Mark Yturralde - Co-Writer/Producer
Always an avid reader, it began early for Mark Yturralde. And it began with
comic books. From Superman, to MAD magazine, to everything in between Mark made
a point to read as many comics as he could get his hands on and since he would
go to his neighborhood comic book store on a weekly basis, that amounted to
a lot of comic books.
He had a dream of creating comics, but drawing was never his strong suit. To
Mark, however, that wasn’t an obstacle. If he couldn’t draw comics,
then would write them. So, early on, he began writing stories in elementary
school, getting high marks from teachers for creativity, if not spelling. This
creative outlet continued into high school where he began spinning stories into
the ever popular Dungeon and Dragons or Superhero role-playing games that his
friends played.
Intrigued with all things new, Mark had an early fascination for, and talent
with computers. And while he wasn’t artistic in the drawing sense, he
adopted computer graphics hardware and software early on, steering him into
a career in digital imaging and color management. But writing was always in
the back of his mind.
When his good friend Brian Mix began asking him to read his scripts and offer
feedback, he was bitten by the bug. With the longing to write again, Mark went
ahead and wrote his first screenplay in eight days; a detailed science fiction
action thriller more science than fiction with equal parts thriller and action.
He knew his future was set; in fact his first endeavor received a great deal
of praise from filmmakers and screenwriters alike.
Mark and Brian decided, eventually, to put up or shut up and the decision was
made to produce and finance their own feature. With the assistance of dedicated
friends providing much of the needed expertise, The Five Stages of Beer was
born. It was a story the two had been discussing for a few years and the decision
was reached, as most things between the two, rather easily that Brian would
direct their first project with Mark Producing.
Still an avid lover of comic books, Mark sits on the board of the non-profit
Comic-Con International, the largest comic book and popular arts event in the
United States. He continues to write and looks forward to their next project.
Although he has since come to the conclusion that Writer/Producer is an impossible
job, and that if he ever tries that again, his friends should step in and get
him professional help.