This past week, film producer Chris Armogida visited with David O’Leary’s Business of Screenwriting Class to regale his story of how he went from a development intern to a film producer.Armogida began his career with development stints at Village Roadshow and Rogue Pictures (the then genre division of Universal). He next became a development executive for film director Bryan Bertino’s production company Unbroken Pictures, where he worked on developing countless projects, many which were set up at studios, including the project Grim Night which sold, amidst multiple bids, to Universal.
Also while at Unbroken, Armogida had the chance to work on-set as a producer on Mockingbird (a Universal Pictures film, and Blumhouse Pictures and Marc Platt co-production) and the psychological horror feature February aka The Blackcoat’s Daughter (which A24 is releasing this coming September).
Armogida answered student questions about producing and what a producer does, the advantages and disadvantages of independent filmmaking, working in the industry, how to go about getting a job after graduating, and what he looks for in a new writers and projects. A generous resource, who’s visited the New York Film Academy before, his advice to these students was invaluable.
Armogida now runs his own production company Nightshade Entertainment, with multiple projects in development, including We Summon the Darkness written by Alan Trezza (Burying the Ex) and The Importance of Blood, which he’s co-producing with Circle of Confusion.
by nyfa