Alumnus, successful film producer and President of Stone Village Pictures Scott Steindorff is known for helping bring to life films like “Chef,” “Penelope,” and “The Lincoln Lawyer.” Now he is on a mission to change the way we think about addiction and recovery by attacking the root of where the problem occurs.
In 2014, approximately 21.5 million Americans over the age of 12 were suffering from addiction or substance disorder, according to americanaddictioncenters.org. This same site also states the relapse rates range between 40 and 60 percent and for Steindorff this number is simply too high.
Steindorff, having battled substance abuse in his own life, said that for him, this journey started when he was in his twenties.
“I was young, 24,” he said. “I was doing cocaine and I didn’t know how to stop. I knew I had a severe problem and I didn’t know who to talk to.”
He said that he ended up checking into a rehab center in Santa Barbara, California where he “had a change of consciousness.”
“I call it a change of consciousness where I knew I had the power within me to overcome this substance abuse and I was going to be okay,” Steindorff said. “From that moment on, I haven’t used drugs or alcohol and that was 34 years ago.”
From there, he went on to start a family and got into show business in Las Vegas, where he wrote for the musical “EFX” at MGM Grand. He said that the creativity and imagination from working on that project is what empowered him to utilize his creativity and sensitivity to do something with his life.
Then, about a year and a half ago, he said that he came to a sudden realization.
“I work with a lot of young people in recovery and I realized whatever we are doing to help people recover from substance abuse isn’t really working anymore,” Steindorff said. “I started looking at data and realized that probably 85 to 90 percent of all people who go to rehab relapse and don’t stay sober.”
He said he started reaching out to experts in recovery and met people who were coming to the same realization he was and wanted to do something about it. Now he is taking what he’s learned and developing a new program he calls “Life Recovery,” which he is turning into a book and creating a digital series for.
“What really it comes down to is that as human beings we feel our emotions and feelings from the minute we’re alive to the minute we die,” he said. “We don’t know anything about it. We’re not taught about our feelings. So, my conclusion is that a lot of substance abuse issues come from escaping how you feel. So what we need to do is figure out how to deal with our feelings.”
— Scott steindorff (@Scottsteindorff) June 24, 2017
Steindorff said that once this is addressed, the recovery process can begin to take lasting affect. His former assistant and now screenwriter at Stone Village Pictures, Justin Parker, said that he feels the same way.
“I know for a fact that it does help,” Parker said. “It is one of the keys for addicts in having a successful sobriety.”
He said it is an important thing to get in touch with those emotions and then to conquer them. He also said he’s seen Steindorff put his methods to practice.
“I’ve seen a certain change in him,” Parker said. “You know, he can have a temper sometimes, but he hasn’t shown that side of himself since he has spoken about getting in touch with his emotions and being able to recognize them; to let them go and not letting them override his decision making.”
He said Steindorff is a passionate advocate for recovery and knows he doesn’t have all the answers, but he’s looking to do what he can.
“Especially with the contemporary opioid epidemic, he’s looking to really make a mark in the toxicity of that,” Parker said. “I think him seeing and experiencing that and him having been a member of alcoholics anonymous, I think that really was the fuel for the fire.”
Dylan Russell, a producing partner with Steindorff, said it is only in the past year his partner has become so vocal about this topic and he’s excited to do what he can to help.
“I’m excited about what he’s doing and I think if we can save a lot of lives, there’s kind of no better work,” Russell said. “The product that he’s doing involves publishing and video and a lot of multimedia aspects and that’s something I have experience in, so I help him where I can.”
He said that their latest project, an undisclosed docu-series to be released on Netflix, has invigorated them to do more and certainly feeds into the Life Recovery project.
“To the extent that I can be involved, I will be,” Parker said.
Steindorff said a large part of the reason he wants to create this book is because he eventually wants to find a place he can turn those suffering with addiction to.
“It happened to a nephew of mine,” he said. “A nephew of mine has a problem with substance abuse and his mom and dad called me and asked, ‘What should I do?’ I said, ‘I don’t know,’ because there’s no facility addressing what’s at the core of the person.”
He said that really what he wants to make clear to people is simple.
“We have to find meaning and purpose in our life to recover,” he said. “You can’t take an emotional problem and solve it with spiritual solutions …. We need to heal your emotions and once we do that, all your dreams will come true.”
Reach the reporter at balnero13@gmail.com or follow @BaldnerOwen on Twitter.
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