Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Wilding
Hi ANNA, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It is hard to write this when fires are destroying and have destroyed big parts of the city we know, love and have lived and worked in. So my thoughts are with all those impacted. Los Angeles is home and the very fabric of our lives. It’s different areas and communities merge together in a way that is dramatic passionate and unique.
I lived in Los Angeles since of 19 so I kind of grew up in LA. I had stints in New York, DC, London and Australia . I have been working spearheading creative ventures since I was 16 or 17 so my resume is long and deep. I was 16 or 17 when I acted in my first television shows and was also a professional photographer. I built my own studio and photographed everyone form Sir Bob Geldof at a music festival through to Mrs World! I remember one fashion magazine didn’t pay my full rate the second I found out how young I was. They said ” that is too young to earn that much money, we are not paying it in full” But it was my rate “Youthism- that was reverse ageism, ageism that I encounter now. What a world. Of course they published the photos on the cover and full page double spread and paid me half. Terrible.
I love my actual on set work as director producer, actor writer and still photographer. I used to Art Direct Production design before working above the line, and I actually have an interior design degree too and do people’s houses and commercial spaces on request. I also have significant Executive Corporate and Board experience .
In addition I consult and have consulted to large Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies that need operational help in specific areas.
My exhibit on President Obama and Mrs Obama sold out multiple times across multiple prominent galleries My Obama work was to move the needle of horrendous racism, even just slightly I witnessed in the White House and it worked.I literally had people cry and also express their joy at my exhibits and my walk throughs sold out with hundreds turning up each time. People in “red” :areas who said “they didn’t understand the Obama’s and the work they did before my exhibit”
My work is collected by institutions, private collectors and has shown from LA to Rome though to Hong Kong in museums and art galleries. I am available on commission in Los Angeles and anywhere in the world and continue to exhibit. I am excited about 2025 however concerned about my other work, the movie industry.
The movie industry is at a crossroads with covid, strikes, mergers and a tightened small agent monopoly of 5-10 actors dominating both streamers and movies. There always have been talent tiers but this is beyond what is normal or practical for the entertainment industry to thrive and also to keep the audience engaged no matter the delivery platform whether it is cinemas, streamers or TV. LA has been contending with runaway production for the past 20 years but it is really these other issues that are impacting the state of the industry as whole in America right now .
It is not a thriving business and many are hurting. I think the unions and studios could have gone a long way to lobby Washington DC to retrain or redistrict tens of thousands of workers. I also think, and this may be tough words but I do think select agents and actors need to move over and make or create room for their peers and counterparts as unfair monopolies are not a good look on anyone. Gen X is hard hit and yet it is some in Gen X who have fought so hard for equality and pay parity for women yet new initiatives only focus on the youngsters.. There is a lot of balancing to do all round .
I do have feature films in active development and welcome calls, however it is also a great time for major brands to take advantage of the creative skill and tool sets of creative entertainment professionals more fully. Sure I have done commercials for everyone from Coca Cola to National Lottery in the UK and Oreo Cookies but there is a whole world for brands that can be explored in new and innovative ways. No one can make things to the size scale and technical and creative excellence that we hard core movie people can. I first did a deal with a major brand, a national airline I put in in one of my music videos over 25 years ago. it was cutting edge scenario and a win win. Likewise other tech I have been at the forefront of.
I love being a creative and I also love helping as an executive and leader.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well the big one is being a woman. I was turned down twice by banks for business loans to scale my business. One was when I had my first photographic studio and I went in with my accountant with excellent books and the bank told me ” We don’t fund women in business”.
The second was in London I went in with my accountant, who was also Emma Thompson’s, Liz Hurley’s and virtually everyone you can names, accountant. My company had over 10 million pounds in signed contracts at the time so about $33 milion pounds in today’s money, I was exhausted flying between London LA and New York. The bank looked at me and my accountant. and said the same thing “We don’t fund women in business”.
Well my gosh I had not seen my placid accountant get so upset before now. He was furious, he stood up and said “you fund men, well you don’t get my business’ or something like that. He immediately took all his clients and switched banks. Great of him, however fact is I was still without cashflow funding and financing to scale and to bridge .
I think that has made significant financial success for me very hard whereas men click their fingers and voila the money is in their account the next day. It has made it very hard for me to build the scale of company I want and deserve. Same in VC firms these days.Only 2% of women get funded. Also women are left short on many Board positions in America.I am Board qualified, experienced and credentialed yet still the majority of boards are comprised of men. We women are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for parity, equal opportunity, equal change to build. We are asking for fairness.
Personally another challenge is another disaster when my home town was destroyed by earthquakes and that took a huge financial tool over a few years too. This fire will too for people. In the earthquakes I had founded a charity a year or two before and was able to help a lot of people.
The metrics of success can be measured in far greater things than money however women deserve the right to it and to build and scale as well. I deserve that right.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have unique career and background with decades in America and also overseas. My film and photography work is rich in black and white and color. it ain;t what you do it is the way that you do it and I have my way. I grew up in old school black and white and in the lab shooting on film so I being a lot of perspective and expertise.
My creative work has been compared to the work of DaVinci and other classic painters.
The word “Obama classicism ” and “classicism” in photography stems directly from my work and a critique of my work by academics and art and cinematography historian reviewer.
Now I have seen photographers copycatting the phrase. It’s funny . One even quoted directly me and my words from my own exhibit and tired to apply it to his work two years later . Which I found disingenous and distasteful, And he got paid ten times as much as me from a major publisher. He actually used my exact words from my public exhibit . He copied my photo too. People can be disgusting who are not true talent ,artists or creators themselves. I am a fierce protector of copyright and IP and fair pay. It also makes me sick when i see male photographers go out and charge a brand client $50 k a day and they pay women $2000.
Now with AI I find out and verified through the magazine The Atlantic that an award winning screenplay of mine was stolen and plagiarised to teach CHATGPT along with several other award winning screenwriters screenplays. So I am figuring out that right now and finding the road to take..
AI is not artificial intelligence, it is plagiarism and theft of IP and copyright of creatives, by super fast computers, Sam Altman has made billions of the work off creators. Look I love technology and embrace it but fair is fair and this is not .
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I am also a designer. I think just remember success is what it means to you. Only you know what you have been through and who you are and what you stand for. Forget the chatter and the comments from people who have no clue or who want to cause you harm for their own gain. It is better to have five great friends than 500 fake ones. Above all be kind.
Pricing:
- Creative services on request
- Executive Consultancy on request
Contact Info:
- Website: https://broaderhorizonentertainment.com
- Instagram: @annawildingoriginal
- Twitter: @annawilding
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxIejiKXv_g
- Other: https://makersplace.com/annawilding/gallery/created/available
