Mission
Operating in live theatre, film and television, macIDeas is a production company with a mandate to produce thought provoking stories that examine who we are as people. As a prerequisite, the company feels strongly that these stories must be artistically relevant and commercially viable to commit to a project.

Partners
The principals of the company are: Matthew Bassett (Chairman), Marcello Cabezas (Artistic Producer), Derrick Chua (Producer, Legal Counsel), Carolyn Newman (Senior Producer, Film & TV), and Tyler Levine (Producer, Film & TV).

Matthew Bassett (Chairman)
Matthew Bassett is Chairman and CEO of Bassett Media Group, a media company that specializes in digital advertising and publishing. At Bassett Media Group, Matthew directs its Concourse Media and Impulse Media networks—reaching 2.5 million people weekly in Canada via more than 500 screens—as well as Bassett Publishing, set to launch two new publications in 2008. He is also Chairman of Eaglecrest Capital, a merchant banking company and Limited Market Dealer that offers venture financing and strategic advice to up-and-coming Canadian companies.

Matthew is an avid supporter of arts and cultural projects, and lends his expertise to Canadian-produced film, theatre and television ventures through MacIdeas. The Royal Ontario Museum, Sunnybrook Foundation, and the Good Sheppard Centre are among the organizations he supports annually.

Matthew was a Producer for the 2003 & 2004 production of THIS IS OUR YOUTH in Toronto and was one of the Producers for the Bravo Fact! CHOKE, which was awarded entry into the prestigious 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, the 2004 Palm Springs Short Film Festival, and the 2004 Woodstock Film Festival. Matthew also served as Lead Producer on the critical and commercial hit MATT & BEN.

Marcello Cabezas (Artistic Producer)
Marcello is a performer, producer and a writer. He is the Artistic Producer of macIDeas (www.macideas.com), recipient of the 2004 Bright Light Innovation Award from The Toronto Star for innovation in producing and marketing.

As an actor, he most recently starred in Leo (macIDeas/ Radke Films/ Bravo Fact!) directed by David Hyde with Liane Balaban, Jackie Burroughs, and Joris Jarsky. A hit at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, it is now in development for feature, as well as entry to other worldwide film festivals. Marcello also starred in the film choke., with Allegra Fulton, and Lindy Booth. choke. garnished much attention at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, a “programmers” pick at the Palm Springs Film Festival and the Woodstock Film Festival along with other international festivals. Following much critical acclaim choke. was nominated for a GENIE AWARD (Canadian Academy Awards) for best live action short film in March 2005.

On the stage, Marcello made a splash with his performance as “Warren” in the Canadian professional premiere of Kenneth Lonergan’s play, This is Our Youth, directed by Woody Harrelson, with Queer as Folk’s Fabrizio Filippo and Genie nominated Marya Delver in 2003. He also starred in the 2004 remount, with Sex and The City’s Jason Lewis and Ginger Snaps star, Katharine Isabelle. www.thisisouryouth.ca.

On his performance in This is Our Youth:

• “I have immense respect for Marcello because he is more than a terrific producer and actor- he is able to make dreams a reality.” Woody Harrelson
• “(Cabezas) is a natural-born stage killer.” Globe & Mail
• “Cabezas earns our sympathy and admiration… his chemistry with Filippo is excellent, (Delver’s) make-out scene with Cabezas is convincingly hot.” Variety
• “We discover the shades of nuance that Cabezas can introduce. One minute you want to punch his lights out, the next you want to hold him until he stops shaking. It’s a fine subtle job.” Toronto Star
  
• “Cabezas is thoughtful…and lucid. His two scenes with Jessica (Delver) are….beautifully outlined in writing and performance.” National Post
  
