman’s film, The Slams. This was followed by a 2.5-year stint as Orson Welles editor on The Other Side of The Wind that premiered November 2020 on Netflix. He was the second American to produce a TV series in Vancouver: Airwolf II for Universal/USA Network. A decade later, Steve produced the pilot and first season of the very successful Sliders TV series for FOX in Vancouver.

Other TV Credits include producing Pacific Blue for USA Network, Mantis for Sam Raimi’s Renaissance Productions/ FOX; Scruples, a one-hour pilot for WB/ABC; The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys for the Chiodo Brothers, Howie Mandel/CBS Saturday Morning; Slamball, a new sport described as a live-action video game, combining elements of basketball, gymnastics, and hockey for Tollin/Robbins Productions and Spike TV and Black Sash for Tollin/Robbins/ CW. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within the Cartel, for Ubisoft that premiered on Amazon Prime.

Steve also produced five original Creature Features movies for HBO/Screen Gems: She Creature, Day the World Ended, How to Make a Monster, Earth vs. The Spider, and Teenage Caveman, with creatures by Academy Award winner Stan Winston. There were a trio of films for Warner Home Video: Rest Stop II, Otis, and Alien Raiders. and for Odd Lot Entertainment Organyzm and Wanted: Undead or Alive. The family film Space Warriors was produced in Huntsville Alabama. 

1.     Please tell us more about “Have You Heard About Greg?” and what you did to prepare for it?
My preparation for “Have You Heard About Greg?” (HYHAGreg) included producing over 700 TV scripted shows and 15 movies. One of my first forays into documentaries was Chasing Happiness: Jonas Brothers for Amazon. Independent Documentary storytelling is far riskier than traditional film-making in that you start with an idea, no defined budget, script or schedule and without A-Level talent, a healthy budget or a hot-button topic, the challenge is to tell a compelling story that the target audience wants to see.

David Shenk and Greg O”Brien Co-Host The Forgetting NPR

2.     Has this film changed the way you look at Alzheimer’s/Dementia?
I didn’t know anything about Alzheimer’s/Dementia, even after watching my Mother incrementally disappearing before my eyes as her brain was robbed of its ability to remember or function. Lisa Genova says for every person diagnosed, 6,000,000 victims in the US, 50,000,000 worldwide, there are 10 other people’s lives who will be impacted. This is a pandemic far more devastating than Covid and it has to be stopped. I’m hoping our film is a much-needed wake-up call.

3.     What do you look for in a script?
In a documentary, the script gets written in post once you’ve figured out what you have produced. When looking at a movie or TV script, I am looking for a well-written original story that makes me laugh, sometimes cry and gives the audience somebody to root for.

STEVE ECCLESINE

4.    How do you select a location?
The script and budget dictate location. Shooting on stage is the most efficient kind of production. The improvements in media technology allows for more stage shooting. In the case of HYHAGreg, people opened up their homes and offices.

5.     Have you ever had to handle a difficult conflict in your career?
Way too many to relate in a couple of sentences from a 50-year career.

6.     What would you change in a movie you produced that you believe would make it better?
I produced five Creature Feature movies for HBO/ Screen Gems in 6 months with Stan Winston creatures and in hindsight, the schedule should have allowed for more prep time in between films. The more prep time, the better.
SHE CREATURE was my favorite.

7.     What are you working on next?
I’ve optioned two books and scripts are being finished. I’ve got a deal with a British production company to produce a twisted Twilight Zone series that I co-created with my son, Patrick.. My first book, So You Wanna Be A Producer? is used in film schools and I’m just finishing writing my second book, Passion Sells!

8.     How can fans follow you?
I’m available on Linked In.

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