Today we’d like to introduce you to Evan Mirzai.
Hi Evan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I’m a studio-level writer producer and director. I started my career by interning for Golden Globe and Bafta-nominated director Marc Forster when he was producing partners with Brad Simpson. Then I interned for Laura Ziskin, the producer of Sony’s Spider-Man Franchise, producer of the Academy Awards, and the founder of Standup to Cancer.
Laura’s husband Oscar-Winning Screenwriter Alvin Sargent took me under his wing to help teach me screenwriting. He also referred me to his agents at The Gersh Agency who interviewed me for and then hired me into their mailroom; I was an agent-trainee and quickly promoted to Coordinator in the Motion Picture Literary Department where I worked with A-list writers and directors to learn the business and further hone my craft.
After being voted to Franklin Leonard’s Annual Black List for the first of four years in a row, I was signed as a writer client by Paradigm and then by CAA where I continued to sell screenplays, pilots, and unscripted projects of major budget. I evolved into a producer and director client after that and founded my production company House of M.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I faced many struggles coming into the business. I didn’t have any connections to anyone working in Hollywood and I came from a humble family of restauranteurs. Starting with no money and no favors to pull was as hard as it sounds; especially since I started my career in 2008 at the height of the financial collapse.
I also lost my father to a lethal heart attack early in my career and faced discrimination both for being gay and being Middle Eastern, but I overcame and remained loving, optimistic, and helpful to others.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a studio-level writer producer and director. I’m very proud of the projects I’ve already debuted and executive produced including the $20M straight-to-series ORIGINS for Nat Geo and Disney+, FUNNY OR DIE’S HIGH SCIENCE for HBO and Discovery, and I also rebooted the AMERICAN PIE franchise as a writer for Universal and Netflix.
I’m proud of all my projects as well as the several I have in development…including my directorial debut coming on a feature based on a novel I’ve adapted for A-List producers and talent that I am not yet allowed to discuss. I’m also very proud of the 23 members of Hollywood that I have placed in their first paid positions across town.
I’ve launched the careers of several agents, managers, writers, actors, and directors. Finally, I’m proud of the many talents represented by House of M including other writers, actors, and directors.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m looking forward to the many scripted series, movies, and event series we are currently developing and physically producing for release. As a co-founder of the Middle Eastern Writers Committee for the Writers’ Guild of America, I look forward to continuing my mission of boosting Middle Eastern talents and their participation in our business.
I’m currently walking the picket lines in front of every major studio with my fellow members of the WGA during our labor strike. In light of that experience and many others, I look forward to continuing my career in politics both during and beyond my Hollywood career.
As a Political Scientist trained in International Relations and a well-informed participant in the local and national discourse, I intend to join the realm of national politics at some point during my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: Houseofmprods.com
- Instagram: @houseofmprods @evan_almighty22
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-mirzai-4545b31a1
- Twitter: @houseofmprods @evan_almighty
