Director Ari Novak (left) and Producer Mike Gut (right) at the 2014 American Film Market
Originally from Montreal, Canada, Mike Gut is a film and television producer whose career took off several years ago after he produced the multi-award winning film Shaya.
Since then Gut has gone onto produce an impressive list of feature films, commercials, music videos and television shows, but before we get into his resume let’s first consider how he made it to where he is today.
As all those who have found success and the many who have tried and failed already know, the road to “making it” as a film producer in the competitive world of entertainment is by no means an easy task. Not only is the job itself incredibly grueling– as the producer is responsible for the outcome of a film and the return their investors receive as a result, in addition to being the main point person throughout each phase of production; but actually getting to that place in the industry where one is able to produce a film with the trust and support of both the investors and crew is a tremendous feat.
Before embarking on a career as a producer, Mike Gut spent years in the finance industry where he played it relatively safe working a 9 to 5 job during the week, and using his weekends to shoot short films with friends.
Gut admits, “I essentially used my paychecks to finance our short films. After a while I started suffering from the mundane repetitiveness of work, so I applied to the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC.”
Gaining acceptance to the prestigious master’s program at USC, which only accepts 25 students per year, Gut marks the training he received at the school coupled with his background in finance as the sparks that set the wheels in motion.
Gut went on to work with Upload Films, where he worked as the post-production coordinator on the films Dumb and Dumber To, Operation Barn Owl and Market Hours. Through Upload Gut was able to get his feet wet in the big leagues where he made valuable contacts and had the opportunity to work alongside The Weinstein Company, a production company renowned for the films Django Unchained, The Imitation Game, The Master, The King’s Speech and many more award-winning films.
Since getting his foot in the door of the industry, Mike Gut climbed the ladder of success rather quickly going on to work with several companies including Oracle Film Group, a production company he continues to work with today. As a producer with Oracle, Gut recently produced the films Timber The Treasure Dog and Cowboys vs Dinosaurs.
While the two films differ greatly in the stories they portray, they are both family friendly adventure films, a genre in which Gut has found his niche.
He explains, “I really enjoy making family/kids films… As much as I’d like to produce an Oscar award winning film, should the right script come along, at the moment I’m okay with making quality feature films that cater to a specific market while getting a suitable return for the investors involved.”
Starring Kik Brooks (8 Seconds, Born Wild, A Horse Story, Ambush at Dark Canyon) and Wilford Brimley (Cocoon, Comanche, Progeny, A Place to Grow), Timber the Treasure Dog is a fun-filled adventure film that follows a boy and his trusty talking dog as they set out on a journey to find the boy’s grandfather’s buried treasure.
As the producer of the film Mike Gut says, “My role was crucial in this film since I’ve been with it from the get go. I helped develop the script, found financing, set up pre-production, casting, was on set operating the day to day during production, as well as on post-production.”
The film brought Gut and the Oracle Film Group to the attention of several investors at the American Film Market last year where it was being sold by Archstone Distribution. About his work with Oracle Film Group, Gut says, “We have a great working relationship and because of our success from our last two feature films together, we are slated to do at least three more, which I’m over the moon about.”
As for Mike Gut’s other upcoming feature film, Cowboys vs Dinosaurs brings to life the story of a group of gunslingers that are forced to fight for the survival of a small western town after dinosaurs emerge from an explosion at a local mine. The film stars Oscar nominated actor Eric Roberts (Inherent Vice, The Dark Knight, The Expendables) and Vernon Wells (Weird Science, Commando, Jurassic City).
When it comes to deciding what films get made and which ones remain stories on a page, Gut’s seasoned process of deliberation is part intuition and part analytic. He says, “A lot of it is instinct yet at the same time it’s not hard to realize when you come across a good script or concept. That being said, good scripts or concepts are not always the most marketable films. It always starts with the script, my gut lets me know how good it is, then my brain assesses whether or not the project is a viable one. I’m actually quite good about what kinds of films will work with the budgets we have.”
In addition to Gut’s two upcoming feature films, which are set for release this year, some of his past work as a producer includes the films Shaya, Unfair & Imbalanced, Ultimate Challenge, Hollywood Hick, Darth’s Date, the pilot for the television series Complex, and an impressive list of music videos.