Jun 22 2006
About Brad Riddell
Mr. Stifler, meet Mr. Peckinpah.
Not many people can claim (for better or worse) to have contributed to the expansion of a highly successful teen sex comedy franchise, AND a documentary about one of the greatest directors to ever live. If the Academy should ever decide to award an Oscar for greatest disparity in credits, I feel I should be a strong contender.
In July of 2003, one year after graduating from USC’s film school with an MFA degree in screenwriting, I found myself spending two weeks at an exclusive movie-star bunker known as the Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. Tom Thurman, a colleague from my days working video production in Lexington, KY, was making a documentary on Sam Peckinpah for the Western’s Channel. Since I had lived in L.A. for four years at that time, and kinda sorta knew the town, he asked if I would like to work on the film. An Associate Producer’s credit was in the offing for production coordination, talent wrangling, and some gophering duties. I took the job and had a fabulous time working on the film, hanging out with the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Harry Dean Stanton, Luke Wilson, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Madsen and Val Kilmer. On different occasions, I also found myself within arm’s reach of Britney Spears, Patricia Arquette and Cameron Diaz. It was a fabulous time, and the movie turned out great.
Here’s director/producer Tom Thurman, and a photo of the movie poster:
Right about the time we began production at the Chateau, my manager informed me that Universal was thinking of making an “American Pie” sequel for DVD release, and that my USC thesis script, “Band Geek,” had caught their interest. I met with the executives, heard their thoughts, developed a take, and after three gut-wrenching pitches, I got the job in October of 2003. One year and dozens of drafts later, American Pie Presents: Band Camp was in production under the amazing direction of Steve Rash. Steve was fantastic: including me in decisions, remaining patient with my naiveté, and forgiving several on-set rookie mistakes. The cast was incredible, the crew absolutely wonderful, and I learned more about making movies in those seven weeks than I had in five years of professional video production experience and three years of film school. We wrapped production in November 2004, and one year later, the movie was released in stores on December 26th, 2005. It sold one million copies in its first week of release, beating out “The 40 Year-Old Virgin,” and has since sold more than twice that amount, while airing extensively on TBS.
Since Band Camp, I’ve earned two more assignments from Universal, and one each from Paramount and MTV. I’m also co-producing my original screenplay, Harmony, with director Stu Pollard.
Aside from my daily efforts to do the impossible and sustain a successful writing career, I am an adjunct faculty member in the Writing Division of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, a member of the MFA in screenwriting faculty at Spalding University, and a founding director of The Kentucky Film Lab.
Check me out on IMDB. There’s not much there, but it’s a cool picture.