Meet Gregory Shelby of Green Tree Studios in Sherman Oaks

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve always been interested in storytelling. I was a huge reader growing up – my mom would bust me after my bedtime because I would be reading by the nightlight. I was moved by fantasy and sci-fi, especially. I was also a lifelong baseball player, playing all the way through college. I never thought I would pursue the film industry growing up, but I was introduced to acting by a friend and a girlfriend in middle school and the beginning of high school. I found that I loved acting in theater, but for me, it was just a hobby. It wasn’t until I graduated from college during the recession that something changed. After college, I went into a brief career in finance. I actually had significant success- enough that I realized that considering I wasn’t happy in spite of that success, I needed to make a change. I missed acting and thought that if there was ever a chance to give it a real shot, this was it. I had some success right away, and I fell in love with film acting. After a few years, I realized that I felt hampered as an actor in that I only got to tell stories that came from other people’s minds. That lead me to pursue writing and producing in addition to continuing my acting career and down the path to where I am today.

Great, 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?
I don’t think it is a smooth road for anyone. For me, I struggled with the age-old Hollywood tales of rejection and frustration. I’ve also been on the wrong side of the other Hollywood trope- sharks preying on naive young actors. From a more personal standpoint, I have found one of the biggest challenges to be finding your “tribe,” if you will. There are a lot of interesting, engaging people in Los Angeles, but very many of those are self-interested to the point of narcissism. It is very easy to put your trust in the wrong place, and that can make an already treacherous road even more difficult. One last thing I will say that I think is under-appreciated about the difficulty of making it in Los Angeles is the sheer amount of self-motivation required. As I mentioned, I worked in finance before this- a sales job with many similar challenges. That world has absolutely nothing on the difficulty of the entertainment industry.

Please tell us about Green Tree Studios.
My company is called Green Tree Studios. It is evocative of a progressive mindset, a clear path, and large aspirations. We make films, television, and to lesser extent commercials, with the long term goal being film and television of epic proportion. Currently, we are just beginning the festival submission process for a short film called Throw Like A Girl, a story inspired by a woman named Jackie Mitchell, who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in 1931 when she was only 17 years old. The goal is to take our successful short film through the festival circuit, in hand with our feature film script, and take this project to the highest levels. We believe that the timeliness of this compelling story makes it ripe for the telling. In addition, we are producing a short-form comedy television show called Guys Night- an absurd exploration of masculinities soft underbelly in the 21st century.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Ah, this is a hard one. How can you pick one? Ok, my mom is a big gardener. When I was young, we grew boysenberry vines. I would tend them with her, and when the season came around we would pick them in the hot San Diego sun, then that afternoon bake a boysenberry pie for a big family dinner. There are a lot of good memories, but that is one of the most idyllic, and certainly one of the ones I cherish most.