Hidden Gems: Meet Mark A. Altman of Radioactive Fishtank

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark A. Altman.

Hi Mark A., can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started my career as an entertainment journalist and then wrote and produced my first feature film during the heyday of the independent film movement. I later wrote and produced several other films during that era before making the jump to TV where I have worked on numerous series as well as a writer, producer and showrunner and packaged projects with talent and scripts selling both pilots and straight to series shows. I’ve also been an author of several bestselling books and co-host several successful podcasts. In addition to my work in scripted television, I’ve also produced several unscripted projects which includes my upcoming documentary, The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television And The World, which will be released theatrically on Friday, October 9th in the U.S. and Europe celebrating six decades of one of the most iconic television and movie franchises of all-time.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This business is always challenging, but I think if you have a passion for the creative world than that can make the roadblocks more palatable. It’s not an easy business, but persistence and passion are the operative words. It’s like Robert Evans says success is when luck meets preparation. And, fortunately, I’ve been lucky… and prepared. I do miss the side of the business which was largely personality based and I find people are less interesting in meeting up for lunches and drinks, but rather through Zoom, or worse, texts and so it’s harder to develop a rapport with buyers and really understand their needs.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a writer/producer/showrunner and sometimes director, I’ve not only developed and shepherded my own projects to the big and small screens, but also produced projects as work-for-hire where studios and companies have come to us with projects they were interested in and we were able to develop and execute based on their concepts. I don’t necessarily feel the need to write everything I’ve been involved with, but those are usually the most satisfying for me personally. One of the things I’ve found is it’s important to be able to pivot having gone from producing a lot of movies in the indie space and when that business disappeared pivoted to television and as the scripted business began to shrink, we’ve found ourselves doing more and more in the unscripted world as well.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’m most interested in doing a period Hollywood film, but I learned a long time ago you need to go where the market is going and not necessarily always pursue what you want to do. But the business is cyclical and there have been many projects that I’ve sat on for years that suddenly become hot again many years after I put them on a shelf. I think the most important thing is to be optimistic and excited about what you do and surround yourself with good people who care about what they’re doing as well. In that sense, I’ve been extremely lucky. I started in a ramshackle office on Overland over 25 years ago when I made my first film and it’s been an incredible rollercoaster ever since. And there are a lot better restaurants in Culver City than there was back then when it was either Sagebrush Cantina or the Country Kitchen as our only options for lunch.

Contact Info:

• Website: 50yearmissionbook@gmail.com
• Instagram: @markaaltman
• LinkedIn: @markaaltman
• Twitter: @markaaltman
• Youtube: inglorioustrekpserts