Melissa Jo Peltier

NYC, NY USA
Contact

Professional Experience

Ms. Peltier is a five-time New York Times best-selling author and a multi-award-winning writer/director/producer of television and film fiction and non-fiction. She specializes in solidly structured storytelling, persuasive and powerful documentaries, and instinctually recognizing a winning property (she and her partners discovered the script for MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, and discovered and developed the unique talents of Cesar Millan, TV's "Dog Whisperer".) As a director, she's helmed just about every type of non-fiction film there is, and her dramatic specialties include being a "hyphenate" (director-writer-producer-editor), working with children, and the unique ability to get convincing performances out of non-actors. Recently she produced the indie film, WHITE IRISH DRINKERS, with husband, John Gray. Her novel about the dark side of reality television has just been picked up by Apostrophe Books.

Expertise

Director
17 Years
Producer (television)
20 Years
Other, Specify
10 Years

Specialty

Arts & Humanities
20 Years
Crime
15 Years
Other, Specify
20 Years

Industries


Broadcasting - Ent - TV (National)
20 Years
Independent Feature Film
15 Years
Book Publishing Trade/B2B
7 Years

Total Media Industry Experience

20 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Lifetime Network (3-5), Written By Magazine (3-5), Simon and Schuster Books (1-2), A&E, History Channel (10+), Crown-Harmony Books (6-10), Court TV (1-2), HBO Films/Gold Circle Films (1-2), Hearst Entertainment (1-2), Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel (6-10), VH1 (1-2), Ovington Avenue Productions (1-2), Paramount Syndication (1-2), Perseus Books/Capo Press (1-2), National Geographic Channel (6-10), Touchstone Television/CBS (3-5), Sci-Fi Channel (3-5), CBS (3-5), Churchill Educational Films (3-5)

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Perseus Books (1-2), Crown Harmony/Random House (3-5), Simon and Schuster Publications (1-2)

Other Work History

*Principal in NY Independent Film Co. Ovington Avenue Productions *Co-founder & co-owner of 16-year old entertainment/media/production company MPH Entertainment, Inc. Former Vice President, Cesar Millan Inc. Former Vice President, Abundanzia Marketing Inc. 10-years offline editing experience

Technical Skills

Video editing - Final Cut Pro X, some Avid; Photo editing - some Adobe photo shop

Foreign Language Skills

French & Italian (basic conversational)

Unions

WGA, DGA, Producer's Guild, Author's Guild

Computer Skills

Word, Excel, Movie Magic Budgeting, Final Draft, Movie Magic Screenwriter, Power Structure, some Adobe Photoshop

Equipment

Mac OS systems, Windows XP; HD Video equipment, AVID editing systems, FINALCUT PRO editing systems, digital cameras, mini digital video and audio equipment

Work Permits & Visas

Australian work permit; EU work permit & Irish passport pending

References

On request

Awards

5 books on NYT Bestseller's list; 2 Emmy's, 8 more Emmy nominations, Humanitas, Peabody, Women in Film Lilian Gish, 4 Writer's Guild of America nominations, several NY Film Festival Awards, 3 Christopher Awards, several Cine Golden Eagles, 2 Apple, ACE nomination for documentary editing, among others

Associations

Director's Guild of America Writer's Guild of America Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, International Documentary Association

Showcase

Corporate Website Link

White Irish Drinkers Official Webpage
(Ovington Avenue Productions 9/1/2010)
Official website for film I produced, WHITE IRISH DRINKERS, an official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival, the Film Columbia Film Festival, the Torino, Italia Film Festival; and winner of the Audience Award at the Woodstock Film Festival. Also nominated for the Independent Feature Project Gotham Awards first annual "Genius Award" for audience-pleasing film.
Corporate Website
(MPH Entertainment Inc 5/3/2005)
Website with credits and bios for MPH Entertainment, Inc., the Burbank CA TV/Film production company co-founded and co-owned by Peltier.
Melissa Jo Peltier IMDB Page
(International Movie Database 9/20/2012)
International Movie Database credit list
Commercial Website
(Cesar Millan Inc. 12/4/2024)
Company created by MPH/Emery Sumner and Cesar and Ilusion Millan to further his mission of creating balance and harmony between dogs and humans.

