Patrick N. Millsaps

Patrick N. Millsaps
Born Patrick Neill Millsaps
Knoxville, Tennessee
Residence West Hollywood, California (2014-present)
Nationality American
Alma mater Samford University, University of Georgia School of Law
Occupation Producer
Employer Londonderry Studios
Political party Independent
Website www.londonderrystudios.com

Patrick Neill Millsaps is an American film producer and the founder and CEO of Londonderry Studios, a parent company that finances films and makes equity investments in companies involved in the entire supply chain of the production of film, television and new media. Londonderry was founded to provide a greater number of substantive opportunities for women in the industry. Prior to his work in the entertainment business, Millsaps was a practicing attorney in Georgia and, in 2012, served as the Chief of Staff of Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign.[1]

Early life and education

Millsaps was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and grew up in Cobb County, Georgia where he attended McEachern High School.[2] He received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Samford University in 1995, where he graduated cum laude. After receiving his undergraduate degree, Millsaps worked for the Georgia Republican Party and then served as the political director for Johnny Isakson's first campaign for the U.S. Senate, which ended in a primary loss in 1996.

He enrolled in the University of Georgia School of Law in 1997.[3] While still in law school, Millsaps served as the Policy Advisor to the Georgia State School Board and acted as the liaison between the Board Chairman Otis Brumby, then Georgia Governor Roy Barnes and then State School Superintendent Linda Schrenko.[2] Millsaps obtained his Juris Doctor in 2000.[2] After law school, he resumed a limited involvement in politics, organizing events and advising candidates for state and local offices.[3]

Legal and political careers

Legal career

After passing the Georgia bar in 2000, he worked for criminal defense attorneys Ed Garland and Don Samuel during high-profile cases involving Ray Lewis, the Heritage High School shooting and the Gold Club trial.[2][4][5] He continued his early legal career as a litigator and later practiced law with his mentor, Hylton B. Dupree, Jr.[2]

Millsaps founded his own law firm in 2004, which merged in 2011 with Hall Booth Smith where he was partner.[2][6][7] Millsaps represented the Georgia Department of Community Health in 2008 as Special Counsel to Governor Sonny Perdue.[8] In 2010, Millsaps obtained a $1.5 million jury verdict for the family of a man that was killed by a drunk driver.[9] This was one of the top jury verdicts in Georgia in 2010.[10]

In 2001, six months after he received his bar license, Millsaps filed the first lawsuit on behalf of a charter school against a school district in the state of Georgia. Millsaps represented Stone Mountain Charter School in a lawsuit against the Dekalb County school board over funding which the school claimed it should have and did not receive.[11] The suit's premise was that the Dekalb school board was discriminating against the charter school and breaching the charter school contract by allotting less money per student than other schools in the district. The school board paid to settle the suit, though it denied any wrongdoing, citing the 1998 charter school law that did not provide guidelines for funding.[12] This lawsuit and settlement became the model for charter school funding in Georgia.

Gingrich presidential campaign

Original Gingrich $2.50 Gas concept designed by Patrick Millsaps

On December 26, 2011, Millsaps was contacted by Newt Gingrich's 2012 campaign for the Republican nomination for president to offer him a position as deputy general counsel—a volunteer position.[3] Millsaps joined the campaign, his first involvement working in a presidential race, the week before the Iowa caucuses.[1][3][13] During the New Hampshire primary, Millsaps co-developed new campaign messaging which identified Gingrich as a "bold Reagan conservative". An issue paper, co-authored by Millsaps, was used by NBC's David Gregory to question Gingrich during the Meet the Press/Facebook Presidential Debate which was held in Concord, New Hampshire.[14]

After a month working for the campaign, and orchestrating Gingrich's primary win in South Carolina, Gingrich promoted Millsaps to the position of chief of staff following the Florida primary and immediately made changes to reorganize the campaign's structure.[1][3][13] In February 2012, he wrote a cease and desist letter sent to Georgia television stations on behalf of the Gingrich campaign, stating that an attack ad made by pro-Mitt Romney super PAC, Restore Our Future, was false and threatening to sue any station that continued to run the ad.[15][16] The ad asserted that Gingrich co-sponsored legislation with Representative Nancy Pelosi that would have given money to the United Nations in support of China's one-child policy.[15][16] While Gingrich and Pelosi were both co-sponsors of a 1989 resolution that provided $60 million to the United Nations Population Fund, the bill prohibited "the performance of involuntary sterilization or abortion or to coerce any person to accept family planning".[17]

Gingrich credits Millsaps with his statement, "you can't put a gun rack in a Volt".[18] Millsaps was also the designer of the "$2.50 gas" logo for Gingrich's campaign, which was part of an effort to simplify the campaign's messaging.[19][20] Millsaps gave several national television and radio interviews for the campaign including interviews with CNN's Joe Johns, Don Lemon, Jim Acosta, and Piers Morgan.[21][22][23][24][25] He also appeared on MSNBC with Thomas Roberts and Andrea Mitchell.[26][27] He was interviewed by Geraldo Rivera on his talk radio program in Los Angeles on 790 KABC (AM).[28]

Gingrich suspended his campaign for president on May 2, 2012.[29][30] Shortly thereafter, Millsaps became an Independent.

