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Mark Gantt: A Pioneer

Photos: Alan Mercer Lighting: Eric Venturo

The future is now when it comes to web series. By now even the people who are the 'last to know' know about webisodes. They are big budgeted productions that hire Hollywood stars and get nominated for awards. The time is being compared to television taking over radio sixty years ago and it does seem logical.

Mark Gantt is Executive Producer, Co-writer with Jesse Warren, and Star of Sony Pictures Television's web series, 'The Bannen Way.' The show blends action, suspense, and humor to show us the challenges of life for Neal Bannen, a thief who wants to change his lifestyle but faces inner turmoil on his journey. The show had thirteen million views in the first ten weeks on line.

Mark and the show were recently nominated for seven Streamy Awards, the first and most prestigious awards ceremony devoted to honoring excellence in original web television programming and those who create it. The annual ceremony, and its live online broadcast, brings together top talent, decision-makers and influencers shaping the online entertainment industry. Mark came home with the Best Actor in a Drama 2010 award and the show won the award for Best Drama Web Series, 2010.

Not bad for a guy originally from Stockton, CA, who started in the business working in the Art Department, Props and Production on over 100 feature, TV and commercial projects, all the while training as an actor and director at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.

Richard Levi put Mark and I together for this blog. He told me Mark is the real deal and I agree. Mark has the charisma, talent, charm and obviously the vision to go all the way. The proof is in the accolades already bestowed on him. I told him he is a pioneer and making history. Eric Venturo and I met up with Mark for a quick photo session and a chance to find out a little bit more about what makes this man tick...right before he won the Streamys.

AM: Hi Mark, how does it feel to be a pioneer?

MG: It feels really exciting. My partner Jesse and I created this. Going into it was like the wild, wild west. We had no idea what to expect. We looked up web series and basically it was just a reason to get millions of people to look at us. We did it because we didn't have acting or directing careers.

AM: You were proactive. Didn't you want it to be a movie?

MG: We were tired of waiting for an agent to call us. As we kept going forward we decided it could be a web series AND a movie. Who says it can't be both? Nobody really knows what's going on. We didn't plan it. We didn't have anything figured out.

AM: Didn't your agent tell you that it wasn't going to happen for you?

MG: Most agents and my manager told me I was too old. It's not going to happen for you. The people who are your age already have pilots and have been testing or they already have careers.

AM: How did that make you feel?

MG: It hurt. For a couple months after that I asked myself what was I doing? A lot of the agents were saying the same thing. We like you and your reel is great. You've got a great look but I can't get you in the door.

AM: Did you believe you could write something like this?

MG: I'd written a couple of scripts and at the time I had a whole bunch of post-its on my wall for a script I was working on. This was March of 2007. I was in class at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and a teacher was talking to a student about how she needed to create her own career.

AM: How did that effect you?

MG: I was fighting to get a starring role in anything. Co-star was the most I'd ever had. I had made some short films and I had directed and written so I thought why not this way? My girlfriend told me she thought this would be my "in" right here, pointing to all the post-its. I should be creating my own project.

AM: What was the first thing you did?

MG: I got together with Jesse and we adapted something he had already started writing. That was kind of it.

AM: How did you get it to Sony?

MG: We spent six months writing the first six episodes which were five minutes each. Then we did an outline for the whole series. We were able to fund it ourselves. We shot the first two episodes and then we got a whole bunch of favors like to color correct it and sound design. That took another four or five months. We posted the two episodes and a trailer on our web site. We sent out 600 emails and the first person to contact us asked if we wanted to sell it because it was amazing. He already had a relationship with Sony and ABC and NBC. They were looking for these types of projects. Then the doors opened.

AM: You made it! How did you feel then?

MG: This whole process has been about me fighting it, then letting go, and then something else better happens. I have to learn to be patient. This has been a three year process. It didn't go in any way, the way I thought it would, but better than I could have expected.

AM: You are up for all these awards and you won something already didn't you?

MG: Somebody honored us with the Groundbreakers Award at the LA Web Festival.

