Gary Baker
-
Gary Baker refuses to rest on his laurels.
Even though he’s earned a Grammy Award and created two of the music industry’s
best-selling crossover hits, the multi-talented singer,
songwriter and producer from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, prefers focusing on future
projects and fresh musical horizons.
“I have one goal – to keep it all going and keep writing from the heart,” says
Baker, who garnered a gold Grammy statuette for 1994’s
multi-million-selling smash “I Swear,” a tender testament of true love
co-written with Frank J. Myers.
First recorded by Nashville troubadour John Michael Montgomery, “I Swear”
captured the No. 1 spot on the country charts for four consecutive weeks. The
heartfelt love song was quickly covered by the hip harmony group All-4-One, who
carried their own classic rendition of “I Swear” to the pinnacle of the pop
charts for 11 additional weeks.
“That song tapped into something universal – a person expressing
undying devotion to the person they love,” Baker believes. “Generations
from now, that song will still be around – I really believe that.”
Few songwriters experience a success of the “I Swear” magnitude even once
in their career. Baker, however, recaptured that songwriting magic when he and
Myers collaborated with Richie McDonald, lead singer of the country super group
Lonestar, on a second musical masterpiece called “I’m Already There.”
“I feel very lucky,” Baker observes. “I’ve been in
the right place at the right time a whole bunch of times."
Baker maintains. "To me, it means more to me than any song I've ever
written - that's because I wrote it for my wife and kids."
doing only one kind of music - there's no stamp on what we do here," Baker
believes. "I can live here and raise my kids in this beautiful area, do
what I do best and still work with some of the top names in the business.
I've been truly blessed."
Billy Ray Brewton
-
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and raised in Pisgah, Alabama, Billy Ray has
always had an unhealthy love of cinema. In 2005, he joined Drew Brown of Digital
Motion Pictures to start producing films in the Birmingham, Alabama area. Also
active in local theatre, Billy Ray has founded Theatre Downtown, which performs
various shows at various locations throughout the year. Billy Ray is also a
syndicated film critic. When not behind the camera or on the stage, he enjoys
the study of parapsychology and paranormal investigations.
Randy Bruce
Dwight Cammeron - the
television program director for the University of Alabama's Center for Public
Television and Radio programming unit in Tuscaloosa. He also teaches in
the Telecommunication and Film Department and is currently coordinating
Alabama's first documentary studies program.
He has been honored by the National Academy of the Arts and Sciences with
an Emmy for Still Holding On: The Music
of Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Gospel Harmonettes. Cammeron has
also been recognized by The International Film and Video Association, The
National Black Programming Consortium, The New York Festival, and National
Education Telecommunications Association. His most recent award was the 2005
Unity Awards in Media for Trying Times:
Perry County Schools. Cammeron
latest production is a profile and performance “jazzumentary” of Birmingham
instrumentalist and guitarist Eric Essix.
Eric Essix: At Home
was the 2007 first-place winner of the 2007 Golden Lion Award in the University
of North Alabama Lindsey Festival’s Faculty Filmmaking Division.
He just completed
Dog Days, a documentary highlighting
the 2006 Birmingham Steeldogs.
Dog Days will be screened at the 2008
University of North
Alabama George Lindsey Film Festival.
Natalie Canerday – a native of “God’s Country
(a.k.a.) Russellville, Arkansas), and a graduate of Hendrix College, Natalie has
appeared in 22 films, from the big-budget box office favorites ‘October Sky,’
‘Walk the Line,’ and ‘Biloxi Blues,’ to the no-budget, critically-acclaimed
independent films ‘One False Move,’ ‘Sling Blade,’ and ‘Shotgun Stories.’
For her performance in ‘One False Move,’ Natalie received a Two-Minute
Oscar from Interview Magazine (other recipients that year included Al
Pacino for ‘Scent of a Woman’ and Jim Broadbent for ‘The Crying Game’).
In 1997 Natalie and the Cast of ‘Sling Blade’ were nominated for Best
Ensemble Performance at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
In 2000 she was invited to participate in the prestigious Sundance
Institute Filmmaker’s Lab along with Sally Field, Jake Gyllenhaal, Khandi
Alexander, Michael Shannon and others.
Natalie is slated to appear in Tonya S. Holly’s festure of ‘The Story of
Bonnie and Clyde’ this summer. This
is Natalie’s fourth Lindsey UNA Film Festival and she’s “just tickled to death
to be back in Alabama.”
