Steve Durland- People You Should Know

Entertainment, People You Should Know — By Buddy Sampson on December 17, 2020 at 6:00 am

The SMKPO Productions Executive Adds Legitimacy to the Rising Production Company

By Buddy Sampson

Steve Durland is spearheading his company, SMKPO Productions, to huge success. The company is producing several short films and projects, including their films, “The CONsequence,” and “The Last Ride.”  “I wanted to be a legit company and have a fan base,” said Steve Durland, an actor, writer, producer and now entrepreneur. “We knew that one day, we’d like to make a feature film and we wanted to have some legitimacy behind our name.” And the rising film production company is beginning to establish its legitimacy, now working with a well-known Hollywood producer, Suzanne De Laurentiis, and Suzanne De Laurentiis Productions.

When told that his partner and good friend, John Smith spoke highly of him, he didn’t miss a beat. “He said good friend? I don’t know about that,” obviously throwing shade at his good friend and business partner, John. “He stretched the truth a little bit there.”

SMKPO Productions, formed in Portland, Oregon, started with the migration of John Smith and Steve Durland to the West Coast.  “John moved to Portland just a few years before I did,” he said, reflecting on his migration from Nebraska to Portland, Oregon. “There was nothing to do. We have a zoo and that’s about it.”   he said of Nebraska, “don’t get me wrong, I miss the people the most; my family and my friends. The city and location just wasn’t for me.” He, along with his girlfriend, Michelle Wagoner, who later became his wife, decided they wanted to move to the West Coast, but decided against California, settling on Portland instead. “We checked out Oregon and we loved it, “said Steve Durland. “I figured being in Oregon, I’d be closer to the film and movie scene.”

 After settling in Oregon, Steve began to network, using social media to locate his eventual partner, John Smith. “I found John and he helped me work on a web series that didn’t pan out, it was a zombie web series. I hoped better things for it, but it didn’t pan out. But John and I had a great connection.” Steve Durland and John Smith began to work on short films and independent film projects, and eventually formed their company, SMKPO Productions. When we asked John how the company name was formed, he had a hilarious response. “Why are you doing an article on Steve, anyway?” The duo obviously has great chemistry, and enjoy pranking each other.

SMKPO Productions’ company was formed out of John’s last name and the last name of John’s wife, Mayen Ekpo. “We decided to go with that production title and I put in all the paperwork to make it a LLC, made a website for us, made an Instagram, and made a Facebook,” said Steve Durland. “That’s how it all started and we hope to keep the ball rolling and keep that momentum going.”

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Steve and his family eventually migrated to Nebraska. “We moved to Nebraska probably when I was in the first grade,” said Steve. “And that’s where I lived up until about 4 years ago.” He lived in cities all across Nebraska, including Lincoln, Ralston and Omaha. He credits his dad, Paul Durland, for giving him his beginnings in film. “My dad was a big tech guy, so we had the nice home theater, the newest DVD, something like that,” said Steve. “He got me into Star Wars and all that, so thank God for him.” He and his brother Rob made a series of small, guerilla-type films, one based off the number Pi 3.14 from a math class he and his brother took. Rob made a film, a presentation for the class. ” He (his brother Rob) took a Handy-Cam and called it ‘American Pi,” a parody of the Jason Biggs franchise, but focused around the number 3.14,” he reflected.  “He had me play a small role in it and help make it and stuff like that. It was like ‘this is fun, I really like this.’ So, when it came my turn to take the class, I said ‘Guess what, I’m making a movie, too.’ So, I made ‘American Pi Squared.’”

“Well, as we all know, most first-time productions, can be, let’s just say, less than perfect. ” There was no planning department, there was no sound department, there was no tripod, we’d kind of go around and shoot some stuff,” he laughed. ”We’d write our scripts right then and there, we didn’t even type anything up.”  He lists actor Harrison Ford as one of his favorite actors. “He was a big inspiration, “he said of Ford. “I always liked watching his stuff.” Steve studied film at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Film and New Media, adding to his legitimacy of being an actor, writer, director and entrepreneur.  From there, with the help of his brother Rob, the two went on to make freelance pilot-like commercial contests for companies such as Acuvue Oasis Contact Lenses, Trident Gum and Dish Network. “I’m showering myself with Trident Gum,” he laughed about the Trident Video. ” I’m making it rain with Trident Gum. It was really fun. They didn’t air it, but they paid us a thousand dollars and gave us an honorable mention. It was a lot of fun.”

Steve and his brother were able to make multiple short film projects including a fan made trailer for the video game Infamous. In 2014, they made a pilot episode for a series called Origins. Later, Steve, along with his business partner, John, were able to make the thriller/horror short, “The Last Ride,” which presented some challenges. “We had to go all the way out in the middle of nowhere,” said Steve of shooting “The Last Ride.” “I mean way out there. It was creepy on its own. It’s midnight, it’s pitch black, there’s a small layer of fog over the lawn, and it’s silent and then all of a sudden we hear this animalistic shriek.” It turned out to be a donkey that the owner of the property where they were shooting owned, but it still gave him and the crew quite a startling experience. “It was bone chilling,” said Steve. The short of “The Last Ride,” which they plan on making into a feature film, will have audiences on the edge of their seats.

Steve Durland, along with his friend and business partner John Smith, are making SMKPO Productions a company you’ll be hearing about for years to come. Steve Durland’s talent, sense of humor, business acumen and ability to make his company a force, a legitimate company to contend with, makes him one of the People You Should Know.

Visit SMKPO Productions at https://www.smkpoproductions.com.