Twenty things you (probably) didn’t know about lit manager and producer, Stan Spry

1. My first job was… was working in construction as a summer job my sophomore year of high school. Actually, even before that I cut grass for a summer job. My first job in the entertainment business was as a free intern for a company called Berg-Sacchani Productions (which subsequently became Guy Walks Into A Bar). I interned there like 3 days a week, while I worked at Kinko’s from mid-night to 8am. Then my first paid gig in the industry was as a production assistant on a series of BMW commercial/short films.

2. If I wasn’t a manager and producer, I would likely be… I’d probably be an agent (I was an agent briefly), or a studio executive. But, if I weren’t to work in the entertainment industry, I would probably be working on some other business ventures. I love investing in real estate, and my favorite thing is building companies. Whether it’s building my management and production businesses, or building clients careers, or putting together movie and tv projects, I love creating. I have several investments in many startup companies, and have invested in restaurants and bars, real estate, etc.

3. I collect… friends and experiences… also fine art. I don’t really collect things other than that though. I don’t have a collection of stuff like memorabilia or comics or anything. When I was a kid I loved collecting baseball cards, but I stopped doing that in my teens.

4. My favorite word is… “love.”

5. I’m a big fan of… love, kindness, hard work, ambition, happiness, family. Music. Sports. Animals. The ocean.

6. The best advice I have ever been given was… good question. There’s been so much. Some form of “don’t be afraid of failure, it’s just a learning experience”, or “work hard and follow your passion”. My dad always preached the golden rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, I think that’s a great rule to live by.

7. I have always wanted to… travel, experience different cultures, create content and spread happiness, hope and positivity.

8. The best thing I have ever read is… I love Kurt Vonnegut, all his books are great. I love biographies and reading about how other people achieved their goals. When I was in college I loved books like the Celestine Prophecy, Ishmael, and The Secret. Books that motivate me are what I tend to gravitate towards.

9. People often tell me that I… oh man, that’s a good one. Depends on who you ask  I’d guess a lot of people tell me that I’m pretty lucky, and I agree with them. A lot of people tell me I’m a hard worker and driven.

10. If I knew the apocalypse was coming in 24 hours, I’d… call my family and tell them I love them. Kiss my wife. Open a nice bottle of wine with her and sit in our yard and hold her and experience the apocalypse with the love of my life and my dogs, and try to practice gratitude for the amazing life I’ve been given.

11. I am really proud of… my brother. Really proud of what he’s accomplished in life. He has a beautiful family, and is a partner at a huge global firm. I’m proud of my sister and her kids. She is a single mom who raised two incredible children who’ve become amazing adults. I’m proud of my dad, and the man he is, how generous and kind he is. I’m proud of my wife, who is one of the kindest sweetest people on the planet, and has the patience of a saint to put up with me. I’m proud of all of my clients and the careers they’ve build, and the work they continue to create. Personally, I’m proud that I’ve been able to positively touch and affect people’s lives. I’m proud that I was able to build my company with integrity and hard work. No one handed me anything, and many people doubted I’d ever amount to much.

12. The best thing about being a manager is… working with great talent, and people I care about. Also, it’s great being able to help cultivate people’s careers. There’s no greater feeling than helping someone achieve their dreams and goals. And helping them build careers so they can feed their families, pay their mortgages, send their kids to college etc.

13. I spend way too much time… honestly, I spend way too much time working.

14. The smartest person in my cell phone is… good question. I easily have over 10k contacts in my phone, I honestly can’t say who the smartest is. Also, I’d feel like I’d come across cheesy like I’m name dropping if I try to list some of most successful. I’ll say I’m constantly amazed by the amount of talented and highly intelligent people I work with on a daily basis.

15. It really bothers me when… ha. I’ve got lots of these  I think people not operating with integrity and kindness really bothers me. It also bothers me when people don’t realize their point of view is not the only point of view out there, and that all people have different POVs and reasons for their views. We’re all just people trying to do the best we can. What an amazing world it would be if we could all try to lift each other up instead of breaking each other down. I would say it bothers me when people doubt me or my company or my clients… but that’s not really the case anymore. Now it just motivates me to prove them wrong.

16. The worst thing about being a manager and producer is… everyone always has an idea for a movie or a TV show. I was actually at a friend’s wedding once and the preacher started pitching me an idea for a movie.

17. One mistake that most aspiring screenwriters make is… thinking that their scripts are perfect. Everything can be made to be better. The saying “it takes a village” is very appropriate for the entertainment industry. Scripts that make it to production go through numerous drafts. As a producer, once a script makes it to me it’s usually gone through a dozen drafts. Then we usually have to do multiple drafts to get it to the point of being producible. Major studio scripts that get made go through tons of rewrites, and often through multiple writers. I think a common trait that most successful writers have is a strong work ethic and passion. There’s nothing worse than a writer who is just starting out being arrogant and not willing to take notes, or thinks they know everything… One of the best things about the entertainment business is that you can learn something new every day, and that you can grow as an artist or a businessperson. Writers (and everyone else) should be open to learning and know that we don’t know everything.

18. I find inspiration in… little things. Nature. Watching a family laugh together. Seeing the joy a parent shares with their child. I also find inspiration in the success of others. I find inspiration in my business associates, my family, my friends and my clients. The universe inspires me.

19. The three websites I visit most often are… IMDB Pro, CNN and FOX News (I think it’s important to look at all things from multiple angles and from differing points of view, hence reading both CNN & Fox News regular).

20. You’d be surprised to know that I… strive everyday to reach new heights as a person, a manager, a producer, and a CEO.

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