Victoria Alonso is paying it forward…
The 58-year-old Argentine film producer, who formerly served as president of physical and post-production, visual effects and animation at Marvel Studios, appears in the Producers Guild of America’s “Pay It Forward” PSA.
Launched during the Producers Guild Awards, the public service announcement features a group of producers discussing producing.
“I’d say it starts with a feeling,” says Alonso.
Other producers featured in the video include Tommy Oliver, James Lopez, Taja Perkins, Ian Cooper, Kyle Wilson, Gary Goetzman, Linda Morel, Sharon Lopez, Jessica Elbaum and Christine Oh.
They take turns talking about all the obstacles they have to go through to make a production happen, like directors asking for a Black Hawk but not specifying if they meant the helicopter or the bird. Wilson says he ended up booking both.
In one funny moment in the clip, Perkins questions the balance between her social and work life. “Am I in the office doing cost reports at 11 on a Friday night because I’m single, or am I single because I’m in the office doing cost reports at 11 p.m. on a Friday night?” she asks.
The clip transitions to Alonso being one of the presenters at an elementary school for Career Day, with the teacher telling her she had gone over her allotted time.
One of the students then notes what being a producer entails, ending up inspired to become one someday.
“You’re telling me, you do all the work, the director gets all the credit, the actors get all the money, and you get all the blame?” the student says to Alonso, who is standing in front of the classroom. “You’re up all night, away from your families, sometimes for months at a time, toiling away for years with zero guarantee that any of these projects will connect with an audience or stand the test of time. And to top it all off, most people mistakenly think you’re actually part of the AMPTP. Is that what I’m hearing?”
The former Marvel VFX chief replies, “That is exactly right,” to which the little girl, played by Caterina Do asks, “Where do I sign up?”
