Warren Miller enterprise widens business reach to networks, corporate clients

BOULDER — For the last half century Warren Miller Entertainment has been good to its promise to transport skiers and snowboarders to look at the world “beyond” — as in beyond safety, beyond rules, beyond boundaries.

Watchers have come to expect physics-defying jumps and snow sport superstars blasting though exotic locations. Film fans go to see their sport pushed to the limit. For about $15, they begin the new season inspired.

But in the last 10 years, since Kurt Miller and Peter Speaks took control as co-owners, the company has worked behind the scenes to take itself into a whole new “beyond.” And what’s beyond making movies about steep chutes, big bowls and long vertical drops is roughly more of the same kind of filming -­ with a twist. The audience isn’t made up of adrenaline junkies.

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“Our new direction is based around the same thing we’ve always done,” Kurt Miller said. “Taking what we know to do and applying it to different applications. Now we have clients we do it (filming for) instead of just ourselves.” He pointed out that most people are only aware of the company’s feature films, but Warren Miller Entertainment has blue chip clients. Among those are Dannon Natural Spring Water, Nike, Evian Natural Spring Water, Heineken, Helly Hansen.

“Most of our business is out-of -state so people don’t think of us as that kind of company,” Kurt Miller said.

The company includes several parts. Warren Miller Entertainment is the California C-Corp. Warren Miller Films is the Colorado S-Corp. Action Marketing Group is a DBA of Warren Miller Films. The annual feature film, the magazine, “Snow World,” Global Distribution and Warren Miller TV (WMTV) are divisions of Warren Miller Entertainment.

WMTV was founded in 1985. It’s purpose is to deliver individual participant sports programming on regional sports networks. WMTV reaches 55 million households though Fox Sports Net plus 50 major destination resorts. In the summer of each year, MWTV airs four half-hour shows featuring action sports such as sailing, rock climbing and skydiving.

AMG began five years ago to market “needs of those companies and brands who currently target, or seek to target consumers in passionate environments,” according to AMG marketing materials. AMG’s services include television, print and event/tours.

While the Warren Miller Entertainment has always done film production, it wasn’t until six years ago Warren Miller Films was developed into the substantial film production business that it is today.

Products now coming from the company as a whole include corporate training films, CD-ROM production, Internet production and production of shows for the Discovery Channel. Kurt Miller said that adding staff such as Bailey Pryor also influences the company to branch in new directions. Pryor has more than 10 years of experience in feature film production for the Samuel Goldwyn Company, 20th Century Fox and Oliver Stone. Pryor hired on as head of production June 1998.

The expansion of Warren Miller Entertainment, according to Speaks, wasn’t driven by dollars. Speaks, 43, said that he and Kurt Miller, the 40-year-old son of Warren Miller, were just trying to make the company better. Speaks is a former national media director for The Stroh Brewery Co. He has a degree in film and television. The new companies, AMG and Warren Miller Films, are growing faster than the other parts of the business but the company, overall, is exceeding expectations.

“There has been a 700 percent increase in growth since we bought Warren Miller Entertainment,” Kurt Miller said.

Some say Warren Miller’s new direction has affected the annual feature film. Having bought tickets for the film each year since 1992, Drew Shaw said he still enjoys the cinematography, but it no longer inspires him to ski. Further, in the last few years, he’s noticed an increase in commercialism.

“A few years ago a guy’s parachute opened with a name (of a ski clothing manufacturer). I wanted to see the valley, not the parachute.” Shaw, owner of Cor Adventures, said he’s watched Warren Miller’s annual feature film just about as many years as he’s been a skier.

“My main objection,” Shaw said, “is that it didn’t give me ‘the goose.’ “

Kurt Miller countered that additions to the film in recent years, music by “the world’s best musicians,” more one-on-one interviews, were positive. “Things need to evolve or they die,” he said.