Mark Staufer (born 3 November 1963) is a New Zealand native. He is the author and curator of ''The Numinous Place'' and a screenwriter, most notably of ''Love, Laughter and Truth'', a biopic about US comedian
Bill Hicks
William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material—encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy—wa ...
, which he developed with Oscar Award-winning actor,
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
.
[The Numinous Place: Mark Staufer's Transmedia Fiction Includes Lucid Dreaming]
. ''The Huffington Post.'' 7 August 2012.
Early life and education
Mark Staufer was born and raised in Auckland,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
the only son of Franz and Jule Staufer. His parents divorced when he was less than a year old, and he was brought up by his mother and strict grandparents, Eileen and Andrew Jackson before being sent at the age of 8 to Dilworth School, a boarding school in Auckland. Staufer was expelled from Dilworth for poor attitude and poor attendance and at age 14 was enrolled at Onehunga High School, where he was also eventually expelled at age 16.
[An Interview with Mark Staufer]
". ''Frankfurt Book Fair''.
Finally, Staufer was sent to Mt. Roskill Grammar School in Auckland, where he met future actor, Russell Crowe.
[From school friends to screenwriters]
. by Vicky Tyler. ''New Zealand Woman's Weekly''. 31 August 2012. Crowe took the newcomer under his wing and the two became fast and close friends. At MRGS they formed a band together along with a classmate, Dave Franklin, called '’Dave Decent & the Interrogatives'’ (later changed to Dave Deceit & the Interrogatives), with Staufer playing bass, Crowe singing and playing guitar and the eponymous Franklin on the drums. Staufer and Crowe also became editors of the school paper, ''The Phoenix'', and took the opportunity to write favourable reviews of their band's performances. The two forged a friendship and a professional relationship that would last throughout their adult lives.
[
After graduating from Mt. Roskill, Staufer attended the journalism school at the Auckland Technical Institute (which is now ]Auckland University of Technology
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...
).
Radio & Television Career
Upon earning his undergraduate degree, Mark began his journalism career in radio, first at talk-back AM station Radio Pacific
TAB Trackside is a New Zealand horse racing and sports broadcast network, incorporating two pay TV channels. The TV channels are available on Sky (New Zealand), Sky channels and the Spark New Zealand#Spark Sport, Spark Sport streaming service. ...
, then at Radio Hauraki
Radio Hauraki is a New Zealand rock music station that started in 1966. It was the first private commercial radio station of the modern broadcasting era in New Zealand and operated illegally until 1970 to break the monopoly held by the state-o ...
. When he was 22, he was hired as a journalist by Auckland's 89FM and subsequently promoted to News Director. There he made the switch into on-air announcing as part of the successful breakfast show duo, ''The Top Marks'' with co-host Mark Kennedy. The duo quickly ushered the show to the top of the ratings.[ Staufer gained a reputation for his sharp-witted sense of humour and has been described by the New Zealand Herald as a "shock jock."][Ex shock jock teams with Crowe]
. By James Ihaka." ''The New Zealand Herald''. 21 July 2012.
Staufer eventually moved into television on the TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
network's current affairs show ''Newsnight'' as a writer, producer and on-camera reporter with Marcus Lush
Marcus Lush (born July 1965) is a politician and television and radio presenter in New Zealand.
Broadcasting
He made his first footsteps into television in the 1990s as a reporter co-presenting TV2's ''Newsnight'' alongside Simon Dallow and Ali ...
and Alison Mau
Alison Mau () (born 14 February 1965), known professionally as Ali Mau, is an Australian-born New Zealand journalist and broadcaster. She is a former television news anchor, former co-host of the TVNZ current affairs show '' Seven Sharp'', form ...
. Staufer and the team experimented with the conventional news format and incorporated gonzo journalism type of reportage into the programs.[
After two years on the air, Staufer sought to expand his horizons by moving to Sydney, Australia in 1995 where he began working as a director/producer at the ]Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
network and as a presenter on a controversial show called ''Sex/Life'' on Channel 10. There he met and worked with producer/director Sarah Backhouse whom he married in 1996. In 1998, the couple decided to move to the UK.
