As many have noted as of late, the future of film is changing and by extension the roles people play in it. Film is changing into television and streaming platforms. Some of the biggest celebrities on the planet can be found on YouTube and TikTok. Today we are looking at a producer who is adapting with the times and may just be the next big producer.
Omar Parker is a Montana State University graduate from their film & photography program. During his time at MSU he was named to the honor roll four times, and was a teacher’s assistant to his producing professor Dennis Aig. He even was a teaching assistant to Aig’s postgraduate producing class due to his out of school accomplishments while he was attending. While in school he would meet his college sweetheart and future wife Bridgett Parker, as well as his two future business partners Charlie Burt & Jonathan Gower.
With Charlie Burt, he founded a production company known as Egerton Crescent Productions. The duo began the company and started producing at just seventeen and eighteen respectively. Parker & Burt are in fact some of the youngest producers to ever have a film be an official selection of Cannes Film Festival, and the duo did it twice before the age of twenty three with both Damiana and Anna. Parker has actually recalled how odd it was to have that level of success at such a young age. Parker stated, “I actually couldn’t even get into a lot of Sundance parties when we first made it. I was still only twenty and Utah has pretty strict twenty one and up rules for bars. So I had to sneak into my own film party.” More recently the duo has been producing horror features made by the Mahal Empire like Death Count, a Michael Madsen movie that has recently been acquired by Gravitas Ventures.
With Jonathan Gower, he would start a YouTube channel during quarantine known as Captain’s Log. It was a YouTube channel and later a platform that celebrated the Star Trek fandom as well as livestreamed video games, and talked about nerd culture in general. Gower has stated that Parker really turned the platform into what it was. “I was bored and had an idea for like making some Star Trek videos for fun. We couldn’t make any movies or do anything else during the early days of COVID. And Omar really just took the idea and ran with it. He took an idea and turned it into a massive fan base and brand,” Gower stated.
More recently, Omar is in the process of creating an OTT platform known as Road Sofa. The platform is designed specifically for Gen Z, and is set to appeal to their unique humor and ideas. As the platform has just been announced there isn’t too much to talk about here but given Parker’s young track record it’s safe to say he could be on to something.
Parker’s tenacity and willingness to try new mediums is something that many other producers in Hollywood don’t seem ready for. This gives him a distinct leg up and in many ways already has. Many of these ideas like Captain’s Log or his new OTT platform become something bigger than just a single title; the usage of new technology allows him to be popular with an audience that has otherwise confused Hollywood so far. It is safe to say most of Hollywood will watch where Parker goes over these next few years.