Robert Clem - a native of
Birmingham, attended Birmingham and Anniston public schools and received his
B.A. from Birmingham Southern College in 1967. He received an M.F.A. from the
NYU Graduate Film School in 1982 and has been a fellow at the Sundance
writer/director’s lab. Clem has
written and directed films appearing on public television, the Arts &
Entertainment Network, the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel and networks
abroad and has also produced and directed dramas and dramatic series broadcast
on NPR. His 1997 film
Big Jim Folsom: The Two Faces of Populism
won the 1997 International Documentary Association/ABCNews VideoSource Award
and the Southeastern Filmmaker Award at the 1997 Atlanta Film Festival.
Other feature documentaries include
War Birds:
Diary of an Unknown Aviator (2003, Documentary Channel, PBS) and
William March:
Wounded Soul (2004, APT).
He recently completed a documentary on Mobile writer/actor/artist and
legend Eugene Walter entitled
Last of the Bohemians.
Feature films include Company K
(2004, Indican Pictures), based on the World War I novel by Mobile author
William March and recently released on DVD; and the upcoming
Loco Down, based on Emile Zola’s
La Bete Humaine.
Sean Collin
- the Managing Director of IPWatch. He specializes in intellectual property
counseling and management consulting in the field. He is a recognized expert in
national and international intellectual property and technology transfer
matters. He has represented clients from a variety of countries around the
world, ranging from Fortune 50 companies and financial institutions, to public
and private technology and brand focused companies, to countries. Sean’s
expertise is assisting a global array of clients to nationally and
internationally protect and commercially leverage intellectual property and
technology. Born and raised in
California, after graduating from law school, Sean went to work for the largest
international firm in Asia. From there he was recruited to work for one of
Washington, D.C.'s prominent international trade and intellectual property firms
in 1990. In the May 6, 2002 issue
of California Law Business, Sean was featured as one of the top twenty lawyers
under the age of 40 in the State of California. Sean was formerly Chair of the
Information Technology & Media Group of the firm Luce, Forward, Hamilton &
Scripps and a Partner heading up the Technology Transactions and Trademark Group
at Pillsbury Winthrop in San Diego. He advised and assisted in the establishment
of the San Diego office of Townsend, Townsend & Crew, the West Coast’s leading
intellectual property boutique firm from 2003 to 2004. Since 2004 he has worked
with IPWatch and its broad spectrum of clients.
Emily D.
Edwards - an
associate professor in the Department of Broadcasting and Cinema at the
University of North Carolina, Greensboro (UNCG). She received her Ph.D. in
Journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1984.
She has been a television news reporter, producer, copywriter and
television creative services director for NBC and ABC affiliates in Alabama and
Tennessee. She was the Director of the Broadcast Sequence at the University of
Alabama in Birmingham until she joined the faculty at UNCG in 1987.
Edwards’ recent book, Metaphysical
Media: Occult Experience in Popular Culture
(Southern Illinois University Press, November 2005)
is an in-depth discussion
of media presentation of a wide spectrum of the occult –everything from urban
legends reported in the media following the September 11th attacks to
examination of the media viewing as an out of body experience. Her book also
serves as a comprehensive sourcebook of movies and television programs that deal
with supernatural characters and themes.
The producer or director of more than fifteen films, Edwards has also
published articles on documentary filmmaking, popular music, the occult and
popular culture in journals such as The
Journal of Film and Video, TDR, Southern Speech Communication Journal, Southern
Folklore, Sex Roles, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Journal,
Popular Music and Society, and The
International Documentary Association Magazine, among others. She has
contributed chapters to books such as
Current Research in Film, Hauntings and Poltergeists, and
Adolescents and Their Music.
Edwards has received awards for
screenwriting in the University Film and Video Production Screenwriting
competitions, Twin Rivers, the Broadcast Education Association (BEA), and Bare
Bone International Screenwriting competitions among others. Her documentary and
narrative films have received awards from UFVA Faculty competitions, and the BEA
National Festival of Media Arts, Bare Bones International Film Festival (among
others) as well as screenings through festivals and television broadcasts
nationwide. She may be best known for the documentaries,
Deadheads: An American Subculture
(Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 1990);
Wondrous Events (Penn State Media,
1995), and Wondrous Healing (Stanley
Stern Parallel Lines, 2005).
