Who would have thought that a graduating English major with a minor in American Civilization would someday become an award-winning independent Hollywood producer? Norman Stephens, who graduated from Princeton's class of 1964, certainly never conjectured such a possibility when he set out on his post-undergraduate journey.
What Stephens did know, however, is that he "became very enamored in the theatre business" right from his first year at Princeton. What began for him as a school-year job of stuffing flyers, ushering and running the McCarter Theatre Box Office gave rise to a lifelong interest in and dedication to the entertainment business.
Having served in the Army after graduation, Stephens ran a small theatre in Boston. Among his projects there was a Shakespeare festival, which featured professional New York actors who performed in inner city and suburban high school auditoriums.
At this stage in Stephens' early career in theatre, he was interested in what he called "Academic Theatre." At the age of 27, he joined the faculty of Brandeis University in Waltham to run the University Theatre, for which he hired guest directors and actors. While he enjoyed being on the University faculty for a period of time, "the academic road was not for me," Stephens said.
Inspired by the new trend of "dinner theatre," which featured theatrical performances while the audience watched and dined, Stephens began running what would become the largest dinner theater in the country. He then moved to Broadway theater, where he put on three shows within a couple of years. Stephens realized, however, that his interest really lay in film and television, and New York was not the place to cultivate that pursuit.
"So I packed my bags and headed to LA," Stephens said. He knew good writers and literary agents in Los Angeles and was shortly hired by Warner Brothers as an executive and producer for movies and television. While at Warner Brothers, Stephens was head creator of the series "China Beach." Stephens then ran the L.A. film and TV department for Big Village Roadshow, the company that brought us "The Matrix."
Among Stephens' productions is the acclaimed remake of Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons."
Stephens currently works with writer William Mastrosimone, with whom he creates one big picture per year. Among their accomplishments is the George Foster Peabody and Emmy-award winning film "Bang, Bang, You're Dead," based on Mastrosimone's play, which addresses school violence in the midst of the Columbine tragedy.
Stephens' "Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor," produced for A&E Networks and the DeAngelis Group in Rome, explores the complex issue of treason during the American Revolution. The film, which aired last January, showed that there are two sides to any story, even to that of a historical pariah like Arnold. "The power of the performing arts to influence social issues" is at the core of his work, Stephens said.
Interested in this power of the theater and the entertainment industry as a college student, Stephens' senior thesis at Princeton explored the role of "theater as propaganda during the 1920s and '30s," with a focus on the communist dialectic's role in politicizing the media on a national level." His exploration of the media's influence on society pervades his work; Stephens brings to light complex and often glossed-over social issues.
One of Stephens' most current projects, "Like Totally Weird," addresses the influence of Hollywood violence on two young kids without parental supervision. He is also working on a movie for the FX Network, written by Mastrosimone, called "XXX.COM," which points out the inappropriate availability of internet pornography to kids. Stephens comments, "We deal with the new breed of girls, the addictive users and the new moguls of this multi-billion dollar industry. Believe us, there are no happy girls having sex for commerce."
Stephens also focuses his work on the disturbing yet crucial and ever-present issue of mental illness and the ways in which families cope with it – especially with schizophrenia and bi-polarism. "Most families pretend it isn't there," Stephens said, which is all the more reason to point out that this problem exists and must be acknowledged.
No matter how diverse his work or his location on the globe in making films or staging plays, Stephens has always explored social and political questions of great depth and controversy. This persistent questioning of the role of politics or the influence of society through the entertainment industry makes his work and career so vibrant and interesting for his audiences and, just as importantly, for himself.
Stephens passes some of his wisdom to current Princetonians in a simple yet profound phrase, "The most important thing is to do what you feel in your gut you want to do." Instead of merely following the expected norm, he urges students to do "what [their] heart is telling [them] to do," to "carve it out for [themselves]." Although "the safe way . . . might be the most comfortable," Stephens said, it is no substitute for following your intuition.
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