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Gayton Place
Harvard Mba, Who Discovers Happiness Making Movies,
Embarks On First Feature-length Project.
September 10, 1997 | By MARCIA POUNDS Business Writer
Like the actors in his films, Nelson Gayton is constantly auditioning.
``You're out there hustling, and most of the time you hear, `No.' The challenge comes from taking a `no'
and turning it into a `yes,' '' said Gayton, producer of short films who is working on his first feature film,
Domino Park, set in Little Havana.
Though he is a film producer and writer, Gayton spends most of his time talking up his films with
investors.
Gayton, 33, has identified a movie market niche - English-language films about Hispanic subjects - and is
pursuing it as an independent film producer in South Florida.
``I have kids 11 and 8. I'm interested in young people keeping up their Cuban heritage,'' said Leslie
Pantin, president of Pantin Partnership, a public relations firm in Miami. Pantin said he is happy to help
Gayton make contacts because Domino Park promotes Miami and the Cuban heritage.
As an entrepreneur in the film industry, Gayton has to be more than a creative director; he has to be a
business man. And his background serves him well.
``He has a Harvard MBA. I don't know too many of those folks [who are film producers,)'' said Sonny
Craven, dean of Miami-Dade Community College's School of Film and Video . Gayton's background
in international merchant banking also is a big plus, Craven said. ``He talks the talk, he walks the walk.''
Gayton worked for two years on Wall Street for Hong Kong Shanghai Bank, helping entrepreneurs
finance their businesses . He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1991 and then began two
start-up video game companies; Microtime Media in London is still operating.
At one point, Gayton said he was confused about what to do with his life so he asked his mother. She told
him, ``Think about the times in life you are the happiest.'' That made him think about his youth when his
father , an artist, would show him his movie book collection and talk about the movies.
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So Gayton went back to school in 1994, graduating from the film school at the University of California at
Los Angeles and interning with Batman producer Peter Guber. Gayton then founded Crayon Pictures
Entertainment with cinematographer Kurt Daugherty.
Besides developing the Hispanic subject niche, Gayton said there is opportunity in what Hollywood can't
seem to control - the ever-escalating costs of talent and production.
``What Hollywood hasn't figured out is - whether it is making a $200 million movie or a half-million dollar
movie - the ticket price is just the same,'' he said. ``The trick is to control the costs.''
But there are trade-offs: Controlling costs means no big-name talent and minimizing camera time.
And since major studios control the distribution of films, independents must find a way to work with them if
they are to be successful. ``In this business there is no thing as a true independent. If you're an
independent, you better learn how to work in the studio system,'' he said.
While Gayton brings a business perspective to his film company, he said the process of any film begins
with ``a wonderful story.''
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Gayton Place - tribunedigital-sunsentinel http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1997-09-10/business/97090905...
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2. Gayton thinks he has that in Domino Park, which is about a 10-year-old boy of Cuban heritage visiting his
grandfather in Little Havana, historically the center of Miami's Cuban community. The script, written by
Gayton, is based on the film producer's own experiences. His family fled Cuba when he was 3.
In producing a film, Gayton said he develops a team of people around him who can not only lend their
artistry to the film but add individual value. The cinematographer for Domino Park is Ramon Suarez,
whose work includes Memories of Underdevelopment with Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea and Red
Kiss with French director Vera Belmont.
``When you're starting your own business, you don't have a lot of resources and need people who are
multifunctional and bring to the table a real passion and sense of ownership,'' Gayton said.
``Ramon Suarez has been shooting films for years. He comes to the table with not only that experience
but with a Rolodex value; he has many relationships with film and business world. You get somebody like
that to buy into your project, and you get the added benefit that comes with his experience.''
Gayton said a film producer today also has to realize he is making a product not just for the U.S. market
but for international distribution.
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``When I started Domino Park, I realized what a tremendous opportunity there is in English-language
Hispanic theme projects,'' Gayton said.
Once the story and the market are there, the financing still has to be found.
``Every time a producer has a picture, he has to raise money for that picture. He has to rely on somebody
backing this particular story, saying, `I'm going to be a player and believe in the film-making process,' ''
Gayton said.
Gayton said he had early interest from the Miami community in investing in Domino Park but didn't take
money for two years.
``I wanted to make sure we had the production planned. We have storyboarded the film, every scene of the
picture, using software to stitch things together and put in the music. That takes away the production risk,''
he said.
The films he's producing cost between $3 million and $6 million. Gayton said he now has the capital to
proceed with Domino Park. ``We hope to start shooting in November.''
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