Pasadena Weekly
May 12, 2005
“Lost” in Iraq
Producer Kevin Matossian’s latest film is set to open in Los Angeles,
Pasadena and Iraq, where his brother, Steven, is serving with US
forces
By John Ester (Cover Story)
Director Darren Lemke’s “Lost” is the story of Jeremy Stanton (Dean
Cain), a man lost in the desert, on the run from unseen forces in an
unfriendly environment after he commits a crime, and running out of
time. Wanting a bigger slice of the American pie, Jeremy has applied
the cynical principles of capitalist greed to justify his grand
plan. Now it might get him killed. Will he get out of the desert alive
in time to ever see his family again? That’s one of the big questions
facing not only Jeremy, but also United States troops who will see the
film in Baghdad, Iraq, when it opens tomorrow there and at the One
Colorado Laemmle Theatre in Pasadena, the Fairfax 3 Laemmle Theatre in
Los Angeles and the Mann Glendale Exchange 10 in Glendale. Cain will
deliver the film in person as part of the “Ambassadors of Hollywood
Tour” to US Marine Corps Reserve Cpl. Steven V. Matossian, the brother
of the film’s producer, Kevin Matossian. “I think my brother’s efforts
to get the movie here ! go to show what he’s about,” wrote Steven
from Al Anbar province, a region comprised of the city of Fallujah and
much of the deadly Sunni triangle, where US troops have suffered
numerous casualties. “He makes films for people to enjoy. Films that
capture your imagination and wrap you up in them till you get LOST and
you forget it’s just a movie. He does it not as a job but as a
passion. He proves that by wanting the service men and women to see it
here [and help us] get our minds off the war for a while.”
“I hope they get five minutes of entertainment,” said Kevin. “If they
can get 90 minutes of entertainment, that would be great. I just
thought it would be unique that we have not forgotten about them in
any way. You know, they’re at war. That’s something we always got to
remember. My God, my brother’s there! So I would hope the troops can
just shut off for 90 minutes and enjoy themselves. It was ironic, that
‘Lost’ is a desert film.”
Before Kevin, 31, recently moved to Burbank and Steven, at 22 the
youngest of four Matossian brothers, was shipped off to Iraq two
months ago, both had been lifelong residents of Pasadena.
They both attended Marshall Fundamental High School, after which Kevin
went on to Pasadena Community College, where he studied acting and
stage production. Kevin attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
as well. He performed in Los Angeles stage productions of “Cabaret,”
“Jesus Christ Superstar” and a Pasadena production of “A Few Good
Men.” Kevin also produced a number of shows at the Pasadena Civic
Auditorium and at several theaters in the Hollywood area.
Currently Kevin is the CEO and co-founder of Silver Crest
Entertainment LLC, a film production, distribution and sales company
based in Los Angeles. It was under the Silver Crest Entertainment
banner that Kevin produced “Lost.”
“The script for ‘Lost’ was given to me, and I couldn’t put it down,”
said Kevin. “It was just a really fun read. When you put yourself into
the role of [Jeremy], you get nervous when he gets nervous. I also
felt it would be something good for the company to get off the ground
without too much difficulty. I figured, ‘One guy in a car in a
desert. How hard can it be?’ Boy, was I wrong! Don’t shoot in the
desert in the summer. At 120 degrees outside you can kill your actor.”
The film was shot in 18 days in Lancaster and Palmdale. Along with the
Los Angeles and Iraq openings “Lost” will open the ninth annual
Antelope Valley Independent Film Festival tomorrow night.
Kevin is an American Music Association-nominated musician and
composer. His Armenian-influenced work has garnered him accolades in
America and abroad, particularly in Armenian-American
communities. Kevin’s other production credits include “In Living
Color,” “Studs,” “Fox News” and “The Michael Fink Show.”
“I guess I’ve been blessed by multiple careers,” said Kevin. “I
started off in the entertainment industry as an actor. It’s what I
really wanted to do. But I’ve been a musician most of my life. I write
songs.”
Steven has been a Marine since he was 18.
“I joined because I felt it my duty to preserve the freedoms that I’ve
taken for granted my entire life,” wrote Steven. “I’ve always loved
life and been quite spoiled so it was time to give back.”
