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Campbell Grobman Films

Hollywood Women In Film

By Tammy ReesePublished 4 years ago 6 min read
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Lati Grobman and Christa Campbell of Campbell Grobman Films (Photo Credit: PPLA)

Hey Vocal readers check out this amazing "Tesla" trailer which dropped recently from IFC Films. The biopic, which debuted at Sundance, stars four time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke and is set for a theatrical and on-demand release August 21st. "Tesla", a freewheeling take on visionary inventor Nikola Tesla, his interactions with Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan's daughter Anne, and his breakthroughs in transmitting electrical power and light.

I got to speak with and interview the phenomenal producers of "Tesla" Christa Campbell and Lati Grobman, CEO and Founders of Campbell Grobman Films.

Since 2011, the duo have produced some of the biggest projects for different studios across Hollywood, from action blockbusters to Emmy nominated documentaries.

Some of their notable past projects include: Angel Has Fallen which opened at Number 1 at the Box Office; Rambo: Last Blood; the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise; The Hitman’s Bodyguard starring Ryan Reynolds; The Bleeder, starring Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts; and Winter on Fire, the revolutionary documentary they sold to Netflix that won the Toronto Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award that year, to name a few!

Their upcoming slate includes: The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, starring Ryan Reynolds; The Expendables 4 starring Sylvester Stallone; and Red Sonja, being directed by Jill Soloway.

Vocal readers please enjoy our interview!

Lati Grobman (left) and Christa Campbell (right) (Photo Credit: PPLA)

Tammy Reese:

What inspired you to become Film Producers?

Lati Grobman :

Would you like the truth? I would love to tell you this incredible story that all of my life I was dreaming of becoming a producer. No, that is the furthest from it. I fell into it. I was a child actor in Israel. I was on a TV show that is similar to the Mickey Mouse Club. After that, I became a translator. I was translating for extras in the movies. After serving in the military in Israel, I came to America. This was when I fell into the entertainment business. Movies are a powerful artform that reaches masses of people. They can make you happy, sad, and every emotion in between, but at the same time you can acquire so much knowledge through them. Not only in documentaries but in feature films as well. You can obtain so much knowledge from cinema, other than the fact that you can be really entertained. That's something that kept me in the business. It's a very dynamic business that changes all the time. It's not like going to the office from 9am to 5pm and doing the same thing everyday. It’s everchanging. You pick up other personalities because it's such a passionate business with so many other crazy people like us. That is why I think we fit in so well.

Christa Campbell:

Lati kind of happened to me. She inspired me. It definitely wasn't something that I set out to do when I was 5 years old. I, too, fell into it.

Lati Grobman (left) and Christa Campbell (right) (Photo Credit: PPLA)

Tammy Reese:

What are some memorable moments in your career so far?

Christa Campbell:

Lati was producing movies before I was. My first movie production was Texas Chainsaw Massacre. When you jump off and you have a big success like that you feel like, “Oh, this is easy!” For me that was an exciting thing. We've been nominated for an Oscar with Winter On Fire. We have also been nominated for Emmys. We have good taste and trust our instincts. We know whether we can make something happen or not. That's our thing! We aren't these brilliant scholars, but we have an intuition about what works and what doesn't.

Tammy Reese:

Please tell our readers about "Tesla" and your involvement as Producers of the film starring Ethan Hawke.

Christa Campbell:

We knew we really wanted to work with Ethan Hawke. He's such a great actor with immense talent. To be honest, we love this movie. We knew it was a passion project that was going to take a lot of work.

Lati Grobman:

We were very much interested in the man himself ( Nikola Tesla) and the fact that he didn't get credit for one of the biggest inventions of the world.

It was very interesting to know who this person really was. What was his personal life like? What was he truly like. We thought it was an important movie to make as well.

Christa Campbell (left) Lati Grobman (right) (Photo Credit: PPLA)

Tammy Reese:

What were some obstacles in making the film?

Lati Grobman:

It's really challenging to convince the investors and distributors that what you have is worthy. The movie business is about numbers, like any other business. The numbers have to work, and if they don't, you can't make the movie. It doesn’t matter how important you feel it is. Also, it's a very much star driven industry. Sometimes, the star just doesn't fit the part. We got absolutely lucky with Ethan Hawke . He is brilliant! He very much fits the part of Tesla and resembles him in so many ways.

Christa Campbell:

Working locally in New York City with a small budget film is quite difficult. People don't really quite understand that. It's expensive and a lot of elements went into making this movie. You just get a tight schedule, a tight budget, and just have to make it work.

Tammy Reese:

What is some advice you would give to an aspiring filmmaker?

Lati Grobman:

Know that none of it is personal if someone doesn't like your project. It's not necessarily that your project is bad. It's just at that particular moment in time, it's not the right project for that person. You have to keep trying. Don't give up so quickly. Look around you and notice that all the richest or most famous people in the world are not necessarily the most talented people. It's more about perseverance. I believe it was Madonna who said that she wasn't the best dancer or singer in the world, but she is unbelievably amazing and determined. If you have that drive in you, you can make it!

Christa Campbell:

I always tell filmmakers times are always changing. If you have an iPhone and a vision, you can make a film. Also, if you're good, you're good. If you're a young director and write a script, you don't have to run around and beg people to finance your movie. You can literally get your iPhone out, get a few friends together, and shoot a movie. If you're talented, people will see it. You don't need millions of dollars to prove that. Don't wait for someone to give you permission to succeed. You can go out and do it on your own. You have the tools out there.

Tammy Reese:

What's next for you?

Christa Campbell:

We're always doing more because that's how we survive. Adding more people to our company, working on documentaries and movies. We make content, sell it, and keep moving and growing. If you're not growing you're just dying.

Lati Grobman (left) and Christa Campbell (right) (Photo Credit: PPLA)

Connect with Christa Campbell and Lati Grobman on Facebook

Tammy Reese

Filmmaker/Actress/Journalist

Visionary Minds Public Relations and Media

Vocal Media

NYWIFT

Instagram @tammyreesemedia

interview
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About the Creator

Tammy Reese

Tammy is best known for her legendary interviews with Sharon Stone, Angela Bassett, Sigourney Weaver, Geena Davis, Morris Chestnut, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Laurence Fishburne, Omar Epps, Joseph Sikora, and more.

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