Spartan Profiles: Mike Lobell
IT COULD HAPPEN TO MIKE
From Brooklyn he came to MSU, recruited by John Kobs to play baseball. But his baseball career was beset with injuries and other setbacks, and so, in his words, 'I had to find another dream.' That turned out to be filmmaking.
After graduation, Mike Lobell, '62, wrote, directed and produced a short film 'as my calling card.' In 1974, while in Denmark working with the fashion industry - which he covered in So Fine (1981) - he made his first film deal buying the rights to distribute The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz in Denmark. 'I didn't know what I was doing,' admits Mike. 'All of a sudden, I found out you had to do all these things - find theaters to show it, create subtitles, pay for and create an ad campaign. It took me six months, but I did it.'
From that modest beginning, Lobell moved to Los Angeles and has risen to become one of Hollywood's top film producers, with hits like Striptease, It Could Happen To You, Honeymoon in Vegas and The Freshman in his extensive filmography.
Unlike most producers, Lobell is involved with every aspect of his films from original concept to casting, filming, post production and marketing. 'I've always loved film, I love making films, and that's why I'm in this business,' he explains. 'I'm not interested in just the money. I've never been into megahits - just good, fun entertainment, a little higher on the intelligence quotient than the usual fads.'
His movies actually do return profits. Striptease, for example, grossed $200 million worldwide. 'My most satisfying movies were Disney's The Journey of Natty Gann, which really, really touched audiences,' he notes, 'and The Freshman, where we went to Tahiti and got Marlon Brando out of retirement.'
Mike says he really enjoyed MSU, where he was actively involved with Beta Theta Pi fraternity and had a weekend bartending job at the Coral Gables. 'Being a kid from Brooklyn,' he explains, 'coming to the midwest was like being on the moon. I met every kind of person and basically learned what America's like. It was a great creative experience.'
