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Mahwah resident Suzanne Curry, founder of Write Ideas Public Relations, is a woman who wears many hats.
On some days, she's working with Emmy-award winning actress Martha Byrne, a Bergen County native for an appearance on the CBS show, "The Talk." On other days, she's working with her PR contacts, and, more recently, she's been traveling the country on behalf of Gunn's new movie, "Equity," in which Curry is a co-producer and media consultant.
The road to the media world began in 1988 when, Curry, who wasn't interested in a 9 to 5 job, grew a significant base of clients that included the medical and legal field as well as other local businesses.
She segued into entertainment by happenstance. She was at a political event where she was introduced to the mother of a son who had just won the title of the biggest Geek on "Beauty and the Geek." The two started talking, and - yada yada -- Curry found out he was interested in making a little more out of his 15 minutes of fame.
After doing some PR work for him, she was approached by another friend whose daughter was on a reality show, and -- same thing -- was looking for publicity. Curry took her on as a client, seeing her through a career in which she had two Billboard Top 40 Chart songs.
"During this period of time, I met a lot of interesting people and made a lot of contacts," explained Curry. "Just as in any industry, in a particular geographical location, there's a network of people that are active and who you should get to know."
Which, through the years and the projects led to Gunn and "Equity," which rolled out in theaters this past summer. The movie, about a female investment banker that takes a tech company public, enticed Curry because it was created, written, produced and directed mainly by females.
"That was a great adventure and I really got lucky with it -- an independent film that got made within budget, got into Sundance, was sold to Sony Pictures Classics and then had a major theatrical release," she said.
Look for it on DVD and blue-ray and streaming very soon. Curry and her 23-year-old son both have small cameos as potential investors in a few scenes. And watch for it on the small screen: it's been picked as a pilot for an ABC drama series.
Producing, said Curry, is where she'd really like to concentrate her efforts, though she still enjoys working with her PR clients. At the moment she's reading two scripts, a drama and a political thriller.
She'd also like to be more involved in the creative part of production, whether it be TV, web or movies. Her other big entertainment venture at the moment is with Amazon's streaming series, "The Other F Word" ("F meaning fifty," she clarified). The show stars Steve Guttenberg and Judy Gold.
As for advice for other women entrepreneurs? Curry said her tip is always to "go out and do it."
"Take risks and "read read read so you know what you are doing."
She added: "You won't know if an idea will succeed unless you try.
Go to www.WIPublicRelations.com and www.SuzeeBehindtheScenes.com for more information.
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