By Josh Roy
Can you tell me how you both ended up working in film, and when it all started for you?
Greg: Back in 1995, I left UNBSJ and decided to go to Niagara College in Ontario for film school. I did that for three years, and in my third year, second semester, I was hired for my very first feature film. And my school let me go do that, so I took time off to do it. And then I immediately joined the union, and I was in the camera department for about three years, working on shows similar to the television series Revival that we produced recently —significantly smaller than Revival, but with a similar setup. Then after that, I started schlepping my own camera around, and of course, all during this time, I was a good friend of Cat and Tony, who are the long-time staff at the NB Film Co-op. I started building my business in 2002. I went to film school, and I graduated in '99. So, yeah, around 2002, I started a company called Hit Media. And that's when I met Steve.
Steve: Independent Pictures.
Greg: Oh, yeah. Independent Pictures Productions was my first. Then it was Hit Media. And then I met Steve. And then in 2006, I incorporated Hemmings House. And not too much longer — 2007 — I hired Steve, Lauchlan, and Andrew. And we started Hemmings House back in 2006. And it continues to go from there. And here we are today, eh? Steve, I don't know if you can embellish anything from there.
Steve: I was originally in music, in audio, doing recording. That evolved into me doing multi-track recording live and then that evolved into me doing multi-track recording live and videotaping it as a reference. Then of course I met Greg in that world because we were both filming a lot of bands back then and that would have been around the 2002-2003 mark that Greg was saying and then later in 2006 we did a TV show. Or did we do it in 2007?
Greg: I think we incorporated for Wrestling Realities.
Steve: So in 2007, Greg hired me on one of his TV shows as a camera operator. And the rest is history.
That kind of goes into the next question: how did you two originally meet?
Greg: Here's something fun. Steve actually hired me. I don't know if he ever paid me, but he definitely hired me for Divine Heist. Steve was recording a really awesome jam band here, and he needed another camera guy. And we knew of each other, but I didn't really know you. I just asked because I had a camera that you were looking for.
Steve: Well, I also think that you were going to film Slow Coaster, which I think they were opening for, and you were already there with your camera, and you're like, “Do you want my footage?” I said, "Yeah. For sure!"
Greg: We’ve truly filmed thousands of hours of music shows if you add up all the camera angles. We sort of started the business as a music production company because we did all the ECMAs, Harvest Jazz and Blues, Halifax Jazz Fest, and Evolve Music Festival and boardwalk stuff here. We just filmed everything.
Why did you decide to go into the film business together? Why the name Hemmings House Pictures specifically? And why is there also Hemmings' films? What is the difference between the two?
Greg: That's a long one. About 4 or 3 years ago, Steve bought in. Steve has pretty much run the company with me right from the beginning. At one point, it just made sense for him to buy in and become a business partner. So we both run this thing. And every day is bliss. We get to talk like 15-year-old boys to each other. It's great. Before Hemmings House was incorporated, I was doing another TV show, Planet Luxury, with my friend Andrew Tidby. All the guys working on the show pretty much lived at my house. My house was out in Acamac, and we would edit 12-14 hours a day, take these little breaks, and have jam sessions because we had a whole band set up. We were in our early 20s to mid-20s. I don't know what it was, but we would work all week really hard and then party very, very hard on the weekends. After the bands and DJs were done at the boardwalk at 2 in the morning, they would bring the audience all the way to Acamac and keep partying until the sun came up. So bands would play in our backyard. It got to the point where people were getting in taxi cabs all the time to come out to Acamac. So people would get into the cab, and the cabbie asks, “Where are you headed?” Everybody responded that they were headed to Acamac Backland Road to the Hemmings house. I heard that story so many times. I was like, what a fun name for the company, because we were all about house parties. And then I had to come up with a name for a company. And it was right in the middle of that era. We still had a lot of parties going on. And I was like, ah, Hemmings House. We're all working out of this house. Then, we were running TV shows and commercials through that company. And once you start doing things a little bit more legitimately, when you do television projects, you have to have a different corporation for liability reasons. So what you typically do is just get a numbered company. You don't brand it or anything, but instead of getting a numbered company for our TV shows and our documentaries, I just made another company called Hemmings Films. But it was never supposed to be an outward brand. It was all going to be under Hemmings House. But it's been a legit company almost as long as Hemmings House has. It has continued to do everything from our TV series Revival to all of our CBC docs, one called Race Against the Tide. That's all through Hemmings Films, but a number of years ago, we were coached — whether correctly or wrongly — to separate the brands because some of our commercial clients might get confused about whether we're putting all our focus on TV shows and documentaries or vice versa. So we separated the brands, different websites, different everything. Not too sure it was the right idea, but that's just the way it is for now. And that's the story. Long story short
What advice would you give someone just starting out in film?
