Adam Fields

Adam Fields is an American executive, entrepreneur, and film and television producer. During his career, he has produced movies for Sony Pictures, Miramax, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Warner Bros., Relativity Media, and Broad Green Pictures. He founded his own production company in 1984, producing movies including "Great Balls of Fire!", "Brokedown Palace", "Johnny Be Good", "Donnie Darko", "Vision Quest", "Limitless", "The Wedding Ringer", and "Money Train". Fields’ most notable contributions as an executive include "An American Werewolf in London", "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club". He also produced "Bad Santa 2", and "". Fields also executive produced the multi-platinum soundtracks for "Flashdance" and "Endless Love". In 1990, Fields founded Preview Tech, a firm that partnered with national consumer electronic stores to air studio and network trailers on their in-store television monitors. Fields sold Preview Tech 18 months later in a multimillion-dollar deal.
Early life.
Fields was born in New York City and attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he started his first film company running film festivals in the school auditoriums.
Career.
Fields began his career at Creative Artists Agency as assistant to agent Martin Baum. Later, he left CAA to join PolyGram Pictures and within a year became Executive Vice President of Production, overseeing development and production of their film slate. He supervised movies for PolyGram including "An American Werewolf in London", "Six Weeks", "Missing", and "Endless Love". Fields executive produced the soundtrack album and single for "Endless Love". He later went on to supervise the multi-platinum soundtrack for the film "Flashdance", which contributed to the film's box office success.
Universal Pictures.
Fields partnered with studio chief Ned Tanen at Universal Pictures to oversee the development and production of John Hughes’ directorial debut, "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club".
Independent endeavors & entrepreneurship.
In 1984, Fields created Adam Fields Productions and worked with Madonna, Uma Thurman, Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder to produce films, including "Vision Quest", "Johnny Be Good", and "Great Balls of Fire!"
In 1990, Fields started the film marketing company Preview Tech. The firm built a network where studio trailers and network previews were simultaneously displayed on all the television monitors in consumer electronic stores across the country. Fields sold Preview Tech 18 months later, turning a small startup investment into a multimillion-dollar acquisition target by New York investment-banking firm of Veronis, Suhler & Associates.
After Preview Tech, he teamed with Jon Peters to develop "Rosewood", "My Fellow Americans", "Ali" and he executive produced "Money Train." In 1997, Fields re-established his own production company at 20th Century Fox, where he produced "Ravenous", starring Guy Pearce and David Arquette. Fields then produced and co-wrote "Brokedown Palace", starring Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, and Bill Pullman. The film was based upon his own original story.
His next film was the independent cult smash hit film "Donnie Darko", starring Drew Barrymore, Jake Gyllenhaal, Noah Wyle, Patrick Swayze, and Katherine Ross.
He then executive produced "Limitless", starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, "Safe Haven" starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, and "21 & Over" with Miles Teller. He also produced "Drive Angry" for Summit Entertainment, starring Nicolas Cage and Amber Heard.
Miramax.
In 2010, Fields joined Miramax as Head of New Content, and executive produced the 2014 release "". He also launched Robert Rodriguez's film "From Dusk Till Dawn" into a TV , which premiered in 2014 and has run 3 seasons to date.
Sony Pictures.
Fields left Miramax in 2014 to join Sony Pictures as a producer and special consultant, where he produced the hit comedy "The Wedding Ringer" starring Kevin Hart and Josh Gad. He was executive producer on "Bad Santa 2" for Broad Green Pictures, starring Billy Bob Thorton, released in November 2016.
Current enterprises.
Fields is involved in a number of projects currently in production, such as a film adaptation of Rob Liefeld's comic, "Shrink", a reboot of Look Who's Talking, and a remake of Bunny Lake is Missing.


Benjamin August

Benjamin August (born c. 1979) is an American casting director and screenwriter. He won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards for "Remember", a film directed by Atom Egoyan.
Originally from Livingston, New Jersey, August graduated from Livingston High School in 1997. He previously worked as a casting director on "Fear Factor" and as a story producer on "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" He later spent time teaching English as a second language in Vietnam, during which he wrote "Remember", his first feature film screenplay.
His second screenplay, "Class Rank", under director Eric Stoltz was released in 2016.


Monte Conner

Monte Conner is a former Senior Vice President of A&R for Roadrunner Records. He started at Roadrunner in December 1987. He has worked with numerous bands including, Slipknot, Trivium and King Diamond.
The bands he has signed, in alphabetical order, are:
Amen, Annihilator, Artillery, Atrocity, Atrophy, Believer, Biohazard, Both Worlds, Brujeria, Buzzov-en, Jerry Cantrell, Keith Caputo, Cavalera Conspiracy, Chimaira, CKY, Coal Chamber, Cynic, Dååth, Death, Deicide, Defiance, DevilDriver, Dirty Americans, Disincarnate, Dommin, Downthesun, Earth Crisis, Exhorder, Fear Factory, Floodgate, Glassjaw, Gojira, Gorguts, Gruntruck, Heathen, Immolation, Kinetic Dissent, Last Crack, Leadfoot, Life Of Agony, Machine Head, Malevolent Creation, Murderdolls, Nailbomb, Obituary, Optimum Wound Profile, Pestilence, Porcupine Tree, Powersurge, Realm, Revoker, Rush, Sadus, Sanctity, Sepultura, Shank 456, Skin Chamber, Slipknot, Solitude Aeturnus, Sorrow, Soulfly, Spineshank, Star Star, Stone Sour, Storm Corrosion, Suffocation, Taking Dawn, 36 Crazyfists, Times of Grace, To My Surprise, Toyshop, Treponem Pal, Trivium, Type O Negative, Wednesday 13, Willard, The Workhorse Movement
In addition, Conner initiated the following licensing deals for Roadrunner outside North America:
Acid Bath, Divine Heresy, Hatebreed, Heaven & Hell, Glen Hughes, Karma to Burn, Periphery, Queens of the Stone Age, Satyricon, Sevendust, Shadows Fall
He also brought in the following label deals to Roadrunner outside North America:
Energy Rekords, Ferret Records, Soundfront Records, Trustkill Records
His licensed catalogue records include the following bands for Roadrunner U.S.:
Angelwitch, Budgie, Destruction, Entombed, Hitmann, Gary Moore, Motörhead, Raven, Razor, Saint Vitus, Sodom, Uriah Heep
Conner conceived of and oversaw the Roadrunner United album and live DVD, compiled the MTV2 Headbangers Ball CD series and various compilations and soundtracks, oversees all Roadrunner's catalogue reissues and remasters, A&R's Dream Theater, Killswitch Engage, Korn, Nightwish and Opeth, as well as assists with various Loud & Proud imprint projects including Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Steve Miller Band, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Rob Zombie.
Past artists Conner has also A&R’ed but did not sign include: Chastain, Front Line Assembly, Holy Terror, The Great Kat, King Diamond, Shelter, Toxik, Whiplash.
Monte co-hosts a bi-annual radio show, Graybeard Roots, on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio.
Connor left Roadrunner on August 2, 2012, after much turnover at the label. On August 16, 2012, it was announced that Connor would be partnering with Nuclear Blast Records.


Jim Ballantine (producer)

Jim Ballantine (born August 30, 1955, in Waimea, Kauaʻi, Hawaii) is an American film producer who is credited on multiple animated features and TV series, and whose first animation job was on Disney's "The Little Mermaid".
Ballantine's credits at Nickelodeon and DisneyToon Studios include "The Ren and Stimpy Show" (1991–95), Disney Toon Studios' "Bambi II" (2006), "Brother Bear 2" (also 2006), and the "Rayman" series. Ballantine contributed two years to "The Wild Bunch", an animated feature made at Animation Lab studio in Jerusalem, Israel.
He was nominated for an Emmy award in both 1992 and 1993 for his work on "The Ren and Stimpy Show". He was in charge of production at Acme Filmworks in 2005–06. He is now head of Flying Bark Productions in Sydney.


Charles Mintz

Charles Bear Mintz (November 5, 1889 – December 30, 1939) was an American film producer and distributor, who assumed control over Margaret J. Winkler's Winkler Pictures after marrying her in 1924; the couple would have two children, Katherine and William. Between 1925 and 1939, Mintz produced over 370 cartoon shorts.
Career.
Charles Mintz was unhappy with the production costs on Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks's "Alice Comedies", and asked the two to develop a new character. The result was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the first animated character for Universal Pictures. In February 1928, when the character proved more successful than expected, Mintz hired away all of Disney's animators except Iwerks, who refused to leave Disney, and moved the production of the Oswald cartoons to his new Winkler Studio, along with Margaret Winkler's brother, George. After losing the Oswald contract to Walter Lantz, Mintz focused on the "Krazy Kat" series, which was the output of a Winkler-distributed property.
The Winkler Studio became known as the Mintz Studio after he took over in 1929. Mintz would experience his biggest success in Scrappy, which would continue production after Mintz died. In 1933, Mintz's studio (Winkler Pictures) became known as Screen Gems. Mintz produced two theatrical cartoon series in the 1930s. "Color Rhapsody" began in 1934 and continued until 1949, after Mintz's death. "Fables" began in 1939 and continued until 1942.
In 1939, Mintz became indebted to Columbia, which resulted in him selling the studio to Columbia Pictures.
After a heart attack, Mintz died on December 30, 1939. Screen Gems would remain open until 1946. The name would later be used for Columbia's television division, among other things. Walt Disney mentioned in an interview that Mintz cultivated his standards for high-quality cartoon movies, and he kept emphasizing them even after their contract ended.
Mintz was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Short Subject. His first nomination was in 1935 for "Holiday Land", and he was nominated again in 1938 for "The Little Match Girl".
Charles Mintz was portrayed in the feature film "Walt Before Mickey" by Conor Dubin.


Larry Sherman

Larry Sherman (died April 8, 2020) was an American record publisher who helped the rise of house music in the United States. A Chicago businessman, he owned Precision Record Pressing and founded multiple record labels, most notably Trax Records. He was 70 years old.


DJ Fuze

DJ Fuze, is an American Hip-Hop DJ and Record producer, who is most known for his work in the 1990s with the multi-platinum, P-Funk inspired rap group, Digital Underground.
Digital Underground.
Fuze co-produced several songs on Digital Underground’s grammy nominated and multi-platinum debut album Sex Packets. Most notable of these songs is the bay area classic "Freaks of the Industry". He toured with D.U. internationally in 1990, supporting the group's singles "Doowutchyalike" and "The Humpty Dance" (Billboard Rap Chart position #1), and also toured the U.S. on the 1991 Budweiser Superfest tour supporting their follow up effort This Is An EP Release featuring the single "Same Song" on which a young Tupac Shakur debuted. The following year D.U. released Sons of the P, which featured the hit singles "Kiss You Back" and "No Nose Job", the latter of which showcased a unique scratching technique that Fuze playfully coined "the bumble-bee scratch", inspired by DJ QBert, and featured prominently in the song's intro. He demonstrated this scratch live at the Apollo Theater in 1992 during a televised performance with Digital Underground.
Tupac.
DJ FUZE also collaborated with the late rap superstar Tupac Shakur on his debut album 2PACALYPSE NOW. In addition to naming the album, FUZE produced the song “Violent,” which is a partial remake of Shabba Ranks' and Cocoa Tea's dance-hall hit Pirate Anthem.
Other work.
Raw Fusion.
DJ FUZE was also one half of the group Raw Fusion along with fellow DU member Money-B. In 1991, the two scored a minor bay area radio hit “Throw Your Hands In The Air,” which was the first single from their debut album Live From The Styleetron. The video, which featured cameo appearances by rappers Tupac and Saafir, was the first major video production by directors The Hughes Brothers, who later directed Menace To Society, Dead Presidents, American Pimp, and From Hell.
The Luniz.
In 1994, DJ FUZE began working with the Oakland duo The Luniz, and produced three songs on their debut multi-platinum release Operation Stackola. Fuze also toured internationally with The Luniz during their platinum period, supporting their hit I Got Five On It.
Dru Down.
DJ FUZE also produced a minor Bay Area hit “Can You Feel Me” for Oakland rapper Dru Down in 1996.
Film and video appearances.
FUZE appeared with Digital Underground in the Hollywood cult film flop “Nothing But Trouble,” which starred Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Chevy Chase, and Demi Moore. He also is featured in digital undergrounds videos for The Humpty Dance, Doowutchyalike, Same Song, Kiss You Back, and No Nose Job.
FUZE also appeared with Tupac in the oscar nominated documentary film Tupac Resurrection, as well as in Tupac's first two music videos, “Trapped” and “Brenda’s Got A Baby."
Current activity.
DJ FUZE returned to college in 2003 and received a B.A. in International Development from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007. He began touring again with Digital Underground upon graduating college, and has also been sitting in with Dave Chappelle since 2008, at the comedian's exclusive Bay Area improv performances. He can now be found working with the youth of Oakland, California hosting Dj classes through the non profit organization Youth Radio.


David Alexanian

David Alexanian (born December 10, 1967) is an American director and producer of Armenian descent. He is the CEO of Elixir Films, which he co-founded with his sister Alexis Alexanian.
"Where The Red Fern Grows".
After filming Eric Bogosian's one man show, "Wake Up And Smell The Coffee" for the Independent Film Channel (IFC) and the Los Angeles theater production of Connor MacPherson's "The Good Thief" starring Brian D'Arcy James, Alexanian sought to acquire the rights of one of his favorite childhood books, "Where The Red Fern Grows". Though the original film was produced in 1974, Elixir remade it for Disney in 2003, starring Grammy winner Dave Matthews, in his acting debut, as well as Kris Kristofferson and Dabney Coleman.
"Long Way Round".
In 2004, Alexanian directed and produced "Long Way Round", which followed Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on a motorcycle journey from London to New York, through Europe, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, far eastern Russia and North America.
"Long Way Down".
In 2007, "Long Way Round" was followed by "Long Way Down". This time reuniting with the team for a ride from the northern tip of Scotland, down through Europe, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and ending in South Africa.
"The Way".
Alexanian's involvement with "The Way" began in 2008 when actor-writer-director Emilio Estevez attended the theatrical release of "Long Way Down". At the time, Estevez was scripting "The Way" and he asked Alexanian if he would come aboard to produce. The duo flew to Spain, embarking on a different sort of road trip, an ancient pilgrimage called the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. They spent the next months travelling the trek, scouting locations, hiring local crew, casting, and producing "The Way".
"Marley African Roadtrip".
After "The Way", Alexanian traveled to South Africa to direct and produce a documentary with Ziggy Marley and his brothers Rohan and Robbie. With a short deadline, Alexanian filmed the Marleys, criss-crossing the country during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, jamming with local musicians, and organizing a charity concert in Soweto promoting their father Bob Marley's legacy of African Unity. The six-episode series, "Marley African Roadtrip", completed post-production in August 2011 and aired on the Discovery Channel later that year.


Frank DiLeo

Frank Michael DiLeo (October 23, 1947 – August 24, 2011) was an American music industry executive and actor, known for his portrayal of gangster Tuddy Cicero in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas". For five years in the late 1980s (84-89), and again in 2009, he was Michael Jackson's manager.
Career.
Frank DiLeo graduated from Central Catholic High School. DiLeo began his career in the music industry in the late 1960s, shortly after high school, as a rack jobber (distributing records to retail stores) in Pittsburgh. Following a number of brief, higher-profile jobs, he was hired as a promotion staffer in Cleveland by CBS Records subsidiary Epic Records in 1968. He promoted albums by The Hollies, Donovan and Sly & the Family Stone to local radio stations, and was later promoted to the company's regional office in Chicago. Circa 1969 he was "headhunted" by RCA Records in New York City, followed by a stint at Bell Records. After a year with Bell he "retired" from the music business and moved back to Pittsburgh. His return to the music industry was prompted by an "electrical fire" that destroyed his Pittsburgh home, for which his insurance carrier reportedly refused to pay out.
In 1979, CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff hired his friend DiLeo to work for Epic Records in New York City as Vice President of National Promotion. Overseeing a staff of 65 people and a multi-million dollar budget, Frank helped guide Epic Records from a small $65 million company to a $250 million; during this period Epic outperformed its sister label Columbia Records for two years running. Artists signed to Epic included Quiet Riot, REO Speedwagon, Ozzy Osbourne, Gloria Estefan, Luther Vandross, Meat Loaf, Cyndi Lauper, Culture Club and above all Michael Jackson, among others. He was voted executive of the year for Epic Records, received over 80 gold and platinum awards, and was credited for taking Epic Records from the number fourteen label in the U.S. market to number two. In 1984, after the record-setting success of his "Thriller" album, Michael Jackson asked DiLeo to take over as his manager. DiLeo was the executive producer for the full-length movie "Moonwalker", wrote and executive produced three Pepsi-Cola commercials (including negotiating a landmark endorsement deal), and eight music videos including the Grammy winning video "Leave Me Alone". DiLeo managed Jackson's Bad World Tour, and the Jackson family's Victory Tour. DiLeo managed Jackson until February 14, 1989 when Jackson accused DiLeo of tampering with money. DiLeo later partnered up with Jackson again in 2009 for Jackson's "This Is It" concert series. The last time DiLeo saw Jackson was at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on June 25, 2009 when the singer was already dead. DiLeo told David Gest: "I got to spend a few moments alone with him, I told him what I thought, before kissing him on the head and saying my last goodbye".
DiLeo is referenced in Sheryl Crow's "The Na-Na Song," with the lines "Clarence Thomas organ grinder Frank DiLeo's dong / Maybe if I'd let him I'd have had a hit song." Crow and DiLeo were acquainted when Crow worked as a backup singer on Jackson's "Bad" tour. DiLeo also managed the careers of Taylor Dayne, Jodeci, Laura Branigan, and Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, and had worked with Prince on several projects.
DiLeo founded Dileo Entertainment Group, a company located in Nashville, Tennessee. The company is focused on managing up-and-coming artists as well as establishing a publishing company in Nashville with partners Mark Lamica and Quincy Krashna, with whom also co-managed Michael Jackson and his comeback tour along with numerous projects including several plays. DiLeo also wrote a tell all biography of his years in the music industry, of which Mark & Quincy have the transcripts and original copies.
In 1991 Youngstown, Ohio Mob Boss Joseph "Little Joey" Naples was killed outside a home he was having built in Beaver Township, Mahoning County. He was driving DiLeo's Ford Mustang Convertible. Naples was a Pittsburgh member of the Genovese crime family, Lamica was known to have family ties.
In 2011 DiLeo suffered a heart attack and was treated at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
He appeared in six major motion pictures. His film credits include "Goodfellas", "Wayne's World" and "Wayne's World 2".
Death.
Frank DiLeo died on August 24, 2011, in a care facility outside Youngstown, Ohio, after experiencing complications following heart surgery. He was 63 years old.


Carl Davis (record producer)

Carl H. Davis, Sr. (September 19, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American record producer and music executive, who was particularly active in Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s. He was responsible for hit R&B records by Gene Chandler, Major Lance, Jackie Wilson, The Chi-Lites, Barbara Acklin, Tyrone Davis and others.
Life and career.
Davis was born in Chicago and attended Englewood High School. He began working as an assistant to disc jockey Al Benson on radio station WGES in 1955, and then joined a record marketing company. In the early 1960s, he helped run the small Nat record label which had a local hit with the song "Nite Owl" by the DuKays, produced by Davis. A follow-up release, "Duke of Earl", which Davis also produced, was credited to the group's lead singer Gene Chandler, and became a national no. 1 hit after being leased to the larger Vee-Jay label.
In 1962, Davis began working as a producer and A&R director for the Columbia subsidiary label OKeh, where he produced a number of hit records for Major Lance, Billy Butler and Walter Jackson. Many were characterised as "peppy, brassy arrangements... and danceable, upbeat songs with a Latin tinge," often using songs written by Curtis Mayfield that Mayfield felt were inappropriate for his own group, The Impressions. He also continued to produce records for Gene Chandler and The Artistics, and produced Mary Wells after she left Motown.
In the mid-1960s, he began working for Brunswick Records, where he produced Jackie Wilson's comeback hit, "Whispers" and the million-seller, "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher", Barbara Acklin's "Love Makes a Woman", as well as several early hits by The Chi-Lites. He also formed the Dakar label, which had a long run of hits with Tyrone Davis (no relation), including "Can I Change My Mind" and "Turn Back the Hands of Time," and also found success with Hamilton Bohannon.
When the Dakar label folded in 1976, Davis formed Chi Sound Records, continuing to find success with Walter Jackson and having a major hit single in 1978 with Gene Chandler's "Get Down". After a distribution deal with 20th Century Records ended in 1981, Davis used independent distribution for two years before closing Chi Sound down. The company had a brief revival in 1989-90, before re-opening in 2007 and remained active until Davis' death. On February 11, 2013, Carl Davis was honored during the 55th Grammy Awards, along with several other music business personalities in the memorial pictorial tribute.
Carl Davis’ biography, "The Man Behind the Music: The Legendary Carl Davis", was published in May 2011, by Life To Legacy, LLC, Matteson IL.
Death.
Davis died from pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 77, in his home in Summerville, South Carolina, on the morning of August 9, 2012.


