Meet Taylor Owenby of Matchbook Media Group

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Owenby.

Taylor, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started working in entertainment as a child actor in the 90’s. At the age of 10, I fell in love with the collaborative, (sometimes dysfunctional) family environment that a project creates. I knew that this was my career path. Whether a film, television, live event of theatrical production, it is the spirit and power of collaboration that can make “magic” real. In my teens, I produced stage plays for my public high school that couldn’t afford to fund the program by selling sponsorships and ad space in the programs. I didn’t know I was producing then, I just didn’t want my friends to lose their moment. Entertainment and the Arts are how a society tells stories and remembers our history and teens need an outlet to express themselves.

I helped produce projects for community college and accepted a scholarship to The Savannah College of Art and Design. There, instead of pursuing Performance or Film, I chose to study Advertising and Entrepreneurship. I grew up in the industry and in the theatre, and loved it, but felt that I could do more if I learned the business and how it relates to the art form. Remember how I produced a play? Well, the same is true for the global film and television community. We have to know how to market and raise funds in order to make a project work. I began getting published at 18 in regional magazines. The week before my 19th birthday, I opened up a regional magazine down in Savannah and saw my ad on the first page. That was another cool moment.

At 22, I moved to Atlanta and founded Matchbook Media + PR, Georgia’s first public relations and media production firm. I worked with several film festivals here in the state and had the opportunity to work with the entertainment leaders from Nashville, New York, Hollywood and Atlanta. After doing a lot of traveling, I saw a need to help raise the bar for our talent here in Georgia to a standard set by other, more developed markets. That led me to begin my producing career in television and film.

In 2013, I became the youngest Executive Producer in Georgia with one of the first SAG-AFTRA New Media pilots filmed here, Intrepid Academy. I managed a very, very small budget and worked with over a hundred people in a dozen locations around the metro-Atlanta area. We also received national and international exposure and people flew in from across the country to be a part of the production. That was amazing.

Two years later, I became the youngest Feature Film producer in Georgia to produce a project with Name (celebrity) Talent and global distribution. We filmed an action-thriller called Operator in my hometown of Covington, Georgia. I got to work with one of my acting heroes, Ving Rhames, as well as Mischa Barton, Luke Goss and Michael Pare.

It was an incredible experience. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and screened in theaters around the world. I also had the opportunity to begin repping projects for marketing and distribution and held win a few dozen distribution deals and secure a Hollywood premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre.

Now, I have partnered with industry veterans and investors to launch Matchbook Media Group, Georgia’s first studio focused on developing, producing and selling content. We are an industry with over 10 Billion Dollars in economic impact, but no one is focusing on training people Above-the-Line or developing stories from this market. MMG is the first. As a native, I’ve seen the incredible transformation of our industry the past twenty years. Thanks to the passing of the tax incentives in 2008, we’ve grown exponentially.

We can do more and collaborate with the national and international marketplace, but no one has led that initiative. It’s time. Having recently created and produced the 2017 Creative + Investor Summit at Eagle Rock Studios in June, we’ve seen the opportunities and the demand for local Producers, Directors, Writers, Actors and Investors to have a voice in our industry. So, we have launched, alongside our non-profit partners, the first studio-incubator in Georgia to develop content and talent for production. MMG is the first studio in Georgia dedicated to this purpose and we seek to become a mini-major over the next three years.

My goal is to create a sustainable eco-sphere here in Georgia, in collaboration with other markets. This way, we can retain the best talent here and recruit more Above-the-Line creatives to Atlanta. I don’t want to have to move to LA or NYC to continue my work, so we built MMG to bring the work to us. There is no shortage of demand for content, but there is a need for good content. We feel that our teams can fill that growing need without alienating our partner markets. It’s exciting.

In November, we will be launching MMG globally at the 2017 American Film Market and Conferences (AFM) in Santa Monica, California. We will be meeting with buyers, financiers and studios from across the world and begin what will inevitably be very interesting discussions. The future is very bright for Georgia and Matchbook Media Group, and I am honored to be a part of it.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As anyone in the industry can tell you, there are many ups and downs. One of the biggest struggles we’ve faced with our company is education. Everyone wants to talk about entertainment or be a part of it, but few people know how the industry works. I’ve devoted my life and career to the business, so it is a passion for me. Still, leadership is about showing and not telling, so we find the best way to change the perception of Georgia is to change it from within.

And I still have a lot to learn! Thankfully, I’ve teamed up with experienced professionals that have of 75 years of business and entertainment experience. People like Harry Vasavada, who has worked with Dick Clark Production and FUNimation Studios. His CFO expertise is wonderful. I also surrounded myself a few years ago with an Advisory Board that included Academy-Award winners and C-level studio and television executives.

These people are generous, knowledgeable and experienced. And I applaud them for trying to impart some level of wisdom into my dense skull, haha.

This expansion with MMG is bound to be incredibly difficult and challenging, and the entertainment industry is extremely competitive. But what is life without challenges, right? The struggles just make us stronger, wiser and, in the end, better people.

Matchbook Media Group (MMG) – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Matchbook Media Group is different for one critical reason: We are open. Most studios throw up a gate. We exist to open doors. Knowledge is power and connection are vital to success. MMG’s studio-incubator will be the first of its kind in Georgia. We focus on the following areas:

Script and Story Development
Financing
Pre-production
Production and Production Services
Post-production
Marketing
Distribution and Sales

We also have a talent management division that works with actors to enhance their visibility and opportunities in the industry.

We are training the investor class in Georgia on the risks of production and how to mitigate them, as well as the rewards of being a part of the growing industry.

MMG focuses on Accountability, Transparency and Sustainable Profitability in our work and we have a unique opportunity to take advantage of the 30%+ in incentives that the State of Georgia offers to creative producers.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
When I look back on the people my work has impacted over the years, I have to say I cannot nail down one moment. Producing a feature in my hometown is definitely one. But really, seeing people I’ve worked with go on to star in productions like Oprah Winfrey’s Greenleaf, HBO’s Ballers, Paramount Pictures’ Ashby, and Netflix’s Bloodline… that’s pretty cool. Also seeing crew members go on to work for Marvel, Disney, Fox, the list can go on for a while, that is what makes the tough moment’s worth it.

I’m in the business of make believe, but to empower a creative professional to begin a thriving career, and to be a part of a great project, that’s what makes it meaningful for me.

We also have a platform in this industry. Raising funds and awareness to issues that face our world is a huge motivator for me. These non-profit efforts also give a deeper meaning to my work.

Contact Info:

• Address: 151 Ted Turner Drive
• Website: www.MATCHBOOKEAST.com
• Phone: 4048595713
• Email: strike@matchbook.works
• Instagram: @tayloro.official
• Facebook: facebook.com/matchbookpr
• Twitter: @GTOwenby
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matchbook

 

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