After graduating from MSU with a journalism degree in 2000, Jennifer Hutchins was living in Los Angeles and found herself working with a small group of people interested in the production industry in Hollywood.
The group would meet at Hutchins’ apartment to produce a series of short films together for six months, and she said it was the first time she felt like a producer because she handled several trying tasks and often had to put out fires.
But just when it seemed like Hutchins was going to have completed a successful project in the demanding and competitive industry, the production group’s luck took a turn for the worse.
“Finally when we finished everything, the guy who was going to edit all the film took all the master tapes,” Hutchins said. “On his way driving them from one location to another, his car caught on fire, and he barely escaped with him and his dog.
“Our entire set of master tapes were burned to the ground.”
With all of her hard work destroyed, Hutchins realized becoming successful in the production industry would be challenging.
Getting started
While having a small interest in producing, Hutchins spent a lot of her time at acting auditions and hadn’t given up on journalism.
She then met executive producer Michael Blum — who ultimately became her mentor — and started working for him part time.
Blum recognized her talent in producing, and ultimately the pair produced a show for A&E called “Criss Angel Mindfreak” about magic acts performed by magician Criss Angel.
Hutchins worked her way up from production assistant to producer in two months, and while the show became a
hit, she went on producing almost 100 episodes of “Mindfreak.”
She continued to work with Blum, adding valuable experiences and skills to her
résumé. As an actress, Blum said she was good at the business side of Hollywood and, combined with her journalism experience, became a talented producer.
“In our business, you’ve got to be hard-working,” Blum said. “It’s a lot of hours; it’s a lot of stress. It helps to be extremely organized. It helps to handle multiple problems and issues and jump from one thing to another very quickly.
“Over the years, watching me and putting things into practice, she’s been able to adapt her skill sets.”
The need for SPEED
Now as a supervising producer, Hutchins works for a show called “The Car Show” on the cable channel SPEED.
Premiering at 10 p.m. last Wednesday, the show’s first season is set to have 13 episodes.
The show stars Adam Carolla along with “The Best Damn Sports Show Period”’s John Salley and Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive columnist for The Wall Street Journal Dan Neil. They travel around the country going to car events and test driving while offering analysis and comedic bits and discussing everything related to cars.
“These guys don’t take themselves too seriously, which is nice because they can have a serious conversation and be very, very knowledgeable about what they’re doing,” Hutchins said.
“But at the same time, they don’t take themselves so seriously that they can’t make a joke.”
Animal science senior and the MSU racing club’s vice president Josh Williams said less people are interested in cars compared to previous generations. However, be said “The Car Show” could appeal to people with a real love for cars or intrigue those who are curious.
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Williams also said it will take new concepts to attract new enthusiasts.
“If they’ve got new concepts or new opinions in the car scene, then it could definitely attract a bigger audience,” Williams said.
He also said a show like this could appeal to several generations of car buffs because car people will always want to talk about cars.
Hutchins is happy with her work so far in an industry where people are reluctant to provide tricks of the trade, and she’s excited about her new show.
“We really expect this show to be a signature series that brings in a broader range of viewership,” she said.