AM: I think you are setting your place in history. Don't you love that?

MG: It's a little surreal. It's tough because I'm in my world and nothing major is changing, but I do keep having conversations with people who are getting inspired by what I have done.

AM: Has this project brought you any auditions yet?

MG: I just signed with a great manager two weeks ago. The auditions haven't popped open yet. We're just now in the opening phases of a new manager submitting me. I feel good. I feel like we are creating more projects with one that I am starring in. Nothing has hit yet. I'm trying to be patient.

AM: Well I do think you are in a better place than you were three years ago. Working for Sony with name actors.

MG: We got to Sony and they told us we needed some big names to sell the DVD so we got Robert Forster and Michael Ironside.

AM: When does the DVD come out?

MG: The DVD will probably come out at the end of May. It's going to be on cable as well. It will be a movie of the week special on some channel. Within two weeks of that it will be on Netflicks and Blockbuster.

AM: That's when you will notice the change so get ready. What about this character? Is it someone who has been living inside you?

MG: He's the guy that I'd always love to be. He can get the girls and charm his way into or out of things. I struggle with all of his addictions on a daily basis. Those are things I wanted to bring to the character. Things that are more personal. Otherwise he is just kind of a "Bond" character. We wanted to be able to relate to him and his struggles.

AM: It seems like you put in a nice bit of humor to go along with this story. Was that intentional?

MG: Our teacher Milton Katselas, who passed away a year ago, told us to use charm, humor and irony in everything so we tried to do that. When we knew we had a darker scene we looked for some of the charm and humor and definitely the irony throughout the piece. I think it was a challenge. I'm glad you said that. We did feel good about it. That is the struggle as the writer to keep people interested.

AM: Could this possibly be a series on network TV?

MG: We are actually putting together through ICM, a short list of show runners. Hopefully we will be meeting them soon and putting together a pitch.

To learn more about Mark Gantt checkout his web site http://www.markgantt.com/

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Rex Smith: A Renaissance Man

All photos: Alan Mercer Lighting: Eric Venturo

Rex Smith is a multi-talented performer whose natural singing ability has led him to a successful career as a singer and actor. A veteran of stage and screen, Rex started his career as a "teen idol" heartthrob with the platinum album hit 'You Take My Breath Away.' Other albums included 'Rex,' 'Where Do We Go From Here,' 'Sooner Or Later,' 'Forever,' 'Camouflage,' and most recently, 'Simply...Rex.'

Turning to Broadway at the height of his popularity, Rex made his Broadway debut as Danny Zuko in the original production of 'Grease.' He captivated both critics and audiences, and received the Theater World Award for his memorable portrayal of Frederick in 'The Pirates of Penzance' on Broadway. Other starring roles on Broadway include "Grand Hotel", 'Sunset Boulevard,' 'The Scarlet Pimpernel,' 'Annie Get Your Gun,' and 'Kiss Me Kate.'

Rex is an enthusiastic entertainer who never lacks for energy. In between Broadway shows, he expanded his career to encompass TV shows and feature films. Rex hosted 'Solid Gold,' starred in the series 'Street Hawk,' and became a household name on the popular CBS daytime drama 'As The World Turns.' Rex has guest starred on numerous prime time television and movies including 'Daredevil,' 'JAG,' 'Baywatch,' and 'Caroline In The City' just to name a few.

I actually met and worked with Rex Smith ten years ago in Dallas, Texas when he was touring with 'Annie Get Your Gun.' He was the second celebrity I ever photographed. When I ran into him again a few weeks ago we decided we had to have another photo session and here are the results. Rex is one of the nicest guys in the business, not to mention most talented. Eric Venturo was in charge of the lighting for this session. We also got to take photos of Rex and his new bride Tracy.

AM: You're one of a handful of entertainers who have done everything.

RS: That's true. I don't want to brag but I started out in Rock n' Roll touring with Ted Nugent and managed by Aerosmith's management.

AM: Your first two albums reflect this.

RS: My first two albums are very hard Rock n' Roll. Then to make that sudden transition of becoming a teen idol because of, almost on a lark, do a movie that takes me around the world. Then Broadway and let's throw in 'As The World Turns' in daytime as well as primetime shows with 'Street Hawk' and 'Solid Gold.'

AM: It all adds up to a lot!

RS: When I hosted 'Solid Gold' I was like Ryan Seacrest except I sang the Top Ten Hit every week too. I have some motion picture work too. I have worn many hats. I had a debut at Lincoln Center so I have done "legit" stage work too.

AM: It must amaze you that you've really done all this.

RS: I had dinner last night with Patrick Cassidy who is one of my dearest friends. He replaced me in 'Pirates of Penzance' in 1980. Here we are having dinner last night and having the best time. Just the wonderful golden era of being able to enjoy Broadway and Hollywood as well. This was an era when an agent was an agent and there were exciting opportunities.

AM: It's so different today. Do you miss that era?

RS: I don't look back in anger or regret. I'm proud of the journey. Also I have been able to maneuver the personal disasters and potholes that bring a lot of people in the entertainment business down too young too early. There's no school to go to that trains you from suddenly going from trying to make payments on a motorcycle to a couple of Porsche's and a house on both coasts. That's a mind blower.

AM: It's so extreme.

RS: You just can't imagine what people like Michael Jackson or even Tiger Woods have gone through. Any of us would have our minds blown to be under that pressure for one day let alone a life time. I've seen one drop of it compared to this. I have been in that rarified air. At the height of my most outrageous popularity were easily some of the most lonely times in my life.

AM: Really!?!

RS: I always had plenty of friends but on a personal level when all the doors are closed in my own space it was lonely. Anyone I met looked at me in a different way. I didn't look at the world any differently, but everyone I knew or was going to meet was looking at me through rose colored glasses.

AM: Growing up in Florida did you want to be a Rock n' Roll singer?

RS: That's it. I'm a singer. That's what I am. That has been my life.

AM: What do you like about performing on Broadway?

RS: The wonderful thing about Broadway is the swell of a 26 piece orchestra. There is a responsibility of a hundred people cast and crew coming together at 8:00 eight times a week. It's like 'Das Boat.' Take 'Sunset Boulevard' where you have an eight thousand pound set that rises 46 feet into the air effortlessly and hangs an inch above the stage. It never touched the stage because no stage can take the weight. When I put my jacket over my shoulder, that was the cue. I had to step off as the set swept away from me. That responsibility is almost like being a quarterback. It takes a discipline that is unequaled.

AM: Is Theatre your favorite?

RS: For me it's the best. To have the dramatic arch and responsibility to carry an audience for three hours and not drop the ball, for an ADD guy like me, it's the perfect fit. Used properly ADD is a great tool. The medicine I needed was eight shows a week in a sixteen million dollar show.

AM: Considering your first two albums are such hard rock, how did it feel to do a third album of softer material?

RS: A singer takes the words and music and is a communicator for so many reasons to different people. It's not like a UN translator, but it's no different for me to sing 'You Take My Breath Away' or "Where Do We Go From Here.' They are both interpretation and an art form bringing them both to life.

AM: Can you tell us about your biggest hit, 'You Take My Breath Away' which is still played all over the world?

RS: As far as 'You Take My Breath Away' goes, it was part of a TV movie (Sooner or Later) and the first day of filming I went to the studio with Charlie Calello who produced that album. He did all the arrangements for the Four Seasons. You can see it in 'Jersey Boys.' This man had an unbelievable career working with Frank Sinatra and Engelbert Humperdink and others.

AM: You're in good company there!

RS: He had the songs ready and I went into the studio after the first day of filming. I did it in two takes. The first take was to get the sound levels right. In those days it wasn't digital so you had tapes to rewind. As the tape is rewinding he comes up to the cue and told me he wanted to show me something. He said, "I didn't know what you were going to be like in the studio." He played the tape with background vocals in case I was a dud he could cover me up. He said, "We don't need that!"

AM: That must have felt good.

RS: As I was listening to the song, about half way through, I excused myself to go to the bathroom where I locked the door. I started crying because I knew that was a hit. That's what the moment is like. I didn't know it would pick me up and carry me around the world like it did.

AM: What a great memory that is.

RS: There are moments from my past that play back now and they are just wonderful. I look at them in a wonderful way.

AM: Can you give me an example?

RS: I was in a jeep in the mountains of Hawaii and the song came on the radio, I was so excited I just pulled the brake and I am spinning that jeep around 360 degrees. At that time there were only three channels, the radio and newspapers so the impact of that hit was so much more. Now things are splintered. Even 'American Idol' doesn't have the same impact today. The personal attention was explosive.

AM: I can see why it stands out so strong for you.

RS: We are talking about past events but that movie was a pivotal point in my life. They did a screening of it in New York in a thousand seat theater. I'll never forget I went in with a bunch of other people and the place was full. My life was completely different when the lights came up. 999 people who had just sat down to watch a movie focused and stared at me.

AM: Why do you think it was a hit?

RS: There was a truth in the music and the movie. Bruce Hart who wrote it also wrote the Theme from Sesame Street. He was able to take the human experience of love and bring it down to one line 'You Take My Breath Away.' It's amazing to have an event like that in one's life. You know I got that movie because I played the last Lynard Skynard concert at Madison Square Garden.

AM: What I think is interesting is you seem to be authentic with all these styles of music. You don't come off as an actor being told what to sing.

RS: Experimenting with so many different styles makes me like the man in the iron mask. I am the guy who has done so many things it's kind of hard to peg who he really is. You don't do Broadway for 25 years and not learn some skills along the way.

AM: Most people don't get all you got.

RS: The other thing was I always felt like the teen idol thing was not a great fit. I always felt I was more on the company of people like Elvis and Frank Sinatra. I've always been working creatively.

AM: What would you like to do now?

RS: I'd love a little seven table restaurant. I'm not really sure. Getting back to the quarterback thing, for so long I've been so accustomed to walking into a rehearsal space with a director and five weeks of rehearsal and you are opening for the New York Times.

AM: Do you prefer that to straight dramatic acting?

RS: That's how I've been engineered so I kind of bounce around with ideas. I enjoy coming up with five different ways to make an entrance and having the director tell me you found the right way and that's the one we're going to use. I never really fit into the life of an actor who hangs around the craft services table and waits around to film a two second shot. I just wasn't built for that. The theater thing is more me. You know you're going to do something great every day. It's the only business that everybody on every level tries to do a better job today than they did yesterday.

AM: Would you go to New York now if you got a call?

RS: Yes, but I am not enamored to do a juke box show. I don't look at it piously, it's a competitive market and everyone is doing what they feel they need to do to succeed. I do think and hope there will be artists who create something new so that an audience can walk in and go on a fresh journey instead of just a rehash of what's been around.

AM: Your personal life has been fortunate as well right?

RS: I am still here. I'm having a nice afternoon with you. A lot of artists live to work. I always worked to live. The life experience of following my heart spiritually was always more important. When doing the final act of any show and the curtain came down, I was done. I never did it for another curtain call. I didn't live for that. I don't have that 'Norma Desmond' type of personality. I don't pine for the adoration of the applause. I earned it at each show but I could have just as easily gone out the stage door and be done when the curtain came down. That has been a great thing in my life, that I don't long for that kind of spotlight. I enjoyed, and I am proud of, being on a stage.

AM: Would you like to direct a show?

RS: Sure I enjoy working with performers of all kinds. I have directed a version of 'Pirates of Penzance.' I worked with all local actors. After a performance once an actor came up and said, "This is the most wonderful night." I asked him why and he said, "Nobody ever asked me to think before. I was always just told what to do."
I told them all to think about what they would do. If you're a pirate there is a whole range of things you can be, like a drunk. Take your pick of any kind of erratic personality you may want to play and add that into the mix. I felt happy that I was able to allow somebody to discover something for themselves. I found out a stage is a stage no matter where you are. It's all relative.

To learn more about Rex Smith visit his web site http://www.rexsmith.com/

Robert Stephenson: A Hunk with a Heart

All photos: Alan Mercer

I must remember to thank Del Shores for introducing me to Robert Stephenson's work by casting him as the Soap Opera Star, Hunter in 'Sordid Lives: The Series.' Robert takes this part and makes it his own. He is an attractive and well built man who not only has his "act" together, he is also one of the nicest and most sincere people you would ever want to meet.

I spent a recent Sunday morning with Robert in Santa Monica as we took these photos and talked for this blog. I had no other help, just "Bobby" as he refers to himself, and me. Since he is known for his hunk status, I asked if he would mind posing with his shirt off. No pressure, but if he would do it, GREAT! As you can see he obliged. I got a chance to know him a little better and found him to be charming and kind. We'll all have a chance to see more of his work later this year when two more movies he stars in will be released.

AM: What is your acting history?

RS: I was ten years old when I did my first play. I had a lot of stage fright. Getting up in front of people has always terrified me. I'm better now of course, but back then I was scared.

AM: What was the part?

RS: I was cast to play a computer. I stood behind a big cardboard cut out and slid a piece of paper through a slot. I didn't tell my Mom what part I was playing so she said afterwards that she didn't see me. I told her I was the computer! I was on stage the whole time.

AM: Did that give you the acting bug?

RS: No it took several more years. I was in the record business for a while. I was looking for new talent and watching the budgets of the talent we had. I had a friend in the art department and he was an actor. I'd always wanted to try acting. I loved to go see live theater, musical acts and movies, but I never took the steps to get into it. I found out I was not satisfied working behind a desk helping other artists. I realized I wanted to be on the other side.

AM: Well you made the right choice because the music business has gone down so far now.

RS: Yeah that's right.

AM: Are you following your heart more by being an actor?

RS: Yes, it's a spiritual journey.

AM: Speaking of spiritual journeys and acting. The reason I know of your work is because of Del Shores. How did you end up working with him?

RS: I was in this acting class and this friend of Del's suggested I call him to see if there was a part in his new play. Actually he called me and asked if I wanted to read for the play. He asked if I knew who he was. He had written a bunch of plays by then and was successful writing for TV.

AM: So had you heard of Del at this time?

RS: I didn't know who he was at that point, but I went and read for him. His monologues were unbelievable and I connected right away with them. I loved the character and loved what I read. He called me later that night and said, "I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is you didn't get the part. The good news is I want you to be the understudy."
I thought to myself, "OK, I guess I'll do it." It took him a month to get back to me. He called and said it was time to start working with me. That was the first time I met Ann Walker, Newell and Rosemary Alexander and Leslie Jordan.

AM: Didn't you just fall in love with them?

RS: They were all such wonderful people that my mouth dropped open because I was so excited. I felt like I already knew these people. I think it was my Southern background living in Atlanta, Georgia. I had been around characters similar to these guys. I was so comfortable and really happy to be a part of that world.

AM: I believe that happens when you are in your path. The people that you do meet have a sense of familiarity and family. You are in your groove. When you're not in your groove, life can be more of a struggle.

RS: They are a wonderful group of people and I've enjoyed everything I've done with them and I'd like to keep going with them. When I first was introduced I felt like the step child. Years later Del wrote 'Southern Baptist Sissies' and he was sharing some of it with me. He had decided that I was going to be the preacher. Then the actor who was cast as Mark in the play decided he wanted to get away from playing a gay character and move on to do something else creatively. It was devastating to Del and threw him into a problem of who would play the lead part. I said, "I'd love to read for it."

AM: Did he embrace this idea?

RS: Del gave me the opportunity to read for it two nights later. They were going to have official auditions. I went ahead and did a couple scenes and Del said, "OK you're 85% there so you got the role." I don't think they ever did the auditions after that.

AM: What exactly did you relate to in "Southern Baptist Sissies?"

RS: I related to not being comfortable with who I was. I was going through a time when I needed to accept who I was and learn to love myself. We lived in a redneck part of Atlanta when I was growing up. I was a hippie kid with long hair and my Mom's best friend dated Gregg Allman. There was always guys driving up in Choppers and rolling joints. I was only eight or nine years old. That was my world.