Ladd Ehlinger - produced,
directed, and animated the 2007 independent feature film
Flatland, an adaptation of the 1884
novel of the same name by Edwin A. Abbott. His first self-distributed feature
film effort has garnered cult status and critical acclaim; Phil Hall, for
instance, said "Ehlinger has created a work of art that could be dubbed (with no
risk of hyperbole) as a new animation masterpiece," and “Flatland
is a work of genius, and animation has a new force of power in Ehlinger."
When he is not making animated feature films, Mr. Ehlinger works out of
his home in Huntsville, Alabama, as a freelance animator and director. He is
currently developing his next feature film project.
The Decoys
Formed in 1988 by
producer Johnny Sandlin (of Allman Brothers, Delbert McClinton and Widespread
Panic fame), the Decoys are a powerhouse Southern soul, rock and R&B band
featuring five versatile musicians from the world-renowned Muscle Shoals
recording industry. Bassist David Hood is a member of the famed Muscle Shoals
Rhythm Section, the studio musicians immortalized as “The Swampers” in Lynyrd
Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” Guitarist and lead singer Scott Boyer was a
founding member of the classic Southern folk-rock band Cowboy and performs with
the Capricorn Records Rhythm Section. Lead guitarist Kelvin Holly tours with
rock pioneer Little Richard and the Amazing Rhythm Aces, while keyboardist N. C.
Thurman has performed with Percy Sledge, Gregg Allman, Hank Williams Jr. and
Kris Kristofferson. Drummer Mike Dillon performed with Grinders Switch, worked
for two years with Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band and was an original
member of the show band Clutch and the Muscle Shoals country-pop act The
Shooters. Hailed as the “House Band of the Muscle Shoals Sound,” the Decoys’
studio album Shot from the Saddle was
recorded at FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals in 2001.
Gena Ellis wrote the script
for and co-produced Angela's Decision,
which premiered here in 2007. It garnered Honorable Mention here and many
other fest awards- Best of Show in Tupelo, Best World Cinema in Phoenix, Best
Music Finalist in Garden State, First Place in Bennie Kent, and Gold Award from
Australian Cinematographers Society. She knew she finally made it when her
film was featured on myspace.com's homepage and dubbed a Top 5 film. The
film is under consideration for a TV series in the UK and for
DVD distribution. Gena's other award-winning scripts are under
consideration in Hollywood, Finland, and Germany. She recently helped with
the 'grassroots' distribution for John Sayle's latest film,
Honeydripper, filmed in Alabama.
Gena has an MLS in screenwriting from the University of Oklahoma.
Donnie Fritts
Legendary Muscle Shoals
singer, songwriter, keyboardist and movie actor Donnie Fritts is known around
the world as “Funky Fritts” and “The Alabama Leaning Man.” His classic rock,
country, soul and R&B songs have been recorded by Ray Charles (“We Had It All”),
Dusty Springfield (“Breakfast in Bed”), The Box Tops (“Choo Choo Train”), Jerry
Lee Lewis (“A Damn Good Country Song”) and Charlie Rich (“You’re Gonna Love
Yourself in the Morning”) as well as the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Wilson
Pickett, Waylon Jennings, Bob Dylan, Percy Sledge, UB40 and Chrissie Hynde.
Fritts has co-written songs with Tony Joe White, John Prine, Delbert McClinton,
Lee Roy Parnell, Billy Swan and Billy Bob Thornton. He recorded and toured for
22 years with his close friend and collaborator, Kris Kristofferson. They
appeared together in the Sam Peckinpah films
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
and Convoy. Fritts’ other screen
credits include A Star is Born,
Cockfighter,
The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James,
Warren Oates: Across the Border,
Sam Peckinpah’s West and
The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico.
Shelby Lynne recently covered Fritts’ classic soul anthem “Breakfast in Bed” on
her Dusty Springfield tribute album. He will soon release his third solo album
as a singer-songwriter, One Foot in the
Groove.
Chuck Hartsell came onto
the independent film scene in 2001 by co-directing, The Seven Year Switch,
a short film shot on video. After several positive reviews of The Seven
Year Switch, Mr. Hartsell wrote and directed his second short film,
Reciprocity, this time shooting on 16mm film. Mr. Hartsell continued
to develop his screenwriting skills and hone his artistic craft by directing
and/or collaborating on more short films with other Birmingham filmmakers.
