The Team
Yeardley Smith
Co-Founder
Ben Cornwell
Co-Founder
Jordan Foley
President of Production
Nick Smith
Vice President of Production
Dave Grice
Executive
The Dream…
To lead by empowering others.
How I Broke In…
Lipsyncing to THE SOUND OF MUSIC and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF in a neighbor’s garage-turned-summer-theater in Washington, DC, when I was five. By twelve I was getting meaty roles in school plays. And at 14 I got cast as Tinkerbell in a professional-yet-unlicensed production of PETER PAN at a dinner theater outside of DC. I was taller than all of the Lost Boys, all of whom were girls, and there were often more people onstage than in the audience. But the rumor was we were headed to Broadway. I was ready! Then one night my mother drove me to the show only to find the theater all boarded up with a bankruptcy notice stuck to the door.
Undaunted, I went right back to combing the local paper for auditions and doing school until I graduated high school. I also applied to college — and didn’t get in. But luckily, one of the local DC theaters I would sometimes audition for, cast me in a musical comedy revue three days after high school graduation. The critics gave us excellent reviews and called me out specifically as a fresh new talent “with a face like a dinner plate.” (Ummm…what?) But it put me on the map.
14 months later, (it’s now the fall of 1983) I had gotten a New York agent and moved to Manhattan to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming an actress.
One of my first auditions in New York was for Mike Nichols who was directing the original production of Tom Stoppard’s THE REAL THING on Broadway, starring Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close. I was auditioning for the role of Jeremy Irons’ daughter and I got the job! Sort of. Because the job was actually to understudy Cynthia Nixon who’d already been cast in the role. I was 18 and this was not part of my plan for world domination! But my agent set me straight in a hurry and I took the job. (Duh.)
Opportunity would blow down the door again when Mike Nichols pulled Cynthia Nixon out of THE REAL THING only three months into the Broadway run, to put her in his new production of HURLY BURLY and I got to take over her role with the original Broadway cast. I played the part for 6 months. It was another huge break for me.
During that time I did my first three movies: HEAVEN HELP US, THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN and MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE. I also landed a Los Angeles agent and in 1986, I came to LA for pilot season. I got a pilot, which didn’t get picked up, but I immediately started doing guest-starring roles on TV shows like MURPHY BROWN, EMPTY NEST, and BROTHERS.
Then in 1987, I auditioned for a weird little cartoon called THE SIMPSONS, on a new sketch-comedy show called THE TRACEY ULLMAN SHOW, on a brand new network called Fox. The casting director had seen me in a play in Los Angeles a year earlier and remembered me. Despite having no interest in doing voice-over, I went to the audition anyway. I’ve been doing the voice of 8-year-old Lisa Simpson ever since. Fun fact: After 30+ years, Lisa Simpson is still eight.
I continued to do movies and TV: CITY SLICKERS, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, HERMAN’S HEAD, DHARMA AND GREG, THE BIG BANG THEORY….
In 2004 I wrote and performed a one-woman show called MORE, in New York and LA. In 2009, Harper Collins Children’s Books published my first novel called “I, LORELEI”. And in 2010, I launched my own luxury women’s shoe line called Marchez Vous. It’s how I got connected to my forever-business partner, Ben Cornwell. We made the shoes in Italy and hawked our wares for five years. It was a blast!
In 2015, Ben and I closed Marchez Vous and opened Paperclip Ltd. because we wanted to stay in business together and go back to what we knew: entertainment. From Day 1 our motto has been: We’re the people who aren’t afraid to say ‘YES’ first. Also: No assholes allowed.
I’ll Never Forget…
My first curtain call on Broadway for THE REAL THING. My debut performance had been stellar but now I was by myself, center-stage. As I took a bow in my miniskirt and tights, my knees wouldn’t stop knocking.
The Best Advice I Ever Got Is…
Be on time.
If I Weren’t Doing This, I’d Be…
A professional ballroom dancer who specializes in Argentine tango and the Carolina Shag.
Yeah, I Did That…
Won one of the first Outstanding Voice-Over Emmys when it became an eligible category in 1992.
Favorite Movie…
“Men in Black” (Who doesn’t love a Nueralyzer?)
Favorite Food…
This is a terrible question (and I thought of it!) OK, if I’m stuck on a desert island eating the same thing for the rest of my life: Buttered sourdough toast. But if it’s just Wednesday: Pizza. Or maybe a cheeseburger. Or eggplant Parmesan! (See? Terrible question).
Favorite Song…
I have a special place in my heart for 80’s Hair Metal ballads.
