Mission Pictures<\/a>, the well-regarded and fast-growing faith-based movie distribution company founded by Chevonne O\u2019Shaughnessy and Cindy Bond, he\u2019s been living out his dream to develop quality entertainment that has both mainstream appeal and something of value to say.<\/p>\nHe began his career working for director Oliver Stone as a production assistant on the films Born on the Fourth of July<\/em> and JFK<\/em>. At the same time, he pursued a degree in finance from Southern Methodist University. He followed that up with a Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law where he was an editor the UCLA Law Review. From there it was on to legal work for Walt Disney Pictures where he negotiated and drafted writer, director, actor and producer agreements for the studio, and served as production counsel for a number of live-action and animated feature films.<\/p>\nEventually, the tug toward the creative side of the business led him to create and sell a number of TV concepts to the likes of E!, Universal, Fox Studios. He also had some original film scripts optioned and he produced and co-produced a few small independent movies (i.e. Mercy Streets<\/em>).<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7GenNE8ehz0<\/p>\n
I recently had to the opportunity to talk with the new Mission Pictures production executive about his hopes and dreams both for the company and the industry as a whole.<\/p>\n
JWK: <\/strong>How do you like your job so far?<\/p>\nTRAVIS MANN:<\/strong> I love it. I\u2019m so impressed with the company the Cindy and Chevonne have built \u2013 their business model as well as their heart. \u00a0I think they\u2019ve got their priorities in order.\u00a0 I\u2019m very pleased with what they\u2019ve done and I\u2019m excited to be a part of it.<\/p>\nJWK: \u00a0<\/strong>Can you tell me about your path to Mission?<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong> I met Cindy in about the year 2000 when I produced a small low-budget Christian film called Mercy Streets<\/em> which was distributed by Cindy\u2019s company. The way that I got to Mercy Streets<\/em> was from a small town in Texas. I said \u201cI want to go out to Hollywood and work in the entertainment industry\u201d \u2013 not as an actor, but rather to produce and create content. And, in connection with that, I ended up going to law school at UCLA and getting into entertainment law.<\/p>\nJWK: \u00a0<\/strong>Good move.<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s been a blessing and a curse because being a lawyer is a helpful vocation. But, in some ways, it can be an impediment to producing\u2026You get golden handcuffs because you\u00a0 get used to making a certain amount of money as an attorney in entertainment law in Los Angeles. When you try to step away from that and realize the salary you\u2019re leaving behind to follow your dream and be entrepreneurial, it can be scary.<\/p>\nSo, that was a challenge.\u00a0 But I got a job in-house at Disney for theatrical legal affairs and then I went over to a firm in Beverly Hills and it was at that firm I met people who said \u201cWe\u2019re gonna make a Christian movie.\u201d And I said \u201cCan you do that? Is there even such a thing?\u201d And they said \u201cYes\u201d and we all started talking about our different skill sets.\u00a0 I said I represented a host of independent producers and I have some valuable skills and I could add value to what (they were) looking to accomplish. \u00a0And, frankly, I wanted to be a producer and that\u2019s been my dream.\u00a0 So, I stepped out of the law firm and we made a little movie together\u2026 The name of that movie was Mercy Streets<\/em> and it starred Eric Roberts, Stacy Keach and David White, and John Gunn directed it.<\/p>\nThen I went around developing some other projects, to set up things with studios, big commercial things\u2026 I was very excited\u00a0 because I thought \u201cI\u2019m on my way as a producer!\u201d \u00a0But on those projects, we would go to two drafts of a screenplay with a writer and then get put into turn-around by the studio.\u00a0 None of those films ever came to fruition and got made. I thought \u201cMy gosh! I have to go get a job again! I\u2019m running out of money!\u201d<\/p>\n
So, I went and found a job as an attorney with a foreign sales company.\u00a0 What that means is that, in the same way there are distributors here in the U.S. ( Warner Bros., Paramount etc.), there are similar companies that distribute entertainment content country by country all over the globe.\u00a0 A foreign sales agent will take a film and go to Cannes or to the American Film Market here in Santa Monica or to the Toronto Film Festival or the Berlin Film Market and sell a film territory by territory to all those different distribution companies around the world\u2026 I learned about that business model with a couple of different companies that I worked for.<\/p>\n
Later, when I reconnected with Cindy and found out that she and Chevonne had set up Mission Pictures International and were actually doing foreign sales for faith-based, family-friendly, inspirational entertainment.\u00a0 And I said \u201cOh, wow! Well, that\u2019s great! Because that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing!\u201d<\/p>\n
