Steven Fischer
Encyclopedia
Steven Thomas Fischer is an American film director
and producer
. Fischer is an Emmy Award
nominated filmmaker who works primarily on documentaries. Among his many accolades, Fischer's work has been honored by the Directors Guild of America
, The New York Festivals, the CINE
Golden Eagle Awards, and Marquis Who's Who in Entertainment. He was accepted into the Directors Guild of America
at age 24 with the production of his first nationally distributed promotional documentary, This is CLEARCorps, for and about AmeriCorps
. Fischer's creative films have touched many themes and genres, from the animated Wally the Green Monster cartoons that appeared on Score Card, a sports magazine show produced by noted New York
television producer Mort Kasman (Sports Legends with Tom Seaver, Lorne Greene's World of Amazing Animals) to Silence of Falling Leaves, Fischer's foreign language tribute to Polish POWs murdered in World War II during the Katyn Forest Massacre.
, writing and illustrating freelance. Among publishers to publish his work were HarperCollins
and 9-1-1 Magazine. In 1991, at the age of 19, Fischer moved to London, England and attended classes at the London Cartoon Centre while developing proposals for animated films and television programs.http://lambiek.net/artists/f/fischer_steven.htm Most notable were his Steve & Bluey cartoons which later aired in America through TCI Communications. The cartoons revived a vaudevillian style of family entertainment influenced by Fischer's childhood idols Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, Martin & Lewis, and Bergen and McCarthy. Steve & Bluey featured a young nerdy boy named Steve partnered with a sassy quick-witted blue dog. Much of their humor relied on heavy dialogue and a sharp clash of personalities. Print cartoons were published in two volumes entitled There's a Blue Dog Under My Bed and The Wonderful, Happy, Cartoony World of Steve & Bluey. Radio plays were released through a variety of broadcasters and radio production groups, most notably the Holiday Broadcasting Company and The Golden Radio Players. Fischer voiced both lead characters. Other actors to perform were Phillip Guthrie and Michele Fischer.
It was in London that Fischer befriended notable animation producer Steven C. Melendez
. Melendez is best known for producing the 1979 Emmy Award
winning film The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe for the Children's Television Workshop. Melendez's father, Bill Meléndez
, animated for Disney in the 1940s and produced the classic Peanuts
films A Charlie Brown Christmas
and A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
Melendez became Fischer's mentor, and together the two developed the original Steve & Bluey animated program. They pitched an independently-produced pilot to the major networks and distributors in Europe and the United States. One networked approached was Nickelodeon
. Three years after discussions with Nickelodeon ended in a no-sale for the young producer, the network released Blue's Clues
, a children's program that quickly became popular. The similarities between the two leading characters, Steve & Bluey and Steve & Blue, Blue's Clues protagonists, prompted Fischer to take legal action resulting in a widely publicized $30 million dollar lawsuit with Viacom, owner of the children's network. The case was eventually dismissed in Federal court.http://www.rugratonline.com/time2000.htm
Fischer went on to a successful career producing documentary films and commercials, winning many awards including two Emmy nominations for Silence of Falling Leaves (2000) and Now & Forever Yours: Letters to an Old Soldier (2007) . His work is also the recipient of eight National Telly Awards
and the CINE
http://www.cine.org/newsletter/newsletter.php#5 Golden Eagle, winning in 2007 for Draw the Line: An Animated Showcase, a documentary about surviving in the animation profession.
In 2007, Fischer directed Mariska Hargitay
in Freedom Dancehttp://www.americanhungarianfederation.org/news_freedomdance.htm.
In 2011, Fischer produced and directed Old School New School
, an educational documentary on the nature of creativity featuring artists Brian Cox and McCoy Tyner
.
Fischer's track record also includes the role of Spencer Stanley in The FBI Files
(1999)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857866/ on the Discovery Channel
and two music videos for Jim Camacho, former front man for the legendary South Florida rock band The Goods. His international work includes documenting the first Irish National Tour of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway
play Coole Lady, a historical play about the life of Lady Gregory by noted playwright and W. B. Yeats biographer Sam McCready.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. Fischer is an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominated filmmaker who works primarily on documentaries. Among his many accolades, Fischer's work has been honored by the Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
, The New York Festivals, the CINE
CINE
CINE is a consortium formulated to depict American life and thought realistically for a global audience. CINE recognizes and fosters the highest quality of non-theatrical film and video production through its semi-annual film competitions....
Golden Eagle Awards, and Marquis Who's Who in Entertainment. He was accepted into the Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
at age 24 with the production of his first nationally distributed promotional documentary, This is CLEARCorps, for and about AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program that was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush...
. Fischer's creative films have touched many themes and genres, from the animated Wally the Green Monster cartoons that appeared on Score Card, a sports magazine show produced by noted New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
television producer Mort Kasman (Sports Legends with Tom Seaver, Lorne Greene's World of Amazing Animals) to Silence of Falling Leaves, Fischer's foreign language tribute to Polish POWs murdered in World War II during the Katyn Forest Massacre.