• “Warmly played by sad eyed Cabezas, klutzy Warren emerges as the boyish, sympathetic hero.” Toronto Sun
• “Cabezas gives an excellent performance as Warren that grows in power throughout the evening.” Stage Door
• “Cabezas plays Warren with an amazing sense of foolishness and impulsiveness and occasional surprisingly sensitive lucidity…a shy sexiness…Cabezas gives him a lazy drawl that makes his wry remarks even funnier, and his is a tender portrait of one who nurses a private wound in his soul.” Stage and Page

Marcello also brought attention to his work with a powerful portrayal of the one-man show Vladeck, Jodi Miller’s disturbing fictional account of a real life fatal beating of an innocent boy. In response to overwhelming feedback and success, Chum Television (Canadian Learning Television) optioned the script and shot the Vladeck National Television Special. CLT aired the special in spring 2004 to much critical acclaim.

The TV special is being sold to other English markets, and looking at packaging it for mass distribution to schools and youth groups across the country.

Vladeck has also been optioned as a feature film by producer George Burger and Marcello, and is looking to a 2006 production date.

On his performance in Vladeck:

• “Cabezas performs with vigour and sensitivity”, Eye Magazine
• “…brilliant performance from a Dora deserving Cabezas”, Canadian Jewish News
• “Cabezas delivers a highly believable teenspeak, “ Globe and Mail
• “Cabezas plays Vladeck with an abundance of energy and commitment”, Toronto Star

Other film and television credits include Marcello’s recent guest star appearance in G-Spot (The Movie Network) with director Michael Kennedy (Kids in The Hall), and Homie Spumoni with Whoopi Goldberg and directed by Mike Cerrone (Me, Myself and Irene). Marcello has also had principal guest roles in Tracker (Fox) with Peter Mensah and the award-winning series Blue Murder. Marcello starred in the features Snowballs in Hell with Megan Dunlop (Parsley Days) and Fun With Roofies, a quirky short from Genie-winning director Naomi McCormack which screened at the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto.

Marcello attended theatre school at New York City’s Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, and completed the Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Professional Writing Internship. In New York, Marcello enjoyed success on the stage, starring in the well reviewed two-hander, WC (winner of Overall Excellence Award at the 2000 New York Int’l Fringe Festival) and Love Labour’s Won (winner of the Best Ensemble Cast at the 2000 Vital Works Festival). Still in New York, Marcello starred in various award-winning independent shorts and features, including Women Don’t Eat Meat (recipient of the 2001 Pioneer Theatre Audience Award). Marcello also shot two independent pilots in New York: Newton Fuzzy and No Sleep Til’ Brooklyn, and worked in the reputable PSNBC space on Crescendo Falls, a hilarious soap-opera farce that went on to be one of the more successful runs of that season.

While in New York, Marcello had the opportunity to work as the casting assistant for the Emmy Award-winning casting office of the HBO series Sex and the City, which opened his eyes to the world of television and casting.

Producing credits for macIDeas include Vladeck (Buddies in Bad Times), This is Our Youth directed by Woody Harrelson- 2003 & 2004 remount (Berkeley St. Theatre), the extended engagement of the production of Matt & Ben www.mattandbentheplay.com (Poor Alex Theatre). On the film side, Marcello served as a consultant for choke. and was an Executive Producer on, Leo.

He is also the creator and Executive Director of POV Film Camp, a new venture providing an opportunity for underprivileged youth to be exposed to the filmmaking process and how it then may inspire them to be a storyteller in the future, and enrich their lives forever. Many notables are listed to attend the camp as counselors schedule permitting including Thora Birch, Sharon Gless, Jason Lewis, and many others.

Marcello’s writing credits include Nowhere to Turn, produced at the reputable Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, and is working on a couple projects in development, including a class/race struggle piece entitled Kasimba.

Marcello is currently represented by Ronda Cooper at The Characters in Canada. He currently has his US working papers.

