Steve Barr

Steve Barr recently moved to New Zealand after working for 16 years in the Hollywood entertainment industry. A graduate of the BFA professional acting program at the University of Southern California, he segued from acting into writing and producing after a few disgraceful years of cattle calls and casting couches.

He is a founding member of SoCal Film Group, a creative collective of writers, directors, producers and actors. To date, the group has produced over 50 short films, across the spectrum of genres. SoCal Film Group shorts have been accepted into dozens of film festivals, including the Austin Film Festival (where Steve's film Who's On First? - the Movie won the online Audience Award), the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, Los Angeles Downtown Film Festival, Silver Lake Film Festival, Shriekfest, and the Newport Beach Film Festival, as well as on the cable channels AMC and Showtime.  

Through his association with SoCal Film Group, Steve wrote and produced Quiet, which was named one of the top ten short films of the year by Film Threat magazine.

A member of the Writers Guild of America, Steve set up a development deal at Walt Disney Pictures for his family adventure screenplay Plant Life, where he developed and wrote the screenplay with the writers of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Steve has worked as a creative executive at indie financier / production company SMASHfilms, an assignment screenwriter, and an independent producer. As a screenplay consultant he has done formal analysis on over 1000 screenplays, and lectured at the Screenwriter's Expo, StoryBoard, Scriptwrights, and the Northwest Writers Guild.

In New Zealand he has taught seminars for the NZ Writers Guild, School of Audio Engineering, Unitec, and NZ Film Academy, and has privately coached and consulted with several New Zealand filmmakers. He is co-writing the Escalator feature film Timeslow.

15 years of professional experience in multiple areas of the Hollywood system, at both the studio and independent levels
Highly motivated with demonstrated ability to see projects from inception to delivery
Excellent attention to detail with strong written and verbal communication skills


PRODUCING AND DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE

SMASHfilms
March 2008 - November 2008
Head of the Los Angeles office of a feature financing & production company headquartered in Austria.

Writer and Representative Relations
Fostered and maintained relationships with screenwriters, managers, and literary agents. Held general meetings and pitch meetings with writers, producers, and representatives. Negotiated life rights options and development deals.

Story Analysis and Development
Read and considered screenplays, books, short stories, and life stories for production. Analyzed cinematic story value, production and budget issues, and marketability.

Staff and Intern Management
Managed two creative executives, an accountant, and a series of interns.


Polymath Pictures
June 2006 - Present
Partner in a multi-media production company, with several projects in process:

Newton’s Cradle
“Lo-fi sci-fi” feature film. Developed story with director Marshall McAuley & screenwriter Bryan Tranel, created breakdown/schedule/budget, shopped around town, raised 70% of financing, partnered with Jeff Katz of American Original. UTA is packaging.

Blood West
Western horror feature film. Developed story with director Marshall McAuley, wrote screenplay, created breakdown/schedule/budget, shopped around town.

Quiet
Thriller short film, produced in association with SoCal Film Group. Developed story with director Marshall McAuley, wrote screenplay, created breakdown/schedule/budget, scouted locations, participated in casting sessions, Assistant Directed production days, managed festival submissions.
WINNER: Best Dramatic Short, Gem City Film Festival; Best Thriller, Beverly Hills Shorts Festival; one of Film Threat Magazine’s top 10 short films of 2006.


Lionsgate / Meridian Pictures / freelance
January 1995 - Present
Reader and screenplay analyst for production companies and screenwriters.

Screenplay Analysis
Read several thousand screenplays and have written formal analysis on over a thousand.

Criticism and Development
Provided detailed feedback and constructive criticism to producers and screenwriters.


SCREENWRITING EXPERIENCE

Walt Disney Pictures
April 2007 - November 2008
Hired into a multi-step development deal for a big budget fantasy adventure called PLANT LIFE.

Story Development
Developed story with screenwriter Tina Anderson and producers Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio (writers of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise).

Treatment and Screenplay Writing
Wrote 24 treatments and two full drafts of drastically different story structures, incorporating notes from producers and collaborating with my co-writer.


Shambler Films, LLC
November 2009 - Present
Hired to develop the story and write a horror comedy screenplay based on a new character called The Shambler.

Story Development
Worked with producers Anne Marie Gillen and Maury Rogow, and comic book writers Bob Layton and David Michelinie to create story structure based on a character and idea created by Layton and Michelinie.

Screenplay Writing
Contracted for a draft and a set.


OTHER EXPERIENCE

SoCal Film Group
February 2001 - Present
Founding member of a creative collective of producers, directors, writers and technicians. With SoCal Film Group I’ve produced, written, directed, edited, acted in, ADed, LPed, gripped, gaffed, boomed, and/or fetched the donuts on over 50 short films. Our films have played at dozens of festivals, including the Austin Film Festival, the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, Silver Lake Film Festival, Shriekfest and the Newport Beach Film Festival, as well as on the cable channels AMC and Showtime.  


NBC Universal
December 2008 – January 2010
Post-production scheduler, overseeing a post-production process creating and modifying dubs of features & TV for various markets. It was my responsibility to guide any given project through duplication, color correction, forced narrative editing, audio dubbing, and quality control, often on a very tight turnaround schedule.


Universal Studios
August 1998 - April 2007
Executive Assistant to the Senior VP and VP of Labor Relations, and Office Manager for the department. The Labor Relations department negotiates and administrates the collective bargaining agreements with the entertainment industry guilds and unions. The position required multitasking, extensive interaction with all levels of the corporate structure, and discretion with confidential information.


EDUCATION

Bachelor of Fine Arts, School of Theater
University of Southern California, Los Angeles                  1994


REFEREES

Terry Rossio
Screenwriter/Producer – Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek, Déjà Vu

Jonathan King
Writer/Director – Black Sheep, Under the Mountain

Keith Calder
Producer – All The Boys Love Mandy Lane, The Wackness, Thunder Soul

Anne Marie Gillen
Producer – Fried Green Tomatoes, Into Temptation, Shambler

Michael Gilvary
Screenwriter – According to Greta, Devil to Pay, Earthworks