Maximilian Vrecer, Director/Producer, Leah Film, Vienna-Hollywood
Vienna-Hollywood
www.maxvrecer.at
Austria +43 699 17 81 10 16, Tel. (cell) Hollwywod: 818 284 3351
Mail: maxvrecer@chello.at
Maximilian Vrecer is an author, cameraman, director, and editor in one person. Actors both in the U.S. and Europe always are happy since he knows exactly what he wants and is very fast.
In short:
The director and writer of these lines is an autodidact who worked for TV already during high school. Immediately after graduation he got his first Austrian National Award, a special award by the jury in Cannes and a predicate “Especially Valuable”. Soon, the poor hitchhiker from Graz (the same City his later friend “Arnie” came from) turned busy young filmmaker/producer in Vienna. After a few years, however, he moves to Hollywood where he works with Francis Ford Coppola and several other “Oscar”-winners and, quite naturally, learns a lot from them. He also cooperates with Robert Dornhelm.
After 10 years under Palm trees he falls in love with young Viennese Bettina and he moves back home – the place he finds most intriguing in the world. He is proud of 13-year old daughter Leah Ana Vreney Vrecer.
In Hollywood or New York he still shoots frequently. He should get another two first prize Austrian National Awards and quite many international awards. Leah Film works for international companies, worldwide.
For the patient and more willing here the longer Bio:
Friends tell me that already at the age of I trumpeted that I wanted to get into the movie business. However, I learned everything from books out of the local library and started working for TV during high-school.
Right after graduation my first theatrical short in 35mm was invited as the official Austrian contribution to Cannes, it opened the Viennale Filmfestival and won an Austrian first prize national award.
Immediately I had cover pages in newspapers, appeared on TV, had plenty of work and even more money, enjoyed status symbols like pilot licenses, Maserati, and won many more international first prize awards – including standing ovations at the Film Festival Moscow.
Born on a Sunday, May 20th 1951 in Graz, I had moved to Vienna with a bike only but now became a shock to established producers in Vienna. At the age of 20 I guess I was quite cocky, too.
Soon the competitors in Vienna should get at ease since I decided to move to Hollywood. Carrying only a few reels of film I immediately got connected, made friends and found work. I bought a house in Beverly Hills (screening room included) and showed my work to agents, ex-co-writers of Billy Wilder or Francis Ford Coppola and 2-times “Oscar” winner cameraman Vittorio Storaro, to name a few. I also worked with Robert Dornhelm (IMDB, “Max Vrecer”).
I now wanted to learn more from masters. I collaborated on feature films – with Nastassja Kinsky or Oscar winner Tom Hulce, wrote a script with Terry Southern (his credits include “Dr. Strangelove” for Stanley Kubrick, “Barbarella” and “Easy Rider”) and worked with Susan Dey on “Echo Park”, 1986.
I shot the official video for the Olympics in L.A. (which played long at the Cinerama Dome) and a worldwide campaign for SONY. It was a beautiful time with gaining experiences but after 10 years of wine, women and song I had enough of Southern California.
In love with young Viennese Bettina I moved back to Vienna. Now, I am also proud of 13-year old Leah Vrecer, who already shoots and moderates films together with me. To me, Austria and Vienna are the most beautiful places I know. I still have many friends in the U.S., frequently shoot there, be it Hollywood, Arizona or New York.
I got two more Austrian national awards and worldwide “ribbons”, including a “Clio” New York, the “Oscar of advertising”. 10 years ago “Leah Film” was founded (Maximilian was president of Vivienne Films in the early 70ies, followed by chairman of Maximilian Inc. in the U.S.).
The new company produces a lot for the government and various chambers.
Some films hit record ratings like 38% market share on Austrian Television
and had 1,7 Million viewers. We made for instance an image film on the newspaper “DER STANDARD”, films for kids on the Chamber of Pharmacists and a series of films for self made Billionaire Frank Stronach and his MAGNA. Portraits for instance of artists like Manfred Deix, Sascha Wussow or Gideon Singer, a total of 4 documentaries in Africa, two out of them for Austrian Television on places where Jews and Arabs live together in peace.
Our customers are airlines such as AUSTRIAN AIRLINES, LUFTHANSA, advertising agencies from all over Europe and worldwide corporations like Bertelsmann, Tetra Pak, SONY, Phillips and Microsoft.
A beneficial multiple-camera production on the white Lippizan horses sold over 50.000 times, in 2006 we produced a 20-part series on environmental new technologies for the EU, sold on 2000 DVDs, the first commercials in HD followed and my daughter Leah was “head camera woman” and presenter on two films about traffic safety and most recently on “Youth, Alcohol and Bullying” in schools. We also shot the Zero-Budget short “One Act” – which was a huge success on various festivals, especially Cannes. Mails came in from all over theglobe, even from “Oscar”-winners. The children program “Hallo Auto” was selected out of 1600 submissions for the main program in Seoul. A film on tiny but fascinating little museums was on the list and as I am writing this we finished the third out of a series of commercials for “Infoscreen”. We work on a docu on handicapped kids. One commercial for BDI is in production and a Low-Low Budget film is in prep. and one 6M$ production on a fabulous script was offered me on a recent trip to L.A.
