10 Tech Pioneers: Where Are They Now?
- — 24 November, 2007 07:04
But the success was not destined to last. The dot-com crash hit theGlobe especially hard, making its stock almost worthless. Paternot was forced to resign in January 2000.
"When the bubble burst, I ran as far away from the Net as I could, hid in a cave, and had my existential crisis," he says. When Paternot emerged, he realized he had one abiding passion besides technology: film-making. In 2004 he formed PalmStar Entertainment with Kevin Frakes, aiming to create his own miniature version of Miramax Studios. (In fact, one of PalmStar's upcoming features, "Down and Dirty Pictures," is based in part on the career of Miramax co-founder Harvey Weinstein.) PalmStar has three other films in the works for 2008.
"Today I am just as busy as I was at theGlobe, but it's a totally different kind of busy," says Paternot. "I'm avoiding major positions of responsibility like CEO. That was too much for me at too young an age. Back then my life was hijacked by the company's stock price. Now I get to participate on a much broader, more creative level."
