Mark STouffer

Mark Stouffer’s extensive production background began at the age of 18, in partnership with older brother Marty and younger brother Marshall. With minimal camera gear, the Stouffer brothers hit the road in search of American’s most elusive wildlife. Endangered Species of North America, the award-winning film that resulted from their adventure trips earned its own pavilion at World Expo 1974 where it was seen by millions of viewers. Three decades later, the Stouffer brothers’ first adventures were chronicled in the Warner Brothers $20 million-dollar motion picture produced by Mark Stouffer entitled Wild America, starring Danny Glover, Francis Fisher, Devon Sawa and Jonathan Taylor-Thomas. The movie told the true-life story of the Stouffer brothers as ambitious teen filmmakers. To this day, their first filmed images continue to earn revenue in re-broadcasts of their programs, The Predators hosted by Robert Redford, Wild Places hosted by Paul Newman, The Man Who Loved Bears, hosted by Henry Fonda, and 130 episodes of their hugely successful television series, Wild America, hosted by Marty Stouffer.

To refine his artistry, in 1972 Mark enrolled in prestigious Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. Graduating with a Masters Degree in Cinematography, Mark quickly moved into mainstream entertainment, forming a partnership with the most popular recording artist of the era, John Denver. With Mark writing, producing and directing, and John Denver performing, the successful collaboration produced many of John’s highest-rated network television specials, including John Denver’s Rocky Mountain Reunion, John Denver’s The Higher We Fly, and John Denver’s Music in the Mountains with guest stars Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Olivia Newton-John, Beverly Sills and James Galway.

Mark’s first move into feature motion pictures was writing, producing and directing Man Outside in 1985 starring Robert Logan, Kathleen Quinlan and Bradford Dillman. Originally distributed by U.K.’s Virgin Group, MGM and Samuel Goldwyn Company, Man Outside played extensively on HBO and CINEMAX, and has recently been re-released on DVD by Razor Digital.

In a move displaying his savvy marketing skills in partnership with King World Productions, Mark Stouffer inspired formation of King World Direct, earning that company over $55 million in direct-response video sales of the Stouffer brothers’ television series, Wild America.

In the 1990s, Mark undertook a decade of collaboration with National Geographic Television, writing, producing and directing many of National Geographic’s most successful Specials ever, including Braving Alaska hosted by Martin Sheen, Survivors of the Skeleton Coast hosted by Peter Coyote, Secrets of the Wild Panda, Tigers of the Snow (Nominated for five Prime Time Emmy Awards, winning one), Pursuit of the Giant Bluefin and Search for the Submarine I-52. The successful collaboration resulted in Mark being invited to head National Geographic Television in Washington, D.C. – an offer he declined to pursue his ambition for dramatic feature film production.

Mark is currently in post-production on Creature of Darkness , a horror-genre feature he wrote, produced and directed starring popular young talents, Devon Sawa, Matthew Lawrence and Sanoe Lake.

Mark’s success as a writer, producer and director is attributed to his keen sense of knowing what an audience will pay to see. Keeping production budgets low, and entertainment values high, Mark has learned through hands-on experience how to make small investments return large profits. With a solid reputation for honesty and quality work, Mark has honed his craft in partnership with many heavyweights in the industry including Steve Tisch, Jerry Weintraub, James G. Robinson, Gary Barber and Michael King. His diverse productions have received over 75 international awards, including two Emmy Awards wins for Producing, and Outstanding Achievement in Directing, 9 Emmy Award Nominations, and a Directors Guild of America – Best Director Nomination.

Articles on Mark have appeared in Forbes, Time, Newsweek, People, USA Today and hundreds of other magazines and news publications. He has made dozens of national television appearances, including four interviews on NBC’s Today Show, and the Internet hosts thousands of positive items on his work.