Producing and talent management

After the presidential campaign, Millsaps returned to practicing law in rural southwest Georgia, and was then hired by a once-famous actor who had fallen on hard times. In 12 months, Millsaps secured this actor, who had a history of being difficult to work with,[31]a first-of-its kind deal with a major cable news network; a very lucrative book deal, and returned this person to acting.[32] Millsaps terminated his relationship with the actor without comment. As a result of this success, Millsaps built a roster of a very diverse roster of actors after having been a manager for only 24 months.

The first film Millsaps executive produced was the hit feature film I'll See You in My Dreams, starring Blythe Danner, Martin Starr, Sam Elliot, Malin Akerman, June Squibb and Rhea Perlman, which was selected to premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.[33] The film was purchased for distribution by Bleecker Street and premiered in New York and Los Angeles on the weekend of May 15, 2015 to rave reviews.[34]

Londonderry Entertainment

2016 Copyright Londonderry Entertainment, LLC All Rights Reserved

In December 2015, Millsaps founded Londonderry Entertainment, a talent management and production company, for the purpose of developing the next generation of female filmmakers.[35] Millsaps became a full-time producer, vetting and financing film and television programs. He no longer manages talent.

Millsaps is now executive producing the film Wild Man, starring Kate Upton, Mike Vogel and Christine Woods. The film is co-directed by two women.[35]

Millsaps was a vocal critic of the Georgia General Assembly's so-called "Religious Liberty" bill and warned of its impact on Georgia's economy.[36] Georgia Governor Nathan Deal vetoed the controversial piece of legislation.[37]

Actor Steve Guttenberg said of Millsaps, "His work ethic is one that combines strategy, enthusiasm, and humor... But the most defining aspect of him is his perspective on the film and television community and business as a whole. He finds the game a challenge and approaches it with a positive attitude."[38] It has also been said of him that "he is loyal and he has the highest integrity (in show business) which could mean everything or nothing at all".[38]

Tax credits for film and television production in Georgia

In 2009, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed the first tax incentive bill to encourage film and television production in the state of Georgia.[39] As of July, 2015, these incentives had generated $6 billion in economic impact in Georgia.[40] Governor Perdue credited Millsaps for ensuring that these incentives were passed in Georgia, stating, "Patrick Millsaps understood early the benefits for Georgia aggressively pursuing the entertainment industry as an economic development project."[41] "The combination of his business, political and legal skills were helpful in making tax credits a reality in Georgia."[41]

Honors and recognitions

Millsaps has been called "one of the smartest, hard-working lawyers in the country".[13] He has achieved an "AV-Preeminent" rating from Martindale-Hubbell.[42] Millsaps was recognized by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of Georgia's best and brightest "40 under 40" in 2011.[7] James Magazine has recognized him as one of the "Most Influential Georgians" every year since 2007, and one of "Georgia's Top Legal Leaders" in 2005 and 2006.[2][43] The University of Georgia's Alumni Association recognized him as one of its 40 Under 40 in 2012.[44] Atlanta Magazine recognized Millsaps as a "Rising Star" in 2010 and 2012.[45] He was named one of as one of Southwest Georgia's "40 most influential people under the age of 40" by The Albany Herald in 2006.[2]

In 2008, Millsaps was selected as one of 53 emerging American leaders representing 17 states and the District of Columbia to receive the prestigious Marshall Memorial Fellowship awarded through the German Marshall Fund.[46][47]

Millsaps was chosen to lead the Chinese Taipei Olympic Team into Centennial Olympic Stadium during the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Movie appearances

