A Griot for Our Times: Evette Vargas, A Modern-Day Storyteller, Begins Her 'Digital Reign' In Tinseltown

LOS ANGELES, July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- At long last, there's newness on the horizon in Hollywood.  Digital special effects, and all that they make possible are certainly at their height, to the point that their being extremely well-done is the expectation.  But even better, authentic, riveting storytelling is back to buttress it.  Just ask Evette Vargas, co-founder, creative director, writer and visionary of Digital Reign, a fast-growing digital creation and entertainment company that creates varied, impactful lifestyle content.

With her repertoire of expertise ranging from original work in film and television, to Web content, screenplays, video games, music video and much more, Vargas, a New Yorker who now makes Los Angeles her home is by no means the prototype Tinseltown hopeful.  She is Hollywood's new breed multimedia talent, and is hard at work making her dreams real while putting Digital Reign on the map via every available visual platform, and those technologies yet to emerge, such as short-form 3D video content with her partner company, E3D Labs, Inc.  Given her growing client roster and slate of projects, she has much to be optimistic about.

Among numerous other projects currently in development, Digital Reign recently completed the scripting of "Bloodline," a gritty, made-for-cable series set in Brooklyn, New York that pits feuding families against one another in a tempestuous struggle for prosperity at day-to-day criminal life.  The series is being packaged in partnership with William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME).  The well-received concept has already piqued the interest of an award-winning actor to executive produce. On the film side, Vargas' feature-length comedy script, "Kingnapped," has also garnered the attention of A-list talent.

Generating similar buzz throughout the thirty mile zone is Vargas' "Undone," a stark, dramatic TV show that crosses the dimensions of time with the burgeoning video game realm, and "Undercover Boss" creator Eli Holtzman is in the pipeline to produce "Deep Dive," a one-hour TV docu-soap that is set to star rockers The Black Eyed Peas, and several other A-list music performers.

Of course, on each of these Vargas projects, though the visuals alone are enough to set pulses racing, it's the writing that shines through, almost as if it's Digital Reign's own virtual trademark.  "I see myself as a mainstream and commercial writer of elevated and emotionally compelling television series' and films," she says taking thoughtful stock of her own work.  "For me, elevated storytelling means plots that are character-driven with a great deal of heart and a healthy dose of IQ.  I write basically in two areas - action and comedy, and sometimes I even blend the two.  I aspire to write smart comedies," she adds.  "My intention is to ultimately write, direct and produce high-quality content."

By her example, in this age where reality TV seems to dominate, substantive, high-level and engaging writing is also making its comeback in a major way on big and small screen productions alike.  Studios have taken notice, and are responding. Big budget, blockbuster movies light on dialogue but heavy on explosions are on the wane, giving way to provocative writing, genuine, smart humor, characters people care about and experiences that are a departure — which actually take audiences on a journey.  It's the essence of what filmmaking and TV used to be all about and because it was an integral part of her upbringing, Vargas exudes it.

"I come from a family of loud talkers," she recalls, "and I realized that around the dinner table whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner our interaction was always all about storytelling.  It was just such a big part of our family life.  You certainly had to be the loudest and be able to tell your story with the most enthusiasm if you were going to be heard.  Now, yours may not have been the best, but if you were able to tell it well, you were heard.  I learned that lesson at a very young age.  Just really captivating an audience for me was a joy, and I always enjoyed writing."

Vargas' background includes having worked in the realms of advertising and fashion.  Digital Reign was first established in the late 1990s, in a modest loft apartment in New York's trendy and culture rich Greenwich Village.  The company garnered a modicum of success doing mostly graphics, before the bright lights of Hollywood beckoned she and her team to pull up stakes and relocate.  Though the New York University Film School graduate still maintains both clients and a presence in NYC, with a small stable of designers and animators working there, the bulk of her 10-person crew is in Los Angeles now, where the influencers are, and the action is.

"Moving from New York to the west coast was really the right move at the right time," she notes.  "We came to Los Angeles right before 9-11, and I thank God for it quite honestly.  L.A. is where the entertainment business is, and if you're going to be a player — if you're really going to be in the game you need to be in L.A.  This is where the wheeling and dealing occurs, so you absolutely need to have a hub here.  It truly above all else is a relationship business, and you have to have them here."  It's that inbred New York sensibility, however, and her educational foundation that she draws upon to help bring what she puts on paper, to life.

"Visual storytelling has always been my true love.  I always had the ability of drawing well," Vargas states.  "I've just always been an artist and it was always visual stories that I was telling through my art.  But when I went to film school at NYU is where I was first introduced to and fell in love with screenwriting.  I was studying directing and television and film production, and when I had to start writing my short films to shoot them, it was just second-nature.  I just gravitated towards it, I got it and I adored it.  I had a gift for putting words together, and it all came together for me there."  Vargas soon will receive her graduate degree in screenwriting and showrunning from UCLA's distinguished school of Theatre, Film & Television.

So, what does she see in Digital Reign's future after "Bloodline," "Undone," "Deep Dive" and "Kingnapped" are met with critical and commercial success?  For starters, there's a production company coming before the end of 2010, and an overarching business objective.  Evette Vargas is clearly one of those people who could never do just one thing and do it well — because she does them all well.  "I definitely see myself writing, directing and producing my own content and working with other companies, and in a variety of mediums," Vargas concludes.  "That, I'm sure of.

"I'm just not a single-medium type of person or artist. My ideas span across medias, and its all storytelling.  It all just organically flows that way for me.  I see myself continuing to create those kinds of stories where you can see the television series, you can see the movie, you can see the short, mobile film about it, you can read the graphic novel on your iPad or what have you. My work seeks to inspire and expand regardless of the medium.  My productions are certainly going to continue to do that, but on a grand scale."

About Digital Reign

Digital Reign is a Los Angeles-based, privately held company founded in 1999 that creates and produces high-quality storytelling content in the areas of film, television and emerging medias.  For business opportunities, contact (323) 841-6889, [email protected] or visit us on the World Wide Web at www.digital-reign.net.

SOURCE Digital Reign