In London, Staufer acquired a job as producer/writer/director of a late-night B-movie horror show called ''Sci-Fright'' on the Sci-Fi Channel
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...
, hosted by actress Rachel Grant
Rachel Louise Grant de Longueuil (born 25 September 1977) is an English actress and TV presenter.
Early life
Grant was born on the island of Luzon in the Philippines to Michael Grant, 12th Baron de Longueuil, and Isabel Padua; her family moved ...
. After writing and directing the first three series, he was then appointed Head of Production at Universal Studios Networks in London, which owned Sci-Fi UK, with overall creative control of Sci-Fi and a movie channel called The Studio. The experience inspired Staufer's interest and first foray into screenwriting.[''Mark Staufer'']
Mark Staufer
/ref>
In 2014, he briefly re-teamed up with Mark Kennedy to host a breakfast show on The Sound, however this show was dropped after five weeks due to their style not fitting The Sound's format.
Screenwriter/Author
In 2003, Staufer and his wife moved to the Greek island of Ithaca
Ithaca most commonly refers to:
*Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey''
*Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca
*Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College
Ithaca, Ithaka ...
, "hoping some of Homer's magic would rub off" on his first screenplay. A few months later, the couple travelled to Los Angeles with the finished script, which was roundly rejected and criticised. Staufer says he threw the script away and devoted himself to learning craft of screenwriting properly. While honing his skills, he worked on a motorcycle horror movie with Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, having directed the films '' Cabin Fever'' (2003) and ''Hoste ...
(''Hostel'') and an adaptation of the John Fowles
John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 November 2005) was an English novelist of international renown, critically positioned between modernism and postmodernism. His work was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, among others.
Aft ...
' classic ''The Magus'' with producer Mark Gordon
Mark Gordon (born March 14, 1957) is an American politician who has served as the 33rd governor of Wyoming since January 7, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as state treasurer; then-governor Matt Mead appointed him ...
(''Saving Private Ryan
''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depictio ...
'')[ and a number of projects with Russell Crowe, including ''Dolce's Inferno'', a spec script by Staufer.
In 2002 Staufer began gathering evidence and researching for the book, ''The Numinous Place''. ''The Numinous Place'' has been described as a supernatural thriller, and a cosmic detective story, written on a ]transmedia storytelling
Transmedia storytelling (also known as transmedia narrative or multiplatform storytelling) is the technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies.
From a producti ...
platform, including video and audio clips, graphic novel sections, and other visual and audio elements.[
The story is narrated by the protagonist, Henry Amadeus Meat, a wayward print journalist from Auckland who stumbles into a mystery when he is assigned to report on the controversial and highly publicised deaths of human research subjects at a dream research clinic in Los Angeles. When he begins to learn about the development of a covert dream technology involving voyages to the afterlife, Meat is propelled into a chain of events where green eyed vixens and anonymous phone calls lead him deeper into the heart of a secret he labels "The Grand Deception."
While writing ''The Numinous Place'', Staufer also developed and wrote a screenplay with Crowe about US comedian Bill Hicks who died of pancreatic cancer at age 32. Staufer travelled the US, speaking to the late comedians' family and friends to research the script. The biopic, ''Love, Laughter & Truth'', will begin production in 2013 with Crowe making his directorial debut.][“Russell Crowe to direct film about life of late US funny guy Bill Hicks”. By J.Mo and Elle]
''The Sunday Telegraph''. 22 July 2012.
References
External links
The Numinous Place
The Numinous Place Kickstarter
The Exponents on Newsnight
Chic Littlewood on Newsnight
Sci-Fright (Nina the Mistress in Distress)
Future360
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staufer, Mark
1963 births
Living people
New Zealand screenwriters
Male screenwriters
20th-century New Zealand writers
20th-century New Zealand male writers
People educated at Dilworth School
People educated at Onehunga High School