The year was 1993, and the movie was “Soul Sessions and Epic Impressions”. Thus began the career of Murray Wais and his business partner Steve Winter and their fledgling company, Matchstick Productions (MSP). Every year since then, the Crested Butte based film company wows crowds across North America and beyond, and has grown into one of the most popular action sports film producers in the world. Along with the first snow of the year on the high peaks and Vinotok, the Matchstick premiere signals another approaching winter for skiers excited about the change of seasons.
Crested Butte is often shown prominently in their films- from a then unknown Seth Morrison jumping all of the Edge in their first film, to Crested Butte native and two time Olympian Aaron Blunck more recently. From my own personal perspective, it isn’t a stretch for me to say that Matchstick movies and their movies constitutes one of the reasons why I moved to Crested Butte in 1996.
In this episode, Murray Wais and I discuss a wide variety of subjects:
- How he got into the ski film business.
- The athletes he has worked with over the years.
- How the ski film industry has changed.
- Why MSP stayed in Crested Butte, rather than relocating to a larger city which may have made travel and production logistics easier for the company.
- How MSP finds the athletes and the music for their movies.
I hope you enjoy this special episode of the Crested Butte is Home podcast.
Subscribe
Please subscribe (it’s free!) to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcast player on Android. And please leave a rating or review if you enjoy the podcast. Also available on Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices via the TuneIn skill.
Learn More
Matchstick Productions has two websites. On the ski side, visit:
skimovie.com
Focusing more on the commercial side of the business:
mspfilms.com
Thanks for listening! If you have any questions about Crested Butte real estate, please contact Frank:
