Denis Mortenson's Page

Name

Denis Mortenson

Profession

screenwriter/writer

Company

Mango Studios

Memberships, Affiliations, Unions

ASCAP, Willamette Writers

Location

Eugene

Website

http://www.mangostudios.co.nr

Resume (Position, Network/Production Company, Year, Location, & Description) - you can cut and paste your resume here

SKILLS: Copywriting for print, broadcast, and web. Screenwriting, packaging design, songwriting, marketing, branding, storyboarding, illustration, art direction, mentoring, and creative staff management.

CLIENT EXPERIENCE: American Happenings, Baxter Healthcare, Banquet, Birds Eye Foods, Crescent Records, FallsApart Productions, Foster Farms, GrainMillers, Hinman Vineyards, Hoodoo Ski Area, Legacy Films, Ore-Ida, Spectra-Physics, SportHill, United Way, Weyerhaeuser, Willamette Repertory Theatre, and the YMCA of Portland.

MANGO STUDIOS/STUDIO M – Eugene, OR • Owner/Creative Director 1997-Present

• Designed marketing materials for the YMCA that resulted in an $800,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Foundation for the building of the Vancouver, Washington YMCA.
• Created Birds Eye Foods’ Hawaiian BBQ brand potato chips packaging, sold nationwide.
• Wrote “Joe’s Thumb” screenplay that made it to the quarterfinals of the Duke City contest.
• Co-wrote and designed ‘Ninja Boy Billy’ comic book for American Happenings.
• Created a Flash animation for the Lincoln Mystery Cent, to sell it to a Las Vegas casino.
• Co-wrote the reality show, “Deathbed Confessions,” for Legacy Films.
• Wrote the reality show "One thing."
• Designed marketing for “Have You Seen Clem” feature film, distributed by Cinetic Media.
• Won the 2008 Kay Snow Fiction contest, and had my entry published in an anthology.
• Wrote and produced an EP of original music that is being sold on CDBaby.
• Created storyboards for author Sherman Alexie, to present to Miramax Films.

AD GROUP – Eugene, OR • Senior Art Director 1990-1996

• Key creative on the team that won the Foster Farms promotions account.
• Wrote and produced broadcast on Umqua Bank that resulted in their expansion.
• Designed college brochures for Northwest Christian College that doubled their enrollment.
• Wrote and produced broadcast for Fircrest Farms, which enabled them to become the number one chicken brand, and resulted in their being acquired by Foster Farms.
• Designed and wrote direct mail and international ads for Spectra-Physics (scanner products) that helped them become one of the top scanner brands between 1992 and 1996.
• Wrote and designed a direct mail piece for the 11th District of the American Advertising Federation (titled, ‘The Big One’) that resulted in a successful award show in Seattle.
• Created marketing materials for all branches of the YMCA in the Portland area to market themselves in a unified and cost effective manner.

David C. Cook Publishing – Eugene, OR • Senior Art Director 1985-1989

• Created the animated title sequence for the feature film, “Jimmy the Kid,” which starred Don Adams, Gary Coleman, Ruth Gordon, Paul LeMatt, and Cleavon Little.
• Created the Beach Boys 20th Anniversary logo

AWARDS:

• 2008 Kay Snow Fiction Award (Willamette Writers organization).
• 2007 Quarter-finalist in Duke City (Slamdance) screenplay competition.
• American Advertising Awards for print and video work.

Partial list of published works:

The Crack of a Baseball Bat / Write on - The Register-Guard (2002); Monarch Haven (feature story) / Cottage Grove Sentinel (2004); Long Journey Home (feature story) / Springfield News (2004); Cinéma Vérité / PublishAmerica (2002) Umberto’s Music / Ink-Filled Page/Indigo (2009)

EDUCATION:

Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA Advertising major
UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA B.A. in Art Studio 1981


References:

Dan Wilkins (Producer) / www.legacyfilms.tv / (541) 954-9001
Erich Lyttle (Director) / www.erich.tv / (503) 329-7715
Tim Gilman (Creative Director) / www.timmyroland.com /

Active Projects

Seeking financing for a reality show pilot. Production crew in place, and production facility (in Eugene).

Projects Currently In Development (Title, Film/Television, Status, Budget)

"One Thing" reality show.
"Deathned Confessions" reality show.
Finishing a YA novel.
Seeking an agent for my literary works.

Favorites (Film, Director, Television, Actors, Musicians, etc.)

Ron Howard, Scorcese, Julie Taymor, Penny Marshall, Woody Allen. Scarlet Johannson, Hugh Jackman, The Girl With The Pearl Earring, Match Point, Black Widow, Avatar, Mad Men, Cocoon, Across the Universe, Black Book, The Lives of Others, Sex and Lucia, The Fifth Element, Time Bandits, Raising Arizona, Casblanca, Vertigo, The Birds, The Green Mile, Forest Gump, Almost Heaven, Amelie, Meet Joe Black, Moulin Rouge, West Side Story, Silence of the Lambs, Crazy Heart, Young Frankenstein, Titanic, It's A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Fletch, The Three Amigos, Like Water For Chocolate, Brazil, Big, Blader, etc. Some actors I like: Owen Wilson, Georunnerge Clooney, Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Theresa Russell, Julia Roberts, Debra Winger, Meryl Streep, Jimmy Stewart, Will Ferrell, Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, Genna Rollins, Gwenyth Paltrow, Audrey Tattou, etc.

Dreams & Goals

To sell and see one of my novels or screenplays become a feature film. Must sell either in 2010! All offers entertained. Agents welcome.

Other goal: To spend more time in the kitchen and the art studio. Travel to Thailand, and some pleasant locale in the Caribbean.