Hollywood on the Gulf

Hollywood on the Gulf

Entrepreneurs by Janet Leiser | Senior Editor

Two television show pilots have been shot locally, thanks to an actor turned entrepreneur who plans to bring Hollywood to the Gulf Coast through his production company.

Charles Mattocks says his production company might be new, but it has more to offer than most of his competitors, not that there are many in the Tampa Bay area.

"We have what most production companies don't have - two potential hit shows. Most don't have one," says Mattocks.

Mattocks, whose uncle is the late Bob Marley, won an Emmy nomination for his 1996 role in the television movie Summer of Ben Tyler.

The accomplished actor says there aren't enough family shows on television, and he plans to do something about it as owner of Red Rish Entertainment. He's producing The Poor Chef and The Camping People from his North Himes Avenue office in Tampa.

The cooking show was his teenage son's idea.

"I think he got tired of eating microwaved meals," says Mattocks, 32, a single father who moved to Tampa about two years ago from Los Angeles to be near his mother, Constance Marley, who lives in Ocala, and his brother, Andrew Mattocks, in Tampa.

Mattocks and a camera crew film local people at home cooking a healthy meal for $7 or less. The meal must feed at least two people.

The former New York City resident says he doesn't relate to most other cooking shows on television. He doesn't have hours to prepare a meal and he can't afford to plop down $60 for one sitting.

"It's a fantastic show so it's an easy sell," he says. "There's nothing like it."

In recent weeks, Mattocks has lost weight and changed his hairstyle as he has made the rounds on Tampa Bay area television news programs explaining the Poor Chef show. Two networks have offered to buy the show, but Mattocks says he didn't want to relinquish control.

"I didn't want to just give it away," he says. "I wanted to play a part in it. We showcase the best of what America has to offer, from the trailer park to Beverly Hills."

To talk to network executives about selling his show, he has visited California twice, including as recently as two months ago.

Both NBC and ABC have said they will air the segments he shoots locally, he says. He hasn't yet signed a contract with either.

Mattocks is determined to bring Hollywood to the Tampa Bay area, even though it's a struggle.

"It's really tough because it's not an entertainment-based town," Mattocks says. "It's almost beyond an uphill battle to find quality people that have that hunger, that drive."

Still, he plans for his company to become a hub of creativity in the area. "As a young company we can break all the rules," he says. "My thing is I'm honestly trying to change the world."

Red Fish recently acquired the Camping People, a show hosted by Nathan "Nate" Johnson.

"Nathan is like the Steve Irwin of Tampa travel shows," says Mattocks, as he plays the show's pilot on a screen in his office, banjo music filling Red Fish Entertainment.

The Camping People pilot was shot at the Hillsborough River State Park in north Tampa, a scenic setting on the Hillsborough River with cypress trees and wildlife.

"When I was in California a couple months ago, I went more with my hand out," Mattocks says. "Next time I want to go with a handshake. Me selling the show is not an issue. But it's how much do we sell it for, what's behind us."