Film Credits

• 2005 HUMAN HARVEST / BONE EATER / MURDER HOUSE
• 2000-02 TIGER, TIGER / ON THE WAY TO A KILLING / ESCARGOT / VEX Contractual Feature Script Writing/Project Development
• 1999 SEARCH FOR THE SUBMARINE I-52: National Geographic Special: NBC TV. DIRECTOR (Spain, mid-Atlantic)
• 1998 PURSUIT OF THE GIANT BLUEFIN: National Geographic Special. DIRECTOR/PRODUCER (Amami O Shima, Japan)
• 1997  WILD AMERICA: (PG) Morgan Creek Prod./Warner Bros. Stars: Jonathan Taylor Thomas/Devon Sawa/Scott Bairstow.
  CREATOR/PRODUCER/2nd Unit DIRECTOR
• 1996 TIGERS OF THE SNOW: National Geographic Special: NBC-TV.
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER (Siberia, Russia)
• 1995  SECRETS OF THE WILD PANDA: National Geographic Special: PBS
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER (Qin Ling, China)
• 1994-97  GREAT ESCAPES / SPECTACULAR SHOWDOWNS / DANGEROUS ENCOUNTERS / FANTASTIC FOLLIES / WACKY BABIES:  King World Home Videos ($55 million in sales to date)
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
• 1982-93   MARTY STOUFFER'S WILD AMERICA: PBS-TV Series.
  Contributing DIRECTOR/PRODUCER (12 years/120 programs)
• 1993  SURVIVORS OF THE SKELETON COAST: Nat. Geographic Special.
  DIRECTOR (Namibia, SW Africa)             
• 1992  BRAVING ALASKA: National Geographic Special: PBS-TV. Narrator: Martin Sheen.
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/STORY
• 1988  MAN OUTSIDE: (PG-13) Virgin Vision/Samuel Goldwyn Co. Stars:  Robert Logan/Kathleen Quinlan/Bradford Dillman/Levon Helm.
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/WRITER
• 1981  JOHN DENVER: MUSIC & THE MOUNTAINS: ABC-TV Special. Stars: Beverly Sills/Itzhak Perlman/James Galway.
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/WRITER
• 1980  JOHN DENVER: THE HIGHER WE FLY: ABC-TV Special.
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/WRITER
• 1979  THE MAN WHO LOVED BEARS: ABC-TV Special. Host: Henry Fonda.
  DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
• 1978  JOHN DENVER: ROCKY MOUNTAIN REUNION: ABC-TV Special.
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/WRITER
• 1978  JOHN DENVER: ALASKA, THE AMERICAN CHILD: ABC-TV Special.
  SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR
• 1977  THE PREDATORS: NBC-TV Special. Host: Robert Redford.
  DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
• 1977 THE INCREDIBLE SHREW: Syndicated TV. Host: Leslie Nielsen.
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/WRITER
• 1975-76  JOHN DENVER'S VARIETY SPECIALS: ABC-TV Specials. Stars: Steve Martin/Olivia Newton-John/Valeria Harper.
  SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
• 1974-75  THE GOODSHIP EARTH: ABC/NBC/CBS-TV P.S.A. Series.
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
• 1974  WILD PLACES: NBC-TV Special. Host: Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward.
  SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
• 1974  VANISHING SPECIES OF NORTH AMERICA. WORLD EXPO '74 Premier.
  DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
•  

• EMMY AWARD: ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
  15th Annual Emmy Awards
• EMMY AWARD: ACHIEVEMENT IN CRAFTS (2-time winner).
  14th Annual Emmy Awards
• EMMY NOMINATIONS (5)
  49th Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards
• DGA NOMINATION: OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT
  45th Annual Directors Guild of America Awards
• OUTSTANDING FACTUAL TELEVISION PROGRAM
  Western Heritage Awards-National Cowboy Hall of Fame
• BEST OF CATEGORY - GOLD MEDAL
  San Francisco International Film Festival
• GOLD MEDAL - NETWORK TELEVISION
  The Virgin Islands International Film Festival
• RED RIBBON AWARD
  American Film Festival, New York
• CINDY AWARD - SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
  Information Film Producers of America Festival
• CINE GOLDEN EAGLE AWARD  (6-time winner)
  Council on International Nontheatrical Events
• SILVER AWARD - NETWORK TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS
  The 13th Chicago International Film Festival
• GOLD MEDAL
  International Film & Television Festival of New York
• BEST OF FESTIVAL-TEDDY ROOSEVELT AWARD
  National Outdoor-Travel Film Festival
• THE CHRIS PLAQUE (2-time winner)
  Columbus Film Festival
• OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM MAKING
  Denver International Film Festival
• SILVER VENUS
  The Miami International Film Festival
• TOP NETWORK TELEVISION AWARD
  Freedoms Foundation Award
• EARL OSBORN AWARD-OUTSTANDING EXCELLENCE IN TV
  Aviation Space Writers Association of America
• GOLD MEDAL-TELEVISION NETWORK SPECIALS (2-time winner)
  The Houston International Film Festival
• BRONZE TUSKER AWARD - PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
  First Annual World Conference
• TROPHY IN ENVIRONMENTAL CATEGORY
  Salerno, Italy International Film Festival
• SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
  Jackson Hole International Film Festival
• SPECIAL JURY GOLD MEDAL AWARD
  Cairo, Egypt International Film Festival

• Still photography by MARK STOUFFER regularly appears in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC publications, AUDUBON MAGAZINE, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, READER'S DIGEST, TIME, NEWSWEEK, SMITHSONIAN, and various exhibitions, most notably, an EASTMAN KODAK 20 by 80 foot single photograph display in New York City's Grand Central Station.