Film Method

The Icons event was held during Comic Con and showcased different types of pop culture including art, film, music and fashion. Film Method conducted a total of four panels at the event. Here is the recording from the fourth panel of the day with 10 year old film critic Perry Chen, Director Kevin Sean Michaels and the director of How to Train Your Dragon, Dean DeBlois.

Click to view the Icons Photo Gallery

Perry S. Chen- Film Critic/Animator

At 10 years old, Perry Chen is the most influential and award-winning child film and entertainment critic, speaker, TV personality, radio talk show host, reviewing movies and family-friendly entertainment with his unique, kids-friendly starfish rating system on a multi-media platform on TV, radio, print, and web. He is an entertainment critic for the San Diego Entertainer Magazine and was the first child film critic invited to present at the prestigious Annie Awards for animation, the youngest blogger on Animation World Network (AWN), the youngest member of Asian American Journalist Association (AAJA), and San Diego Press Club, and the youngest honoree of Cox Communications annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Perry has been a frequent star on the red carpet and credentialed journalist interviewing filmmakers and stars at major film festivals, movie premieres, and press junkets. He is a speaker at a TEDx conference.

Perry has become an authoritative spokesperson for his generation about movies with his insight and humor from a child's perspective, combining entertainment and education for kids. Perry is also an award-winning artist, filmmaker and animator, partnering with Oscar-nominee Bill Plympton to create a new animation short, Beyond the Forest, about a young Jewish girl's survival during the Holocaust. Perry became a national sensation on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and NPR with Liane Hansen. He has been extensively featured on regional, national and international media. Perry's Previews webseries is slated to launch in the summer of 2010. Visit http://www.perryspreviews.com for details.

Kevin Sean Michaels- Director

Kevin Sean Michaels was born and raised in New York City. He started making films at age thirteen with a Super 8 home movie camera in the style of silent movies. Michaels was the Art Director for Troma Entertainment for three and a half years, working closely with filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman on Troma's film Poultrygeist! Night of the Chicken Dead, as well as numerous DVD extras. He founded his own production company, Vamp Productions in 2005.

Michaels is known for his documentaries, Vampira: The Movie was his first documentary released on Alpha Video in 2008. Since then, he has produced The Wild World of Ted V.Mikels, about the grind-house filmmaker, due in stores March, 2010 also on Alpha Video. In 2008, Michaels met David Lynch and is producing a documentary, Beyond The Noise about a teenager's journey learning Transcendental Meditation.

He is working on a project with horror legend Ingrid Pitt on an animated short on her experiences in the Holocaust with 10 year old art prodigy Perry Chen and two-time Oscar nominee Bill Plympton.

The Icons event was held on Saturday, July 24th during Comic Con. Film Method conducted a total of four panels at the event. Here is the recording from the third panel of the day with Casting Director Bonnie Gillespie and filmmakers Scott Baker, Philip Stimmell, and Irving Martinez.

Click to view the Icons Photo Gallery

Bonnie Gillespie- Casting Director/Producer

Bonnie Gillespie began her casting career in 2003 with three shows for the Fox Broadcasting Company. After four months in television, Bonnie cast a $25,000 budget SAG feature film and her specialty was born: Helping visionary filmmakers tell amazing stories at a low-budget level with the finest actors working today. Through a casting philosophy that includes choosing excellent material, working with outstanding people, and pursuing storytellers who aren't in it for the money, Bonnie has developed a reputation for attracting award-winning actors to bring festival-bound indies to life. Bonnie has been named one of Hollywood's top casting directors in Back Stage West's "The Best of Los Angeles" issue four times. She has been interviewed on BBC Breakfast, on UTV-Ireland's Gerry Kelly Goes to Hollywood, on CBC Radio One's show Q, and for the E! gossip column and podcast The Answer B!tch. She has also hosted Inside Casting and The Reel Deal for Virtual Channel Network, a website run by Breakdown Services and The Hollywood Reporter. She is co-founder of Your Actor MBA and exec producer for interview series Casting Qs on www.somebodysbasement.com. For more information about Bonnie Gillespie, visit www.cricketfeet.com.

Scott Baker- Writer/Director

Scott Baker, a native of Northern California, received a degree in History from Sonoma State University and served in the United States Peace Corps from 2000-2001 in Turkmenistan. ÂHe co-founded Vegan Cannibals Productions with Philip Stimmell in 2002. ÂTheir first film, Brunch of the Dead was a feature-length zombie-comedy. ÂSince re-locating to Riverside they have done several award-winning short films, including Rationed which screened at this year's Cannes Short Film Corner and 2 episodes for their new series Findings (think Ghosthunters meets Reno911!). ÂYou can find out more atÂwww.VeganCannibals.com

Scott's film Rationed was 2nd runner-up in the world finals of 48 Hour Film Project, aka, Filmapalooza as part of the NAB Show in Las Vegas. The film was also selected for a showcase at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival (Short Film Corner Marche du Film).

