We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Canadian screenwriter and producer Mark Purdy where he lets us in on how got started in the industry, where he gets his inspiration from and so much more.
Over the years Purdy has both written and/or produced a wide array of projects ranging from award winning films like “Oliver Bump’s Birthday,” internationally acclaimed television series including “Make It Pop”, and segments for the beloved children’s series, “Sesame Street.”
In 2009 Purdy put his creative genius as both the lead writer and producer of the comedy film “Super Science,” which went on to earn the Kodak Award from the Atlantic Film Festival. The film, which was directed by Joel MacKenzie starred multi-award winning Canadian actor Mark Little (“Mr. D,” “Picnicface”), solidified Purdy’s place in the industry as someone capable of penning and producing projects that are both hilarious and compelling for youth audiences.
As the producer of the film “Oliver Bump’s Birthday,” Purdy not only helped the film garner the Golden Sheaf Award at the Yorkton Film Fest, as well as “Best Youth Short” at the Interfilm Festival Berlin and the Jury Award at the Nickel Independent Film and Video Festival in 2012, but he also helped the film gain licensing with IFC, CBC, The Movie Network and Fandor.
Aside from being the writer on many of the projects that he’s produced, he has also produced multiple projects for other people over the years including Nathan Fielder’s 2011 comedy, “Way Up There” and “Hard Sell” starring multi-award winning actors Colin Mochrie from “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and Colm Feore from “House of Cards” and the films “Thor” and “The Chronicles of Riddick.”
During the early stages of his career, Purdy honed his skills working on many different types of productions like the hit post-apocalyptic series “Falling Skies,” which was produced by DreamWorks TV and TNT, music videos of all shapes and sizes, as well as VisionTV’s “I Prophesy” and National Geographic’s series “Go Deep”.
While he has definitely solidified his reputation as a screenwriter whose wildly imaginative TV storylines are a hit with young audiences through his work as a writer on the reboot of the iconic series “Inspector Gadget,” as well as “Sesame Street,” and “Make It Pop,” Purdy also has multiple films that are currently in development, including “Brobots”, “Gary Nature” and “The Spring Break Killer.”
To find out more about Mark Purdy make sure to check out our interview below!
Where are you from and what was it like growing up there?
MP: I grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It’s the far east coast of the country on the Atlantic Ocean. Known to many as “The Maritimes,” it was a wonderful place to grow up. Very community oriented because the city I grew up in wasn’t too big and wasn’t too small. The people are extremely kind and the city has a real character and vibrancy that I still think stands out to this day – having traveled around the world. I am extremely proud to be from the Maritimes.
When did you realize that you wanted to pursue a career as a writer and producer for film and television?
MP: Wow. Well, I grew making short films with my buddies on my parents’ Sony Handycam. It was the best. We would make films almost every weekend and only show them to ourselves. One day in grade 7 or 8 we decided to make a film for an English assignment and people were blown away by the production quality and story… So we thought… “huh, maybe we have some talent…”.
As it happens… life got in the way and I focused more on sports more and sciences in school – filmmaking took a bit of back seat although I was still dabbling in it from time to time. I just didn’t know how a guy from eastern Canada could make a life in this crazy biz. So after obtaining a biology degree (BSc.) and a law degree (JD) I finally looked in the mirror and thought – dream big – what do I really want to do with my life? Just dream big… the answer was creating entertainment for others – to me that basically meant writing and producing stuff! Although I enjoy directing on some level – it was the writing and producing that was really attractive.
I should have mentioned — Having met a few people in the TV/Film industry over the years from the Maritimes who were fairly successful I realized this was a viable career option after all.
Can you tell us about some of your initial jobs in the industry?
MP: Oh, I had lots… I worked on student short films and music videos mainly helping friends who were starting out. I made corporate videos for clients and interned at a cool production company that produced factual TV series for the likes of the History Channel, National Geographic Channel, and Discovery Channel. I worked there for a while doing various jobs, but ultimately moved into narrative films – writing and producing my own shorts. Also, I worked on some bigger budget films and TV series as a producer/writer’s assistant which helped me really learn the ropes yet still get paid enough to put a bit of food on the table. It was a bit of a grind, but I enjoyed it as I liked the ladder I was on. I was certainly at the bottom but the climb up was what I wanted and felt right. Like I was on the correct life path.
What are some of the things that you learned early on in your career that have been the most valuable in taking you to the successful place you are at today?
