Rita Michel(I)
- Producer
Rita Michel has worked in essentially every aspect of film and
television production. In 1983 she began working for Capital Cities/ABC
acquiring ten years of experience in television on nationally
syndicated shows. She gained experience in legal administration,
production administration, and talent coordination from working closely
with the producers of various daytime programming. Next her skills and
goal oriented thinking earned her the position of production
coordinator for network news coverage which included live shot
coordination and satellite administration. Michel left ABC to pursue a
career in film which commenced with the position of Line Producer for
Apple Productions, on the feature film "Love, Lust & Marriage" (feature
film) which premiered at the 1994, Independent Feature Film Market, and
sold internationally. Michel has gone on to produce numerous film
projects, including "A Killing" (feature film) and "Escape Velocity"
(short film) currently on the film festival circuit; as well as a
CD-Rom project for the Nickelodeon Program "Blue's Clues". She has also
acted as U.P.M. on various projects including "Domain" (feature film),
"Hose Jones" (feature film) and "Dead Air" (short film). In between
film productions, Rita has worked as a grip, electrician, props and
even camera assistant on various commercials, industrials, and music
videos. To acquire an even larger film contact base Rita became one of
the founders of an emerging trade newspaper, The New York Independent
Film Monitor as the Promotions Director and a Contributing Writer.
Through her work on this and other publications, Michel has completed
informative interviews with other producers, directors, distributors,
cable programmers, casting agents, foreign sales agents, and other
industry players. Rita latest credits include that of Co-Producer of
"Fare Well Miss Fortune" currently entering the film festival circuit
and Co-producer/Co-director of "Film Festival Junkies" a feature length
documentary currently in post-production. It was during interviews
taken at URBANWORLD Film Festival of 1998, that Michel met the director
and was first introduced to his screenwriting talents. Michel's earlier
work has taught her that the most important aspect of a narrative
project is often timing, and she feels secure in positioning "Purge" as
an urban-horror film for the new millenium.