Screenplays/Teleplays

Ghost Whisperer, "The Collector"
(CBS Television 4/27/2007)
Story credit for Ghost Whisperer episode introducing a new primary character; "Gabriel", another Ghost Whisperer with a dark side and a secret connection to Melinda.
Nightwaves
(Hearst Entertainment/Lifetime Television 4/1/2004)
2004 Hearst Entertainment/Lifetime Television original screenplay, NIGHTWAVES. Credited as screenwriter and shared credit for original story. Genre: Thriller
Break The Silence: Kids Talk to Kids About Child Abuse
(CBS TV 5/1/1993)
Jane Seymour hosts this Peabody-Award-winning program in which child abuse is explained in a way young children can understand. Four kids talk candidly about their abuse and their abusers as they describe how adults use fear, manipulation, and neglect to hurt children. Credited as writer/director.
Scared Silent: Exposing and Ending Child Abuse
(Historic multi-network broadcast 4/9/1992)
Humanitas-award winning documentary airing simultaneously on NBC, CBS and PBS and two nights later on ABC (the most-watched documentary of the '90's). Oprah Winfrey hosted this painfully intimate look at the cycle of child abuse and how to break it. Credited as writer/director.
TITANIC: The Legend Lives On
(A&E Television 7/24/1994)
IMDB says: "Even after a decade this is still the best 'documentary' on the disaster. " Credited as Producer/Writer/Director of this 4-hour opus that was at the time the highest-rated program ever to air on A&E. Still a major-seller for them today. Two Emmy's garnered for this program.
The Real Las Vegas: Gamble in the Desert
(A&E Television 12/1/1996)
4-Hour history of Las Vegas; nominated for a Writer's Guild of America Award. Credited as executive producer (shared), directed (shared), writer (shared)

Articles

Writing with Dinosaurs
(Written By Magazine 9/1/2001)
Featured article for Written By Magazine (co-written with MPH partner Jim Milio) about the strange chain of events leading up to the discovery of the world's second largest dinosaur.
Do I Hear A Voice?
(Written By Magazine 12/4/2024)
Short article for writer's of non-fiction film on finding your voice.
Does Reality Still Bite
(Written By Magazine 12/1/2008)
Article about the inside world of Reality TV writing, with my colleague Jim Milio

Book excerpts

The Mommy Docs Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy and Birth
(De Capo Press/Perseus Books 5/1/2011)
Co-writer for three female OB/GYNs who are mommys and docs (stars of Discovery Health and OWN's "Deliver Me" TV series), on a definitive and highly readable guide for those who are pregnant and want to be. Reviewed by other medical practitioners as far superior to "What to Expect"; and more enjoyable read, too...filled with human stories from the Mommy Doc's experiences delivering babies.
How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond by Cesar Millan and Melissa Jo Peltier
(Crown-Harmony Publications (Random House) 10/6/2009)
Cesar Millan and Melissa Jo Peltier's latest book follows four puppies through birth up to adolescence, and illustrates that raising a dog the right way can prevent unwanted issues from ever developing. A must have for anyone adopting a puppy or young dog.

General

Cesar's Way: The Natural Guide for Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems
(Crown-Harmony 4/4/2006)
International Best-Seller; sold over 1 million copies in under 1 year; 46 weeks on NY Times Bestseller's list.
Be The Pack Leader: Use Cesar's Way to Transform Your Dog...and Your Life!
(Crown/Harmony 10/2/2007)
Follow-up to international best-seller Cesar's Way, going more in-depth into Cesar Millan's methods, and looking at the relationships between humans and dogs.
Cesar's Rules: Your Way to Train the Perfect Dog
(Crown-Harmony Publications (Random House) 10/15/2010)
Cesar Millan and a host of other prominent training share the basics of dog behavior.
How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond by Cesar Millan and Melissa Jo Peltier
(Crown-Harmony Publications (Random House) 10/15/2009)
Cesar Millan's fourth book and another NYT bestseller
A Member of the Family: Cesar Millan's Guide to a Lifetime of Fulfillment with Your Dog
(Crown Harmony Publications (Random House) 10/1/2008)
Dog Whisperer: The Ultimate Episode Guide
(Simon & Schuster Publishing 4/1/2008)
with Jim Milio