MP: I guess there are a few things that stand out… first of all I would say that never giving up is a big one. This industry is loaded with road blocks and challenges and tons and tons of rejection. But if you believe in yourself and want it bad enough to just have to persevere and the opportunities will eventually arise. You have to become one with rejection and not take anything personal. That one took a while to master. What else… There is no substitution for hard work… there are so many talented people in the industry, but not everyone has a strong work ethic — for me, that was one of the things I noticed that can really set a person apart from the rest. Also, when opportunities present themselves you have to deliver and give it your all. The industry isn’t as large as one thinks so you have to do your best and respect the work giving it 110%. If this industry was easy – everyone would be doing it! So you just have to appreciate that you have a cool gig and work your ass off! Hoping another job will magically happen after… it might not.
What kind of audience do you generally write for, and why are you passionate about writing stories for this audience?
MP: I am most interested in comedy in general, but in terms of audience that can come in all shapes and sizes. Kids and adults, animation and live action… it’s all good to me. I think laughter and humor is the best thing in the world so any way that I can help deliver a laugh or that positive feeling to another human is what I’m most passionate about. I’m not adverse to other genres, but comedy comes a bit more naturally than drama or horror.
As a writer, can you tell us about how some of your early experiences in life have influenced the work you create today?
MP: As a kid I was always a deep thinker and quite curious about the world – call it standard boyhood wonder. My father was very influential in guiding the developing of my imagination and creating worlds and experiences out of nothing. I think a lot of the stuff I write about links to my days playing with my sister/father, boyhood wonder, and the imagination of a young boy. In terms of characters – because I was always a deep thinker/over analyzer I really enjoy writing characters that overthink things and get themselves into anxiety-ridden comedic trouble because of those traits.
As I mentioned previously… I have a science degree – specifically animal biology. I love writing for kids and a lot of the things I create or work on have a certain science or animal aspect. When you are working with kids and animation – talking animals are cool so that’s a lot of fun to combine passions. I guess you write what you know.
Can you tell us a little bit about some of the projects you’ve written for television?
MP: I worked on the reboot of “Inspector Gadget” for DHX Media (Teletoon and Netflix). This was one of my favorite shows as a child. In terms of memorable moments — It was just so cool to write characters that you love and have known for a very long time. I think they call these legacy properties. I remember drawing on some of my biology knowledge for inspiration on this one episode as Gadget and his crew had to deal with an organism that wouldn’t stop growing. It was fun to pop in some nerd biology knowledge and actually know what you are talking about… Sometimes it is obvious when a writer doesn’t know what they are writing about so I am glad I dodged that bullet on this one.
I write on a show for Nickelodeon and YTV called “Make It Pop”. It’s basically a musical comedy series that follows four music obsessed teens that go to a cool boarding school. Having been a teen myself once, in terms of writing … it is great to draw on past emotions and experiences for character storylines – obviously you change them significantly, but there is often a small nugget that of your past that you can summon to help you feel the scene or story more… and I’d like to think that shows in the final product. I remember one episode we wrote was about over-analyzing something and jumping to conclusions without any facts to back it up. This was something I did a lot when I was younger – and it was easy to write characters going through this and having things go off the rails because of said behavior. I really enjoy working as a writer/producer on “Make It Pop” because the cast and crew is positive, respectful and so much fun. Everyone likes to solve problems together and there is a really good vibe on set that is extremely refreshing and I believe can permeate through the show.
Out of all of those projects, which ones did you produce in addition to writing?
MP: Last year, I was the supervising producer on “Make It Pop” as well as a writer. I wrote and produced some segments for “Sesame Street” a few years ago which was so much fun as well as some short films that have traveled around the world on the film festival circuit.
Can you tell our readers about some of the challenges of working as both the writer and producer on a project? How do you approach these two seemingly different roles?
MP: Speaking very generally, sometimes producing and writing are at complete odds, but it isn’t always the case and doesn’t have to be a major issue as long as both sides respect each other. But if the writers want an alien spaceship race on a budget that will only allow a remote control car race in a parking lot — you have BIG problems. This concept of compromise is one that hurts on some level, but is a necessary part of any production. I do believe that creativity solves a lot of these problems as you might be initially upset you can’t have the alien race and don’t want to use remote control cars, but the fact that you have to re-think things brings you back to the ol’ drawing board and your new creative solution might be better than your initial idea… So it’s sort of a process and molding a ball of clay.
I think the best producers are the ones that are super creative and know how to talk to writers and also know that we are in the business of making entertainment. Sure, every story could be told with sock puppets but no one would watch that – I could be wrong. So, it’s really about finding the right creative sandbox to make a story come to life that entertains and can still be produced on time and on budget. Producing is a hard, yet rewarding job.
What it is about working as a producer on your own projects that you enjoy most?
