BrewsterConnections - Brewster Academy

Southern Methodist University. It was at the endof Topher’s second semester freshman year of USCthat he got the chance to audition for That 70’sShow. During the summer going into our sophomoreyear of college, I was living in New York City. I willnever forget meeting up with Topher that summer inthe city and him telling me that the strangest thinghad happened – he had been cast in a TV show andit was going to series right after The Simpsons onFox. It did not really hit home until I saw him on TVas Eric Forman. Over the next three years while I wasfinishing up at SMU we stayed in touch. I think oneof the reasons we remained close had a lot to dowith Topher staying grounded and unaffected by hissuccess, which remains true today.Hoopes: When did you and Topher start thinking ofworking together? Had you thought about it whileyou were at Brewster? Why did you select SargentHall as the name of your production company?Gordon: There were times at Brewster whenTopher and I would stay up talking after lightsout about how cool it would be to have somekind of company together when we were out ofcollege, but it was never as specific as a productioncompany in Hollywood. My last semester at SMU Iwas starting to think about where I might want towork and remembered having a few conversationswith Topher about Hollywood. We decided that Iwould fly out to Los Angeles and crash on his couchso I could get a feel for whether or not I liked it.Something I have always admired about Topher wasthat he never wanted to use his fame to give peopleopportunities they were not deserving of, and I thinkthis especially applied to me. He really wanted meto cut my teeth in Hollywood having accomplishedit on my own without his help. At the beginning hewas always there to listen and give his opinion onmy situation but he never pulled any strings for me,and we always felt that if the end goal was to form acompany the timing was going to be everything. Wefelt that the worst thing we could do was try andstart a company before we were both ready and farenough along in our careers to be successful. Callingit Sargent Hall happened very early on. When webegan talking about forming a company we wantedthe name to be representative of our meeting – soSargent Hall was a no-brainer.Hoopes: I recall the last time we talked you wereworking on plans for a boarding school movie. Wasthat the start of Take Me Home Tonight?Gordon: Over the years we have toyed with the ideaof creating a movie or TV show set at a boardingschool and maybe one day we will take it furtherthan just casual conversation. Take Me Home Tonight,deals with characters who have just graduatedcollege and find themselves caught in that timeperiod where you are not quite sure what the nextmove is. Thematically we chose this because it’sa universal issue that every young person findsthemselves facing post college – exploring the ideathat life is planned out for you up until you get outof college and then you are thrust into the worldwithout a map – was very appealing to us.Hoopes: What’s next for Sargent Hall Productions?Gordon: Over the past year we have expandedSargent Hall into the TV business, setting upand developing a number of shows. We are alsocontinuing to develop film projects that we arevery excited about. The future of Sargent Hallseems very bright and, if all goes according to plan,we can continue to grow the company as a keysupplier of commercial content for all aspects of theentertainment business.Hoopes: Do you think your Brewster connection/relationship gave you any advantages?Gordon: Our Brewster relationship absolutely gaveTopher and I a leg up in dealing with our presentsituation. Above and beyond the significance ofTopher and I meeting at Brewster, we rememberother key friendships with both students and teacherswho have impacted our journey post Brewster.Hoopes: Do you have any advice for our currentstudents regarding their personal relationships?Gordon: I think Topher and I are proof that therelationships you make throughout your time atBrewster can be very impactful on your adult life.Staying in touch with fellow students after yougraduate Brewster is hard and only gets harder astime goes by, but we would encourage the effort –you just never know when paths will cross. Peoplewho attend boarding school have that special sharedexperience in common with one another, it’s unique.Regarding advice on the importance of professionalrelationships, they are essential in not only thebusiness of Hollywood, but in all business and life ingeneral. Post college life stops being about gradesand starts being about relationships and connectionswith other people, one could never put a valueon the importance of building relationships – it’sessential. •