ROGUE WAVE MEDIA
ROGUE WAVES ARE UNEXPECTED FORCES OF NATURE. THEY ARE RARE, UNPREDICTABLE, AND CAN IMPACT WITH TREMENDOUS POWER.
MISSION STATEMENT
ROGUE WAVE MEDIA was founded in 2018 by USCG Captain John W. Pruitt (ret.), Sean U. Smith, and Jonathan Cane. It is a production company dedicated to telling compelling true life stories of unsung and forgotten heroes. It is a collective of storytellers, filmmakers and historians with a perpetual thirst for creating innovative, exciting, thought-provoking and deeply compelling content that touches the core of the human spirit, and asks who are we and where are we going?
KING OFÂ ALASKA
The Story of Captain Mike "Hell Roaring" Healy
This is a complicated and nuanced tale of the lone American man charged with protecting and governing over 700,000 square miles of the Alaskan Territory at the turn of the century. Easily the best captain on the seven seas, he patrolled the roughest waters on Earth. He was as tough as they get, a commanding officer who ruled his ship with an iron fist to maintain order in the lawless wasteland of the North. He also harbored a deep secret, one that if revealed would destroy his career and his life in a heartbeat.
Meet the Crew
The Rogue Wave Crew
Jonathan Cane
Co-Founder & Partner
Jonathan began his career working on documentaries in the late 1990s, focusing on the deep and complex inner-lives of exceptional Americans. From following Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s rookie season and the tragic loss of his father just months later, to diving into the lives of three disparate NYC comedians, to documenting the aftermath of school shootings, Jonathan has always been innately curious about what makes us tick and what separates the exceptional from the ordinary. After a 12 year stint at MTV working on documentary series and reality shows, he served as head of development for BBC Worldwide America before launching Rogue Wave Media with his partners. Jonathan attended the University of Chicago and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film & Television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
John W. Pruitt III
Co-Founder & Partner
John graduated from the U. S. Coast Guard Academy with a degree in Engineering, and was immediately commissioned as an officer in the U. S. Coast Guard. During his acclaimed 23-year career in the USCG, John deployed for over 12 years around the world working with every branch of the U. S. military and numerous allied nations. During this time John commanded three Coast Guard ships and was Officer in Charge of a law enforcement detachment. His operations carried him from the Bering Sea of Alaska, throughout the Americas, the Persian Gulf, and untold places in between. John went on to serve as the Director of the USCG’s Motion Picture and Television Office, where he assisted in all aspects of production for numerous productions including television and major motion pictures with some of the largest names in the industry. Since retirement John continues to work in the entertainment industry in various roles on a variety of entertainment projects for companies including 20th Century Fox, Film Nation, Original Productions, and Playtone, among many others. John also received a Master’s in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University.
Sean U. Smith
Co-Founder & Partner
Sean is an independent producer and research specialist affiliated with BBC Studios, Los Angeles, where he has been responsible for providing factual and historical background materials for original scripted and unscripted projects, including Da Vinci’s Demons (STARZ) and The Night Of (HBO). He also regularly consults on research and project development with HBO, Heyday TV, Bad Wolf Productions and Cinemax. Sean is also a working screenwriter. His directorial debut, Into My Heart, was an Official Selection at the Venice, Deauville and Hamptons Film Festivals. His play, Sleepwalk, premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival. A former journalist, Sean was a staff writer for the now-defunct L.A. View, covering film reviews and film-related interviews and features.  He also wrote cultural pieces for the Village Voice, the New York Observer, and Artweek. Sean holds a BA from Harvard University, as well as a Ph.D. from Stanford University (British History) and an MFA from USC School of Cinema-Television.
What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams.
-Werner Herzog