Most notably, Mr. Hartsell served as Script Supervisor and 2nd Unit Director on
the feature film Alice's Misadventures in Wonderland, the 2004 Feature
winner at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. After working with
accomplished director and editor, Robert Rugan, on Alice's Misadventures in
Wonderland, Mr. Hartsell and his partner at Crewless Productions, Chance
Shirley, tackled a feature length film of their own. The resulting film
was Hide and Creep, which Mr. Hartsell co-directed and co-produced.
An audience favorite at the 2004 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, Hide and
Creep was praised by fans, filmmakers, and film critics. In 2005,
Hide and Creep was released on DVD by The Asylum Home Entertainment.
After the direct-to-DVD release, David Cornelius, writer for EFilmCritic.com,
named Hide and Creep as, "My pick for best DTV title of the year."
In 2006, Hide and Creep was broadcast
on the Sci-Fi Channel, thus exposing the film to an even wider audience.
Mr. Hartsell is an Alabama native, raised in Tarrant, Alabama.
As of 2007, Mr. Hartsell is in the pre-development stage of a new
feature-length project. Whether it be a feature film inspired by a novel
or short story, Mr. Hartsell's goal is to make excellent films to help put
Alabama on the cinematic map.
Eric Herron began to pursue
the dream of telling stories for a living in high school. Though still in
college, he has already received local and national recognition for short films
and commercials. Displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Eric transferred
to the University of North Alabama and has immersed himself into the culturally
rich atmosphere of the Shoals hoping to contribute to its legacy of artists and
visual storytellers.
Tonya Holly is an alumnus
of the University of North Alabama and former regional talent agent.
Tonya worked as a professional casting director and production assistant
on several major films and television projects before returning to the Shoals to
establish her own production company.
Her features films include
Freejack, Toy Soldiers, Body
Snatchers, Tom and Huck, and the Oscar-winning
Blue Sky.
She founded Cypress Moon Productions in 2003 and wrote and directed the
award winning short film The Mirror.
In 2006, the feature film When I
Find the Ocean, produced and directed by Tonya Holly and based on her
original script, premiered at the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival.
Tonya is currently at work on The
Story of Bonnie and Clyde.
Tonya is president of the Alabama Filmmakers Association and a member of
the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival steering committee.
Jonathan Malcolm Lampley teaches English and Developmental Writing at Tennessee State University in Nashville. He is co-author of The Amazing, Colossal Book of Horror Trivia: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Scary Movies But Were Afraid to Ask (Cumberland House, 1999) and numerous articles for such publications as Moive Club, Midnight Marquee, and American Spirit. He is also a film critic for All the Rage, an entertainment publication in Nashville. Jonathan regularly presents papers on film, popular culture, and Nashville history at such conferences as The Popular Culture Association of the South, The Tennessee Philological Association, and various film and science fiction conventions. In addition, Jonathan frequently lectures on film at local art houses, libraries, and community colleges. A Nashville native, he attended Middle Tennessee State University, where he received his PhD in English in 2007. Jonathan's dissertation on women and gender in the horror films of Vincent Price is being expanded to book length and will be published by McFarland in the next year.
Frank J Myers
is from Dayton, OH and grew up in a musical family.
His Grandmother, Jesse, played old style banjo. His dad, Melvin (Pee Wee) Myers
was a champion fiddle player and singer. His brothers Melvin and Doug both play
guitar and sing and his sisters Betty and Joyce both sing as well.
It was discovered that Melvin had
a kidney disease when Frank was 3 years old. By the time Frank was 12,
Melvin had to take a Medical Retirement and start dialysis. His mother Eva,
having 12 year old and one year old sons, not only had to take care of Melvin
and the kids but also had to take on a part time job at Darlene’s Dry Cleaners
to help make ends meet.
At 11 Frank entered and won a contest on a local show called StarTrail.
After that, through local contacts, Frank began opening F.O.P. shows at Dayton’s
Hara Arena and package shows at Memorial Hall. Frank opened for Hank Snow,
Crystal Gayle, Little Jimmy Dickens, George Morgan, Nat Stuckey, Lester Flatt,
Porter and Dolly, George and Tammy just to name a few.