MP: I like understanding the creative limitations and budget considerations from the producing point of view so that I can push the writing to the max of what is allowable under the more practical constraints. That fact that you know both sides makes the communication between the two pretty seamless. It’s not a guessing game. The other thing about producing, especially when you are involved from the beginning, is that you essentially oversee all aspects of development, production and post-production to make sure the quality and original nugget of the concept/story is preserved throughout its life. It’s nice and different to take some ownership of the whole product as opposed to just one aspect.
Have you produced projects for other people, I mean ones that you didn’t write?
MP: For sure… Most of the scripts we produce on “Make It Pop” were not written by me. So in the TV space as a writer/producer you are often working on scripts that were not written by you. However, if you are/were in the writer’s room it is likely that you have some ownership of the writing as the room is very communal and teamwork oriented. Everyone’s scripts are improved by each other or made totally worse — but I’d like to think the former. 😉
I have helped produced a music videos, TV and films for other people. It is a rewarding experience and you learn a lot when you are only on one side of the issues. Producing is a lot of problem solving and if you are up for the challenge of dealing with new and weird problems every hour, every day – it is likely for you. So much problem solving. It might sound scary, but it’s exhilarating for the most part.
If so, do you think being a screenwriter yourself gives you an edge over producers when it comes to producing work for other writers?
MP: I am generally a believer that the more you know about every other discipline in this industry the better you will be. So, yes, I think you have an edge. That said, and similarly, the producer who is well versed in editing or music or production design also has an edge. Some producers are very well rounded and supreme generalists… those ones tend to be the best in my experience.
What have been a few of your favorite projects so far and why?
MP: “Make It Pop” and “Sesame Street.” I love the people that work on these shows with me. They are all fantastic and creative people with so much to offer. I really respect them and their expertise in a given area. I suppose when you work with people and projects you respect it’s very meaningful on a both a working and personal level.
What has been your most challenging project and why?
MP: “Make It Pop” has been the most challenging as well as rewarding experience to date. It’s a very ambitious tween/tween series with music, comedy, drama and highly serialized story elements that thread throughout 20 episodes. The writing and production schedule is fast paced and ambitious and the work hours are long. However, just because it’s challenging doesn’t mean I dislike it. I love it. It is just a show with high standards and every decision is important. The responsibility level I have on “Make It Pop” is quite high as a supervising producer so you feel the pressure to do the right thing/make the right decision every moment of the day. That weighs on you as much as it fuels you… so it’s a challenging job to say the least.
What projects do you have coming up?
MP: Lately, I am developing a number of my own TV series, so I hope a few of them get into development with a cool production company or broadcaster in the near future. My agent is always keeping me up to date with writing gigs and working on shows. I am open to anything I find interesting at this stage…
As a screenwriter, where do you get your inspiration for the projects you create?
MP: It depends…but the short answer is anything and everything. Hanging with friends, walking in the park and studying an old couple, meeting an interesting person at a party, dreams, drawing on past experiences (university, working a summer job, playing on a sports team, traveling) reading books, art galleries… Sky is really the limit. The way I look at it, there is inspiration everywhere and you just have be in the right mood to connect ideas and think about things differently… it’s always amazing to create something from seemingly nothing.
What do you hope to achieve ultimately with the projects you create?
MP: I guess my goals would be continually creating new stories and characters that give viewers a fresh take or perspective on the world. I think as long as you are trying to present a fresh creative vision or angle you are adding to the stories that exist in the world. Anything that makes people say “hey! that’s new and interesting…” “I didn’t think of things like that…” is all good. Basically entertaining audiences to the fullest of my ability is what I hope to achieve the most in my career — making people FEEL things and THINK about things.
Why are you passionate about working as both a screenwriter and a producer?
MP: It all goes back to entertaining others and creating things out of the blue. I love the creative process and cooking up ideas or storylines with others. It gets me out of the bed in the morning for sure. Also, the power of put a smile on someone’s face or taking them on a cool, weird journey is awesome. Storytelling is what makes us human on some level and just like water and food we need it as a species. It’s a very primitive need that our ancestors who sat in caves with clubs and fire started. I like that aspect of it.
Do you think you’ll stick to writing TV shows for the youth audiences, or is there another area of screenwriting you’d like to explore?
MP: Lately I seem to have focused on youth audiences but I don’t want to say for certain that I will always stay in this area. What I like about youth is that it involves a lot of “firsts” and that is super cool — first kiss, first rejection, first everything… and there is a lot of emotion and fun in that. A mentor of mine told me the “firsts” thing so I don’t take any credit but it has always stayed with me. That said, I love all types of entertainment and adult stories are interesting as well. I’ll probably travel in and out of youth stuff my whole career. Deep down… I’m a just big kid.