Unlike their brothers, Michael, 34, and Jason, 27, Kevin and Steven
did not follow the footsteps of their father, Joseph, a former
minister at the Armenian Brotherhood Bible Church in Pasadena for 23
years and then in Downey for 10 years at the Emmanuel Armenian
Congregational Church. Currently Joseph is the minister to the Union
of the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America. Jason is a
minister at United Armenian Congregational Church in Hollywood. He is
to be wedded in August. Michael is a minister in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. He is married and has a 3-year-old child.
The parents and grandparents of Joseph and his wife, Suzie Matossian,
were a few of the lucky ones to escape the Armenian genocide of
1915. In what many call the first modern genocide, the Turkish
government killed 1.5 million Armenians.
“My father’s parents were right there,” said Kevin. “My grandfather
was born in 1900, so he was about 15 when it all went down. He saw his
family annihilated. I’ve been told we lost anywhere from 50 to 75
percent of our family. We had a huge family at the time and I guess
they were pretty wealthy. Everything was taken.”
His father’s family fled to Lebanon while his slightly younger
mother’s family fled to Egypt. Joseph came to Los Angeles in 1960 and
Suzie arrived in 1963. Once childhood acquaintances from the Old
World, they met in Hollywood. They married in Pasadena in 1967. Along
with taking care of five males, Suzie works for the insurance
accounting business AON.
“Obviously I’m a red-blooded American, but at the same time I’m so
fond of my heritage,” said Kevin. “I always stay to watch to look at
the [film] credits — 90 percent of the time to see if there were any
Armenians who worked on the film. I worked with many Armenians on
‘Lost.'”
Kevin plans on doing a film about the Armenian genocide when the time
is right.
“What is very sad is that generation [of survivors] is almost gone and
it’s up to us younger generations to keep up the fight, peacefully,”
said Kevin. “Everybody asks me, ‘Are you going to make a film about
the Armenian genocide?’ Yeah, I will someday. But I don’t just want to
make films about the Armenian genocide. We have thousands of years of
history.”
Having come from Western Asia, the family’s attitude toward the US-led
occupation of Iraq differs from many other Americans who are not from
the area.
“Well, there’s no question that we all dislike war a lot. I am
certainly not going to get into the politics of why we are there and
if it’s correct and whatnot. For us it’s a little different,” said
Kevin. “War is really familiar to them and they hate it without
question. My father and two brothers are ministers so they’re
certainly not happy about it. My mom was very torn up. With a lot of
prayer and a lot of faith, we expect Steven to get back here soon,
along with the rest of the boys. I don’t want to say I’m anti-war; I’m
certainly not pro-war. We just want things to end peacefully, and
hopefully we’ll have a better world.”
On the other hand, “I very strongly support the US liberation of
Iraq,” wrote Steven, whose specific role there “is to assure all of
the helicopter squadrons in my jurisdiction have the parts they need
in order to be fully mission capable.”
Steven thinks his mission there is to serve to the best of his ability
and truly understand why he is there in the first place.
Steven is under rocket attacks almost on a daily basis. “I’ve seen
them hit a hundred feet away or so,” wrote Steven who expects to leave
Iraq around the beginning of October.
Doing what little he can for his youngest brother and the rest of the
troops, Kevin hopes that when they watch Jeremy’s plans unravel in
“Lost” that “hopefully they’ll realize their lives aren’t as bad as
some other people’s [laughs] — if that’s possible? If anything we do
have a moral to the story and it’s ‘crime doesn’t pay.'” Meanwhile,
as the troops enjoy “Lost” out there in the theater of war, some
Pasadena businesses will support “Lost” back home.
According to Kevin, Burger Continental on Lake Avenue is offering 20
percent off for those with ticket stubs. Equator Coffee House in Old
Pasadena will have a coffee promotion for “Lost.” Also in Old
Pasadena, McMurphy’s customers with ticket stubs will receive $2 off
appetizers, half-price drafts, well and call drinks. They are also
running TV spots and a trailer for “Lost.”
“Pasadena has always been great to us,” said Kevin.