Producer Jeff Miller On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

… As they say, you only fail if you fail to try. But filmmaking is a tough career. Make sure it’s really what you want to do.

As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jeff Miller.

Jeff Miller, writer/producer. Has produced 30 feature films, mostly in the horror or action genres, and written or co-written about half of those. They have sold internationally to companies like Lionsgate, Showtime, Netflix, and the Syfy Channel. Won Producer of the Year award at the FearNYC fest in 2017.

The new movie EXORCIST VENGEANCE was released on February 8, 2022.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up in the Carolinas. My father was a pastor, so our family moved to a few different cities in North and South Carolina when he’d be hired by a new church. I graduated from the University of South Carolina with a media arts degree.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

From a young age, I’d always wanted to tell stories. Starting with Spiderman and STAR WARS comics, then gravitating to short stories and finally screenplays. There was a time when I thought I wanted to be a journalist and co-edited the school newspaper, but my interest was more in fiction. I wrote a bunch of screenplays but realized it was tough to break into, especially in South Carolina. So I contacted some people who had made a local horror movie and we're making another and asked if I could come aboard if I helped raise money. They said yes, so I raised money and wore many hats learning producing on that one.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Being flown to countries like Japan and Hungary for the premiere of my DEATH KISS movie was pretty exciting.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Not so much funny as sad. When I was 23, I wanted to direct a super low-budget movie. I organized everything fairly well, but I was in way over my head. I was late to set the first day, and one of the lead actresses left. We ended up having camera problems, and most of the footage was unusable. It was Super 8mm film, and it took a week or more to get your “dailies” back, so by the time we learned of the camera problem it was too late. I realized I needed to be around others who knew more than I did for a bit before biting off more than I could chew again.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I have a couple of fun projects in post-production and am prepping a couple of bigger action films to shoot this year as well as at least one more horror film. Also, my friend Richard Turke wrote a Christmas script that I’m trying to get made (my mother loves Christmas movies).

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

As they say, you only fail if you fail to try. But filmmaking is a tough career. Make sure it’s really what you want to do.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

Different life experiences, different and unique locations, and potentially newer and different audiences. The more life experiences we learn about, the richer life we’ll lead. I know people who live in closed-off worlds — they rarely travel, rarely leave their comfort zone. Not the kind of life I want to lead.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Can’t give you 5 things, but I’ll give one or two.

Don’t be afraid to move to L.A. or New York, but just make sure you don’t go too soon and that you give yourself time. I had a chance to move to L.A. just after college. But I think if I had, I would have given up (it’s expensive) and moved back to the Carolinas and likely never gone back to L.A. again. I needed more film and life experiences first. When I did move to L.A. several years later, I had three completed features under my belt, which impressed people.

That said, you can make movies anywhere. You don’t need to be in L.A. or New York, though it certainly helps from a networking and business perspective.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Have hobbies and interests outside of film. Set reasonable and realistic goals. If you move to somewhere like L.A. or New York to further your career, give yourself time. Giving yourself one year to make it rarely works.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I think movements are out of my pay grade. Certainly, there are people being persecuted that deserve a movement. Animal rights is also important.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My friend James Lineberger co-wrote the studio movie TAPS (1981). He wrote scripts for a lot of big producers in the ’70s and ’80s. He read a lot of my early work — still does — and has given me great advice and helped my confidence.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Do something every day to move your career forward.” I don’t remember where I saw it, but that’s what I try to do and encourage others to do the same. Every day, I work on a story or script idea or help move a movie along in pre- or post-production, or help promote one, etc. Another example, “writers write.” If you’re a writer, then write every day, or send out a query letter to a publisher, or promote what you already have out there. I remember once reading that Stephen King wrote every day except for his birthday, Christmas, and July 4th. A lot of people have to have “day jobs,” but that just means you must find the time — and try to do something every day — to pursue your dream job or passion. Don’t live your life stuck in a rut. Life goes by fast.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Jason Blum. He was the acquisitions executive for my first film, FREAKSHOW. Would like to get in the door with Blumhouse and make some cool films.

How can our readers follow you online?

I’m on Instagram at @jeffmillerfilm. Also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/millmanproductions . Many of my films also have Facebook pages, where I’m the administrator.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

Thank you for having me!