[FRAMED]: Ethan Maharaj, Associate Producer, MTL
[FRAMED] exists to shine light on Framestore’s most fascinating cast of characters: its people. Presented with a probing list of questions and a demandingly short deadline, this feature puts the hopes, dreams, and desktops of our MVPs on the digital wall, for all to see. Welcome to [FRAMED].
What are you guilty of?
Largely victimless crimes… leaving the lights on, letting the shower run too long, playing 18 holes when I have scheduled 9.
What was your last brush with danger?
Probably the last spirited disagreement with my wife; let it be known that the zipper merge method is the most efficient.
Your last brush with greatness?
Since moving to Montreal, I’ve had brushes with a host of former Habs players like Desharnais, Galchenyuk, Prust, and Kotkaniemi… oddly, none remain Habs very long after they run into me. Coincidence?
Your worst character fault?
My emotional attachment to the success and management of sports teams I have no control over.
Your most shining quality?
I like to think I’m good under pressure. I absolutely will not lose my cool over something I cannot control. Unless, of course, it is a hockey game I am watching.
You’re on the run from the law, where are you headed?
Scotland. My wife and I spent a few weeks there touring the country on our honeymoon and it was magnificent. Also, I hope it would increase my chances of getting off “Scot-free”.
Who’s your partner-in-crime?
My Wife. It would be less of a Bonnie and Clyde situation, and more like Doc and Carol in The Getaway.
What’s your favourite movie/TV show and why?
There Will Be Blood has withstood the last 14 years of cinema for me. It became my favourite the day I saw it and has yet to be supplanted.
Your greatest achievement?
Being a part of the oscar-winning VFX team on Bladerunner: 2049. Hopefully I didn’t peak early!
Most valuable skill?
Convincing others I can do something or know something long enough to actually learn it or learn how to do it .
Go on, say something bragging:
I live on the side of a ski-hill, have 4 golf courses within a 5 minute drive of my home, and, for the last 2 years, not a single one of those activities has been interrupted by Covid.
Name your vice/pet peeve?
When anyone refers to Hockey as “Ice Hockey”.
The DREAM project would entail:
I have a few irons in the fire, but, my proverbial baby is a feature-length historical dramatization of Canada’s Bluenose. The only drawback?… Lot’s of VFX water!
Your career highlight to date:
While working on Bladerunner: 2049, Denis Villeneuve visited our offices for some early morning cross-site reviews. I was lucky enough to facilitate them and got the chance to converse with him for a few hours each day he was at FS.
This week I learnt that:
No one is interested in my Wordle score.
What’s your current view?
In front of me? Neverland! To my left, a mountain-side view overlooking Bromont!
Give us a desk tour!
The usual mixture of FS equipment and Personal Computers. I have a few items littered around it like my Ledger Nano S, a model Bluenose replica, and the Official NHL Referee’s whistle gifted to me by FS’s own, Richard Hoover.
What do you need to work, on the daily?
A shower. I don’t understand how anyone can wake up in the morning and start their day without one.
Framestore is, to you, in three words:
Making movies more.
Best thing about your work environment?
The footprint. Inside DeGaspe, the freedom to navigate three different floors and a variety of common areas / meeting rooms / spaces is really valuable. Outside the office, being situated at the corner of St.Laurent and St-Viateur is a mecca for lunch spots, coffee joints, and post-work libations!
Framestore is great at:
Supporting its staff, inside and outside the workplace.
Favourite artform?
Film.
Favourite image?
Fungible or Non-Fungible? Kidding. Right now it is the first ultrasound image of my soon-to-arrive daughter, Philippa! (Here she is waving hello).
Fictional character you’d like to hang with?
The Gang from IASIP. “The Gang visits Montreal”
Happiness looks like:
Doing something you enjoy. Creating something you’re proud of. Sharing it all with someone you love.
If not here, then where?
At the Fogo Island Inn.
What do you think of too often?
Why DID the General charge them for free snacks in Don’t Look Up!?
And not enough?
Witty comebacks.
Couldn’t live without:
My Sodastream… It just hits different.
If you ruled the world:
It’s like that British Historian once said: Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Ethan Maharaj, you’ve been [FRAMED].