Tony Fagenson

Anthony Edward "Tony" Fagenson (born July 18, 1978) is a producer, songwriter, drummer, and guitarist who is best known for his work with rock bands Eve 6 and Dead Posey. While attending the University of Southern California at the age of 18, he auditioned for a band from La Crescenta, California called Eleventeen (eventually to become Eve 6) to replace their drummer. A fan at the time of the Fox TV show "The X-Files", Fagenson and singer Max Collins were inspired to name the band Eve 6 after seeing the "X-Files" episode "Eve" while recording their first album. Fagenson played on and co-wrote the four Eve 6 albums released between 1998 and 2012.
When not spending time on band matters, Fagenson produced and co-wrote songs for artists such as Puddle of Mudd, Emily Osment (of Disney's Hannah Montana), The Johnsons & Bryce Vine, Sandra N, Illustrated, Malbec etc. In 2005, Fagenson joined former Eve 6 member Max Collins in forming a new band, The Sugi Tap while Eve 6 was on hiatus. They played shows around Los Angeles and released an EP before reforming Eve 6 in 2007.
Fagenson announced his departure from Eve 6 via Instagram and Twitter on April 7, 2018.
Dead Posey.
In 2018, Fagenson started his current band Dead Posey as guitarist with wife Danyell Souza. The duo has released 3 EP's on Sumerian Records / Position Music - Freak Show, Malfunction] & Malfunction X Broken Down. The duo has played notable festivals Louder Than Life, Aftershock and Shiprocked and toured with bands such as Theory of a Deadman and Palaye Royale with Bones UK.
Dead Posey's music has been heard in Fox's "Lucifer", MTV's "Teen Wolf", Marvel's "Cloak & Dagger", and Netflix's , as well as in ads for Taco Bell, Sony PlayStation, Riot Games’ League of Legends, and more. The duo has received positive write ups from the likes of "Spin", "Guitar World" as well as their song "Parasite" being placed on the 68 Best Rock Songs of 2020 by "Loudwire" and has collaborated with Hot Topic on their “I Like Scary Movies Experience” feature. They have also appeared on podcasts such as The Boo Crew & The Fred Minnick Show.
Show One.
Tony is the co-creator of ShowOne, a mobile backing tracks app for musicians.
Personal life.
Tony is married to bandmate Danyell Souza (Dead Posey)
Fagenson is the son of the Grammy Award winning producer Don Was.


Nick Basile

Nick Basile (born February 10, 1978) is an American film director, producer, actor and screenwriter. Films produced and directed by Basile include "The Adventures of Captain Steel", "Slasher Flick" (featured on the NYC Horror Film Festival DVD); the futuristic thriller "Beyond Dreams" and the award-winning thriller/modern-day western "The Man Who Knew Belle Starr". January 8, 2008 saw the DVD release of Basile's full-length documentary American Carny: True Tales from the Circus Sideshow, released by Cinema Epoch & Koch Entertainment. "American Carny" made its television debut on October 19, 2009 on the Documentary Channel.
Basile's next project is the psychological thriller DARK. The movie is set in New York City during the 2003 blackout. It stars Whitney Able, Alexandra Breckenridge, Brendan Sexton III, Michael Eklund and the rapper Redman. The movie is produced by Minerva Pictures in association with Renfield Productions. Famed Gremlins director Joe Dante serves as Executive Producer. The film held its world premiere at the 22nd Annual Oldenburg International Film Festival.
His acting credits include roles in the Off-Broadway production of "Tony n' Tina's Wedding", H.P. Lovecraft ("LoveCracked! The Movie") and has appeared in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Gene Frankel Theatre in NYC. Basile also appeared in the Barry Levinson film "The Bay".


Alex Roy

Alexander Roy (born November 23, 1971) is an American writer, podcaster, TV host and rally race driver who has set various endurance driving records, including the US "Cannonball Run" transcontinental driving record, which he and Dave Maher broke in 2007 in 31 hours and 4 minutes, featured in the 2019 documentary APEX: The Secret Race Across America.
On April 1, 2015, Roy announced that he had completed the transcontinental driving record across the United States in 26 hours, 28 minutes. He subsequently revealed it to be an April Fools prank intended to highlight the lack of fact checking in online media.
Driving career.
Roy distinguished himself on the Gumball 3000 and Bullrun rallies with a modified BMW M5, and later a Bentley Continental GT comically decorated as Canadian, German, Spanish, Swedish, Italian and Bahamanian police cars (complete with lights, sirens, and an inflatable sex doll) for "Team Polizei 144". He won the Gumball's 2003 Spirit trophy for his car, eccentric costumes, and mock French or German interview replies. In 2004, he and his co-driver wore costumes based on the Disney science fiction film "Tron", winning the Style trophy.
Roy meticulously prepares for rallies with the goal of avoiding police stops, using maps, GPS navigation, and spreadsheets. During the 2004 rally, he impersonated a police officer, with vehicle mounted flashing lamps used to perform illegal traffic stops against his competitors in the rally.
Transcontinental "Cannonball" record.
A prior record for crossing the U.S. from New York City to Los Angeles of 32 hours, 7 minutes was set in 1983 by David Diem and Doug Turner during the US Express, an unofficial successor to the Cannonball Run. The record was unofficial and never documented or confirmed. When documentary filmmaker Cory Welles called it to Roy's attention, he decided he should be the one to break it.
Roy and co-driver Jonathan Goodrich, his longtime friend, completed a practice run in December 2005, finishing with a time of 34 hours and 46 minutes. A subsequent attempt in April 2006 added a spotter plane, but the failure of his M5's fuel pump ended the run in Oklahoma. On October 7 of 2006 Roy and replacement co-driver David Maher, a New York investment banker (who was also his 2003 Gumball co-driver), embarked on another run. On this, the successful 31:04 run Roy claims 2,794 mapped miles and 2800 road miles - which he covered at an average speed of 90.1 mph. The run took place over Columbus Day weekend so as to meet minimal traffic, in part for safety; they also avoided any type of reckless driving such as tailgating, although they reached top speeds of 160 mph. Roy's route, which hit only four toll booths, three or four red lights, and only one close call with the highway patrol in Oklahoma, ended at the Santa Monica Pier.
The record was witnessed in part by Davey Johnson and Mike Spinelli, contributor and managing editor of the automobile blog Jalopnik. The time was recorded by a time clock which was punched as they left New York and flown to California before they arrived.
Another rally driver team, comprising Gumball veterans Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins, claim they beat the record in May 2007 at 31:59 on a 2,811 mile route; they also claim that Roy did not "stick to the route" of the original Cannonball Run. Alex Roy, on the other hand, claims that almost every year's route was different, and that the only rule was total time point-to-point. The 31:04 record was set with sufficient margin to break the record even with the same route as the longest ever cross-country race. The originator of the Cannonball Run, Brock Yates, does not acknowledge any records or sanction races due to his concern that "somebody was going to get killed". Roy expresses similar concern with regard to anyone attempting to break his claimed record.
In October 2007, Roy published a book on his racing career, "The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World" (Harper Collins, ). Information on the record-setting run was withheld until publication.
Roy's transcontinental record was later broken in October, 2013, by Atlanta-native Ed Bolian in 28 hours, 50 minutes and 26 seconds.
Electric Vehicle & Semi-Autonomous Driving Records.
In 2015, Roy set another Transcontinental Record, or Cannonball Record, in the electric car class, with a time of 57 hours 48 minutes, from L.A. to N.Y.C., besting the previous time of 58:55, which were preceded by records of 67:21 and 76:05. Roy was with Carl J Reese and Deena Mastracci, who had set the prior 58:55 time. They used a Tesla Model S and its autopilot feature to set the 57:48 time.
From August 24–27 of 2016, Roy and teammates Warren Ahner & Streetwars founder Franz Aliquo broke the Electric & semi-Autonomous Cannonball Run records again, driving a Tesla Model S 90D 2,877 miles from the Portofino Inn to the Red Ball garage in 55 hours, breaking the prior record by 2 hours & 48 minutes. Tesla Autopilot was engaged 97.7% of the journey. GPS data and video evidence was captured using both a US Fleet Tracking device, and Comma.ai's Chffr video logging software.
With an early-production Tesla Model 3, which are delivered to California-based customers only, Roy and co-driver Dan Zorrilla broke the Electric Cannonball Run record again December 28–31 of 2017, driving 2,860 miles eastbound from the Portofino Inn to the Red Ball garage in 50 hours and 16 minutes. GPS data was captured using the GPS Tracks application, and video evidence was shared on YouTube. In July 2019, Roy's record was beaten by a family team of Robin Jedi Thomsen, and her parents Lars Thomsen and Betty Legler with a time of 48 hours 10 minutes driving westbound for in a Long-Range Rear-Wheel-Drive Tesla Model 3 between 12–14 July 2019.
Record Manhattan Lap.
On September 10, 2001, Roy set the record for fastest driven lap around Manhattan. (The loop on OSM.) With a time of approximately 27 minutes, he recalls in his book, mentioned above, that he hit top speeds of 144 mph while committing 151 moving violations — enough to have his New York driver's license suspended 78 times over.
He used a route that would allow him to skip the most northerly and heavily policed sections of the city. Starting at the World Trade Center, which was coincidentally destroyed the next day in a terrorist attack, Roy drove through the Battery Park Underpass, up the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, across the George Washington Bridge Interchange, down the Henry Hudson Parkway which turns into the West Side Highway finally ending back at the World Trade Center. Though he discusses the lap thoroughly in his book, the video footage has never been released.
In October 2010, a video was uploaded onto YouTube showing Roy's record being broken. The participants in the video are shown taking the same route (though the Battery Park Underpass is saved for the end) and achieving a time of 26 minutes and 3 seconds.
In August 2013, Adam "Afroduck" Tang, a Canadian national, set a new unofficial record time of 24 minutes 7 seconds around Manhattan in a manual 2006 BMW Z4 3.0si, filmed it, and put it on YouTube with the title "Fastest Lap of Manhattan 2013". He began the loop out at 116th St and stopped at all but one of the six red lights along the way.
Business career.
Roy worked with the YouTube show Fast Lane Daily in a segment known as "Road Testament". The show covered driver safety, track day guides, road rallying, and more.
Roy is currently Editor-at-Large of automotive site The Drive, founder and co-host of the Autonocast (a podcast focused on the future of transportation), and co-host of /DRIVE on NBC Sports, a TV show about cars with Chris Harris and Mike Spinelli, now in its sixth season.
In March 2018, Roy published the Human Driving Manifesto, launching the Human Driving Association, which is focused on protecting private car ownership and control over automated vehicles.
In January 2019, Roy joined Autonomous Vehicle developer Argo.ai as Director of Special Operations.
Personal life.
Roy is a regular at youth charity balls, formerly chaired the board of New York City's live storytelling series The Moth, currently serves on the board of classical music platform Groupmuse, and in 2004 won a British reality television series, "The Ultimate Playboy".