Steve: We get this question a lot. I think there are different avenues you can take. You've got your Kevin Smiths who just max out their credit cards and try their best to take a leap of faith. I wouldn't recommend that. There are folks who go to film school, build a strong foundation of skills, and sometimes specialize in a department. And at the same time, they build a network of their own — of peers — and they get some on-the-job experience through school. And then they go off to join the union after school. That could be a really interesting approach for sure. School can be very, very expensive. It can very useful if you have the privilege of doing it and then I think another avenue is you know find a department that you kind of want to explore (in your case you went into accounting), and you try to get involved with the union to get involved with the community that you're a part of and just get as much experience as you can and move your way up. I think some advice I would give to filmmakers is: once you find something you're really good at or really enjoy, follow it. I think being a generalist is good for the first 10 years. But if you want to do something, I think it's also good to specialize and do it.
Greg: Good advice. I would also say you're doing exactly what you should be doing by joining the NB Film Co-op, getting out on some sets, taking the workshops, and doing what you're doing —reaching out to film folks and producers.
Steve: I would also add, participate in the community. Go and watch films. Go to the community gatherings. Go to festivals. Be a part of it. You said it earlier, it's a pretty close-knit community in New Brunswick. It is. But what a lot of people don't know is that it's actually a pretty close-knit community, nation, and North American-wise. There aren't a ton of people in this industry. I think if you perform, work well with others, and work hard, it's not necessarily your skill set that will get you the next job. It's your attitude. And if you want to go up the ladder and become a second, a first, or a head of department, then of course you're going to have to work harder at that. But people just want to work with people that they like and that are willing to work as hard as they are. And skill set can be learned, but those soft skills are a must.
Greg: That's way more important because everybody can learn, but not everybody can be a nice person.
What would you say was your most challenging time with the company when you were working to make it sustainable?
Greg: Building a business in New Brunswick is a work of passion. And I think that's the most positive way I can say it. We're stubborn people here in a good way. You know what I mean? But the challenges here are so real. And that's not an excuse. I'm not complaining. But the opportunity to grow quicker in a dense market where the industry already exists would have put us in a different position than we are now. Steve and I are builders; we're working to build an industry here, and I don't have any regrets. I'm very happy that we built a world here and a family here in New Brunswick. It is hard to get consistent work and money into the accounts to make production happen. In a cool way, it means all of us who have stuck it out are pioneers because eventually this industry infrastructure is going to work really well here in the province. It's the challenges of being in a remote rural area when all our clients are in places like Toronto, Los Angeles, and New York.
Steve: It's a different battleground here. We're a fish that dug its own ocean as opposed to being a small fish in a big ocean. It would have been a different challenge if we had built this business in Nova Scotia or Ontario. It's been particularly challenging in New Brunswick because of its rural nature, the dormant tax credit, and the equity program that still hasn't returned.
Greg: Multiple different cities, an hour and a half apart. Very difficult, where in Halifax, all the crew get to go to bed in their own beds. In Brunswick, you have to put two-thirds of the crew up in hotels.
Steve: There are those challenges. There are challenges in everything, but those ones are very real.
Can you talk about your greatest successes in film in New Brunswick?
Greg: Well, I think the feature film that we just premiered is one. Steve produced Taylor Olson’s third feature What We Dreamed of Then alongside Sandy Hunter from Fredericton and Britt Kerr from Halifax. That was —I'm talking from the Hemmings side —that was a big, big deal for Steve to produce something of that nature, because we've only been making documentaries forever. We've never done anything scripted. Steve learned so quickly on that project, and the project just premiered at the Atlantic Film Festival. I'm very proud. It's a different type of ride, but it means more that we made that feature work than it did for Revival, even though this feature had a minuscule budget compared to Revival's. The last year and a half have been banner years for our film company because we pulled off these very large projects that we never thought we could.