The Dream…
Build the very best team that delivers the very best content…(and lot’s of Air Jordan 1’s)
How I Broke In…
Remember when every celebrity in town was trying to start a clothing line, or do a licensing deal? We’ll they needed a guy who knew something about product, and I was that guy. Lucky for me some friends of mine had started ROAR, a Beverly Hills based management company, with clients like The Zac Brown Band, Chris Hemsworth, and Yeardley Smith…and they needed someone to help their clients. So I packed up my office in Rancho Dominguez (the warehousey part of LA), and headed to Beverly Hills (sing that part of the bio to the tune of the “Beverly Hillbillies”). While there I learned a lot about some stuff, and most importantly, met my future business partner Yeardley Smith.
I’ll Never Forget…
Sitting in the Zach Theatre in Austin, TX at the SXSW Film Festival waiting for the world premier of our film ALL SQUARE to start. Also, watching my two children being born, I still can’t believe I’m partly responsible for making two people.
The Best Advice I Ever Got Is…
Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.
If I Weren’t Doing This, I’d Be…
Working on developing a better landfill for trash, seems like throwing all our shit in a hole in the ground isn’t the best solution.
Yeah, I Did That…
Repeatedly drove from Houston, TX to Castine, ME to transport my Mother’s dog Buddy to his summer home because she refused to put him on a plane. #onlychildlife
Favorite Movie…
“The Goonies”
Favorite Food…
Pizza
Favorite Song…
“Blackwater” by Doobie Brothers
The Dream…
To make movies. I love movies. All shapes, sizes, and genres of movies.
How I Broke In…
By driving from Minnesota to Los Angeles after college and talking my way onto the set of HOW HIGH, starring Method Man and Redman. I asked the first person I saw wearing a headset about how to find work. It was an awesome experience, but I soon realized that the old Hollywood adage “it’s who you know” was still the key to getting your foot in the door. So….
It was 2002 and my dream job at the time was to work at Miramax Films. I knew that Harvey Weinstein spent his summers on Martha’s Vineyard so I decided to move there for the summer. I talked my way into a bar-tending job at the private golf club where Harvey was a member and by the end of summer, I had a job offer and was moving to NYC to work at Miramax. It was an incredible opportunity to work with studio execs, agents, managers and filmmakers on multiple award-winning films, box office successes and independent classics. But I also took that old Hollywood adage about the importance of forging relationships to heart, and many of the people I met back then are still an important part of my life today.
In 2005, I left Miramax and moved back to Los Angeles where the bulk of the action happens. I worked as a consultant for several production companies, I spent some time managing locations on short form content, and I produced several reality TV series. I produced my first feature, THE OPEN ROAD, in 2008, starring Justin Timberlake, Jeff Bridges and Kate Mara. In 2010, I co-produced, PUNCTURE, starring Chris Evans. Along the way, I also became a member of the Producers Guild of America, as well as the Directors Guild of America.
In 2017, I started Mill House Motion Pictures with Jonathan Rosenthal. We produced, DESOLATE, a gritty modern western that premiered at the Inaugural Mammoth Film Festival. That same year Mill House signed on to produce ALL SQUARE with producer/actor, Michael Kelly, who brought the script to his friends, Yeardley Smith and Ben Cornwell at Paperclip Ltd. The two companies ended up producing three movies together and things clicked so well that I officially joined the Paperclip team in February 2019.
I’ll Never Forget…
Being on location in Barrow, Alaska, for National Geographic, ripping across the frozen tundra in a whiteout blizzard on a snowmobile at 50mph+ and hunting elk with Inupiat in -85F temperatures.
The Best Advice I Ever Got Is…
Take pride in every job, no matter how small.
If I Weren’t Doing This, I’d Be…
Umm… dream scenario? Maybe General Manager for the MN Vikings?
Yeah, I Did That…
I have my name on a plaque at a restaurant in Louisiana for eating two-1lb cheeseburgers with full plates of french fries in under 13 minutes.
Favorite Movie…
“Dances with Wolves” and “Jaws” are typically at the top of the list..
Favorite Food…
Cheeseburger… favorite spot: The Quarter Deck in Edgartwon, MA
Favorite Song…
Yo Yo Ma plays Ennio Morricone
The Dream…
To produce film and television and then come up with a one-sentence job description for “producer” that my parents can actually understand.
How I Broke In…
I grew up in Freehold, NJ, the same town as Bruce Springsteen, so I’ve always had big ideas about making a name for myself. And while Springsteen’s legacy casts a long, illustrious shadow, I am, and always have been, energized by my own optimism and hard work.
