Charles Miller

Sunrise West Productions co-founder Charles Miller studied Music and Communications at Washburn University, where he shot commercials and shorts while also becoming a national champion public speaker, student body president, and graduating first in a class of 3,000. After further Music Composition study at the University of Kansas, he entered the University of Southern California Graduate Cinema Production Program where he was a national Phi Kappa Phi Fellow while developing his filmmaking skills. Once in Los Angeles, his music career took hold. His score to the short, The Performance, with composer Kevin Brenneman launched a recording career when the twosome formed the band, Middle Allens. Their first album included the single, No More Time. A writer focused on character-driven material, Charles' screenplays include Journey for a Dead Friend, a story of three separated friends in their late twenties taking a trip together that was postponed since high school; The Pork and Beans Society, a drama/comedy about seven teenagers in a small town in Kansas; Rhyoliters, an off-beat romantic comedy about a Madison Avenue advertising executive who travels back in time; and Sunset Motel, a series of shorts set in a hotel room over the course of 50 years. His screenplay, Impending Matrimony, which follows an ensemble of couples through the struggles, failures, and successes of relationships, was named a top finalist (from a pool of over 10,000 submissions) in a Miramax/HBO-sponsored competition. His latest project, First Flight, is the story of the rush by various groups around the world to invent the airplane at the dawn of the twentieth century. The project is being developed into a mini-series. Charles also created the television series, Exploring America's Ruins, which is currently being developed for cable outlets, and has worked as a producer for the televised Women's Image Network Awards. Charles has also been active as a filmmaker. He wrote, produced, directed, and edited the award winning short film, A Song for Honest Abe (2001), a mock documentary about the journey of an American folk singer who sets the great speeches of Abraham Lincoln to music -- rewriting them a bit for creative purposes. The film features original music composed by Charles and recording artist Mimi Chen. Charles produced The Wind Effect (2003), featuring Abe star Kathy Christopherson, along with Emmy-nominated actors Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives (2004), Melrose Place (1992)) and William Devane (24 (2001), The West Wing (1999), Knots Landing (1979)), plus the venerable Grace Zabriskie (Twin Peaks (1990), Norma Rae (1979), The Big Easy (1986)); Broken Circle (2006), starring Emmy winner Michael Badalucco (The Practice (1997), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Summer of Sam (1999)) along with Laura Cerón (ER (1994)) and Delilah Cotto (Empire (2002)); and River's End (2005) starring Emmy nominee Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure (1990), WarGames (1983), One Tree Hill (2003)) which was shot entirely in Charles' home state of Kansas. Among the several industry professional organizations to which he devotes time, Charles is a charter member and past president of Kansas Connection, Inc. A native of the small communities of Montgomery County, Kansas, Charles grew up reading the plays of fellow native William Inge and shooting stills of the countryside. Though he prefers most aspects of the city life in Los Angeles, he remains a dedicated fan of the hapless Kansas City Royals baseball team.