Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Meaney.
Patrick, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve loved movies since before I can even remember. My mom has told me the story of taking me of Snow White in the theater at two years old, and that I was totally transfixed by it. I saw Star Wars at such a young age, I don’t remember actually first watching it, it’s just always been there. And I never wanted to be like the characters in a movie, I always wanted to be the person who made it.
So, growing up, I had the dream of getting the opportunity to make my own films. And along the way, I kept loving watching movies and also reading comic books and other sci-fi stuff. In high school, I discovered comic books by writers like Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis, and was blown away by their out there stories.
After graduating from college, I wanted to make my own films, but it wasn’t easy to find an into the business. I was working at a post-production house, and just happy to have a job. But, after the WGA strike in 2008, and the global recession, I was laid off, and decided to try to make the most of it and build my own company, Respect Films.
At the same time, I had the opportunity to interview Grant Morrison in conjunction with a book I had written about his comic book series, The Invisibles. I decided, as long as we’re interviewing him, what if we pitched the idea of doing a documentary about him and his work? It was a long shot, I had never made a documentary before, but thankfully he said yes!
So, I went off to California, and then Scotland, for the first time, to interview him with my DP/co-producer Jordan and producer Amber. A year later, we had interviewed over forty of his friends, artists and fans, and had a film that came out to critical acclaim.
From there, we went on to make several more films about comic book creators, including Neil Gaiman, and I also created my own narrative film, House of Demons.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The film industry is a tricky business, and even though I’ve been able to do many things that I’m incredibly proud of, and also still can barely believe I had the opportunity to do, it hasn’t always happened the way I’d think. It’s always hard to find money for projects, and even if you have a great project, it can be very hard to get people to watch it.
The biggest challenge for me is always the waiting, waiting for people to sign off on a project, waiting for people to see it, and waiting to get paid for work.
Please tell us about Respect Films.
Respect Films is definitely best known for our series of films about comic books and comic book creators. Comics have become much more popular since we started doing this ten years ago, and it’s been great to build a reputation among fans as creators of reputable and acclaimed projects.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My longest term collaborator is Jordan Rennert. We grew up together, and he has served as DP and co-producer on all the projects we’ve done. For the comic book projects, I’ve also worked with Mike Phillips and Julian Darius of Sequart, who were our entree into the comic book world, and opened the door to doing these projects in the first place.
On Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods and Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts, I worked with Amber Yoder, who had a lot of doc experience, and was invaluable in helping get it off the ground. On She Makes Comics, I worked as producer alongside director Marisa Stotter and producer Karen Green, who helped make that project a big success.
I also had FJ De Santo serving as a mentor and provided great insight into edits and the world of distribution throughout.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.respectfilms.com
- Phone: 914-275-5070
- Email: [email protected]
- Twitter: patrickmeaney
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