I liked school as much as the next guy, but if I could film my assignments rather than write them out — sign me up! So I did that as often as possible. Soon, people started paying me to film and edit their projects, too. So, nobody was surprised when after graduating in 2011, I packed my bags and headed to the Harvard of the Southwest: Arizona State University to go to film school.
Sure, ASU is famous for its extracurricular activities, but they also put together a brilliant program for their film majors called “Hybrid Films.” It consisted of the school purchasing scripts and producing them by filling all the key department positions with industry professionals, while the rest of the crew were students. I participated in two of those films in the AD department: CAR DOGS starring Patrick Adams, George Lopez, and Octavia Spencer, and JUSTICE SERVED, written and directed by Marvin Young (AKA Young MC). Bust a Move! In my young mind I was now ready for the big time, so immediately after I graduated from college I packed up and moved to Los Angeles.
In order to keep me in PB&J Uncrustables and beer during my time at ASU, I had worked in the sports hospitality industry at Legends Hospitality. So when I graduated, I simply transitioned from working for the Phoenix Suns to the Los Angeles Rams. The only difference was now when I wasn’t refilling ketchup dispensers and briefing vendors on their duties before the game, I was taking meetings with production companies and getting the stock Hollywood reply: “We’ll keep you in mind.”
Until one fateful, sunny Sunday afternoon at a Rams vs. Cardinals game, one fan out of 90,000+ changed it all. His name was Ben Cornwell, co-founder of Paperclip Ltd.
Ben was the first person I met who asked me what I wanted to do and took a genuine interest in the answer. He treated my ambition with respect and assumed I had potential. So when I learned he also loves chocolate chip cookies, it was my pleasure to bring him a bucketful of fresh, piping hot cookies from one of the vendors at the stadium every time he came to a game. And then we would sit and catch up.
A few short months later I was working spring training for the Angels in Tempe, AZ when out of nowhere I got a call. It was Ben! He told me to pack my bags and come back to Los Angeles immediately to meet his producing partners. He said if all went well, I’d be heading to Baltimore to help co-produce Paperclip’s first feature film, ALL SQUARE, starring Michael Kelly.
A day later I met Yeardley Smith, the other half of Paperclip, and a day after that I met their producing partners, Jordan Foley and Jonathan Rosenthal. I spent the next two months in Baltimore with my ears open and my mouth shut, learning anything and everything about what it means to be a producer.
I’m proud and grateful to say I’ve found a home here at Paperclip, and I can’t wait to see where the adventure takes us next.
I’ll Never Forget…
When I got to show my family and friends ALL SQUARE for the first time at SXSW. Not because they were proud but because it proved I actually had a job!
The Best Advice I Ever Got Is…
“You’re only as good as your last hot dog!” — Chris, Manager of Concessions at Legends.
If I Weren’t Doing This, I’d Be…
I would be making the sequel to “BASEketball.”
Yeah, I Did That…
Witnessed the Chicago Cubs win a World Series, for the first time in 108 years, in the streets of Chicago filled with a hundred thousand people.
Favorite Movie…
“BASEketball”
Favorite Food…
Chicken Parm Sandwich
Favorite Song…
“Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia
The Dream…
Learning from Yeardley, Ben, Jordan, Nick, Dan and a host of other talented folks. The ability to utilize Paperclip’s media platforms to highlight exceptional work by law enforcement has been an added bonus.
How I Broke In…
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. I co-host the true crime podcast Small Town Dicks, with Yeardley Smith and my twin brother, Dan. Paperclip has blessed me with an opportunity to leave the world of law enforcement and take my career in a new direction.
About That Headshot:
On Small Town Dicks my brother and I, and most of our guest detectives are anonymous, only going by our first names. So Paperclip suggested I use my Simpsonized “headshot” here to keep my identity on the DL. Meanwhile, I’ve reached out to Banksy for advice going forward.
I’LL Never Forget…
Watching Dan turn into a statue when I froze him with a 3-2 backdoor curveball during a fall intra-squad game in 1994. I won’t let Dan forget either.
The Best Advice I Ever Got Is…
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” ~ Mark Twain
If I Weren’t Doing This I’d Be…
Fighting crime in a small town…
Yeah, I Did That…
I helped put a handful of pedophiles and murderers in an extended time out courtesy of courageous victims, and hosted by the Department of Corrections.
Favorite Movie…
The Shawshank Redemption
Favorite Food…
Porcini-crusted ribeyes OR late night Cap’n Crunch accompanied by a grass fed, free range, organic and pasteurized skim milk drizzle.
Favorite Song…
“I Wish (I was a Little Bit Taller)” – Skee-Lo 1995
Are you ready to start?
WE SURE ARE