At 14 he was a guest on the
Porter Wagoner Television Show. Around that time Frank, his Dad and
brother Melvin Jr began playing around Dayton at various VFW’s and American
Legions with Melvin’s longtime friend Glen Brooks and daughter Cindy. Glen and
his wife Cleo were like a second set of parents to Frank. When Frank was three
years old and had to have braces for his legs, they were the ones to loan Melvin
and Eva the money for them. When Pee Wee and Glen were no longer able to
perform, Frank and his brother Melvin Jr. formed the group “Country Earth” with
drummer Paul Barton and bass guitarist Ted Hartman. They quickly became the
local favorites for many years. It was during these years that Frank met his
wife Belinda Watkins. She was a bookkeeper at the apartment complex Frank was
living in. They were married on June 7, 1980.
Nathaniel Teal Minton
- a filmmaker and writer originally from
Vermont. He co-wrote, co-produced and
served as second-unit director on the horror film
Clive Barker’s the Plague starring
James Van Der Beek and Ivana Millecevic.
At the age of seventeen he started his career in film working as an
assistant editor for D.A. Pennebaker (Bob
Dylan: Don’t Look Back) on the film
Depeche Mode: 101. He attended NYU Film School and spent several years in
New York working for filmmaker Alexandre Rockwell (In
The Soup) before moving to Los Angles to pursue a career in screenwriting.
In 1999 he and writing partner Hal Masonberg sold the screenplay
Standing On The Moon to Sony
Pictures. The duo worked on various studio projects for several years before
making Clive Barker’s The Plague
which Masonberg directed. Mr. Minton has several film projects in active
development. In addition to his career in film and fiction he has taught
filmmaking to teens, produced a series of poetry readings in Los Angeles and
worked as an editor and marketing director.
He is currently finishing his first novel while attending The Iowa
Writers’ Workshop and teaching at the University of Iowa.
Terry Pace
- award-winning writer, actor, director and
producer Terry Pace teaches
composition and literature classes in the UNA Department of English and serves
on the steering committee for the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival. He also
teaches courses on film and music history for UNA’s Continuing Studies program.
Pace earned Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from UNA and worked as an
arts-and-entertainment journalist in print and radio for more than 25 years. As
an actor, director, writer and producer, Pace has been involved in more than 100
regional stage productions. In 2003, he and science-fiction author Ray
Bradbury founded a theatre-and-film company, Pillar of Fire. Pace’s movie
credits include acting roles in The
Brooch, Sadomannequin,
Goody Goody Gum Drops,
When I Find the Ocean, and
Big Cowboy.
He is currently writing two books on Bradbury and two books on the Muscle
Shoals recording industry. His newspaper series on the history of Muscle Shoals
music (co-written with Robert Palmer) was honored in
Best Music Writing 2000 and will soon
become a documentary film for public television.
Sexual Mocha - "A Good Looking Man and his very good looking band" with special guest Johnny Holland will be bringing to the stage not only good looks but great sounding music, combined with awesome lyrics. This band is the eight wonder of the world. Members include, Billy Lawson, Mike Dillon, Marty Lewis
Max Shores - a
producer-director at the University of Alabama Center for Public TV & Radio, is
a veteran of documentary production with over twenty years of experience.
Through broadcast on Alabama Public Television and PBS stations nationwide his
documentaries have told compelling stories of life in the southeastern U.S.
Awards include the Clyde “Sappo” Black Award for Best Alabama Film and Best
Professional Documentary from the 2007 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival, Best of
Show and First Place Documentary from the 2007 Macon Film Festival, and Second
Place Feature Documentary from the 2006 Tupelo Film Festival. His work has also
been screened at the Memphis International Film Festival, Crossroads Film
Festival, Rome International Film Festival, Real to Reel Film Festival, Southern
Fried Flicks Film Festival, Secret City Film Festival, Oxford Film Festival,
Appalachian Film Festival, and Indie Grits Film Festival.