Philip Stimmell- Special Effects Make-Up Artist/Actor

Philip Stimmell is a award winning makeup artist who works for VeganCannibals since 2002. Philip graduated from Joe Blasco school of makeup in 2008 and has been seeking out the most challenging effects and makeup to conquer since. Phil did most his growing up in Sonoma County Ca with his friend and director of VeganCannibals 'Scott Baker". They have been working on films together since. Phil aims to gross out audiences with his wicked style and gore he brings to the table.

Irving Martinez- Director/Writer

Irving M is an alternate world variation of the 25th Century Human Artist of the same name. Meet Earthbound M, specializing in Cinema, Graphic Design & Illustration. Primarily a director, congruently a writer, involvement in the storytelling process including art direction, story boarding and sometimes acting. Strongly motivated by mixing genres as a storytelling signature; early work is best known for harmonizing the comedy and sci-fi realms as exemplified by the 2011 web series Hysteria, California, and earlier works such as: The Return of the El Diablo (with Blast Radius Productions), and (Devil's) Day Job (with comedy sketch troupe The Insanities).

Visit www.imbeta.net for a collection of works presented in chronological order as conception begets regeneration.

The Icons event was held on Saturday, July 24th during Comic Con. Film Method conducted a total of four panels at the event. Here is the recording from the second panel of the day with Vernon Mortenson, Kelly Parks, Valerie Perez, and Gary Graham of Universal Dead. We will be releasing the recordings from these panels throughout the month of August.

Click to view the Icons Photo Gallery

Universal Dead Website

Director Vernon Mortensen has led an amazing life. The son of Christian Missionaries, he was born in Bangkok, Thailand and by the age of twelve, had traveled all over the world. After finishing high school in the USA, he went on to serve as a US Navy SWCC (pronounced "swick") commando in the Navy's elite Special Boat Teams where much of what he did remains classified to this day. His life has always been very eclectic and although always considering himself to be a filmmaker and businessman, he has also worked as an engineer, a photographer, a bodyguard, an emergency medical technician, a private investigator, a librarian, and as a substitute teacher for the inner-city schools of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Vernon is a master storyteller and filmmaker who applies his wealth of knowledge and experience to fuel his creativity. As a writer, he has written screenplays, short stories, plays, novels, and essays in a variety of genres and subjects. As a filmmaker, Vernon's movies have been sold to markets all over the world and have been featured at many prestigious international film festivals.

Vernon is currently studying for his Doctor of Business Administration atÂAlliant International University's Marshal Goldsmith School of Management. He has a Master's Degree in Professional Writing (Screenwriting) from theÂUniversity of Southern California's prestigiousÂProfessional Writing Program where he received an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Fellowship. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film from the world renownedÂArt Center College of Design, as well as Bachelor of Science from New York State's Excelsior College. In 1999, Vernon was selected for a highly coveted Director's Internship at the Los Angeles classical repertory theater,ÂA Noise Within, where he studied under celebrated stage and theater director, Sabin Epstein.

 Shortly after graduating from USC in 2003, Vernon was recalled from the Naval Reserve to serve on active duty in the Special Boat Teams one last time. After completing his term of service, Vernon permanently retired from the United States Navy in 2008 and returned to filmmaking.

Writer Kelly Parks is the world's only ex-CIA, Rocket Scientist, Stand-up Comic, Screenwriter! Kelly grew up in Wisconsin (mmmm... cheese) and spent his youth watching sci-fi and horror movies as well as gazing up at the heavens, wishing he could live among the stars. After high school, Kelly moved to Arizona to study Engineering Physics and one fateful day he met a recruiter from the CIA. Soon after, Kelly was recruited as an analyst into the CIA's Space Systems Division (he highly recommends getting a Top Secret Clearance if you ever have the opportunity) where he and a few other hand picked scientists kept track of what the Russians were doing in space. Realizing that The Agency was never going to fulfill his dream of space travel, Kelly left public service and took a job in the private sector as an aerospace engineer specializing in Orbital Mechanics. These days Kelly writes screenplays and recently won 1st prize at the International Horror & Science Fiction Screenplay Competition. Kelly's greatest writing honor came in 2007 when he was a semi-finalist for the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship, a feat rarely accomplished by a screenplay in the sci-fi/horror genre. In 2008, he became a partner in Unconventional Films and finished writing and directing the awesome comedy web series, The Crusader, ...

The Icons event at Comic Con was full of wonder and surprises! We had a total of four panels on Saturday. Here is the recording from our first panel of the day with Cooper Harris, Brenden Bradley, Sean Becker, and Eric Loya. More to come!

Click to view the Icons Photo Gallery

Cooper Harris- Producer/Actor

A proud graduate of the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts, Cooper recently starred in the SyFy Channel's upcoming thriller, Meteor Apocalypse, as well as appearing in SyFy's cult hit Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. Cooper can be seen this summer as the new host for Red Bull, as well as in campaigns for DishNetwork, POM, Microsoft & LG. Cooper produced, and stars in, DailyMotion's first original comedy series, Squatters. She is also a writer/producer of transmedia commercial campaigns for companies such as Post It Notes, Kimberly Clark, & Krazy Glue. Upcoming, