Press Release from the WA Minister for Arts & Culture
Thanks to the support of ScreenWest and Screen Australia, Western Australian emerging producer Mike Searle will spend the next six months in Los Angeles working as a development intern.
Martha Coleman, Head of Development, Screen Australia said the opportunity with Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment at Paramount Studios was created for an emerging to mid-career producer.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Mike to develop his skills and career,” Martha said.
“He will receive first-hand exposure to the international industry and market. His duties will include television and feature script development, talent development, assessing material, and working with the staff to support the creative development of projects.”
ScreenWest Development Manager Rikki Lea Bestall said “Company partners Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff have a long history of successful projects. These include recent successes The Soloist and When in Rome, as well as Sleepless in Seattle, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, The Score, Tin Cup, Short Circuit, The Shield, The King of Queens and Rescue Me.”
“This could be the most important thing Mike does for his career. He will get to spend time on the set of Community, a television series starring Chevy Chase that the company is producing for NBC. Most importantly, he has the opportunity to set up relationships that can take him – and his projects – places in the future.”
Mike will depart for Los Angeles on Saturday.
“It’s unbelievable,” Mike said. “I don’t think it will fully sink in until I am sitting on that plane!”
“Being given the opportunity to be surrounded by professionals who have already succeeded in achieving my life goals is a concept I am struggling to grasp. I will be able to study their processes in all the fundamentals of film development, right through to the sales, marketing and distribution at an international level. This is an extraordinarily rare opportunity I am honored to be a part of.”