Through his research for The
Amazing Story of Kudzu, Shores is considered one of the world’s leading
scholars on the kudzu vine. He traced the 1540 route of Spanish conquistador
Hernando Desoto across the southeastern U.S. for
In Search of Desoto’s Trail and
documented the history of what was once called the "wickedest city in America"
in Up from the Ashes: the Phenix City
Story. In The Chief: Calvin McGhee
and the Forgotten Creeks he told the sad, yet triumphant story of a Native
American group left behind in Alabama when others were forcibly
Russell Smith
- the founder and lead singer of the
groundbreaking country-rock band, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, who in the seventies
were pioneers in the blending of rock -n- roll, blues and hard core country
music. Their career spans 30 years, 13 albums, and 3 continents. Their song "The
End Is Not in Sight" won them a Grammy award in 1976. They helped change the
face and sound of country music with songs like “The End Is Not In Sight”, "Dancin'
The Night Away", "Amazing Grace (Used To Be Her Favorite Song)" and of course,
"Third Rate Romance." Russell is
also a solo recording artist with four albums to his credit. He has toured the
world playing to dedicated fans in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and New
Zealand. Russell is one of the
producers of Universal/ MCA's
rhythm-n-bluegrass group, Run C&W, and bears a striking resemblance to their
guitar player, Rug Burns. In addition Russell has written seven #1 singles
and won numerous ASCAP songwriting awards. He was one of the original "Writers
In The Round" at the world famous Bluebird Café in Nashville, TN, the club that
pioneered the "unplugged" intimate live music format which has become
universally popular. A powerhouse
of country music, Russell's song credits include, " Don't Go To Strangers For T.
Graham Brown, " Dancin the Night Away", for Tanya Tucker, The Oak Ridge Boys and
Leo Sayer, “A Heart To Come Home To” for Shelby Lynne, "Keep It Between The
Lines" for Ricky Van Shelton, "Look Heart No Hands" for Randy Travis, “What I
Learned From Loving You” for Kenny Rogers, Lynne Anderson and Chely Wright, "Do
You Know Where Your Man Is" for Pam Tillis, "Honky Tonk Heart" for Highway 101,
"The Old School" for John Conlee, "Heartbeat In The Darkness" for Don Williams,
“The Rock” for George Jones, T. Graham Brown, Leroy Parnell, Etta James and
"Third Rate Romance" for everyone from Roseanne Cash to
Sammy Kershaw and most recently Delbert McLinton’s “ Midnight Communion”
written with Delbert and Gary Nicholson.
Since reviving the Aces, Russell divides his time between touring and
recording with the band and writing. His
warm, well traveled voice can be heard again on the new Russell Smith and The
Amazing Rhythm Aces CD, “Midnight Communion” as well as the classic "Ride
Again","Out Of The Blue", “Chock Full Of Country Goodness” and “Nothin’ But The
Blues”. You can find out more
about Russell and the Aces at their website, www.theaces4real.com.
Linda Swann
- In early 2003,
Billy Bob Thornton
- Academy Award-winning
writer, actor, director and musician Billy Bob Thornton has an extensive and
impressive career in motion pictures, television and theater.
Charismatic and uniquely talented, Thornton has established himself as
one of the most sought-after filmmakers of his generation.
Most recently, Thornton starred in the comedy
Mr. Woodcock;
The Astronaut Farmer,
School For Scoundrels,
The Bad News Bears and
Friday Night Lights.
He garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or
Comedy for his role in the box-office hit
Bad Santa, and he and received rave reviews for his portrayal of legendary
frontiersman Davy Crockett in The Alamo.
Thornton will next be seen in the film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’
best-selling novel The Informers. He recently wrapped production on the upcoming
Dreamworks thriller Eagle Eye,
co-starring Shia LeBeouf and Rosario Dawson.
Showing the versatility of his acting abilities, in 2001 Thornton starred
in the caper comedy Bandits for
director Barry Levinson, the noir The Man
Who Wasn’t There for the Coen Brothers and the heart-wrenching drama
Monster’s Ball, co-starring Halle
Berry. Each of the three
performances garnered Thornton unprecedented critical acclaim and resulted in
his being named Best Actor of 2001 by the National Board of Review. He also
earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Drama for
The Man Who Wasn’t There and Best
Actor in a Musical or Comedy for Bandits
and an American Film Institute Award nomination for Best Actor for
The Man Who Wasn’t There.
Thornton’s 1996 release of the critically acclaimed and phenomenally
popular feature film Sling Blade,
which he starred in and directed from an original script he wrote, secured his
status as a preeminent filmmaker.
For his efforts, he was honored with both an Academy Award for Best Adapted
Screenplay and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
For his second and third directorial outings, Thornton chose the comedy
Daddy And Them, which he again wrote
and starred in, and the Cormac McCarthy novel
All The Pretty Horses, starring Matt
Damon, Penelope Cruz, Henry Thomas and Lucas Black.
Thornton received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting
Actor for his celebrated work in the tightly woven drama
A Simple Plan for director Sam Raimi,
as well as a Best Supporting Actor award from the Los Angeles Film Critics
Association and a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Screen Actors Guild.
