About Paladin Communications

Robert Matzen | Mary Matzen | Michael S. Foster | Support Staff

Robert and Mary Matzen of Paladin Communications are Friends of Mount Vernon and members of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Robert sits on the board of the Braddock Road Preservation Association.

At left, Paladin's production team coordinates more than 110 French & Indian War reenactors on a location shoot at Raccoon Creek State Park in Hookstown, Pennsylvania. Paladin worked closely with park staff to assure a successful experience for all.

Paladin's production team has created hundreds of programs and shot in locations all over the world. We take projects from original concept through scriptwriting, production, editing, creation of animation, graphic design, and release to broadcast, videotape, and DVD.

Paladin also creates the highest-quality print materials for education and entertainment and recently launched its publishing imprint, GoodKnight Books.

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Mary Matzen, Principal
Mary serves as Paladin's main point of contact and project manager. In addition to making certain the organization runs smoothly day to day, she tackles all the tough logistical issues inherent in film and print production. Maybe as a child she didn't see herself getting caught in the middle of an 18th century war, with cannons going off unexpectedly by her ear, but that's the way it turned out. Mary served as associate producer of WHEN THE FOREST RAN RED: WASHINGTON, BRADDOCK & A DOOMED ARMY and produced GEORGE WASHINGTON'S FIRST WAR: THE BATTLES FOR FORT DUQUESNE. In addition, she managed the creation of the nationally recognized education kit, GEORGE WASHINGTON'S FRENCH & INDIAN WAR (2005). Her greatest career challenge to date was overseeing production of the 2006 Paladin release, PURSUIT OF HONOR: THE RISE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, which was shot in several states and involved the coordination of complex shoots and scores of actors and living historians.

A graduate of Ohio University, Mary was instrumental to the quality that has earned Paladin 17 major awards; her work has also received three Distinguished Technical Communication awards from the Society for Technical Communication.

No one manages projects better than Mary. She has spearheaded important corporate communication efforts in a number of venues. She has also edited all types of print materials, including marketing and public relations, training, CD-ROM and Web copy, magazine articles, and book-length fiction. Mary served as editor and project manager for the 2009 hardcover, ERROL FLYNN SLEPT HERE: THE FLYNNS, THE HAMBLENS, RICK NELSON, AND THE MOST NOTORIOUS HOUSE IN HOLLYWOOD.

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Robert Matzen, Principal

Robert wrote the landmark French & Indian War documentary, WHEN THE FOREST RAN RED and co-directed with his mentor in filmmaking, Mike Foster. This 2001 film earned six national awards and continues to aire on more than 70 PBS affiliates around the United States. His past works as writer include WILDE IN PITTSBURGH, a biographical featurette on Balanchine ballerina Patricia Wilde commissioned by the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and other films in 16mm and Super 16. He also wrote and produced a television special for PBS/The Business Channel.

In 2002, Robert wrote and directed the feature documentary, GEORGE WASHINGTON'S FIRST WAR. This sequel to WHEN THE FOREST RAN RED has brought six more national awards to Paladin. In November, 2006, PURSUIT OF HONOR completed Paladin's trilogy of documentaries chronicling the young George Washington. Robert wrote and directed this motion picture as well, utilizing historic locations that included Mount Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg, and the College of William and Mary, working from a story conceived with creative consultant John Metzger.

As a senior writer at a Pittsburgh PR firm, Robert works with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). His films for NASA include THE SPIRIT OF EXPLORATION for the Johnson Space Center; RETURN TO THE MOON for NASA headquarters; and DREAMS OF AVIATION, TODAY'S RESEARCH ... TOMORROW'S FLIGHT, and FROM HERE TO THERE IN 2025 for NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program.

Robert’s print career includes authorship of a mass-market how-to paperback on the art of research (Bantam Books, 1987), a biography of actress Carole Lombard (Greenwood Press, 1988), and co-authorship of the business book, ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE THAT WORKS (DDI Press, 1997), now in its third printing. He also edited the landmark, EMPOWERED TEAMS (Jossey-Bass, 1992), which has sold more than 100,000 copies in hard and soft cover. In January 2009, Paladin will release Robert's fourth book, the deluxe hardcover ERROL FLYNN SLEPT HERE, co-written with Michael Mazzone.

Robert has appeared as a guest on a number of radio and television programs. He served as an on-camera expert for the television documentary, LIVING FAMOUSLY: CLARK GABLE on BBC Two, and will soon appear in a BBC radio documentary about Errol Flynn in Cuba. Robert also appears in MAKING OF ... mini-docs for the Washington DVDs. He has presented for the National Park Service and Daughters of the American Revolution, and lectured at many national and regional educational seminars.

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Michael S. Foster, Consulting Producer/Director
A graduate of the USC Film School, Mike Foster has worked within the discipline of film and also in top television markets. He has produced and directed several national TV spots, and is a past recipient of a New York Festivals Gold Medal, two Platinum Aurora Awards, Gold, Silver, and Bronze CINDYs, three CINE Golden Eagles, the International Monitor Award for film direction, and many others.

In 2000 Mike helped to conceive When the Forest Ran Red and worked with Robert Matzen to establish the creative vision for a documentary that went on to broadcast in top markets while earning five national awards. Mike directed interviews with top historians, and produced and directed large-scale French & Indian War battle reenactments. His production work led to action-packed footage on several intense location shoots involving multiple 16mm packages and crews in combat-style photography.

Mike has directed and produced in locations around the world. He has worked in the shadow of the Sydney Opera House and at Stonehenge, at the pyramids of Egypt and atop the Andes Mountains. His creativity extends from the field to post-production, where he often comes up with the final little touch that makes a good motion picture great.

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Support Staff
Paladin maintains an on-call staff of highly qualified communications specialists that help us to make great movies. Every one of these enthusiastic, hand-chosen professionals embodies the Paladin spirit of quality and customer service. All are committed to our goal of making history with every production.

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