Steve: We broke barriers. I mean, we've done multiple movies. Million-dollar projects have been completed over the last 18 months and are in development, with many more in the pipeline. Never before have we been able to make those statements. They've always been a $500,000 documentary kind of thing. Now we're producing documentaries that are well over a million dollars, feature films that are, obviously, over a million, and TV series that are well over a million. So we're maturing in that aspect. We are graduating from short docs and short films to broadcast and streaming docs, films, and TV series with proper budgets. And we're getting national recognition for our work, which is really lovely, and we're selling internationally, which is also amazing.
Have you ever wanted to quit working in film? If so, why? Or if not, why not?
Greg: I don't think there's ever been, for me, a time I wanted to quit film because I'll probably be 80 years old and still be working in this craft, at least as an art.
Steve: Documenting your great-grandchildren.
Greg: Absolutely, with my video camera. But I would say every business owner and entrepreneur has those moments of, “What if this doesn't work? What do we do?” But never, in my mind, have I been like, “yeah, I want to get out of this.” It's far too interesting, but the challenges are very real —growing a business here —so weird thoughts cross your mind sometimes. Do you align with that, Steve?
Steve: I do. I find we're blessed and cursed to be able to work not only in documentary features and series, but we also work in corporate and commercial, especially in corporate and commercial. Every project is a different one. Every project you get to go into a new company, learn all about it, do a deep dive, and produce a corporate commercial. Our day-to-day is new businesses, new industries, and new sectors. I find it very exciting and not boring at all. Greg's right, it can be challenging, but it is very rewarding.
You've supported the NB Film Co-op for years, as well as the Silver Wave Film Festival. The NB Film Co-op is 46 years old this year, and the Silver Wave Film Festival turns 25. Why do you feel it's important to support those?
Greg: The NB Film Co-op is the foundation of our film community, our film culture, and our film industry. So many of us have gone through the NB Film Co-op programs and had our films screened in the Silver Wave Film Festival. Every film community across the country has some form of film co-op. The NB Film Co-op is the glue that holds the creative community together. It's very worthy to support, of course. If we want a future in this province, we need a lot of people understanding the craft, and being part of the NB Film Co-op is like going to film school for a fraction of the price if you take advantage of its resources properly.
Steve: It's important to support the NB Film Co-op. Talent doesn't always come with age and experience. You can have talent with someone very, very young. So, I think it's important to pay it forward. If we're in a position to support such a pillar in our community and sector, it's a no-brainer.
What are your top three Canadian features or shows?
Greg: The Sweet Hereafter is my favorite Canadian movie ever made. And that was Atom Egoyan. That's pretty old school.
Steve: I really like Bonecage by Taylor Olson. It struck me in a way that made me want to do a movie with them, and we did.
Greg: I get a laugh a minute with Schitt's Creek, which is very much a Canadian product with a lot of Hollywood action behind it. But that's a fun Canadian series that I really enjoyed watching.
Steve: I've got a very divisive one, but I really like it. And I know it's super cheese, but it's Just For Laughssome people loath it. Like, they actively hate it. I actually love it. It's like olives, pickles, people either love them or hate them.
Greg: Do you remember the movie Hardcore Logo? It's a really good Canadian flick. It's funny. I don't even think about this very much, but they're Canadian films. That's a pretty healthy list, isn't it?
Steve, why do you put in so much time as the volunteer president of Media NB? What keeps you plugging away as a supporter of the film industry in NB, and why are you not jaded?
Steve: It's really the same answer as to why we support the NB Film Co-op. We want to further the film industry here, and I've got two driving factors for that. One is very obvious. I'm a partner in a production film company, and I want to explore that. But two, I also think it's the right thing for the province, and I don’t say that in jest. I do believe that having an efficient, fully functional, and thriving film and television industry in the province adds richness to its culture and art. It diversifies our economy. It employs folks, and it really rises all ships, I believe. I'm a big, big fan of that. I think that film and TV production are, you know, forever mystical, mysterious, and unknown to most people. There's something exciting about seeing a film set. I do want to see New Brunswick back to where it once was in film and certainly better. So that's what keeps me going. I also think the folks who are involved — especially the 300 members who are now part of Media NB, and certainly the NB Film Co-op, and a bunch of other organizations — they all have wonderful members. I think this is one way that we can unite all of them, and I want to see that happen. I want people to know that they don't have to leave the province to work in film.
What were your favorite projects that you worked on with your film production company? What made them memorable?