As a writer, Thornton also scripted
A Family Thing, a highly regarded feature film that starred Robert Duvall
and James Earl Jones. He also co-wrote
The Gift, starring Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi and Hillary
Swank. Prior to Sling Blade,
Thornton already had an extensive motion picture credit list.
He wrote and starred in the thrilling character drama
One False Move, which brought him immediate critical praise.
Derek Thornton - was born
in Florida and raised in Huntsville, Alabama.
After attending college and culinary school in addition to spending time
traveling, he settled into working in his father’s IT company, Avocent, for 12
years. Not long before becoming
involved with Like Moles, Like Rats,
Thornton had delved into the real estate development business, hoping to be a
leader in the revitalization efforts in Huntsville’s historic downtown area.
Though Thornton’s financial baking has been crucial to
Like Moles, Like Rats, it is his
talent for dealing with people and managing complicated situations in
combination with his dedication to independent filmmaking that have made him
indispensable to the project.
Don Tingle - from
Huntsville, Alabama will lead the “Children's Movie Making Workshop.” Don is the
founder and director of "MovieMakers: A Film Making Workshop for Kids" sponsored
by the Alabama Filmmakers Co-op each July in Huntsville. He also leads the Film
Co-op's monthly workshop which focuses on technical aspects of low budget movie
making. He teaches movie making workshops for kids in association with the
Tupelo Film Festival, the Gadsden Public Library's Teen Filmmaking program and
this is his second year teaching his workshop in association with the UNA George
Lindsey Film Festival. "Movie making is a team sport that encourages technical
and artistic skills, leadership, teamwork and provides an opportunity to compete
through film festivals." Don recently hosted a Master Class with independent
film makers John Sayles and Maggie Renzi at the Film Co-op.
Jim Torres
- Alabama-based director, writer,
producer and editor Jim Torres launched his filmmaking career ten years ago as a
film student at the University of North Alabama.
Torres’ first professional short film,
SadoMannequin, paid affectionate
tribute to black-and-white classics from Hollywood’s macabre heyday of vampires,
ghouls and other creatures of the night.
SadoMannequin earned recognition at the Halloween Horror Film Festival in
Stuttgart, Germany, the Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester, England, and
the Dragon Con Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Expo in Atlanta, Georgia.
Torres is the founder of Popgun Productions Inc., a film-and-video
company that has produced children’s programming for television; as well as, an
award-winning cooking show, The Sporting
Chef with Scott Leysath and several music videos. Torres’ work as promotions
producer for the NBC Affiliate in Huntsville, Alabama, earned numerous honors
from the Tennessee Valley Advertising Federation.
With his latest project, the post-apocalyptic feature
Like Moles, Like Rats, Torres lends
his uncanny genre instincts and seasoned storytelling skills to a compelling,
character-driven futuristic fantasy. A post-apocalyptic fairy tale,
Like Moles, Like Rats spins a
spellbinding, suspenseful and visually stunning tale of salvation and survival
within the menacing terror of a grim and ghostly world.
Dr. Will Verrone - has taught film studies
courses for over fifteen years and has lectured on different aspects of film
history, culture, and aesthetics at film societies, national conferences, and
various film festivals. His areas of specialization include silent film, art
house film, and independent film, and he has
published numerous articles on
specific directors and genres.
Danny Vinson - an Alabama
native and alumnus of the University of North Alabama, Danny Vinson began his
acting career in the UNA theatre production of ‘My Three Angels’ with Sal Mineo,
Broderick Crawford and Peter Breck.
Since setting his sights on learning the craft of working to the camera,
Danny’s efforts have allowed him to list principal credits ranging from national
commercials to feature films. Some
of his film work includes ‘Walk the Line,’ ‘Talladega Nights,’ the ‘Ballad of
Ricky Bobby,’ ‘U.S. Marshals,’ ‘A Time to Kill,’ ‘When I Find the Ocean,’ and
the Oscar-winning Short, ‘Two Soldiers.’
He has three movies out this year, John Sayles’ ‘Honeydripper’ (Feb) with
Danny Glover; George Clooney’s ‘Leatherheads’ (April) with Renee’ Zellweger; and
David Fincher’s ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ (Nov) with Brad Pitt.
Danny is a full-time actor and resides in Madison, Alabama.
Frank Vitolo
©2005 - 2006 George Lindsey/UNA Film Festival.
All rights reserved.