Christopher Steven Brown

Christopher Steven Brown (also known as CB and Chris Brown; born May 16, 1984, Flint, Michigan) is an American music executive.
Career.
After graduating from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, Brown began his career as a former executive of Citadel Communications. In 2014 and 2015 Brown was the co-host of the "Home and Castle Television" series.
Brown served as the Senior National Director of Pop at Sony Music.
Some of Brown's credits include multi-platinum awards.
In March 2020, Brown was nominated in the "Indy Record Executive" category of the "WorldWide Radio Summit" awards. The award was won by Daniel Glass from Glassnote Music.


John Calley

John Nicholas Calley (July 8, 1930 – September 13, 2011) was an American film studio executive and producer. He was quite influential during his years at Warner Bros., where he worked from 1968 to 1981, and "produced a film a month, on average, including commercial successes like "The Exorcist" and "Superman"." During his seven years at Sony Pictures starting in 1996, five of which he was chairman and chief executive, he was credited with "reinvigorat[ing]" that major film studio.
Awards and nominations.
Together with Mike Nichols and Ismail Merchant, Calley produced 1993's "The Remains of the Day", for which the trio received an Oscar nomination—Calley's only such Best Picture nomination.
A best picture nomination Calley potentially missed was when, as Sony's new head, he nixed the studio's backing of Terence Malick's 1998 film "The Thin Red Line", reportedly because he thought Malick couldn't keep to the budget. (The film stayed on budget and received seven Academy Award nominations.)
He was honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the inaugural Governors Awards ceremony on November 11, 2009. For the ceremony, Calley, unable to attend in person due to illness, recorded remarks that were projected on a giant video screen, remarks characterizing the life of a film studio executive and called "one of the night's more startling bits of honesty": "You're very unhappy for a long period of time. And you don't experience joy. At the end you experience relief, if you're lucky."
According to Mervyn LeRoy in his autobiography "Mervyn LeRoy: Take One," Calley played a big role in LeRoy's exit of Warner Bros. when The Kinney Company acquired it. Calley notified LeRoy that due to a "change in corporate thinking," the studio was not going to support his effort in producing the story "Thirteen Clocks". When LeRoy asked Calley about the promises that he had made before, Calley answered "We'll have to wait and see."
In 2000, Calley was presented with a commemorative plaque honoring 750,000 copies sold of the soundtrack to the hit 1999 film "Cruel Intentions".
Personal life.
Calley was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He grew up in poverty and was raised by a single mother during the Great Depression. As a child, he worked at a button factory and then as a janitor at his own high school.
He attended Columbia University in the late 1940s, and then briefly served in the Army.
His first significant industry job was at NBC's New York headquarters, at age 21, when he started in the mailroom.
From 1972 until a divorce in 1992, he was married to Czech actress and former Playboy cover girl Olga Schoberová. Calley adopted her daughter Sabrina, who became a set costumer.
When he left Warner Bros. in the early 1980s, citing an unhappy marriage and burn-out after involvement in the production of 120 films, Calley settled into a quieter life in his 35-room house on Fisher's Island in Long Island Sound. Later in the 1990s, with his companion, Sandra Hotz Lean, the ex-wife of famed film director Sir David Lean, the couple moved to Washington, CT. [See "Discussion"] In 1995, he married actress Meg Tilly; they divorced in 2002.
John Calley's best friend, director/producer Mike Nichols, with whom he collaborated on "The Remains of the Day", as well as on "Catch-22", "Postcards from the Edge", "The Birdcage" and "Closer", said this after Calley's death from a long-term, undisclosed illness: "John was unique. As a friend he was always there and always funny. He made life a joy for those he loved. As a studio head he was unfailingly supportive and didn't try to do the filmmaker's job. When he believed in someone he trusted and supported him and when very rarely he had a suggestion it was usually a lifesaver. In fact that's what he was: a lifesaver."
Filmography.
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Philanthropy.
The John N. Calley Foundation was founded in 2012 after John Calley's death in 2011. Given his reputation for identifying and nurturing creative visionaries, The Calley Foundation honors John Calley's legacy by providing opportunities for unrecognized, talented youth. The Foundation is based in Southern California and funds various non-profit organizations, including the Ghetto Film School - Los Angeles.


Richard H. Frank

Richard H. Frank is an American entertainment executive who served chairman of Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications (1994 to 1995) and as president of the Disney Studios (1985 to 1994).
Career.
Richard Frank was president of the Paramount Television Group in 1985. became president of Disney Studios under chair Jeffrey Katzenberg starting 1985. In August 1994 with the departure of Disney Studios chair Jeffrey Katzenberg, its filmed entertainment business, Disney Studios, was split into two, with the newly created Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications under Frank as chair. At the end of his contract on April 30, 1995, Frank left Disney.
Frank currently owns Frank Family Vineyards, a Napa Valley winery with four estate vineyards, and sits on the board of eco-friendly goods firm TerraCycle. In October 2009, Frank invested in and took a seat on the board of mobile marketing and advertising venture The Hyperfactory.


Aton Ben-Horin

Aton Ben-Horin (born October 11, 1979) is an American music executive and record producer. As of June 10, 2016, Aton serves as Global Vice President of A&R for all of Warner Music Group's labels, including Atlantic Records and Warner Bros. Records. Ben-Horin is also the Owner of Plush Recording Studios, the CEO of Plush Management LLC, and a founding partner/producer for The Agency (production team).
Aton initially began his career as a musician and songwriter in a touring rock band, Atomic Tangerine, sharing the stage with acts such as Simple Plan and Jimmy Eat World Aton then ventured into the dance music scene and began DJing and producing dance music, under the name DJ 8on. He headlined the BreakBeat stage at Ultra Music Festival, radio mix shows, and local music venues. In August 2007 Aton opened Plush Recording Studios, which has developed into one of the premier Florida recording studios, with clients such as Nicki Minaj, Flo Rida, Justin Bieber, and Chris Brown, to name a few. Through his production and songwriting team, The Agency, Aton has produced and licensed a catalog of songs with the likes of John Legend, Rick Ross, Ciara, and many more. Through Plush Management LLC, he signed YouTube sensation Avery in 2010 and secured her a major record deal with Universal Motown. His multi-faceted path soon led him to A&R. In 2012, Aton began doing A&R at Warner Music Group, under Mike Caren (worldwide president of A&R, Warner Music Group).
Since joining Warner Music Group, Aton has delivered hit singles for Cardi B, David Guetta, Jason Derulo, Flo Rida, and more. Some of his most recent successes include Cardi B's "Ring" (feat. Kehlani), Flo Rida's "My House" and "G.D.F.R." Jason Derulo's "Talk Dirty" and "Wiggle," David Guetta's "Hey Mama" (featuring Nicki Minaj and Bebe Rexha) and "Bad" (featuring Showtek and Vassy). Aton is also responsible for signing various acts at Warner, including Alec Benjamin, Bhad Bhabie, Goody Grace, Justin Quiles, and others. His current management roster includes The Monarch, Johnny Goldstein, and The Aristocrats (production team).


Abdisalam Aato

Abdisalam Aato (; ) (born 1976) is a Somali-American film director, producer, entrepreneur and media consultant. He is the founder of Olol Films, a production company at the forefront of the Somaliwood movement within the Somali film industry.
Personal life.
Aato was born in the '70s in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. After the civil war broke out in the early 1990s, he fled to Kenya in 1993, where he lived in a refugee camp near Mombasa for over three years.
In 1996, Aato traveled to the United States at the invitation of his brother. He initially resettled in Atlanta, Georgia with his entire family, prior to his father's death. In 2001, he relocated to Columbus, Ohio, a prominent center for the Somali diaspora, where he is currently based.
Aato is married. He describes his wife as his driving inspiration.
Career.
While in Georgia, Aato began his professional career as a broadcaster and radio announcer at a community television station, Media One. He would write screenplays a minute at a time, subsequently moving on to scripting full-length feature films. With his experience learning film production at Media One, Aato later founded Olol Films, a Columbus-based production company that is at the forefront of the Somaliwood movement within the Somali film industry.
In 2003, he released "Rajo" ("Hope"), his first feature-length Somali film. It is a semi-autobiographical action drama about a young Somali refugee. The movie was a relatively large production, with a helicopter and luxury vehicles hired for the purpose. It premiered to full houses on Thanksgiving at Studio 35 and a Minneapolis theater. It is It has since become recognized as the first film in the Somaliwood movement and made Columbus the center of Somali diasporic film production. The film marked the beginning of a new wave of Somali films in the 2000s; these films were written, directed and produced by Somali emigres outside Somalia.
As of 2007, Aato has produced, written and directed nine feature films and documentaries in his Cleveland Avenue studio. Two other productions were also in development. He works closely with his wife on all of his film projects, wherein she provides consultation and advice on areas in need of improvement.
Additionally, Aato launched Bartamaha, a multimedia website dedicated to Somali music, short films, news and culture. He likewise hosts the weekly television and online program the "Wargelin Show", which focuses on Somali politics and society. As of 2013, Aato also serves as a Senior Media Advisor to the Federal Government of Somalia.


Hal Adelquist

Hal Adelquist (11 July 1914– 26 March 1981) was an American animator, storyboard writer, animation and TV producer primarily known for his work in helping to create and produce "The Mickey Mouse Club," which began running as an ABC television series in 1955. Along with producer, Bill Walsh, and others at the behest of Walt Disney, the show was created and Adelquist was credited as an associate producer for several of the episodes where he served as right-hand man to Walsh.
Career.
Adelquist's ideas helped create the show from early conception to the first year, and he ensured that the series met production schedules. Adelquist also had served under Disney prior to the Mickey Mouse Club show as head assistant director on Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Adelquist started with Disney as an animator and later was promoted to "middle" management. Early in his career he served as an animator, then worked in the personnel department, and then was put in charge of the story department. One of his more notable tasks was to serve as a liaison between Walt Disney and his famous "Nine Old Men" of animation. It was later revealed by famous animator, Ward Kimball, in a 1980s interview with Michael Barrier, that the animators had chosen Hal as their spokesperson, even though by position he was studio management. Adelquist was demoted to "talent scout" in 1956 after working tirelessly to get the Mickey Mouse Club show off the ground. Shortly thereafter he resigned, never to work at Disney again.
Personal life.
Harold Williams Adelquist was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 11, 1914. His father, an accountant, came from a family of Swedish immigrants living in Iowa, while his mother, Francis Williams, was from Utah. The family relocated to California before 1920, and eventually settled in Los Angeles where he attended Los Angeles High School. After graduating in 1932 he went to work for Disney Studios that very year. He later married and had two daughters. Harold Williams Adelquist died March 26, 1981 in Long Beach, California.


