Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Cunningham.
Hi Matt, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It all started in Colorado, where I (Matt) was born and lived through my late teens, growing up on a healthy diet of monster movies, monster magazines, Star Wars toys, BMX bikes, skateboards, and Atari. I left for Florida to attend film school for a brief spell. Traveled and lived in Pittsburgh and Colorado again before moving to Los Angeles, where I resided for about 22 years. I worked in the film and television business and continue to do so to this day, but more in the digital content creator space. While In LA, I met my now wife and best friend Tara. Our children were both born in California, and we lived there for many years before deciding to move to East Grand Rapids, MI where Tara grew up. We wanted to raise our children here and give them space to blossom and feel a greater sense of community that could sometimes be scattered in LA.
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?
It was a huge struggle moving to EGR from LA. First of all, the lack of sunshine in the winter is pretty brutal. We also moved here during a polar vortex (which is like the armpit of Antarctica weather), and then Covid hit. If you ever want to be tested, try all of those as once. Finding work was insanely stressful and not being able to leave the house and hosing down your groceries really made us wonder if we had made the right choice and of course added more stress to the overall living situation. But we powered through and stuck together and found our footing. Making great friends, finding good places to eat things to do, and of course, the great lakes are amazing. You can’t beat Michigan in the summer.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Tara and I met working on a television show called America’s Funniest Home Videos. No, not the Saget years. That was before us. We were the Tom years. We met some of our best friends working on that show and still have a great fondness for that show and all the people working on it.
Tara currently works in the medical field with a company that handles a lot of technical gear and other fun stuff for hospitals. She was able to transfer into that field from her VP of Operations experience at a production company in LA.
I’ve worked in the film, TV, and monster fx business for most of my life. Working on projects like The Predator, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Starship Troopers, Ancient Aliens, Batman documentaries, writing and directing my own features – a couple of which we actually made here in MI (even during the pandemic). One was released through Lionsgate.
I continue to work in production. I’ve partnered with a couple people to create and run channels on YouTube. From horror channels (Red Tower) to monster encounter channels (Monster Myth), comedy, sci-fi and so many more to come.
I also build creatures and puppets for outside film and TV projects as well as our own. We have a small creature shop in our basement where we have made some very cool critters over the last couple of years.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
If there are creatives that love and create and want to work with me, they can just reach to me through socials or email (matt@redtowerent.com). Support the YouTube channels. Spread the word! I love people with a passion for what they do. They don’t have to just love filmmaking. They may have other talents to share that would be a good collaboration.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.redtowerent.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redtowerent/
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@redtowerent
Image Credits
Nick Flohr
