Q&A with movie producer Sheri Bryant

July 6, 10:29 AMLA Asian American Movie ExaminerEd Moy

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Producer Sheri Bryant with Labou.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a movie producer?

For Sheri Bryant, the opportunity to learn first-hand came after graduating from Stanford University and working for The Walt Disney Company for three years as a financial analyst of Investments and Funding.

Seeking a means to express her creative side, Bryant sought out a job at Disney’s Hollywood Pictures film division where she began her career as an entertainment executive.

At Hollywood Pictures, she oversaw the development process of a wide range of films, and brought in new material, directors and writers.

She later served as Director of Development and Production for the production and distribution company Image Organization, where she was involved in all aspects of production, from story inception through post production. During her tenure, the company made multiple films for CBS, HBO, Lifetime, and Artisan.

That experience led to her eventually teaming up with a partner to start her own company Dog & Rooster Productions. She also serves as a member on the Board of Directors for The Coalition for Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, and recently, she produced the family adventure movie "Labou", which is being distributed by MGM/Fox and the sex comedy "How To Make Love To A Woman."

What motivated you to become a producer?
I started out in Finance at the Walt Disney Company just out of Stanford and soon realized it was not my dream job.  I very much missed reading and writing, and basically anything creative.  I had some intense, good times over there and it helped me to figure out that I did not want to go back to Business School and continue along the path that I seemed headed down.  Luckily, I was working in Disney's investment banking arm at the time and was able to get some interviews within Disney.  So that led me to my first job at Hollywood Pictures as a Creative Associate.  Although I did not stay at Disney long, I realized that producing films was a perfect blend of commerce and art, something that mirrors the dichotomy of my own personality.

Where did you get your start in Hollywood?
After working briefly as a Creative Assoc at Disney, I joined a small production and distribution company called Image Organization (it has since been bought out).  There I learned the nuts and bolts of film making, as well as how foreign distribution works.  It was sort of my "film school" -- lots of long hours, and only 3 of us in the development and production departments.

How did that influence your career?
Working for an independent company who was not a part of the big Hollywood studio system made me realize that I felt at home in this arena.  Rightly or wrongly, I felt that I could give it a go as an independent producer, then simply made the plunge!

Who are some of the mentors that inspired you during your career?
I wish that I could give you a long list of them.  I wish I had worked for more people who were great bosses whom I admired.  But I didn't!  I think that is one thing wrong with Hollywood - there are too many insane people working here!  However, I've certainly met people along the way who have inspired me in many ways.  Jennie Lew Tugend who started out with the Free Willy series was someone who always gave me great advice, and more recently Gordon Ho at Disney is someone I very much admire.  My biggest supporter has always been my mom (where my creative Japanese side comes from!), who inspires me in everything she is and does.

Tell us about your recent projects...
I'm juggling several things right now... I'm in the midst of finding distribution for a comedy I recently produced called "How To Make Love to a Woman" (Ineedsexadvice.com); I'm doing a lot of grass roots marketing for the family film I produced called "Labou" (LabouTheMovie.com) which is currently in stores and being distributed by MGM/Fox; and I'm finishing up a web series called "Alien Ninja" (AlienNinja.tv).  So much to do and so little time!  One of the crazy things about producing is you always have to hustling and moving onto your next project.

How did you get involved with Labou?
My partner in Dog & Rooster Productions and I wanted to make a movie in New Orleans.  We had some financing connections there and wanted to come up with a film that could be based and shot in the city or in the Bayou.  I wanted to take advantage of Greg's background in special effects and design (he worked many years with Spielberg, Jim Henson, etc), and I also knew that the family genre is a rather safe genre to enter as an independent.  So we thought that we hadn't see a "Gremlins" type movie in a while, and both love "The Goonies", so we decided to do a film that was a mixture of both!  Little did we know that we would be hit by Hurricane Katrina and it would take almost four years to get our final movie on the shelves!

What excited you about 2001 CAPE television writer's award winner Dennis Kao's original script for How to make love to a woman?
Well, Dennis is an extremely talented writer.  He actually won the TV part of our contest but I ended up reading several of his feature film scripts that he'd written.  How To Make Love to a Woman was a hilarious read, and something that could be shot on a low budget.  I couldn't do anything with it at the time, but kept it on my shelves and eventually came back to it and got it financed and shot.  We got a lot of compliments on the script, and I'm really proud of Dennis.

What kind of challenges did you face as a producer on those projects?
How To Make Love to a Woman was probably the easiest shoot I've ever done.  Everyone on my crew was fantastic and we were able to do so much for the money that we had.  We shot here locally so it was nice to come home every night!  Plus the film I'd shot prior was "Labou" which was so packed full of challenges and hurdles I don't even know where to start in mentioning them!  A city with not enough qualified crew at the time, an animatronic puppet that stopped working in the humidity of the south, the biggest natural disaster to hit the US...you get the picture.  As a producer, you will never be prepared for the unforeseen challenges that always come up when making a movie.  The best thing you can be is a problem solver and ready and flexible for anything that can (and will!) come up to thwart you! 

As a board member of CAPE, how do you see your role in helping shape the way Asian Pacifics are represented in film and television?
I feel a deep responsibility to put Asian Pacifics in front of and behind the camera in every project I make.  I am lucky to be in a position where I hire a lot of people and can make those choices.  On "Labou" I made sure that one of the three leads was Asian (the beautiful Marissa Cuevas), and on "How To" I populated the whole film with Asians, from the hilarious Ken Jeong, to James Kyson Lee to James Hong.  Having a writer like Dennis Kao made it easy, as he wrote wonderful roles that played against stereotype such as the sex guru who all the girls fall for who just happens to be Asian.  CAPE as an organization is an incredible group of people who all come together with the same goal in mind.  Supporting diversity in entertainment.  We are making a lot of in roads along these lines, while at the same time making friends and having a good time!  That is after all, why we are in this business.  I've met and hired a lot of people through CAPE and will always hold the organization in high regard.

Do you have any advice for aspiring filmmakers when it comes to getting their projects produced?
Be focused, meet people, and don't be afraid to be tenacious.  Never give up.  Always believe you can do it.  Never take no for answer, there is always a way.  Some of the cliches really are true.  It takes a long time to get a project off the ground, and you have to fully believe in it and love it to make it come to fruition.  You have to convince people of the same.  Surround yourself with supporters.  Ask for help when you need it.  And always keep with the networking and meeting people.  This business is all about collaboration and teamwork, and no one makes a movie alone.

What's next for you?
I'm in the financing stages of my next feature film, a Christmas movie that I describe as "Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer" meets "The Never Ending Story".  It's quite a challenge given the economy today, but I have no doubt we'll be in pre-production by the Fall.  In the meantime, I'm in post on our first web series called "Alien Ninja".  I wanted to get into the new media space and thought that a sci-fi comedy would be the best way to go.  So we shot for a week in Hawaii and ended up with something very funny!  Who can resist an Alien who happens to also be a Ninja crash landed on Oahu? 

For more info: 

        Labou DVD Box Cover.