James Bethea

James A. Bethea Jr. (born January 14, 1965) is an American writer, producer and occasional performer, primarily in the field of television. As the former Head of Current Programming for UPN, he is among a handful of African Americans to head a programming department at a broadcast network. Series overseen by him at UPN include "Star Trek Voyager", "Dilbert", "Clueless", and "Moesha". As an actor, his work has included 2008's "Iron Man" and the 2010 sequel, "Iron Man 2".
Early life and education.
Bethea was born in New York City's Harlem, the son of Constance, a social worker, and James Sr., a hospital laboratory technician. Following the Bronx High School of Science, he attended Hunter College, majoring in Film and Communications with a minor in Computer Science.
Career.
Bethea began his career in 1982 while a Bronx Science student, as a cast member of the Nickelodeon series "Livewire". Finding the behind-the-camera aspects of television equally appealing, he obtained work as a production assistant, first at the Children's Television Workshop, then back at Nickelodeon as a Segment Producer for the 3-hour weekly variety show "Nickelodeon's Total Panic". With high school classmate Karim Miteff, Bethea co-created and produced "Nick Arcade", a groundbreaking virtual reality series whose bluescreen process received an Ultimatte Award for Technical Achievement from the National Association of Broadcasters, as well as a Cable Ace nomination. The series format was licensed and produced worldwide, including as Zona De Juego in Spain for TVE. Bethea also co-created and produced the original "Slime Time Live", a long-running Nickelodeon daytime franchise that was the forerunner of sister network MTV's "TRL".
In 1997, Bethea was hired by Viacom's UPN as Director of Programming and promoted shortly after to Head of Current Programming. In this capacity, he supervised the production of the network's entire primetime slate, including comedy, drama and alternative series. He also appeared as a "D&D" Dungeon Master in high school classmate Jon Favreau's 1999 pilot "Smog". Eventually, Bethea sold the network a pilot script of his own, "The Gibsons" and in 2000, returned to freelance producing. The script was not ordered to series.
Tapped again by Nickelodeon in 2003, Bethea developed and produced the TEENick "Spin The Bottle" franchise, in addition to composing its theme music. In 2005, Bethea began executive producing live television events. They include E!'s "Live From the Red Carpet" franchise and the "12th Annual Critics' Choice Awards".
He is also the producer of two plays written by actor Mike O'Malley: "Three Years From Thirty" and "Searching For Certainty".
Bethea donned a military uniform to portray an analyst for Jon Favreau in his 2008 "Iron Man" and its sequel, "Iron Man 2"; a nod to their days in high school as avid comic book fans.


Gerard Cosloy

Gerard Cosloy (born 1964) is an American music industry executive.
Biography.
Cosloy was raised in Wayland, Massachusetts, a western suburb of Boston. While he was in high school, he became involved in the local hardcore punk scene, put together many punk shows, and started Conflict, a mimeographed fanzine of underground and alternative rock and art. He continued to write and edit the fanzine during the '80s and early '90s.
In 1984, Cosloy got a job at Homestead Records an independent label created by the Dutch East India Trading Co., a Long Island-based record distributor. He moved to New York for the position. Homestead put out many of the mid-80s defining alt-rock records, from Big Black, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., My Dad Is Dead, The Membranes and many others. He continued to publish Conflict during this time.
It was via Conflict that Cosloy first heard the band Pavement, after Scott Kannberg sent the fanzine the band's first studio recording, "Slay Tracks". He did some DJing at WZBC, Boston College's radio station, as well. He had a record label called Conflict Records, which issued two compilations called "Bands that Could be God I and II". He also put out a few singles. Cosloy also promoted shows in the Boston area, one of them being hardcore band Deep Wound which evolved into Dinosaur Jr.
Cosloy next worked with Matador Records. The label was started in 1989 by Dutch East employee Chris Lombardi and Cosloy joined into the partnership in 1990.
For a time Cosloy lived in London working with Matador's UK and US operations. As of Autumn 2004, he has been living in Austin, Texas, continuing his partnership with Lombardi.
He has also started the experimental record label Parallelism and the label 12XU.
Cosloy is also a musician and is a member of Air Traffic Controllers as well as working with punk singer GG Allin for a short period. From 1992-1996, he fronted the New York quartet Envelope, while briefly filling in as bassist for the Dustdevils during Mark Ibold's tenure in Pavement.
Cosloy has a daily mostly-sports blog called "Can't Stop the Bleeding".
Cosloy's house was destroyed by fire in August, 2009. Cosloy, who worked out of his home, and another resident were awakened and evacuated around 3 a.m. by an officer of the Austin Police Department. Cosloy was quoted as saying, "There are a lot of people who have a lot less than I do who deal with a lot worse, but this is pretty bad."


Danny Gold (journalist)

Danny Gold is an American journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is a 2018 Pulitzer Center grantee for reporting on gangs in El Salvador. Gold has produced documentaries and worked as a correspondent for PBS Newshour, AJ+, The Guardian, Fusion TV, HBO, and others. Gold was a founding producer and host for Vice News, and has written featured stories for "The Wall Street Journal," "Esquire", and "The New York Times", among others. He focuses on organized crime, armed conflict, and crises.
Personal life.
Danny Gold was born in New York City. He attended White Plains High School. Gold graduated from Tufts University with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2005, and a master's degree in Journalism from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in 2010.
Early career.
Gold was a stringer for the "New York Post" from 2011 to 2012. In 2012, Gold began reporting for "The Wall Street Journal". His coverage focused on New York City crime and breaking news. Gold covered the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013 and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for "The Wall Street Journal" and reported from Myanmar for NBC News.
Conflict reporting.
Syria.
During his first report from Syria during its civil war in 2012, Gold gained some of the earliest access to the People's Protection Units (YPG). In March 2013, during the Battle of Ras al-Ayn, Gold embedded with the Free Syrian Army's Mashaal Brigade.
Gold returned to Syria in 2015, where he was one of only a handful of journalists reporting directly from the besieged city of Kobane.
Gaza.
In late 2013, Gold was hired at the newly created international news outlet, Vice News. As part of the original launch team, Gold was deployed to Gaza in 2014 to cover the Israel-Gaza conflict. During that deployment, a series of 9 video dispatches were released, focusing on both the violence and political implications of the conflict.
Iraq.
Gold headed Vice's breaking news coverage of the 2014 attack on Mosul by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. He spent time on the frontline in Mosul during the early stages, and later embedded with Kurdish militia forces in the northern city of Kirkuk. When ISIL began an assault on the Christian city of Qaraqosh, east of Mosul, Gold covered the Peshmerga's attempts to fortify the city against ISIL mortar attacks.
Gold returned to Mosul in 2016 as a freelancer to cover the U.S.-supported military operation to liberate the city from ISIL control. The offensive was considered a final test of President Barack Obama's military strategy in the Middle East, and was called a "disaster" by President Donald Trump. The report was released by Fusion TV.
Ebola.
During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Gold and a team from Vice News traveled to Monrovia, Liberia. He produced a half-hour special on the epidemic, speaking to doctors, aid workers, and victims. Gawker called the brashness of the report "terrifying". The film went on to win a 2015 Webby Award.
El Salvador.
Gold began reporting from El Salvador in 2015, covering MS-13 and 18th Street gang activity, and government countermeasures. In 2018, he received a Pulitzer Center grant to investigate the effects of American deportation, as well as methods for escaping the cycle of gang violence.


Lolee Aries

Lolee Aries (April 18, 1957 - July 10, 2018) was a television producer specializing in animated series. Aries has been an executive producer of "Rugrats", "Hey Arnold!", "King of the Hill", "CatDog", "Family Guy", "Dora the Explorer", "Invader Zim", "The Fairly OddParents", "Oswald", and "ChalkZone", and among other shows like "The Simpsons", "The Angry Beavers", "SpongeBob SquarePants", and "The Oblongs". Aries also worked for Film Roman Inc. also as an executive producer.


Dee Anthony

Dee Anthony (April 9, 1926 – October 25, 2009) was an American talent manager who started in the business with fellow Bronx native Jerry Vale. After meeting Tony Bennett in 1954 at a nightclub in Yonkers, New York, he ended up representing the singer for more than a decade. From the 1960s to the mid-1990s, Anthony managed a number of music artists, including Humble Pie, Traffic, Jethro Tull, Joe Cocker, Gary Wright, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Montrose, Devo and Armageddon, with his most notable client being Peter Frampton.
He was born on April 9, 1926, and grew up in the Bronx as Anthony D'Addario, changing his name in the late 1950s. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy in the submarine service. After completing his military service, he started booking events for his friend Jerry Vale, ultimately becoming the road manager for crooner Tony Bennett. He started Bandana Enterprises with his brother in 1968, which managed artists such as Joe Cocker, Ten Years After and the J. Geils Band.
The English band Humble Pie had brought Anthony on in 1969 to help them gain entry into the American music scene, hoping to build on Anthony's success with helping other British groups including Spooky Tooth and Traffic, reach into the U.S. record market. Anthony had the band tour extensively around the United States, and Humble Pie produced the moderately successful live album "Performance Rockin' the Fillmore" in 1971 which helped them gain recognition with American record purchasers.
Marriott always believed Dee Anthony had siphoned off band earnings to promote his new project, Frampton and his album "Frampton Comes Alive!". After Marriott's death, second wife Pam Stephens claimed in an interview that while they were making the Marriott solo album they were warned off accusing Anthony of any financial misdealings and received threatening phone calls. Anthony was alleged to have links with the Genovese crime family (among others). Stephens also claimed that after Marriott confronted Anthony about the missing money, she and Marriott were summoned to a meeting at the Ravenite Social Club on Mulberry Street in New York's Little Italy district. Among those present were John Gotti, Frank Locascio and Paul Castellano, all members of the Gambino crime family. Marriott was informed that he would not be getting any money and was warned to drop the matter. He took the threats seriously.
Frampton remained with Anthony as his manager after he left Humble Pie to perform on his own, and Anthony had Frampton follow the same model of extensive touring that they had used previously. The resulting 1976 album, "Frampton Comes Alive!", became one of the best-selling live albums ever in the United States and established Frampton's status in the American hard rock scene. His subsequent albums, such as "I'm in You" in 1977, never attained the heights of his original live album. Anthony put Frampton in the 1978 film "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", which failed both commercially and critically, with Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" deriding the movie as "a business deal set to music". Anthony had claimed that Paul McCartney was going to be in the film, which turned out to be totally untrue. Frampton left Anthony shortly afterwards.
From the 1980s until his retirement in the mid-1990s, Anthony represented acts such as Peter Allen, Basia and Devo. He had a small role in the 1982 Jamaican film "Countryman."
Fred Goodman recorded Anthony's three rules of success in his 1997 book "Mansion on the Hill": "1) Get the money. 2) Remember to get the money; and, 3) Don't forget to always remember to get the money."
The Southport, Connecticut, resident died at age 83 on October 25, 2009 at Norwalk Hospital of pneumonia. He was survived by his second wife, Valerie Anthony, as well as by four daughters and six grandchildren. An earlier marriage ended in divorce. Anthony's daughter, Michele Anthony, is the executive vice president of the Universal Music Group. She was formerly the president and chief operating officer of Sony Music.