Career
Fischer began his career at age 17 as a cartoonistCartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, writing and illustrating freelance. Among publishers to publish his work were HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
and 9-1-1 Magazine. In 1991, at the age of 19, Fischer moved to London, England and attended classes at the London Cartoon Centre while developing proposals for animated films and television programs.http://lambiek.net/artists/f/fischer_steven.htm Most notable were his Steve & Bluey cartoons which later aired in America through TCI Communications. The cartoons revived a vaudevillian style of family entertainment influenced by Fischer's childhood idols Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, Martin & Lewis, and Bergen and McCarthy. Steve & Bluey featured a young nerdy boy named Steve partnered with a sassy quick-witted blue dog. Much of their humor relied on heavy dialogue and a sharp clash of personalities. Print cartoons were published in two volumes entitled There's a Blue Dog Under My Bed and The Wonderful, Happy, Cartoony World of Steve & Bluey. Radio plays were released through a variety of broadcasters and radio production groups, most notably the Holiday Broadcasting Company and The Golden Radio Players. Fischer voiced both lead characters. Other actors to perform were Phillip Guthrie and Michele Fischer.
It was in London that Fischer befriended notable animation producer Steven C. Melendez
Steven C. Melendez
Steven Cuitlahuac Melendez is the second son of famed Peanuts animator Bill Meléndez. He was born in Los Angeles where he gained his early experience in film as an editor with Bill Melendez Productions working on an early Peanuts special, Barbar the Elephant, a suite of commercials and the feature...
. Melendez is best known for producing the 1979 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
winning film The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe for the Children's Television Workshop. Melendez's father, Bill Meléndez
Bill Melendez
José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Meléndez was a Mexican-American character animator, film director, voice artist and producer, known for his cartoons for Warner Brothers, UPA and the Peanuts series...
, animated for Disney in the 1940s and produced the classic Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
films A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas is the first prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was produced and directed by former Warner Bros. and UPA animator Bill Melendez, who also supplied the voice for the character of Snoopy...
and A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
Melendez became Fischer's mentor, and together the two developed the original Steve & Bluey animated program. They pitched an independently-produced pilot to the major networks and distributors in Europe and the United States. One networked approached was Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
. Three years after discussions with Nickelodeon ended in a no-sale for the young producer, the network released Blue's Clues
Blue's Clues
Blue's Clues is an American children's television show airing on the Nickelodeon family of channels. The show premiered on September 8, 1996 and airs on Nick Jr. and other channels, although production of new episodes ceased by 2006. Versions of the show have been produced in other countries,...
, a children's program that quickly became popular. The similarities between the two leading characters, Steve & Bluey and Steve & Blue, Blue's Clues protagonists, prompted Fischer to take legal action resulting in a widely publicized $30 million dollar lawsuit with Viacom, owner of the children's network. The case was eventually dismissed in Federal court.http://www.rugratonline.com/time2000.htm
Fischer went on to a successful career producing documentary films and commercials, winning many awards including two Emmy nominations for Silence of Falling Leaves (2000) and Now & Forever Yours: Letters to an Old Soldier (2007) . His work is also the recipient of eight National Telly Awards
Telly Awards
The Telly Award is an award presented by the namesake, New York City-based organization. The stated purpose of the award is to "honor the very best local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions, and work created for the Web." The...
and the CINE
CINE
CINE is a consortium formulated to depict American life and thought realistically for a global audience. CINE recognizes and fosters the highest quality of non-theatrical film and video production through its semi-annual film competitions....
http://www.cine.org/newsletter/newsletter.php#5 Golden Eagle, winning in 2007 for Draw the Line: An Animated Showcase, a documentary about surviving in the animation profession.
In 2007, Fischer directed Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress...
in Freedom Dancehttp://www.americanhungarianfederation.org/news_freedomdance.htm.
In 2011, Fischer produced and directed Old School New School
Old School New School (film)
Old School New School is an educational documentary film that examines the nature of creativity. It is produced by Steven Fischer and Diane Leigh Davison....
, an educational documentary on the nature of creativity featuring artists Brian Cox and McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...
.
Fischer's track record also includes the role of Spencer Stanley in The FBI Files
The FBI Files
The FBI Files is an American television docudrama series that originally ran from 1998 to 2006. It was carried by the Discovery Channel cable network and produced by New Dominion Pictures of Suffolk, Virginia...
(1999)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857866/ on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
and two music videos for Jim Camacho, former front man for the legendary South Florida rock band The Goods. His international work includes documenting the first Irish National Tour of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
play Coole Lady, a historical play about the life of Lady Gregory by noted playwright and W. B. Yeats biographer Sam McCready.