Editor,
Samantha Scott's review of the film "Waitress" prompts me
to write.
Adrienne Shelly's death was tragic and untimely. Shelly, who wrote, directed and starred in the film, was a highly talented individual whose only mistake was in requesting that a maintenance man hold down the pounding while she and others were editing and fine-tuning the film in post-production. He refused, and a heated exchanged followed. Fearing that Shelly intended to complain to the management, which might lead to his being deported, he killed her by strangulation.
What Scott's review does not mention is that Shelly's first assistant director on the film was Mark G. Mathis, a UNM graduate of fine arts. Mathis directed Shelly in her acting scenes. While at UNM, Mathis was instrumental in founding the Inter-Arts film
collaborative, which I understand is still going strong at UNM. Mathis was the co-producer of "Brick," a 2006 film that earned him an Independent Film Commission's John Cassavetes Spirit Award nomination for best producer that year, a contest he lost to Ang Lee for his production, "Brokeback Mountain."
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In December 2006 and January 2007, Mathis was the line producer and Albuquerque unit production manager for "Tennessee," a film by Lee Daniels, who produced "Monster's Ball," which earned many national and international best film nominations and awards such as Best Film of the Year in 2002 and a best actress Academy Award for Halle Berry.
Mathis is currently managing production in New York for another Lee Daniels film based on the Safire book, Push, starring Lenny Kravitz. Mathis currently has two films in pre-production phases he hopes to produce in Albuquerque and Santa Fe in near future.
Barbara Mathis
UNM student