Chris Barrett (filmmaker)

Chris Barrett (born July 24, 1982 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) is an American Internet entrepreneur, film director, spokesperson, and author who is featured in the 2004 Sundance award winning documentary The Corporation and its 2020 sequel .
Early Life and background.
Barrett grew up in Bryn Mawr, PA and graduated from Haddonfield Memorial High School in 2001. Barrett attended Pepperdine University.
Career.
First Corporately Sponsored College Student.
Barrett launched his entrepreneurial career in high school, during a national search for a corporation to sponsor his college education. In exchange for college tuition, Barrett was willing to be a company's “spokesguy” and wear clothes with the sponsors' logo on them. The inspiration for the came after Chris saw a TV commercial featuring professional golfer and Nike spokesperson Tiger Woods wearing Nike logo on his hat.
Barrett was named an up-and-comer to watch in 2001 by the New York Post, during his search to become the first corporately sponsored college student.
Barrett became the first corporately sponsored college student, when he was named a financial responsibility spokesperson for the credit card company First USA, which was owned by BankOne. The corporate sponsorship announcement happened on NBC’s The Today Show in June 2001.
Powerhouse Pictures.
In 2006, Barrett co-founded Powerhouse Pictures with actor Efren Ramirez. Where he directed the documentary After School, about teacher student sex scandals, which was announced on CNN’s Larry King Live.
Political career.
Grassroots For Sanders.
In 2015, Barrett co-founded #BernItForward, a web app where you would donate $3 on behalf of 3 friends to the 2016 Bernie Sanders Presidential campaign. He then joined Grassroots for Sanders as an assistant fundraising manager, the organization behind the subreddit r/SandersForPresident, where he helped raise $10 million dollars directly to the 2016 Sanders campaign.
Elected to Office.
Inspired by Bernie Sanders progressive politics, in 2017 Barrett joined the Collingswood, New Jersey democratic ticket and was elected to the Camden County Democratic Committee. While elected to office, Barrett worked with the Democratic party to make the voice of younger, more progressive, voters heard within the New Jersey Democratic party. Barrett is an advocate for legalizing marijuana and social justice reform, eliminating student loan debt, and gun control.
The Corporation.
Barrett was featured in Sundance Film Festival award winning documentary film The Corporation is a 2003 Canadian documentary film written by University of British Columbia law professor Joel Bakan, and directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. The documentary examines the modern-day corporation. Barrett was interviewed to discuss being the first corporately sponsored college student.
Barrett was also featured in the 2020 sequel, , a Canadian documentary film, directed by Joel Bakan and Jennifer Abbott that premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. The film profiles new developments in the political and social power of corporations since the release of the original. After 17 years, Chris Barrett returned in the sequel to share his transformation from being the first corporately sponsored college student to pay for his college education to now being a Bernie Sanders inspired progressive grassroots politician. The film also showcases Barrett's run for political office in New Jersey and becoming an elected official.
Direct Your Own Life.
Barrett is co-author of the non-fiction business book "Direct Your Own Life: How to be a Star in Any Field Your Choose", published by Kaplan Publishing ().
Barrett and Napoleon Dynamite actor Efren Ramirez co-authored the book aimed at encouraging readers to achieve their life goals.


Trevor Muzzy

Trevor Muzzy (born May 22) is a Grammy award-winning mixer, producer, songwriter, engineer, guitarist, and bassist, known for his work with Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Jason Derulo, Pitbull, Alejandro Sanz, and Nicki Minaj. He has engineered and mixed multi-platinum tracks like “On The Floor” (JLo feat. Pitbull), “Starships” (Nicki Minaj), “Judas” (Lady Gaga), and more.


Kay Oyegun

Kay Oyegun is an American writer, producer, and director. She is known for her writing for This Is Us, of which she also produced and directed several episodes, and her writing for Queen Sugar. probably nigerian She made her This Is Us directorial debut in the "Birth Mother" episode which aired on January 12, 2021.
Oyegun wrote the original script for Assisted Living, an upcoming Paramount movie which will mark Cardi B's debut in a leading movie role.
Oyegun has a bachelors degree in Journalism from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in Producing from USC.


John Fry (record producer)

John Edward Fry (December 31, 1944 – December 18, 2014) was the founder of Ardent Records in Memphis, Tennessee, which includes Ardent Studios; two record labels, Ardent Records (Christian label) and Ardent Music (mainstream label); and a production company, Ardent Film Department. The business was founded in 1959. It moved into commercial spaces at 1457 National Street in 1966.
Music career.
Fry engineered and produced an eclectic array of records. , Ardent Studios had recorded over 70 gold and platinum albums and singles, many for Stax Records. He was best known for his work on the first three Big Star albums and as the band's mentor.
Ardent Studios was used by recording artists including Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, ZZ Top, R.E.M., Stevie Ray Vaughan, Al Green, the Allman Brothers Band, B.B. King, the White Stripes, the Replacements, and Three 6 Mafia as well as Stax Records recording artists including Cat Power, M.I.A., and Big Star. About 20 percent of the Stax catalog was recorded at Ardent, and the major Stax artists recorded there, except for Otis Redding, who died in 1967.
Fry had served as the national president of the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS); chairman of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission; chairman of the Memphis Film Commission; president and national trustee of the Memphis Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy organization), and chairman of the Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission. He was also a board member of the Memphis Music Foundation, Visible School Music and Worship Arts College. He was also the chairman of the University of Memphis Music Industry Advisory Board.
Awards and honors.
Fry received the 2006 Distinguished Achievement in the Creative and Performing Arts Award from the College of Communication and Fine Arts at the University of Memphis. On November 6, 2014, Fry was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. Upon his induction, fewer than fifty people had been so-honored.
Death and legacy.
Fry died of cardiac arrest in a Memphis hospital on December 18, 2014, at the age of 69.


Howard Dietz

Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz.
Biography.
Dietz was born in New York City. He attended Columbia College and then studied journalism at Columbia University. He also served as publicist/director of advertising for Goldwyn Pictures and later MGM and is often credited with creating Leo the Lion, its lion mascot, and choosing their slogan "Ars Gratia Artis". In 1942, he was made MGM's Vice President in Charge of Publicity. He held that position until his retirement in 1957.
He began a long association with composer Arthur Schwartz when they teamed up for the Broadway revue "The Little Show" in 1929. They would continue to work on and off over the next 30 or so years. Dietz served in the US Navy in World War I and became editor of their magazine, "Navy Life". During World War II, he assisted the U.S. Treasury Department with the publicity and promotion of War Bonds and created stage shows for the Coast Guard with composer Vernon Duke.
Dietz saved copies of every document relating to his career, as well as relating to the publicity campaigns of every MGM film he publicized. After his death, this vast trove of artifacts was donated to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The archive on Dietz constitutes its single largest archive on any person or subject.
In 1972, Howard Dietz was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. And, in 1981, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Personal life.
Dietz was married three times. He married Elizabeth Bigelow Hall in 1917. They divorced in 1936. In 1930, the couple had bought a townhouse on 18 West 11th Street in Greenwich Village from stockbroker Charles E. Merrill, founder of Merrill Lynch. The townhouse was later bought by advertising executive James Platt Wilkerson, whose daughter Cathlyn Platt Wilkerson was a member of the far-left terrorist organization Weather Underground; Wilkerson's associates were assembling a bomb in the basement in 1970 when it exploded and destroyed the townhouse.
Dietz married Tanis Guinness Montagu on January 25, 1937, and had a daughter; they divorced 14 years later, in 1951. Later that year, he married the costume designer Lucinda Ballard. He died in New York City of Parkinson's disease.


Ash Avildsen

Ashley "Ash" Avildsen (born November 5, 1981) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and the founder and CEO of Sumerian Records and Sumerian Films. The son of director John G. Avildsen, he was the writer and director of the films "What Now" (2015) and "American Satan" (2017). Avildsen also played a lead role in "What Now" and is responsible for numerous nationwide tours such as Summer Slaughter, All Stars Tour, Thrash and Burn, and more.
Sumerian Records.
Sumerian Records (currently located in Los Angeles) was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen. Initially, the label was run out of his one-bedroom apartment in Venice Beach, beginning with the bands The Faceless and Stick To Your Guns. Sumerian has since released over 100 albums, expanded their roster to feature a diverse collective of over 40 artists, and recently celebrated their 10-year anniversary as a successful independent label.
Filmography.
"What Now" (2015) - Released Digitally / VOD
"American Satan" (2017)
"Paradise City" (2021)


Donald P. Borchers

Donald P. Borchers is a film producer, director, and screenwriter.
Biography.
Donald P. Borchers is an American producer. Borchers was a production associate at Avco Embassy Pictures in the early 1980s.
An independent production deal with New World Pictures resulted in "Children of the Corn" (1984) and other films. Borchers founded Planet Productions Corp., and went on to produce "Two Moon Junction" (1988), "Leprechaun 2" (1994), and others. He produced three films for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Playhouse television series and serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Cinema/Television.
Archives.
The moving image collection of Donald P. Borchers is held at the Academy Film Archive. The film collection at the Academy Film Archive is complemented by the Donald P. Borchers papers held at the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library.
Other projects.
From 1984 to 1996, Borchers served as an adjunct professor at the Peter Stark Producing Program, a Master of Fine Arts program in the USC School of Cinematic Arts teaching CIN 565, the budgeting and scheduling requisite class. In 2016, Borchers started a YouTube channel.


