Biography

In 1996 Luckily he was recruited as an administrative assistant by one of the more prestigious accounting firms of the state of Baja California, Cerda Romero and Associates.

In that position, he learned a great deal of the skills he use today, and he developed his networking skills, becoming acquainted with people who mentored him in detail about corporate budgeting and fiscal policy, corporate tax regulation, business policies, accounting and government regulation, etc.

Because his job duties included obtaining temporary foreign worker visas for some of the clients, he became acquainted with the director of the immigration office in Tijuana. He was later approached by the producers of Titanic, who explained that during the huge cinematographic work upon which they were embarking they would need hundreds of foreign workers. Accordingly, they asked if he could refer them to someone with experience in this area who could help them, and he gave them his name. His referral changed his life.

Although he initially had no idea of how such a large film production worked, he felt hugely attracted to the Titanic project. He was soon established as the production assistant for securing work visas for the foreign workers. That was in 1996, when he became familiar with the film industry.

Titanic was the turning point of his life, starting out knowing nothing about film to playing an important role in one of the biggest film projects in history. One could say that his teachers were all those that worked in the production department. From them he learned the industry jargon, the importance of logistics and the organizational dynamics typical of the film industry. One of the persons who especially took him under her wing and from whom he learned so much was Belinda Uriegas.

Because of his relationship with the Immigration director, he was able to negotiate special permission for the filming of “the sailing”, allowing 3000 extras from San Diego to work in Tijuana for the day. This special permission saved a lot of time and money, and earned his recognition both in the film production as well as in the Immigration office.

When Titanic was finished, he was fortunate enough to be offered a position in the shipping department. Beginning with the return of equipment, vehicles and other tools, he began to understand the complicated logistics of loading and shipping.

Later, in 1997, He was involved in obtaining work visas and in the coordination of shipping for “007 James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies” from Eon Productions, and shortly thereafter for “In Dreams” for DreamWorks Productions.

In 1998 Telemundo and Stu Segall Productions got together to create a television series for the Latin market. He participated in the pilots as shipping coordinator and production coordinator. Upon completion, He decided to take some time to get to know Mexico, so he took a nearly one-month trip through the country. The 22 episodes of “Reyes y Rey” and “Angeles” constituted his second big learning experience. In these series he honed his skills as production coordinator, trained a shipping coordinator and designated others to be in charge of obtaining work permits, training those individuals on the job.

The series allowed him to learn a great deal more, such as how to produce a new episode each week, each having its own issues and organizational challenges. In fact, filming for Sony Telemundo and Stu Segall Productions gave him valuable experience in completing a foreign production in Mexico, including logistical issues, transportation of the actors, regulatory issues for both countries, etc.

Another production opportunity from USA Network (“The Expendables”) presented itself. He was hired as production coordinator. The producers, Anthony Santa Croce and Kimberly Dickens, had never worked in Mexico before, and they gave him the opportunity to organize a local crew, negotiating their salaries, etc. In addition, He negotiated the catering service, the craft service, paramedic and ambulance service for the production site, film permits from city and police officials, stage rentals and office space from Fox Baja Studios and the union contract company.

He had known Charlie Arneson since the filming of Titanic, and we had also worked closely together on “The Expendables”. He was therefore able to recommend him as a Local Production Manager to an English financial services firm, Cheltenham and Gloucester, who was interested in filming a commercial in February 2000. Realizing that he possessed valuable knowledge in resolving the issues facing foreign producers wanting to work in Mexico.

During 2000 he worked as production coordinator of “The Weight of Water” directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Later he had the opportunity to work for six months on “Kung Pow: Enter the Fist” (20th Century Fox), providing his personal services as Production Manager. These works were followed by “Tremors 3”, “Tucker”, “The Princess and the Marine”. Later in 2001 he was contracted with Universal to scout locations in Mexico for producing “The Fast and the Furious,” where he also further developed his skills as Production Manager.

More and more producers are becoming interested in filming in Mexico, especially in Baja California, given its proximity to the large Hollywood studios, the natural beauty of its various regions as well as its multi-ethnic population and its social dynamics. For that reason, toward the end of 2001 he decided to scout the entire peninsula, learning new areas and improving his ability to offer advantages of filming in Baja California. During the 10-day scout, he encountered countless picturesque beaches, mountains, deserts, springs, reefs and virtual paradises. Since that time, many projects have presented themselves.

During 2001 he worked with Fox Baja Studios and the Baja California Film Commission to edit “Baja Action”, a guide that provides information about film, television and commercial production in the region.

In 2002 producer/director James Cameron along with his company “Earthship Productions” contracted the his services for producing additional photography in Fox Baja Studios for the documentary film “The Ghosts of the Abyss.” This production was filmed in 3D Imax, directed by James Cameron, produced by Gig Rackauskas. Since then he also participated as Mexico Producer, Unit Production Manager and Fixer see Resume.