In the summer months of 2002, a couple of kids from Colorado, friends since high school, had a crazy idea and decided to make their own movie. They started writing, assembling talent and crew, working out logistics and all the rest of it, trying to make their ideas a reality.

The duo of young dynamos, rather than trying to sell their content to a larger studio system that was becoming less and less interested in quality independent fare, decided to take their cues from filmmakers like Lloyd Kaufman and Roger Corman and create their own studio to manage their output, ensuring that they would always maintain control over their vision. Thus, Smiling Peanut Productions was born.

And while our first film project ultimately suffered a dismal fate, the independent spirit born from that original idea did not, and over the next several years, Jake Theisen and I would continue to shape and define what the company, now simply Smiling Peanut, would be: a collective of artists and technicians striving to provide a voice and a format for the truly independent through all media, including film, radio, television and the internet.

As we enter our tenth year of operations with a number of exciting new projects in the works, we are proud of the collaborations we’ve been privileged to be a part of and the art we’ve been inspired to create.

The first decade was about assembling the building blocks. What started out as an experiment in independence has turned into more than either Jake or I ever thought it would be. As we move forward and celebrate this anniversary, we are hopeful, excited, and hungry for more. On behalf of the assorted Smiling Peanut family, thank you for sharing the journey with us.