John P. M. Higgins at The Maine Studios
“I heard it was hip and happening,” said John P. M. Higgins recently. “It is and I love living on the Hill,” he said, following up with a big grin. That says a lot about the Hill for a man who has lived in 22 countries around the world. He lived his childhood on the Western Promenade, left, and returned to the Hill late last fall. He returned with a passion for the film industry and experience in the field as well.
Higgins said recently in his office at The Maine Studios on Presumpscot Street that he’s always been interested in psychology and acting and didn’t know exactly what he wanted. But those two interests merged into producing and editing feature films, commercials and documentaries. He figured where his passion lay while living in Tuscon, Arizona most recently. There he attended Pima College which has a strong film program. Higgins said he was “able to take all these wierd journeys from all over the world and funnel them creatively into making films.”
And interesting experiences this guy has had. He worked with Robert Ben Garant who wrote “Night at the Museum” on an Internet Comedy Series in 2008. Higgins produced and edited “The Decoy” a western in 2007. Westerns are his favorites and he has high hopes that another one will be coming his way in the near future, but he doesn’t want to jinx those chances by elaborating. When he returned to Maine last fall, the first project he worked on was an ad for the recent “Crash the Superbowl” contest. It didn’t win. But he did totally win MHN with his some of his speculative ads for marketing purposes. They were truly clever and funny as heck. MHN left his office in MaineFilmStudios.com very impressed with his talent and believing that Higgins has indeed decided on the right career path.
Higgins, 33, believes that the State of Maine should do much more to attract the film industry here. “I think that what we need is to get a competitive tax incentive program that will help us to lure in film projects to Maine.” He goes on to say: “Films really benefit every industry. It’s like dumping money on the economy. It’s very lucrative. Maine is definitely missing out. It’s important to appreciate that Maine is not much smaller than New Mexico which has the largest film economy, even bigger than Los angeles. And all because of the tax incentives given out,” he said. Speaking of L.A., HIggins lived there, but found it very impersonal and “felt disconnected.” He thrives on “close personal relationships.”
By the way, if you’ve wondered, ladies, yes, Higgins is not only single but he is also looking! For more (professional or otherwise!) information, please email him at jhiggins@mac.com.
(editor’s note: If MHN were looking, she’d be first in line!)
