We talk to the co-founders of the new entertainment company making waves in the ocean state.
By Liz Barhite
When I arrive they’re waiting for me, all ready to begin. An endearing mix of nerves and professionalism.
The two young women in front of me are Eden Duhamel and Meg Martin, long time friends — that’s incredibly evident in their rapport — and now business partners.
“It was always something we would joke at–
“–‘joke’ might not be the right word–“
“–right, maybe ‘play at’?–
“–yeah, ‘play at’ works better.”
I start the recording and launch right in, asking about their biggest influences. Their eyes widen and there is a beat of silence. Then, a burst of laughter.
Eden: I‘m sorry, I don’t know if I was prepared to be so introspective.
Meg: Right, we agreed to an interview, but absolutely no one told us we would have to answer questions.
Let me start with an easy one then. Hopefully easy, anyway: Are you movie or TV people? What made you want to get involved in the entertainment industry?
Eden: Movies, for sure. I love TV–I mean, I love TV when you’re dealing with a great cast of characters–It’s like hanging out with your friends every week. But movies whisk me away to other lives, other places, even other worlds, entirely unlike my own. Of course I didn’t learn to appreciate the artistic elements of film until later in life, but in hindsight they always had an influence on me. I couldn’t identify a great score, but I could be emotionally manipulated by it. Plus, watching something in a movie theater is an unmatched experience.
Meg: And I feel like I’m the complete opposite. I have been enchanted by the silver screen, don’t get me wrong. But I think–I just watched so much TV when I was younger there was no way that it wasn’t more influential. And, similar to Eden, I didn’t really start to appreciate all the moving parts of movie making until a little bit later in life, I really was just pulled in by dialogue. Like, if there were two people talking quickly back and forth to each other– on screen, over the radio, on paper– then I was completely absorbed. Still am.
But your newest project–really your first project–is a book? Do I have that right?
Meg: Well, yes and no. It’s a ten part illustrated screenplay series. In a perfect reality we would have filmed it, but since we’re still so small–
Eden: –and because we have a habit of writing things that require a lot of production value–
Meg: –yes, I’m very guilty of that. But because of those things, we sort of just said, who stopping us from publishing the story? And I’ve always loved to draw, so I decided it could be like a hybrid screenplay/graphic novel.
Very cool. And what high production value kept you from filming this particular series?
Meg: Well, it’s in space, for one.
Eden: And it requires more than two actors.
They laugh — charmingly, I might add– and we begin wrapping up. My time with the duo, albeit short, re-energizes me. The entertainment industry isn’t always bright lights and who knows who. Sometimes it’s just two friends having fun.
Episode one of Where’s Steve?’s debut project is called “An Adventure of the FLYNN: The Calm Before the Storm” and will be available for purchase on their website by the end of 2022.