This Production Company Wants to Inspire Good — Here’s How
By Movieguide® Contributor
JUST DO GOOD Entertainment’s founders, Monty Hobbs and Valerie Smaldone, explained why they created their production company and how creating uplifting stories gives them purpose.
“All we want is to go back to the basics. We want to go back to a time where you clicked on the TV, and it was a good message; you clicked on the TV, and it meant something,” Hobbs told Movieguide®. “So our goal is to inspire but also work in parallel with the heroes that don’t get the spotlight they need, and we found that has been successful so far.”
“We really loved the concept of creating content that not only entertains but inspires and actually makes a difference for individuals and/or facilities,” Smaldone added.
Their first project, DIVINE RENOVATION, followed the company’s goal, where they changed an elderly couple’s life by renovating their house to make it much easier and safer to live in. This was done by addressing small issues such as putting banisters on their stairs, giving the couple walkers and fixing electrical issues in their kitchen to resolve dangerous issues.
Beyond the physical impact, the show also made an effort to honor the couple with dignity, and the last episode features an 80th birthday party for the husband who reached the milestone age just a few days earlier.
By highlighting the innate dignity that all people deserve, JUST DO GOOD hopes to inspire audiences to go beyond their own selfishness and help their community members in need.
“I think we’re all pretty much good people in this country and around, but there’s so much division, and so I believe if we could get the division out and just go about helping your fellow person — that’s our mission,” Hobbs explained. “You know, it’s not popular, but it’s gaining audiences every day.”
“I think social media has caused so many problems. It’s wonderful on many levels, but it has caused this nastiness, this ‘I gotcha’ mentality, and we have got to stop it. It’s terrible. It’s not good for anybody,” Smaldone added. “What I’d like people to focus on more is how you can be a better person.”
“That doesn’t mean being a saint,” she continued. “It means doing something uncharacteristic that maybe is not comfortable…do something, the smallest thing; even if it’s a cup of coffee. It doesn’t have to be a huge effort, it doesn’t have to be expensive, it’s showing someone that they matter.”
The pair’s next project is a book that brings humanity to people struggling with disabilities. Rather than casting them aside, as society often does, the book instead highlights the value and specialness that they hold even though they experience life differently than the rest of us. Smaldone is also spearheading a project that revolves around food and the way that it brings people together if they are just willing to sit down at the same table.
“I love to eat. Monty and I are both foodies, but we also believe that food builds bridges, cultures,” she explained. “When we meet and learn from each other and really open up dialogue — we’ve seen it happen before. If you’re breaking bread with people from different cultures, all of a sudden, the differences are not there.”
Check out the rest of Movieguide®’s interview here:
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