All because of a few minutes video you can also see on my website.
From now on we shoot and edit everything in high definition and have plans for worldwide distribution on standard and blue ray disc. We are equipped both for PAL and NTSC, in HD. The clips on my website are all shot in 35mm or even Cinemascope.
Since I have made quite many emotional and funny wedding films for friends we might as well offer them to the public.
I live near the Vienna Woods, as single.
I am proud of what was said about my work:
Billy Wilder, about my demo reel, Los Angeles (1999)
"You Are A True Poet Of The Lens"
Terry Southern, screenwriter of „Dr. Strangelove“, „Easy Rider“, „Barbarella“
"Others Make Talking Pictures - You Make Moving Pictures"
late Ben Benjamin, ICM, (once agent for George Lucas)
Dr. Thomas Klestil, late President of Austria, on „Austria, Dangling with your Soul“
"Any Few Seconds Of Any Of Your Films Is Like Absolutely Nothing Else That Anyone Else Ever Did"
John Sack, "Playboy" Magazin, L.A.
"Beauty Shall Save the World"
Bishop Egon Kapellari, about several films
Governor Krainer on „Earthwords“
„PROFIL“, Story in the magazine about „Earthwords“ and „Olympia“
„KLEINE ZEITUNG“, Newspaper on „MyStyria“
"Richard Wagner und Steven Spielberg where Godfathers"
KLEINE ZEITUNG on „Earthwords”
Gideon Singer, actor and father of Joel Singer
„Maxie is like a child – but a child that's 300 years old!“
Sergio Mendes
Brian Loucks, Creative Artists Management, Los Angeles
„From an artist to an artist“
Wilhelm Hammer, Bio Diesel International, 2009
Peter Baumann, Playboy Photographer
Dirk Petersmann, Producer, „Terminator II“, about „MyStyria“
„Keep sending new videos“
Steven Spielberg, after having seen my demo reel
Awards:
3 Austrian first prize National Awards
Clio „Excellence“ Award, New York
Jury Award, Cannes
Predicate „Especially Valuable“
3 times „Gold“, worldwide best travellogue, Berlin „PRIX ITB“
ORF „TOP SPOT“, Finalist
First prize for best script, „Christ & Film“
More first price awards, like at Moscow international Filmfestival (standing ovations), Rio de Janeiro, Spindlermeuhle, Germany, and many more
Special Awards:
A kiss by Nastassja Kinski and one from Heidelinde Weis,
during screenings
References :
A&M Records, Los Angeles, Peter Wolf, Sergio Mendes
African Safari Club
Academy of Arts, Vienna
AKG
General Hospital, Vienna
AMA
AUVA, many films
AVL, Graz
Chamber of Pharmacists, Austria
Archive for Churches and Arts
Austrian Airlines
Austro Card
Backaldrin
Barnängen
Bio Diesel international
Bene
Biegler Elektronics
Bio Diesel International
Blue Tango, Johannes Newrkla
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute
Ministry for Agriculture, Austria
Austrian Press Service (around 500 TV-programs in English), for worldwide distribution
Chamber of Commerce, Austria
BMG (Bertelsmann) Ariola
City of Los Angeles
DER STANDARD, newspaper
DMB&B Frankfurt, agency
Elektra Bregenz
Eybl Durmont AG
Tourist Office, Graz
Tourist Office, Vienna
Frequentis
Focus TV, Munich
„Funkberater“, chain of electronic outlets
Government of Lower Austria
General Motors, Graz
Gould & Cargel
Haas machines
Henkel Deutschland
IGM (robots)
Infoscreen
Kaltenberg, Beer, Bayern
Kauffmann Georg AG., Swizzerland
KDM&P, Frankfurt, advertising agency
KIKA (several commercials)
„Kleine Zeitung“, newspaper
Lintas (Tesa)
Lufthansa
Microsoft, Austria
Frank Stronach's Magna Europe
Malina „Joe“ Karl Filmproduction
Mitsubishi
Austrian Railways
ORF (documentaries, culture, religion)
Paar Anton AG.
Pankl
Philips Eastern Europe
Postsparkasse
Red Cross
RTL Explosiv
Dr. Heinz Scheiderbauer Filmproduction
Schladminger Brewery
Schmidt, Leather, Styria
Schrack, Kindberg
Schretter & Comp., Advertising agency
Sebring
SEMPERIT
Seiler, Zürich, Advertising Agency
Semmelweis Clinic, Vienna
SONY, worldwide
Spanish horse-riding school
Governement of Styria
Studio 44, Austrian Lottery
Prof. Karl Stifter, „The Woman and her Orgasm“
Styria, Publishing
Team 7
Test Fuchs
Theater of the Youth, Vienna
Thonet
Tilly Industries
TESA
Tetra Pak, Eastern Europe
Austrian Electricity
Vianova
Walter Shenson Productions, Los Angeles, „Echo Park“, with Susan Dey and Tom Hulce (Oscar Winner), IMDB
Ad-Agency Dr. Kossdorff
Wirz, Ad-Agency
X-Art Prodivision - Jet 2 Web
ZDF