Derrick Chua (Producer, Legal Counsel)
One of the most notable and respected theatre personalities in Toronto, Derrick is an entertainment lawyer as well as being an award-winning independent film and theatre producer. He has been the producer on a number of theatrical productions including most recently two new musicals, SLEEPLESS by Denis McGrath and Scott White, and WAITING FOR TRUDEAU: The Return of the King by Brett & Racheal McCaig. Derrick's productions have garnered over 25 Dora nominations between them, and include: Studio 180's productions of Moises Kaufman's THE LARAMIE PROJECT directed by Joel Greenberg; Theatre Gargantua production of (nod) written by Rick Roberts and directed by Jacquie P.A. Thomas; macIDeas' production of Kenneth Lonergan's THIS IS OUR YOUTH directed by Woody Harrelson; Marion de Vries' award-winning idiot; Denis McGrath and Scott White's TOP GUN! THE MUSICAL; Nina Aquino and Nadine Villasin's MISS ORIENT(ED) directed by Guillermo Verdecchia; The Great Hailey production of Jay Teitel's THE TEENAGE GIRL DIARIES directed by Rebecca Brown; Gregg Taylor's PROMETHEUS UNPLUGGED and BLACK JACK JUSTICE for Decoder Ring Theatre; and Vincent de Tourdonnet's SNAPPY TALES (composers: Allan Cole, J. Douglas Dodd, Stephen Eddins, Jim Kass) for Theatre Non Nobis. Upcoming are remounts of two of his award-winning productions, POOCHWATER by Mike McPhaden and LITTLE DRAGON by Keira Loughran, both playing at the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace as part of this year's season. Also upcoming (or happening as you read this) is the New York premiere of TOP GUN! THE MUSICAL, playing as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Derrick has been profiled in The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, The Lawyers Weekly, Now Magazine and eye Weekly. He is currently President of the Toronto Fringe Festival, past-President of the Toronto Theatre Alliance, and sits on the Boards of the Dora Mavor Moore Awards, Cahoots Theatre Projects and Shakespearience. As an entertainment lawyer, his clients have included a number of theatre companies, independent film & television production companies, bands, publishers, multimedia / high tech companies and artists / performers of every kind. He can be contacted at (905) 707-0090 or at dchua@pathcom.com.

Carolyn Newman (Senior Producer, Film and Television)
Carolyn has worked as a producer and reporter for both traditional and new media for the last seven years. She has received a CAB national award for creating the most innovative creative and business concept in Canada called RENEGADZ, a multi-platform for teens by teens for independent news and current affairs communication system. Following that, RENEGADZ TV received a national television license from the CBC for 13 episodes. Carolyn has also developed and sold television properties to both Alliance Atlantis and ChumCity. Most recently Carolyn has worked for CBC as an associate producer for children and youth programming researching and developing new television show concepts for the teen demographic. Carolyn has also worked as a CBC radio reporter, she has created the CBC Moncton Website and has also worked for the CBC Online News division specializing in teen news.

Previously, Carolyn worked and interned for CTV as a news producer, writer and reporter in Saskatoon, Toronto and Washington, D.C. She is currently a producer for GIRLZ TV, a Millennium/ YTV property. Carolyn was as a producer for the 2003 & 2004 production of THIS IS OUR YOUTH in Toronto, and was one of the producers for the Bravo Fact! CHOKE, which has just been awarded entry into the prestigious 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, the 2004 Palm Springs Short Film Festival, and the 2004 Woodstock Film Festival.

Tyler Levine (Senior Producer, Film and Television)
Tyler Levine is a Genie nominated film producer and graduate of the Norman Jewison Canadian Film Centre Producers' Lab. Before entering the world of film, Levine was a Segment Producer for Fashion Television and produced TV segments in such faraway places as Iceland, South Africa, the Yukon and Jamaica to name a few. Currently the McGill graduate is working on a series of horror films for Peace Arch Entertainment.

Assisting Talents
macIDeas is being assisted on our two latest live entertainment projects by the producing talents of Michael Rubinoff, Corey Ross, Dee Shipley, Kate Meehan, Rick Gerrits, and Chris Reynolds.