Greg: Well, there's one called Sistema Revolution that we did, which we shot in Venezuela and here in New Brunswick about a music program, and it was such a thrilling, uplifting story. I really enjoyed directing that. That was a long time ago. Another highlight for me was a film we did called When You Are Wild. It’s about a rock and roller guy in Vermont who was going through cancer, and the whole community surrounded him and supported him for a benefit show that he was a headliner of. It was a feel-good, quirky story as well. There's another film we did called The Paramount about the Paramount Theater when they were trying to save it here in Saint John. It was a CBC project, and we made a really nice film with that. You can watch all those films I just mentioned on our Hemmings’ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HemmingsWorld)
Steve: My top three are certainly just out of sheer involvement and effort poured into them. What We Dreamed of Then and Revival are certainly big, big ones. I'm also very proud of what we're doing right now on The Berg. It's a CBC documentary for The Nature of Things. I've been able to do a lot of business affairs, which I'm having fun with. However, it's on the corporate side of things that I really thrive, and it's going to sound cheesy, but I absolutely loved giving voices to folks who haven’t one or to folks who have been attenuated. I love using film as a weapon to convey emotion or to convince or to persuade for Good. That is really a powerful thing man. And we've had the privilege of giving voices to many victims. We've given voice to many of the folks in the priority neighborhoods. We've been able to amplify the voices of certain organizations that are really, really important to us. I think those are the best projects because they're the most meaningful. At the end of the day, films and TV series are cool and neat, but they're not making as much social change as I think some of the other projects are. I'm not discounting the importance of entertainment, though.
What was your favorite film celebrity that you met while working in film through the years?
Greg: Well, I've got a very long story, which I'm not going to tell, but a guy named Michael Dudikoff, who was the American Ninja. He was the star of my first feature, and I was a big American Ninja fan as a kid, so it was really cool for me. This guy was such a grumpy old guy to work with, and my buddy Andrew Tidby and I —it was both our first film —he ended up kicking him in the gut because we're both slating cameras. And as he came out for his scene, he tripped over Andrew, stood up, and took a walloping kick at him. The joy of that is Andrew's a big American ninja fan too. So he got to brag that the American ninja kicked him in the gut. That's a funny one. That's called Battery and Violence. You know, who else was really fun to work with? I got to work with Juliette Lewis. I worked with her. She was awesome. She was a lot of fun. I did karaoke with her. She's wonderful.
Steve: I don't really have an answer to that. I will say this, though. Part of the lesson that I learned a long time ago is don't be afraid to think big. What I mean is, if you have someone in mind —if you really want a certain production designer, director, writer, or star —reach out to them! Reach out to management and tell them where you are — New Brunswick. Tell them what you can offer. Make the note concise and professional. Put your times in, and you'd be surprised by the people who are willing to just work for the art of it, even though they've made a name for themselves on the bigger screen. And it goes for crew, writers, and folks above the line as well. You know, it's okay to reach out. It's okay because they weren't born that way, right? They had to go through what we've gone through. And I think often times we're like, “Oh, I don't want to call so and so because they would never do this in a million years.” So we don't even pick up the phone to call them or email them. I would just encourage anyone who does have someone in mind to give them a call. Give their management a call and see what they say. They might say they'd love to do it, or she'd love to do it, but they're booked until November 2027. And it might be worth it for you to postpone until then if you can attach that person, right? So there are many options.
What do you love about New Brunswick as a shooting location? Why should outside productions come here? What do you think NB can offer to them that no other place has?
Greg: Okay, well, I'll answer that in backward order. We've got a work ethic, a charm, and a way of being unlike anywhere else. Not only are we nice people to work with, but as New Brunswickers, we are very hard workers. So that's one thing. For people who are creative, like directors, writers and producers, these locations really have not been shot yet like there's so many new fresh locations here that are coastal rural, and urban it's great and you know this is where I was born in this province so this is my home and there's a million things I love about it especially the river and the ocean and of course the people here are great.
Steve: We only have one hometown. We've gotten to travel a lot in our jobs and personal lives, and we can say with some degree of certainty that we really love New Brunswick — like objectively. We love the people. I love all of the elements of our province. We've got a really lovely, loving, and open community here where people want to help others, and they're not as jaded as some of the denser communities across North America. I would say that's one of our biggest strengths. I mean, we've got the ocean, we've got rivers, we've got forests, we've got rural, we've got suburban, we've got it all. I guess we don't have deserts, but we've got a lot of stuff. I really like that. And then access, I think New Brunswickers are just want to help out, you know. They want to open the door, and they want to be hospitable, and I think that is one of the truest things for New Brunswickers.
