Interview with Senator Trent Lott
by Robert McFarland, Jr.
DBJ Contributing Writer
Six months ago, Kieran Cuddihy was traveling the world working in various jobs in the film industry such as assistant
director, assistant location manager for such block buster films as X-Men 2, The Count of Monte Cristo, Reign of Fire,
Dream Catcher, An Unfinished Life, and many others. Cuddihy’s film work has taken him from New York to Saudi Arabia,
from Ireland to Canada, and now to Cleveland, Mississippi.
Now, Cuddihy is the Director of Video Production for a new company in Cleveland called Edgewater Productions. The
company specializes in video photography and non-linear digital editing. What exactly does this mean? If you are a business
and you need a :30 television spot, training video, a promotional video for any reason, or a law firm that needs
taped testimonials or re-enactments, or if you are planning a wedding or special event, then Edgewater Productions
would like to help you.
“From my background in the Hollywood film industry, I plan to bring a degree of professionalism and create a standard
of quality that we adhere to in Edgewater Productions,” says Cuddihy. “In only its first few weeks in business,
we have been very pleased with the response that we have received.”
Already out of the gate, Edgewater has been very busy with a variety of projects including filming blues great B.B.
King. During the past few weeks, Edgewater has also produced other work for Delta Regional Medical Center, Delta
Council, Mississippi Valley State University, Bethesda Cancer Center, and several other Delta based businesses and
institutions.
Also on the Edgewater team is Merigold native, Joe Meek, who is Edgewater’s Production Manager. Meek began his
career in the film industry by working on John Grisham’s, The Chamber, which was being filmed in Mississippi. After
graduating from Ole Miss, Meek moved to Los Angeles to work on additional films such as The Bachelor, End of Days,
and Cookies Fortune with such actors as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Glenn Close, Renee Zellweger, and Liv Tyler. Meek
also worked with directors Robert Altman, James Foley, Frank Capra III and many more.
In 1999, Meek served as an assistant unit production manager in New Zealand for an extended filming of the feature
movie Vertical Limit. In the nine months he was there, Meek worked both on and off camera gaining extensive experience
in the film’s production office. When the film ended, Meek was hired as a purchasing agent in India and Pakistan
for a notable UK film studio. During the time he spent in California and Austral-Asia, Meek found that he enjoyed the
business and production end of film making immensely. Meek pursued opportunities in that field when he returned home
and has since worked in advertising, publishing, and television production jobs in Milan, Italy and Cape Town, South
Africa, returning to the United States last fall.
“Being back home in Cleveland is a big plus,” says Meek who is also the managing editor of the Delta Business Journal
and serves as an executive in Coopwood Communications.
“We saw the need our advertisers and other businesses in the region had for this service,” says Meek. “A video and
film company in our area was the perfect solution to those needs. Many local television commercials lack the polished
appearance and message that you find in the metropolitan markets where I’ve worked. I want to give our clients the
same chance to ‘shine’ as they would if they were located in New Orleans, Atlanta or New York. When I heard another
experienced film maker was on-board (Cuddihy) and a variety of excellent film industry standard equipment and software
was available to us, I knew we could make a go at being the best film/video production company around,” Meek
explains. As Production Manager, Meek will conduct interviews, arrange shooting dates, and liaise with the many
clients already calling for their commercial production needs. According to Meek, Edgewater can “custom tailor” their
fees to match any budget, regardless of how large or small.
Edgewater Productions was created out of Coopwood Communications, a full service advertising, marketing, and public
relations firm. Coopwood Communications is also the sister company of the Delta Business Journal and the new, Delta
Magazine.
“For a long time, we in the ad agency have been discussing the possibility of starting a video production company,”
says Edgewater owner, Scott Coopwood. “When we met Kieran, and discovered his talents in this medium, we felt that
it was time to expand into this area.”
Coopwood also says that his company has put together a strategic business relationship with Don Warren Film & Video
based in Jackson.
“Don is one of the premier film makers in the South,” says Coopwood. “We have been working with Don on many film
projects during the past five years and we’ll be using his many services in this new company as well.”
For more information on Edgewater Productions, visit their web site at www.edgewaterproductions.net or call 662-
843-3432. DBJ
