When it comes to big productions, Toledo native Brent Miller is no stranger. “In 1993, no high school in Toledo (to my knowledge) had ever taken on the challenge of Peter Pan,” he says. “And by challenge, I'm talking about flying. I played Slightly Soiled, the head of the Lost Boys. Our director at Whitmer High, Brad Faust, loved to push the envelope—not only challenge his students, but his crew, his community, and most importantly his audience. He wanted to take them on a journey to Neverland and somehow, with the help of an amazing set designer and a company out of Las Vegas, he not only took them there, he flew them the entire way. “
So when Miller landed in Hollywood 15 years ago, he expected to make a mark in acting. But after a couple of small roles in soap operas, “I decided I wanted a career where I had control over my own destiny.” He began writing, and, to support himself, took a job as an event producer.
n true Hollywood fashion, one job changed his life: producing a birthday party for TV legend Norman Lear, age 85, with performers who included Jennifer Hudson and Harry Belafonte. “I had watched ‘All in the Family’ reruns when I was in high school,” said Miller, “so I already knew who he was and revered him. When we met, it was a total love fest.”
The leap from staging events to producing a TV show wasn’t huge, especially with Lear as mentor. The two collaborated on many events and on a short film, “The Photographs of Your Junk (will be publicized),” which riffs off Gil Scott-Heron’s classic spoken-word commentary, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” and satirizes the current habit of making everything public on social media feeds; Huffington Post labeled it a “biting social commentary.”
But Miller was ready to move on to something bigger: “I really wanted to explore the reality genre, but with something substantive.” While producing events Miller had met James Fairorth, aka Winky, partner and CEO of Tait Towers, one of the premier designers and builders of stage sets in the world. “He was such a character, and what Tait does is amazing. I knew we could give people a whole different view of what goes into pulling off a concert.” Lear was on board, and not long after, AXS Television—a premium channel focusing on concerts) greenlit the project, On Tour: Tait Stages.
Despite giving the show a regular 9pm Tuesday time slot, AXS hasn’t promoted it. “We haven’t even had a press release,” said Miller. But he remains positive. “The reality of social media changes the promotion landscape. The fact that Madonna, a complete perfectionist, was willing to promote the segment about her show on her website and in her social media feeds. That was huge.” The other artists involved, including Kelly Clarkson, Linkin Park, and Bon Jovi, are equally onboard and enthusiastic.
Miller hopes the show will find its audience and possibly make it to a second season. Meanwhile, he’s already in development for his next project: “Lot Lizards,” a scripted series based on the trafficking of children that occurs at truck stops across America. “It’s real, and a horrible tragedy; very few people even know that it exists. I’d like to spread awareness and change things,” says Miller. Has working with Lear, a powerful activist and founder of People for the American Way, raised his consciousness? “Absolutely. Norman has truly changed my life.”
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