Ivan Matias

Ivan Matias is an American singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, hip hop ghostwriter, and entrepreneur. He is primarily known for writing and producing hit songs for artists like En Vogue ("Don't Let Go (Love)") Angie Stone ("Wish I Didn't Miss You"), SWV ("You're The One"), and Blu Cantrell ("Breathe") among others which have sold over 44 million records worldwide and appear on over 100 greatest hits and compilation albums.
Matias has also had four major label recording deals with Atlantic Records, London Records, Arista Records, and Elektra Entertainment. Only his Arista artist album was released and produced a #1 Dance Single "I've Had Enough".
Matias has been featured on several soundtracks including "Dr. Dolittle" ("Do Little Things"), "Set It Off" ("Set It Off"), "The Mod Squad" ("Messin' Around") and "Sprung" ("Since You've Gone Away").
Early career.
Ivan began his career as a backing singer & dancer for many artists including Mariah Carey and Busta Rhymes. He went on from these humble beginnings to write and produce songs recorded by many of the industries leading acts including Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z, Pink, Dr. Dre, Curtis Mayfield, Janet Jackson, Nelly, Lil' Kim, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Outkast, Queen Latifah, Toni Braxton, En Vogue, SWV, Angie Stone, Blu Cantrell, Sean Paul, Silk, Az Yet, Traci Spencer, Fatboy Slim, Chico Debarge, Ray J, Changing Faces, Tomcraft, Xscape,The Braxtons, Immature, City High, Another Level, Jody Watley, Eric Sermon and Bette Midler.
Many of his songs have been featured worldwide on MTV, BET, VH1, NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS, BBC, ITV & performed on AMERICAN IDOL, THE X FACTOR (around the world), DANCING WITH THE STARS, THE VOICE, EMMY AWARDS, R&B DIVAS & SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and many other commercial placements.
Matias was signed to Warner/Chappell Music at the age of 19 making him one of the youngest and longest-running active writers in Warner's history. Matias has also had one of his songs appear on a newly released album for 18 consecutive years since his writing career began in 1995.
His career has included collaboration with top producers and writers including Dr.Dre, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Arif Mardin, Diane Warren, Wyclef Jean, Rodney Jerkins, Narada Michael Walden, Mervyn Warren, Just Blaze, Full Force, Frankie Knuckles, Randy Jackson, Rhett Lawrence, CJ Mackintosh and others. Many of Matias' hits were written with longtime songwriting partner Andrea Martin.
Caushun The Gay Rapper.
In 2000, Matias created a parody artist, Caushun, who received attention after he was announced as the first openly gay rapper to be signed to a major record label, including a "New York Times" cover & features in several publications, documentaries & television networks including Newsweek, Fox News, MTV, BET VH1 and recurring appearances on NY's HOT 97 and WBLS radio stations. Matias negotiated with hip hop mogul Russell Simmons to release an album of the parody rapper. Matias' creation has been credited with building the bridge between the LGBT community and the hip hop community as well as cultivating and drawing attention to the underground LGBT hip hop scene.
Recent News.
In December 2013 Matias' song "Don't Let Go (Love)" soared back to #1 & #3 simultaneously on the iTunes chart after Little Mix performed on The X Factor UK. Australian singer Greg Gould’s version of the track topped the charts globally in 2017 and the music video has had over 20 million views. Matias put Gould in touch with En Vogue’s Maxine Jones and the two re-recorded Gould’s arrangement of the song as a duet and then embarked on a tour together in late 2017.


Double Dragon (music producer)

Double Dragon is a Hip-Hop/R&B music production duo consisting of siblings Roy Chong and Elmo Chong also known as the "Funk Seoul Brothers".
Biography.
Hailing from Vancouver, Canada Double Dragon began producing music for several local artists in 2001. Not until 2005 did they finally catch a break producing music for #1 selling Canadian Hip-Hop group Swollen Members. The album "Black Magic" was a triumphant success winning a "Juno Award" for Rap Recording of the Year 2007. The Double Dragon produced & co-written song "Brothers" went on to be featured in the major motion picture "In the Mix" starring platinum R&B singer Usher Raymond.
During 2005 Double Dragon also solidified a relationship with #1 selling Korean Hip Hop group Drunken Tiger. This project signified big changes for the rapping duo as the exit of member DJ Shine, left remaining member Tiger JK to carry on the Drunken tradition. The new album "1945 Liberation" went on to be a great success for Tiger JK and the whole Drunken movement. Double Dragon produced song "Put Your Hands Up Here" was an instant club and Karaoke favorite.
In late 2005 Double Dragon found themselves in collaboration with critically acclaimed Gospel/Christian hip hop artist Da' T.R.U.T.H. Part of a Gospel Hip-Hop collective called Cross Movement, Da' T.R.U.T.H is known for his powerful lyrics, energetic music and unfailing faith. His second album entitled "The Faith" marked Da' T.R.U.T.H's arrival at centre stage, poised to speak to those who were ready to listen. Double Dragon produced song "Incredible Christian" became the lead single for the album, which debuted at #7 on "Billboard" Gospel charts. Double Dragon also produced "2 is Better", which lent an R&B feel to the album. "The Faith" went on to win a Stellar Award for Best Gospel Hip-Hop album of 2006.
Still focused on projects in Korea Double Dragon began work with Yang Dong-geun (YDG) in 2006. YDG is an accomplished A-List actor, starring in major Korean motion pictures and many Korean TV dramas. Double Dragon produced 4 songs for his 3rd album. "W.I.D.G.Y", "Run", "When I Was a Teenager", and "Neighborhood". Coming off the success of his movie career the album was well received.
At the same time Double Dragon was producing a song for Korean R&B crooner Bobby Kim. The Double Dragon song "For the Moment" was produced for a popular Korean TV series called "Breaks" also featured in the show's soundtrack.
2007 gave way to a new project for Double Dragon with Korean Pop/Hip-Hip/R&B artist Yun Mi Rae (Tasha Reid, or T) formerly of Tashannie. Her long-awaited album came only after a drawn out battle with her former record label. Double Dragon produced song "Pay Day" was a standout Hip-Hop anthem, that Korean audiences responded to immediately.
The future.
Now based in New York City, Double Dragon is setting up to work with more US major label artists. 2007 will continue to showcase Double Dragon's work with artists such as Swollen Members, YDG and Drunken Tiger.


Larry Meistrich

Larry Meistrich (born October 14, 1966) is an American film producer. He was a founding member of the now defunct film production company The Shooting Gallery.
Meistrich attended Johns Hopkins University graduating in 1989 with a degree in writing. While at Hopkins, he was a brother of Alpha Delta Phi.
He produced "Sling Blade", with Billy Bob Thornton, which won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay. He won an Independent Spirit Award for producing "You Can Count on Me" in 2001 and the film was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. Meistrich now is the founder and chairman of NEHST Studios. NEHST has combined with another studio to create DigiNext Films.


Lenny Beer

Lenny Beer is an American media executive and artist manager. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of "HITS Magazine", a co-founder and principal of the MGMT Company, and a theater producer and investor.
Early life and education.
Beer was born in the Bronx. His father, Morton, was a wholesale textiler and his mother Gloria a homemaker. He grew up in the New York City suburbs of Kew Gardens, New Hyde Park and Great Neck. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BA in business in 1971, and was awarded an MBA from New York University in 1973.
Career.
Beer worked briefly in a marketing capacity for Clairol after receiving his MBA. In 1973, he was hired as the chart editor at "Record World". Like "Billboard" and "Cashbox" at the time, "Record World" based its charts on subjective data; Beer designed and implemented a system based on market research and piece counts, and created a transparent set of rules and procedures that determined how albums and singles were ranked. He was promoted to vice president at "Record World" before leaving in 1978 to accept a position as vice president of promotion at 20th Century Fox Records.
In late 1978, Beer partnered with Dennis Lavinthal, also a record executive, to form MusicVision, an independent promotion and marketing company. Shortly after the company was founded, Beer and Lavinthal were retained to promote a slate of Warner Bros. Records albums, including Prince's self titled album, which was his first platinum record, and "Van Halen II", the best-selling of all of Van Halen's 12 studio albums. They had similar success with later projects, including the promotional campaign at Top 40 radio for Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark", which became the biggest hit of Springsteen's career. They worked directly for Michael Jackson and Prince, and together managed Steely Dan founder Donald Fagen when his 1982 album, "The Nightfly" was released. The album, Fagen's first solo release, was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.
Beer co-founded the music industry trade magazine "Hits" in August 1986 as an irreverent alternative to "Billboard." In a 1990 interview with the "Los Angeles Times" Beer said: ""Billboard" is dry. "Radio & Records" is very dry. They have terrific statistics and have good hard news. But we all got in the entertainment business because it was fun. And we're the only magazine that conveys the fun factor." The magazine quickly found its niche, and although unavailable on newsstands, it grossed more than $10 million annually in the 1990s. "Equally hilarious and insulting to all willing to read it," "Hits" became the industry's most successful trade magazine. Beer has served as editor-in-chief of "Hits" since its inception.
He co-founded The MGMT Company with Lavinthal in 2008. Among other artists, they manage the Grammy Award-winning bands Pentatonix and A Great Big World, The Airborne Toxic Event and Eagles of Death Metal.
Beer invests in and produces theater productions. He was a producer of Suzan-Lori Parks' "Topdog/Underdog," which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2002) and received a Tony nomination for Best Play. He also served as a producer on the 2015 Broadway musical based on the 1992 film "Honeymoon in Vegas."
From 2003 until 2016, Beer was an instructor for the UCLA Extension course, "The Music Business Now: How It Really Works". He has been a guest speaker at USC and the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU and served as a member of the Grammy screening committee for six years. "Widely considered one of the most knowledgeable people in the music industry," he frequently provides commentary for publications including the "New York Times". He was featured in a Frontline documentary on PBS titled "The Way the Music Died."
Personal life.
Beer and his wife, Susan (Suzi) Dietz, live in Sherman Oaks, California. They have two children, Jesse and Sofee. Dietz, a theater producer, has been nominated for five Tony awards.


Bud Feltman

Francis Lloyd "Bud" Feltman (born March 12, 1939) is a former member of the first United States Olympic luge team, which competed in the 1964 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Feltman held the U.S. men's luge record until 2002.
Feltman was born and raised in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and attended Idaho Falls High School. He briefly attended college at Utah State University before joining the army.
In the early 1960s, Feltman was a part of the U.S. Army ski team in Germany. During that time, he and a few other Army ski members formed a luge team, coached by Bob Cole. They were the first luge team to represent the United States in the 1964 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruk, Austria. Feltman was on track to win the bronze medal, but had a disappointing final run and placed 13th.
In 1968, Feltman coached the Canadian luge team for the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France.
In the 1970s, Feltman helped start Scott USA, later leaving to start Smith USA, a ski goggle and pole company. In the 1984, he started a sportswear glasses company called SVSV. Feltman has worked in timeshare and real estate sales since the 1990s. He has also taught skiing at Deer Valley. He has since lived in Newport Beach, California, Kapaa, Hawaii and Park City, Utah. He currently lives in Ecuador. Feltman has three daughters, Tiffany (1969), Shelby (1972) and Miley (1991),and four grandchildren.