AM: Can you elaborate on this for me?

RS: I was picked on in school for having long hair and looking different. Kids called me a girl and pushed me around. I was forced into a few fights back then and always ended up pinning the other guy down and having them surrender. So, it's ingrained in me to stick up for those who are made to feel less than because they are different. It's the differences that make us special.

AM: So you have a history of standing up for the underdog.

RS: I also can't understand, or wrap my head around the idea that there is a God that would judge and condemn two people loving and taking care of each other. That makes no sense to me. I can only imagine a God judging and condemning people hurting one another.

AM: Did you participate in that lifestyle when you were a teenager?

RS: No I was a straight kid. I never got high or drank or anything until long after I was in college. It was always around me so it wasn't something mysterious. I was rolling joints for those guys but I wasn't interested in it at all. Isn't that funny? Anyway that was my world but I went to school and guys had crew cuts and they chewed tobacco. I never fit in. I felt like this is not where I belong. We moved to LA when I was twelve. Suddenly there was every type of person you could imagine. I thought I can blend in here so I won't stand out.

AM: That is a typical kid attitude, not to stand out, but as you decide to become an actor you want to stand out.

RS: That is part of the problem that I have with my career. (Laughing) I need to be bolder and knock on more doors.

AM: Did you start getting film and TV work from doing the plays?

RS: Yes it happens, especially with Del, since he was such a well known writer.

AM: Did you ever have an issue with playing a gay character? Are you just naturally open-minded?

RS: Yes the world I came from was filled with gay people. My Mom and her friend introduced me to their colorful life. One of their friends was Frank who turned into Francine when I was nine. Francine wanted me to take her to 'show and tell' at school. I grew up around all kinds of people. My brother is gay and I have no issue at all with it. My father was a policeman and a gunsmith, as well as a mountain man. My brother never came out to my Father, but I think he knew and didn't have a problem with it.

AM: How did your friends react to your part in 'Southern Baptist Sissies?'

RS: All my buddies from High School only wanted to know how did I make out with that guy? They missed all the heart wrenching, emotional parts of this difficult journey.

AM: You were just playing a part!

RS: Yes I was playing a part. It's a human being. When you get past the scruff, you close your eyes and a kiss is a kiss with a human being. I loved my scene partners so they made it easy for me.

AM: What was the first part you got from being in the play?

RS: I got a nice little part on "Ally McBeal" right away and that was fun!

AM: Are you typically cast as a hunk?

RS: No, when I did the play, that is how people were seeing me. I did a lot of auditions where I was going out for the gay character.

AM: So many actors just won't take that part.

RS: People were having issues with taking these parts back then, about ten years ago. Actors were attracted to the material but afraid of it at the same time.

AM: Were you not concerned about being typecast?

RS: The journey for the character was so moving and I connected so much that I didn't think about any of that at all.

AM: I know you have this cool commercial that premiered during the Super Bowl.

RS: Yes that was my first Super Bowl spot. It's for Home Away, a company that rents homes instead of hotel rooms. It was their first Super Bowl commercial too.

AM: Is it on the web site?

RS: Yes, you go to homeaway.com and you can see the fifteen minute short film and the Super Bowl commercial.

AM: What else is coming up for you?

RS: I did a movie with a wonderful director/writer, John Suits. I've done a couple of movies with him. The first one is called 'Family Of Four' with Alexandria Paul playing my wife. She was in 'Baywatch.' She is a beautiful woman who is a great Actress.
I did another movie called 'A Numbers Game' with Steven Bauer, written and directed by James Van Alden.

AM: Is it a drama or action?

RS: It's a dark comedy. It should be out late this summer. Steven Bauer was a lot of fun.

AM: Are you auditioning now?

RS: Oh yeah, I am always looking for the next big job. Hopefully one is right around the corner!


To learn more about Robert Stephenson go to his Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=511548967&ref=name&__a=1#!/profile.php?id=580002066&ref=ts