Film Producer Calls Summit Home

About 25 miles of highway and the width of the Hudson River stand between Summit and the great city of Manhattan. This makes the New Jersey city a convenient hometown for those who work in New York, like Scott Richman, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Interactive for Madison Square Garden and an Executive Producer of the film documentary, The Black List.

"Summit's proximity to NYC is crucial, and my commute into work is a delight (when the train is running on time)," Richman wrote in an e-mail.

A native of Metuchen, Richman has been calling Summit home since 1996, when he and his wife, Cathy, and first son, Louis, moved to town from Hoboken.

At the time, Cathy was working in Whippany while Richman commuted into the city, making the new location ideal for the couple. Living in Summit also allowed Richman to remain close to his family, some of whom are also Summit residents.

"My cousin Ava Schlesinger owns Terra Sky. I'm a big fan of that place," said Richman, who explained that he'd rather live in New Jersey and be close to his family than relocate to New York.

At home, Richman enjoys spending time with his wife and three sons, Louis, Jacob, and William.

"I've got three sons, (all) very involved in the community with sports and athletics," Richman said.

But his kids aren't the only ones plugged in to the Summit community. Richman's wife works as a local real estate agent at the town's Keller Williams Realty.

"I love Summit because of the community and the friendships that my wife Cathy and my three sons and I have cultivated over the past 14 years," Richman said. " It's nice the way people support each other's efforts–whether it be the children's sports clubs like lacrosse, wrestling, and basketball, or charity efforts like SEF (Summit Educational Foundation), LCK Fund for Pancreatic Cancer, and so on."

The Richman family is also actively involved at their local Jewish synagogue, Congregation Beth Hatikvah.

During the week, you'll find Richman in New York City, where he serves as the Head of Interactive for MSG, managing web, mobile, Video On Demand, and interactive television production for its New York Rangers, Knicks, and Liberty sports teams.

Richman also works with MSG's three television networks, as well as its five major music venues, located throughout New York City and Chicago.

Prior to his work at the Garden, the executive was employed at America Online where he launched AOL Music and was Vice President and General Manager of AOL City Guide.

Among his many other titles, Richman also holds that of producer.

"When I was at AOL, I started working on some projects there with now my partner and director (of The Black List), Timothy Greenfield-Sanders," he explained.

Richman and renowned portrait photographer Greenfield-Sanders began work together on music and video projects featuring artists such as John Mellencamp and Lou Reed.

"My favorite group of all-time and one of my business partners is Lou Reed, the musician," said Richman.

Reed, who was an original member of the rock group The Velvet Underground, has his own Summit connection, according to Richman.

"Coincidentally, they played their first concert ever at Summit High School on December 11, 1965," he said, "and I've taken (Reed) back to Summit to see the high school."

As Richman continued to collaborate with Greenfield-Sanders, they became friends, explained the Summit resident, and their partnership led to additional projects.

"In 2006, (Greenfield-Sanders) started talking to me about a project he wanted to do about comedians, and that then morphed into this project that then became The Black List."

According to HBO's Web site, The Black List is "an answer to the persistent taint that western culture has applied to the word 'black.'" 

The documentary film features exclusive interviews with celebrated African American musicians, authors, artists, politicians, athletes, and other prominent men and women who share their personal experiences of living the black life in America.

"This is not an African American film; it's a film for everybody who's interested in identity," said Richman of the documentary, which is part of a greater multi-media project that also includes a museum exhibition, a photograph book, and an educational initiative.

In addition to  Richman, Greenfield-Sanders also enlisted Elvis Mitchell to the project. Mitchell, former New York Times film critic, NPR critic, and current KCRW radio host, would conduct the interviews for the film.

After viewing a demo clip of The Black List featuring the author Toni Morrison, Richman knew he wanted to be a part of it.

"You know how it is if you hear a song, and the hairs on the back of your neck go up? Somehow it hits you. That was the feeling with this. We were just struck by how incredibly personal and moving the content was."

Before long, Richman and his partners had formed their own production company, called Freemind Ventures, and together they funded The Black List documentary.

The film was soon accepted into the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in the non-competitive Spectrum category for documentary films. It marked the beginning of a groundbreaking project. 

"We screened the film at Sundance to amazing, amazing reviews," Richman said.

Prior to the festival, several potential partners showed interest in The Black List, and the producers chose to collaborate with HBO. The film documentary was initially aired on the network in the summer of 2008.

Following its success a year and a half ago, a coffee table book was released, work began on volumes II and then III of the documentary, a Web site was launched in conjunction with AOL's Black Voices Network, and it continues to be screened for numerous groups and organizations all over the country.

"Our desire is to bring it to as large an audience as possible," Richman said. "We always looked at it as a multi-platform project. Meaning it was a film, it's a book, it's a digital project. It's been a gallery and museum project. It's a media-property, I think, that's built for a multi-platform kind of distribution."

Since its premier, other groups have expressed interest in being a part of similar initiatives. Richman said that his synagogue is looking to do a project that uses the same filming technique but discusses the Jewish experience in America.

"This is such an incredibly rewarding community-based project that to not participate would have been crazy," said Richman of The Black List.

Despite the demands of his career, you may be surprised to discover that the producer and manager is still able to enjoy some time to himself.

"In my free time, I like to run, ski, and I do tai chi," said Richman, who also enjoys photography and film.

As for his preferred Summit eatery? "My favorite restaurant is Fiorino. I go there a fair amount, and I love the family that runs it," he said. "Great restaurants like Fiorino have also made Summit a destination for out-of-town folks."

For breakfast, Richman is a fan of the Summit Diner.

After 14 years of living in Summit, Richman said of his hometown, "All in all, it's a great place to come home to every day!"