Mark Amin

Mohammed Mark Amin (), known professionally as Mark Amin, is an Iranian American motion picture producer, distributor and writer who has been working in independent and mainstream cinema for more than two decades. Some of Amin's film credits include "The Prince and Me" (2004), starring Julia Stiles, 1997's "Eve's Bayou", starring Samuel L. Jackson, and 2002's "Frida", a biopic which Amin executive produced.
Amin served as producer for the Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions film "Girl Most Likely" (2012), starring Annette Bening and Matt Dillon, as well as producer for "Eliza Graves" (2014), starring Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine. Most recently, Amin's film production company, Sobini Films, assisted in the production of "Miles Ahead", starring Don Cheadle and Ewan McGregor. Sobini also served as a producer for Good Kill (2015) with Ethan Hawke.
Besides his career as a film producer, Amin has also been active in other business and investment interests. Amin is an investor and member of the advisory board of EdgeCast, a content delivery firm which sold in 2013 to Verizon for $400 million. He is also chairman and major shareholder of gymra.com, the fitness website. Additionally, Amin is active in the development of almond and pistachio orchards in central California.
Early life and education.
Amin is originally from Rafsanjan, a small town in Iran. Raised in a family that was in the pistachio trading business, Amin immigrated to the United States in 1967, finishing out his last year of high school in Colorado.
In 1972, Amin graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in economics. After earning his bachelor's degree, Amin attended New York University's business school for one semester. However, New York City proved too overwhelming and Amin transferred to the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. Amin graduated from the management school with a Masters of Business Administration in Marketing in 1975.
Career.
Early career.
After graduating from management school, Amin worked for Western Gear, a construction machinery firm, and returned to Iran as the company's representative.
In 1979, political and military conflict arose in Iran. As a result, Amin moved to Europe and then returned to Los Angeles. Following his return, Amin became involved in a number of businesses, including real estate, petrochemicals and commodities.
Early film career.
Amin's career in the film industry started in the early 1980s through his involvement with a chain of video stores in Los Angeles known as 20/20 Video. In 1985, Amin formed Vidmark Entertainment, an "aggressive independent supplier" of video releases operating in the early era of home video entertainment. Among their niches was obtaining the videocassette rights to Television films often made as TV movies of the week. It was with the financial success of Vidmark's early video releases that inspired Amin to further expand his efforts as a producer.
Trimark Pictures.
With an initial investment of $270,000, Amin co-founded Trimark Holdings, a company which would include among its subsidiaries, Trimark Pictures, Trimark Television and Trimark Interactive. Amin served as chairman and CEO of the newly formed company. Trimark Pictures went on to release such titles as "Warlock" (1989), "The Dentist" (1996) and the "Leprechaun" franchise (the first of which starred a young Jennifer Aniston).
In 2000, Trimark merged with Lions Gate Entertainment in a move that made Amin Lionsgate's single largest shareholder, as well as its vice chairman. During Amin's nine-year tenure as vice chairman of Lionsgate, the company's revenue grew from $184 million to $1.2 billion. The production company also produced and distributed film releases that included "Monster's Ball" (2001), starring Halle Berry, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, and Academy Award for Best Picture-winner, "Crash" (2004).
During this time, Amin also became chairman of CinemaNow, an online independent film distributor.
Sobini Films.
In 2001, Amin founded Sobini Films, a production company focused on producing specialized and mainstream commercial films. Since its founding, Sobini Films has produced a number of films, including "Streets of Legend" (2003), a Sundance award winner, "An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong" (2009) and "Sexy Evil Genius" (2013). Sobini Films has several upcoming projects in various stages of production, including "Stonehearst Asylum" and "I Live For You".
Controversy over DuPont Fabros Technology Inc. Stock.
In 2012, the SEC alleged that Mark Amin learned confidential information about expanding business opportunities for DuPont Fabros Technology Inc., which develops and manages facilities that maintain large computer servers for technology companies. It was alleged that Amin tipped his brother and cousin with this confidential information. The three allegedly illegally traded on the basis of that inside information and allegedly gained profits from this insider trading. Mark Amin and five others agreed to settle the SEC's charges by collectively paying nearly $2 million.
Personal life.
Philanthropic efforts and contributions.
In 1997, Amin donated $25,000 to the University of Kansas to start a scholarship for those students studying film at the school.
In 2000, Amin and his brother, Reza Amin, formed the Bijan and Soraya Amin Foundation, which has helped support organizations that include the National Ability Center, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the University Muslim Medical Association.
In 2011, Amin produced a documentary entitled "Jujitsu-ing Reality" on Scott Lew, a screenwriter with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. On May 29, 2014, Amin was recognized for increasing support and awareness of ALS at the ALS Association Golden West Chapter A Night at the Esseys Awards.
Amin is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Farhang Foundation, an organization which promotes the study and research of Iranian art and culture.
Recognition.
In 2010, Amin earned an Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award from his alma mater, the University of Kansas.


John Aitken (music publisher)

John Aitken ("c". 1745September 8, 1831) was a Scottish-American music publisher. For a period of over six years, he was the only publisher of sheet music in the United States and may have been the first American publisher of secular music as well.
History.
Early life.
Aitken was born in Dalkeith, Scotland around 1745. In October 1771, he arrived in Philadelphia via Rotterdam and became an indentured servant to goldsmith William Taylor for one-and-a-half years. By 1780, he had become a taxpaying property owner of Philadelphia, and had begun selling his services as a silversmith. The Philadelphia Museum of Art houses two of his creations, a teaspoon and a creamer.
In the mid-1780s, he married Elizabeth, with whom he had several children. The Aitkens were good friends with innkeeper James Oeller and his wife; the Oellers served as godparents to the Aitken children. Although Aitken was buried in an Episcopal cemetery, he took an active part in Philadelphia's Catholic community as a member of Old St. Mary's in the 1780s and 1790s—he served as godparents to several of the parish's children, regularly donated to the church, and rented a pew there.
Music publishing.
Aitken appears to have started his music publishing career in 1787, producing three works. "Three Rondos" for piano by William Brown was announced in the pages of the "Pennsylvania Packet" on January 23, 1787. Aitken's second project may have been Alexander Reinagle's "A Selection of the Most Favorite Scots Tunes". Reinagle was a fellow Scottish immigrant, arriving in Philadelphia in 1786. He may have been influential in Aitken's decision to use the "punch" engraving process for sheet music; Aitken was the first to do so in the United States.
His final work in 1787 was his own "A Compilation of the Litanies and Vespers Hymns and Anthems as They Are Sung in the Catholic Church", the first American collection of Catholic music. Although there is scholarly debate as to whether the work, which spans 136 pages, is representative of actual Catholic musical practice in post-revolutionary America, Reverend John Carroll approved its publication—his signature, along with those of three Philadelphian priests, appears in an approbation preceding the title page, which endorsed "an undertaking so conducive to the Decency and Solemnity of Religious Worship".
From 1787 to 1793, Aitken was the only publisher of sheet music in the United States, publishing at least 20 works, many of which were by Reinagle. Between 1793 and 1806, he only published two works: a collection entitled "Scots Musical Museum" (1797) and "The Goldsmith's Rant" (1802). The latter, a song that he composed, consisted of a single page of sheet music. An advertisement touting Aitken's services as a goldsmith and jeweler appeared on the back of the page.
In 1807, Aitken returned to regularly publishing music, opening a shop on North Second Street. He expanded his publications to secular works, and he may have been the earliest American publisher of secular music. He printed some 125 works from 1807 to 1811. Although he ceased publishing music in 1811, he continued working in the printing trade until 1825. After his death in 1831, he was buried in the cemetery of Christ Church.


Burt Balaban

Burt Balaban (6 March 1922 - 14 October 1965) was an American film producer and director.
Biography.
Balaban was born to a Jewish family, the son of Tillie (nee Urkov) from her first marriage, and stepson of Barney Balaban. He was the nephew of Elmer Balaban, the nephew of A. J. Balaban, the brother of author Judy Balaban, and the cousin of actor Bob Balaban of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977) and "Gosford Park" (2001).
He was born in Chicago and graduated from Roanoke College. During World War Two he was a combat photographer with the Marines.


Derek Wayne Johnson

Derek Wayne Johnson (born February 23, 1983) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.
Early life and education.
Born and raised in Carthage, Texas, Johnson began making short films at an early age, winning several awards while still in high school. Johnson directed his first feature film, "Within Us", in his senior year of film school at Stephen F. Austin State University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Film in 2006.
Career.
After college, Johnson tried his hand at acting, starring in independent feature films and appearing in small roles in theatrically released and made-for-TV movies. Deciding to forgo acting and focus solely on filmmaking, he directed three independent feature films in Texas and Louisiana, including "Broken Blood" and "Scrape", before relocating to Hollywood.
In 2017, Johnson directed and produced a documentary about Academy Award-winning director John G. Avildsen whose credits include "Rocky" and "The Karate Kid". "John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs" examines Avildsen's life, career and films and features interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Ralph Macchio, Martin Scorsese, Talia Shire and Burt Reynolds, among others. The documentary is an unofficial companion to the book "The Films of John G. Avildsen: Rocky, The Karate Kid, and Other Underdogs" written by Larry Powell and Tom Garrett.
Sylvester Stallone hand-picked Johnson to direct and produce a documentary on the making of the original "Rocky", titled "40 Years of Rocky": "The Birth of a Classic" (aka "Becoming Rocky": "The Birth of a Classic"). Originally intended to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of "Rocky" in 2016, hence the title, production was put off for a couple of years due to certain delays. The documentary was released June 9, 2020 in the U.S. and Canada by Virgil Films and internationally by Branded Studios. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired the documentary to eventually air on their cable and streaming channel Epix. The documentary features Sylvester Stallone narrating behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the film.
Johnson directed and produced "STALLONE: Frank, That Is", a feature-length documentary about musician and actor Frank Stallone, brother of Sylvester Stallone, released January 19, 2021 by Branded Studios. The multi-award winning documentary features interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Dee Williams, Duff McKagan, Joe Mantegna, and many others.
Sylvester Stallone once again hand-picked Johnson to edit the upcoming 2021 documentary "Keep Punching: The Present Meets the Past", directed by John Herzfeld. The documentary follows Stallone's journey in the editing room as he reworks his classic 80's hit Rocky IV into a new version titled "Rocky vs. Drago: The Ultimate Director's Cut".
Johnson and producing partner Chris May recently formed two production companies in Hollywood, CA; Cinema 83 Entertainment, which focuses on feature films, and Cinema 83 Documentary Films which focuses on documentaries.
Personal life.
Johnson cites his original VHS copy of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as the reason he became a filmmaker, calling it "the holy grail" of his movie collection and the film he studied the most growing up.
Johnson is a lifelong martial artist and 3rd Level Black Belt in the art of American Karate.