Patrick Millsaps in Road Trip

Millsaps has appeared in several feature films. He played a police officer in the 2000 DreamWorks film Road Trip.[48] He also appears in the 2011 Sherwood Pictures film Courageous as "man in restaurant."[49] In 2012, Millsaps received his first credited role, as District Attorney Denny Donaldson in the independent film Untouched.[50]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cameron, Carl (2012-02-03). "Gingrich Names New Chief of Staff". Fox News. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Attorneys: Patrick N. Millsaps". Hall Booth Smith. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Moe, Alex (2012-03-21). "Top Gingrich aide symbolizes unconventional approach". NBC. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  4. ↑ Charles, Nick (2000-06-05). "Garland on Defense". CNNSI.com. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  5. ↑ Simmons, Bill (2007-09-27). "Idiot's Guide to Gold Club Trial". ESPN. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  6. ↑ "HBSS Offices". Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  7. 1 2 Simo, Christy (October 2011). "2011 40 Under 40: Georgia's Best & Brightest". Georgia Trend. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  8. ↑ Perdue, Sonny (28 Jan 2008). "Executive Order" (PDF). State of Georgia. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  9. ↑ Cohilas, Karen (2012-01-08). "Family wins wrongful death suit". WALB News. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  10. ↑ "Verdict Search's Top Georgia Verdicts of 2010". p. 28. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Charter school may close, leaders seek funds to sustain operation". Atlanta Journal Constitution. 2001-05-17. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  12. ↑ "DeKalb settles suit with charter school". Atlanta Journal Constitution. 2001-08-16. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  13. 1 2 3 Rhem, Todd (2012-01-03). "Patrick Millsaps named Gingrich campaign Deputy General Counsel". Peach Pundit. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  14. ↑ "Meet the Press/Facebook Republican Presidential Debate". 2012-01-08. 4:03 minutes in. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  15. 1 2 Gabriel, Trip (2012-02-17). "Gingrich Campaign Threatens to Sue Over Attack Ads". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  16. 1 2 Caldwell, Leigh Ann (2012-02-17). "Gingrich demands TV stations drop attack ad". CBS News. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  17. ↑ "Newt supported China's one-child policy, Super PAC says". PolitiFact. 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  18. ↑ "Rick & Bubba Show". 2012-03-13. 4:20 minutes in. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  19. ↑ "Gingrich to Obama: Fire Secretary Chu". Fox News. 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  20. ↑ "Gingrich stakes a third comeback on #250gas". Storyful. 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  21. ↑ Joe Johns, Patrick Millsaps, Anderson Cooper (2012-03-13). CNN Politics. Birmingham, Alabama: CNN.
  22. ↑ Morgan, Piers (2012-03-20). "Patrick Millsaps on Rick Santorum: "No presidential candidate should sunbathe in public"". CNN. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  23. ↑ Piers Morgan, Patrick Millsaps (2012-03-20). Gingrich Chief of Staff Reacts to Illinois Results, Predicts Strong Second Half. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: CNN.
  24. ↑ Lemon, Don. "Gingrich Chief of Staff Outlines Path to Big Choice GOP Convention". CNN. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  25. ↑ Acosta, Jim. "Gingrich Campaign Leaner, Focused on President Obama". CNN. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  26. ↑ Roberts, Thomas. "Last Gasp for Gingrich?". msnbc. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  27. ↑ Mitchell, Andrea. "Is the Gingrich campaign all but finished?". msnbc. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  28. ↑ Rivera, Geraldo. "Geraldo speaks to Newt's Chief of Staff". appears at 21:36: 790 KABC Los Angeles.
  29. ↑ Page, Susan (2012-05-01). "Gingrich to Support Romney". USA Today. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  30. ↑ "Gingrich officially bows out". cnn.com. 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  31. ↑ Robertson, Iyana. "Lisa Raye Admits She Got Stacey Dash Fired". Vibe. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  32. ↑ French, Nancy (June 6, 2016). There Goes My Social Life. 3397 of 3523: Regnery Publishing. p. Chapters 12–13. ISBN 162157413X.
  33. ↑ "Sundance Blog". Sundance.
  34. ↑ Rotton Tomatoes http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ill_see_you_in_my_dreams/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. 1 2 Busch, Anita. "Londonderry Comes Aboard To Finish Financing on "Wild Man"". Deadline.com. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  36. ↑ Galloway, Jim. "How Georgia's Film Industry Has Muddled GOP battle lines over '"religious liberty"". www.ajc.com. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  37. ↑ Bluestein, Greg. "Nathan Deal vetoes Georgia's "religious liberty" bill". www.ajc.com. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  38. 1 2 Hendricks, Jim. "Patrick Millsaps brings Southern charm to Hollywood". Albany Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  39. ↑ Longwell, Todd. "Vampire Diaries Hunger Games Fuel Peachy Georgia Production Scene". www.variety.com.
  40. ↑ "Film Industry generates $6 billion for Georgia economy". Georgia Economic Development.
  41. 1 2 Yamato, Jen. "Ex-Gingrich Chief of Staff Launches Management Co. Following Stacey Dash Fox News Deal". www.deadline.com. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  42. ↑ Millsaps, Patrick. "Martindale-Hubbell Rating For Patrick Millsaps". Martindale-Hubbell. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  43. ↑ "John Hall, Brad Carver & Patrick Millsaps Named to Most Influential List". hbss.net. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  44. ↑ "University of Georgia Alumni Association 40 Under 40 Class of 2012". Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  45. ↑ Millsaps, Patrick. "Super Lawyers: Rising Stars". Super Lawyers Publications. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  46. ↑ "GMF Selects 53 American Marshall Memorial Fellows for 2008". Beyond Borders Internet Television. 12 December 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  47. ↑ "The Marshall Memorial Fellowship". The German Marshall Fund. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  48. ↑ Phillips, Todd. "Road Trip (film)". Appears at 1:25:14 in film: Dreamworks. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  49. ↑ Kendrick, Alex. "Courageous (film)". Appears at 36:30 in film: Sherwood Pictures. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  50. ↑ Millsaps, Patrick. "IMDb Page". Internet Movie Database.

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