Adonis Hadjiantonas: Businessman Turned Producer

The internationally-accredited businessman and finance expert Adonis Hadjiantonas certainly has a restless spirit and doesn’t lack ambition. Two years ago, the Cypriot left his senior partner position in Athens with one of the prestigious company PricewaterhouseCoopers, and set off for Hollywood to fulfill his lifelong dreams.

The entrepreneur, businessman and executive producer talked to Greereporter about his success in Hollywood, the risks he took to realize his ambitions.

You’ve worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Athens since 1991 and became a Senior Partner. What made you quit your prestigious corporate career after almost 20 years and decide to move to Hollywood?

It all happened when I turned 46. I’ve always been drawn to the entertainment industry, when I was a teenager I wanted to become an actor and Hollywood was my ultimate dream. But my parents wouldn’t allow that, they had other dreams for me, and I ended up following their dreams instead of mine.

The past few years in Greece, I felt as if I didn’t have a purpose in life. I had accomplished my goals, I was financially set for many years to come, I owned properties, cars, I could acquire anything I desired, but something was missing, I didn’t feel creative at all. So I started searching for something different. I also knew what laid in store for Greece’s financial future.

At that time I was “introduced” to Kabbalah and during a San Diego Kabbalah conference, I was advised to follow my instinct and my heart. In the next 10 days, I decided to change my life completely; I resigned from my position as Senior Partner, sold my corporate stocks, took a suitcase (or two) and moved to Hollywood without knowing anybody or having any connections. I remember saying to myself: “I want to be a producer” without even knowing what exactly that meant at the time.

How hard was it for you moving to another country without knowing anyone and having to start your career all over again?

The “starting all over again” part was the hardest one. In Greece I am somebody, people know me, I’ve gained respect as a business man and people trust me. Here no one knew who I was, I had to build my reputation from scratch so that people would trust me and want to do business with me; it was a humbling experience and at times frustrating as well. Alexia Vasileiou, the famous internationally accredited Cypriot singer who was already in Los Angeles, helped me a lot in the beginning.

Why did you decide to get involved with the production industry?

Producing felt like the only right choice for me, because it combines all of my passions and strong skills: my passion for the acting industry, my business sense and my corporate skills. Running a production company seemed the only logical thing for me to do in Hollywood, it just made sense. Besides that, Hollywood is the heart of the entertainment industry worldwide and I want to help promote the Greek culture and civilization through Hollywood to the entire world.

Tell us about your production company; what projects are you working on right now and what are your future plans?

I am very excited about the production company I run with the famous Greek actor Manos Gavras. The first project we got involved in was the movie The Butler, starring Oprah Winfrey, Forrest Whitaker, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey and many more. Our work focused mainly on assisting the production to raise finances, in order to complete the financing of the film and we were credited as executive and associate producers for our work. The film is now in post-production, and is going to be released in theaters in 2013; it is expected to receive nominations in next year’s award season.

We are currently involved in a few more projects, three of which have a strong Greek-American element and which will most probably be filmed in the US, Canada and Greece. We have also recently formed a strategic alliance with MPCA (Motion Picture Corporation America) and its CEO Brad Krevoy (who produced the hit comedy Dumb and Dumber), in order to produce together a slate of large independent films. In addition to that, we are in discussions with Safady Entertainment (producer of Machine Gun Preacher) about co-producing certain projects. We have also recently acquired the options to the film Beatrice Creek, which is now in pre-production.

You also own a clothing company based in Los Angeles.

Yes, a year ago I started a clothing company called Bouclier. I worked very closely with the famous Greek designer Christoforos Kotentos to bring this project to life. The concept behind the company is to create a new global brand that appeals to people’s fashion sense all over the world.

 Was your family supportive of you decision to move to Hollywood? How hard is it not to have them around?

My family has been very supportive, they always support my dreams and have faith in me and my decisions; they know I always have their best interest at heart. I have two children, a daughter and a son, they are life’s gift to me, I’m so proud of them! I’m really lucky because my son is a student in Los Angeles so I spend a lot of time with him here. I believe I’ve made him proud! I miss my daughter terribly though, she lives in Cyprus.

 How do you feel about the economic crisis and the political situation in Greece?

I’m very sad with everything that’s been going on in Greece the past few years, it depresses me immensely. I miss Greece, but everybody keeps telling me that the Greece I used to know does not exist anymore. I want to help as much as I can, but I’m not convinced that the politicians in office right now have Greece’s best interest in mind. Even today with all that is at stake, everybody has their own political agenda.

I feel I need to prove to the world that Greeks can make it and will prevail. We need this right now as a country. Us Greeks leaving abroad owe it to our country, it’s our duty to elevate Greece again and alter the negative perception that the outside world has of our wonderful country. A long time ago, Hollywood belonged to the Greeks and it’s our goal to work hard in order to make Greece a power in Hollywood again.

Where do you see yourself five years from now? What else do you want the future to bring you professionally and personally?

At the moment, it is very difficult for me to even imagine how my life would be five years from now. Ideally, I would like to have grown my film production company to be amongst the leading players in Hollywood; I want people to relate our brand with quality and professionalism and I want our films to inspire and encourage people to go after their own dreams and fight for what they believe in.

I would also like to help reestablish the positive image of Greeks and Greece as a whole and give the notion to the international community that Greece is their equal.

Personally, I would like to remain close to my family despite the distance between us today. I love them dearly.