Steven C. Smith is an Emmy-nominated documentary producer, author, and speaker who specializes in Hollywood history and profiles of contemporary filmmakers.

He is the author of two acclaimed biographies: Music by Max Steiner: The Epic Life of Hollywood’s Most Influential Composer (Oxford University Press), and A Heart at Fire’s Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann (University of California Press). Both books received the ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor Award, and the Herrmann biography was the main research source for the Academy Award-nominated documentary Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann.

A four-time Emmy nominee and sixteen-time Telly Award winner, Steven has produced and written over 200 documentaries. They include The Sound of a City: Julie Andrews Returns to Salzburg; The Lure of the Desert: Martin Scorsese on Lawrence of Arabia; A Place for Us: West Side Story’s Legacy; and Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood.

Steven served as a supervising producer of the long-running TV series Biography (A&E), creating profiles of Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando, Harrison Ford, and over forty others. His other producing credits include programs for AMC, TCM, History Channel, Bravo, National Geographic, and many more.

As a producer for the weekend edition of NBC’s Today, Steven specialized in interviewing top industry talent, including George Lucas, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, and Leonardo di Caprio. He has collaborated on projects with Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kathryn Bigelow, J.J. Abrams, Stephen Sondheim, and Mel Brooks.

As a print journalist, Steven’s work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, and Hollywood Reporter.

A webinar presenter and frequent lecturer, Steven has spoken at events hosted by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, USC, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, American Cinematheque, and others. He has appeared as a film expert in many documentaries, and is an active member of the Producers Guild of America and the Television Academy.

A native of California, Steven received early career guidance from two mentors: his brother, producer Wayne Bryan, and family friend Robert Osborne.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Michelle.

Find Steven on his website (www.mediasteven.com) and on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.