Stephen Stohn - Whatever It Takes: Life Lessons from Degrassi and Elsewhere in the World of Music and Television

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Cover image: istock.com/kostsov

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Stohn, Stephen, author

Whatever it takes : life lessons from Degrassi and

elsewhere in the world of music and television / Stephen Stohn

with Christopher Ward.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-4597-3998-7 (softcover).--ISBN 978-1-4597-3999-4

(PDF).--ISBN 978-1-4597-4000-6 (EPUB)

1. Stohn, Stephen. 2. Television producers and

directors--Canada--Biography. 3. Musicians--Canada-

Biography. 4. Lawyers--Canada--Biography. 5. Television

broadcasting--Canada. 6. Cultural industries--Canada.

7. Degrassi the next generation (Television program). I. Ward,

Christopher, author II. Title.

PN1992.4.S76A3 2018 791.450232092 C2017-907136-X

C2017-907137-8

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the artsto Canadians throughout the country, and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and the Government of Canada.

Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. Lan dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollarspour mettre de lart dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

J. Kirk Howard, President

The publisher is not responsible for websites or their content unless they are owned by the publisher.

Y ou dont say no to Stephen Stohn.

Now, is that because hes one of Canadas most noted and powerful lawyers? Is it because hes a titan of the Canadian music industry? Because hes one of Canadas only true media moguls? These are all very good guesses, but no.

You dont say no to Stephen Stohn because everything about Stephen makes you want to say yes. This is his true and rare gift, his secret superpower, and a large part of why hes achieved so much over the course of his remarkable life.

An old agent of mine used to say, To get anything made in show business, you have to line up a thousand yesses in a row. And if you get even one no in there, the project is dead. And hes right:

Do you like this idea? Do you like the writer? Will you pay for development? Do you like the script? Do you like all the subsequent rewrites of the script? Do you want to make the pilot? Do you like the director? Do you like the cast/costumes/sets/score/et cetera/et cetera/et cetera? Do you like the pilot? Do you like all the subsequent recuts of the pilot? Do you want to pay to make more episodes? DO YOU TRUST ME?

And on and on and on. A single negative response to any of these questions is a potential explosion waiting to turn your entire project into dust.

This is why Stephen is so successful. Because Stephen leads with a yes in his heart.

When I met with Stephen one of those delightful and useless general meetings, or so I thought I was happily living in Los Angeles and working on a critically acclaimed HBO show when he somehow convinced me to pack up my life and move back to Toronto to make a TV series he could in no way guarantee would ever be seen outside of Canada. All of my agents and friends thought I was crazy, told me not to do it. Because they hadnt met Stephen. But I had. And just as hes done with countless others before and since, he turned my no into a yes.

Where everyone else saw folly and risk, Stephen saw opportunity and the chance for greatness. And more importantly, he made me see it too. He not only made me feel like this insane decision was the right one for me, but he also made me feel safe, valued and seen. Stephen, this bastion of serenity and security amid the dark and churning waters of the entertainment industry, would be my partner, my protector, my champion.

Taking that job meeting Stephens yes with a yes of my own was one of the best decisions Ive ever made.

Within the pages of this book, youll find out how he does it. Through incredible stories and amazing insights covering the many realms of businesses that hes mastered, youll start to see just how this gentle, wonderful, quiet force of nature has helped to create so many outstanding and successful projects through his undying positivity and his unwavering confidence in the collaborators with whom he so deftly surrounds himself.

I have learned so much from Stephen tools and skills I still use daily. Im so excited for you to learn them, too, and to get to know this man whom I love and respect so greatly. I have the utmost confidence that the techniques and management theories contained within will not only make you better at business theyll make you a better person.

So sit back and enjoy the read. I know I did.

Martin Gero, producer and writer

Los Angeles, California

October 2017

Martin Gero is variously the creator, writer, director, and producer of some of televisions hottest series, including NBCs hit drama Blindspot, HBOs Bored to Death, the Sci-Fi Channels cult hit Stargate: Atlantis, and The CWs The L.A. Complex. His most recent series is ABCs Deception, just now starting production, in which a Las Vegas magician begins working as a consulting illusionist for the FBI when his career is ruined by scandal. Martin lives in Los Angeles.

M y heart sank as I put down the phone and wondered what to do next. After thirty-five years and nearly five hundred episodes, Degrassi had been cancelled.

Id had brave words for the network executive at Viacom in reply to his almost nonchalant, Weve decided to move in a different direction. Degrassi is over, but wed like you to come back to us with some ideas on how to celebrate the fourteen years youve been the top show on our network something fitting to end the series.