And so\u2026I started consulting with (them)\u2026I said \u201cThis (Mission Pictures) is really a great business model because 12 years ago when we did the low-budget film (Mercy Streets<\/em>), there really wasn\u2019t anyone exporting faith-based and faith-friendly content internationally \u2013 but there are believers all over the world.\u00a0 And they\u2019re all hungry for content that resonates with them, affirms what they believe (and) challenges them to aspire to greatness.<\/p>\nJWK: \u00a0<\/strong>Was getting into faith-based movies strictly a business decision \u2013 or was it something you\u2019ve wanted to do from the beginning?<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I love entertainment for entertainment\u2019s sake. I\u2019m a huge fan of big, fun Hollywood movies. And so I love the superhero movies. I love the big action thrillers. I love (all) that. But I think that there is another aspect to entertainment that is\u2026inspiring greatness in people. It wasn\u2019t that I set out to change Hollywood. It\u2019s just that there are certain movies I really love\u2026I loved Chariots of Fire<\/em>. \u00a0I loved The Matrix<\/em>. I loved, most recently, The Blind Side<\/em>.\u00a0 I just think that there are films that you see that you just get inspired by and they strike an emotional chord.<\/p>\nJWK: \u00a0<\/strong>You\u2019re a writer too.<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 I also write.<\/p>\nJWK: \u00a0<\/strong>Will you be writing some of the films Mission Pictures develops and distributes? Do you intend to be a creative producer?<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 I do have every intention of being a creative producer because I thank being able to tell a story and \u2013 having written screenplays and having won writing competitions \u2013 it\u2019s very important to know how to effectively tell a story and communicate it to an audience. I don\u2019t know how much time I\u2019m going to have in far as sitting down and writing things from the get-go.\u00a0 I would suspect that I\u2019ll be primarily doing notes, comments, changes, encouragement, guiding and directing screenwriters working with us because they\u2019ll be so many different projects we\u2019re overseeing at any time.<\/p>\nJWK: \u00a0<\/strong>So, you won\u2019t just be acquiring projects. You\u2019re going to be developing in house.<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s correct. That\u2019s really my mandate and why I\u2019ve come aboard full time. Because, in the past, Mission was focused on selling completed pictures \u2013 acquisitions \u2013 internationally\u2026<\/p>\n\u2026But, it\u2019s better for everyone involved, if we can get more active in the process earlier in the process. Because, often times, producers aren\u2019t aware of some of the quirks of the international marketplace or they\u2019ll just make a decision to zig when they should have zagged and they\u2019ll alienate an entire territory, things like that. Or they\u2019ll just make mistakes because they haven\u2019t been producing for a long period of time\u2026 Between me, Cindy and Chevonne, we\u2019ve doing in entertainment in different roles and capacities for a long time now and we can help avoid some of those novice mistakes.\u00a0 So, yes, (we\u2019re) definitely taking a more active role in bringing in strong screenplays that will attract great talent that we can attach and cast to and go out and produce those on our own or partner with another production company (through) a co-finance or co-production deal.<\/p>\n
JWK: \u00a0<\/strong>So, this is a major step forward for Mission. .<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah. We\u2019re really ramping up production to control our own destiny as far as the creative choices of the projects that we do.<\/p>\nJWK: \u00a0<\/strong>Will you be doing domestic distribution as well?<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 No, not right now. There are other people who do domestic distribution and it\u2019s definitely a growth area that we\u2019re interested in exploring later on, but right now\u00a0 we\u2019re typically partnering with other people who do domestic distribution already and have the infrastructure in place.<\/p>\nJWK: \u00a0<\/strong>Any plans on getting into television?<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Mission is getting more into television.\u00a0 We\u2019re exploring that as a definite growth area, both in the scripted and the unscripted area, but, primarily scripted because, as we work with writers, directors and producers who are talented, there\u2019s just room for more of that kind of content that\u2019s out there \u2013especially with some of the kind of alternate distribution models\u00a0 via the internet and direct downloads (as well as) other opportunities.<\/p>\nJWK: \u00a0<\/strong>What\u2019s the difference between a good story and a good story involving faith?<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 I think a good story is just a good story\u2026although I\u2019d say all the great stories have a faith component.\u00a0 It\u2019s about stepping outside your comfort zone, rising to the occasion or the challenge before you overcome a tremendous obstacle \u2013 because a hero is only as brave or as big as the villain which is kind of Screenwriting 101. Go big with your villain because your hero needs a major obstacle to overcome and so those I think are incredible great stories.