Producer Teddy Zee:
Hollywood Veteran
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GOLDSEA | ASIAMS.NET | ASIAN AMERICAN PERSONALITIES
THE 130 MOST INSPIRING ASIAN AMERICANS Teddy Zee GS: What did you major in at Cornell?TZ: I was majoring in labor relations. The only reason is, I grew up a real poor kid whose dad was a hotel worker. My dad was a chef in the Jewish resorts. He belonged to the Hotel, Restaurant and Bartenders Union and they gave a scholarship every other year to children of members. So I got a full scholarship to Cornell at the Labor Relations school. That's how my major was chosen. GS: You're not from privilege like so many Ivy League kids. TZ: No. In fact, my first job out of college, my starting salary at NBC was $19,000 and I was living in New York City... GS: What year was that? TZ: 1979. I had to borrow money from my dad to get along in New York even though it was a great starting salary for New York, and what was the most embarrassing thing was that my dad at his peak had made $17,000. And he put four kids through school and I was a single guy in New York and I needed to borrow money. GS: Where were you born? TZ: I was born in Liberty, New York. GS: What part of the state is that? TZ: That was in the Catskills. It's two hours northwest of New York City. Not that far from Cornell. My parents were born in Shanghai. My dad was a merchant marine and he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during the war. Because of that he got his citizenship. He sent for my mother and oldest brother and smuggled them out of China. My mother had bound feet, could not speak English and was old-fashioned Chinese. We spoke Shanghainese at home. GS: Public high schools all the way? TZ: Yeah. GS: Any siblings? TZ: I have two brothers and a sister. My eldest brother is a career officer in the Marine Corps and now he runs security at San Diego [International] Airport, part of homeland security. The other brother is an attorney in Albany, New York. And my sister is a business marketing executive. GS: You're all pretty successful? TZ: Everybody has a nice life. GS: Do you get paid from Overbrook a percentage of profits or are you working directly for the studios? TZ: I draw a salary from Overbrook and I get bonuses based on movies. GS: So you're in charge of your own separate business financially. TZ: Basically the studio funds our overhead. GS: Are you like an employee of the studio with a lot of autonomy or are you like an independent contractor with a long term contract? TZ: Exactly, a contractor with a longterm relationship with a studio. GS: Is this the ultimate position for people who have proven thmselves capable of putting together packages that might work out as a movie? TZ: The ultimate position is when you get a salary every month. Most producers in this business have to go from paycheck to paycheck which is a terrible way to live. And when you have security to get paid every week, you can go out and do your job and think about it in the long term and not just feel like you have to get something going. GS: What role does Will Smith play in the production company? TZ: First of all, he and James Lassiter are the co-owners. He has a number of pet projects. When he comes up with an idea, he likes to work with the writers. So he's involved when he can be. Because he's busy recording, writing, acting and all sorts of things he's limited. He picks and chooses when he wants to get involved. On a more day-to-day basis James is far more actively involved. GS: If Will Smith comes up with a story idea he would like to get developed, would you get involved and help to get that produced? TZ: Yeah. GS: You also represent other actors and do production for other actors? TZ: Yeah, James has a management company representing a number of actors and sometimes we'll develop something for them. But primarily our goal is to get great scripts and attach people to them. GS: How do you get great scripts? TZ: A lot of hard work and perseverance. It's really is about finding writers and establishing relationships with them and finding something to work on together. GS: What is your typical day like? TZ: I'm on the phone most of the day. Or in meetings with writers or actors or directors, watching tapes as samples. And I'm reading. GS: Scripts that are submitted? TZ: For our projects. GS: How would a writer get on the radar with you? TZ: There is a network of agents and managers and lawyers out there with whom I've over the years established relationships and it doesn't take much for one of them to call me. PAGE 4 |
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