<\/p>\nJWK: \u00a0<\/strong>What\u2019s on the horizon for Mission?<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Right now we\u2019re excited because we just signed deals with talented writers and directors for slates of pictures where we\u2019re going to work with them on a long-term basis over the next few years to do several films. One gentleman we just signed a deal with is Rick Bieber who has been in Hollywood for a long time and, most recently, wrote and directed The Fifth Quarter<\/em>, the movie with Aidan Quinn and Andie McDowell, a very inspirational, positive story. We have some other things with him right now and we also just signed a deal with a very talented director named Rob Johnson\u00a0 who directed a movie called Jada (a few years ago) which was a low-budget Gospel-themed piece. And so we\u2019re working with\u00a0 him on a slate of lower-budget faith-based pictures as well.<\/p>\nBeyond that, we have some bigger more expensive things in the works but the contracts are not yet signed but we\u2019re very close and we hope to have major announcements\u00a0 about some very high-profile pictures out shortly.<\/p>\n
JWK: <\/strong>\u00a0Please keep me posted on those.<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>Absolutely!<\/p>\nJWK: <\/strong>\u00a0I understand you attend Pastor Rick Warren\u2019s Saddleback Church.<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\nJWK: <\/strong>\u00a0How has your faith informed your career?<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 I find Rick Warren to be very challenging and inspirational in his sermons and one of his topics and themes of late has been Dream Big and he told the story of his vision and dream for Saddleback when he started the church\u2026The only thing more crazy than how big his dream was, is how God exceeded it in every possible way. And, inspired by that, I went to Cindy and told her I think that we\u2019re not dreaming big enough.\u00a0 There\u2019s no reason we can\u2019t produce a picture that makes 100 million dollars, which is sort of a milepost for a wildly successful film.<\/p>\nJWK: <\/strong>\u00a0So, there\u2019s no reason a faith-based film can\u2019t be a blockbuster.<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Exactly. There\u2019s no reason we can\u2019t do a blockbuster. There\u2019s no reason we can\u2019t produce a picture of such high quality that it would be nominated for Best Picture. There\u2019s no reason we cannot win Best Picture. Not for vanity\u2019s sake, but because we want to do the most excellent, accomplished work of anyone in Hollywood.<\/p>\nLook at a picture like The Blind Side<\/em>. \u00a0We could do a Blind Side<\/em>.\u00a0 We could do a Chariots of Fire<\/em>. \u00a0We could do one of these pictures and, if anyone\u2019s gonna do it, it may as well be us.\u00a0 I just think we need to raise the bar and aim higher as far as quality content that really appeals to a wide audience hungry for this type of entertainment.<\/p>\nJWK: <\/strong>\u00a0Where do you see Mission Pictures being 10 years from now.?<\/p>\nTM:<\/strong>\u00a0 I don\u2019t really know. I think that all we control are the choices that we make as far as trying to pick great material. I think, in the past, Christians have sort of started at a disadvantage because they have not selected screenplays that are competitive in the marketplace of ideas. What I mean by that is if you don\u2019t start with a great screenplay you cannot make a great movie. It\u2019s impossible. You can make a bad movie with a great screenplay but you can\u2019t make a great movie with a bad screenplay.\u00a0 It all starts with the screenplay.<\/p>\nAs you go out to agents\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 to try and attach actors and directors to your project , if everyone passes, too often Christians will say, \u201cWell, you\u00a0 know, it\u2019s Satan or it\u2019s because it involves a faith component.\u201d \u00a0I find that nothing could be further from the truth for most people. They (just) don\u2019t want to be associated with a bad project or an inferior screenplay.\u00a0 If there is a great story with a faith component,\u00a0 I\u2019ve never seen anyone walk away from it \u2013 rather they embrace it.\u00a0 Because, at some point, everyone wants to leave behind a lasting legacy of films they can be proud of, (that) they can share with their families and children, mothers and grandmothers\u2026I just think that Christians in Hollywood have too often made excuses of conspiracies against them where none exist. Rather, they usually just need to dig in a little deeper and do the hard work of creating a superior product.<\/p>\n
JWK: <\/strong>\u00a0So, you\u2019re not among those who think there\u2019s a resistance to faith-related subject matter in Hollywood?<\/p>\nTM: <\/strong>\u00a0I think there\u2019s some resistance to Christianity generally but unless you have a movie that is really overtly faith-based with some sort of Christian altar call or conversion story then I don\u2019t see the resistance being there.\u00a0 Especially not with The Blind Side<\/em> or Chariots of Fire<\/em> or other true stories of people who just live out their faith in a meaningful way. I don\u2019t think anyone runs away and hides from that.<\/p>\n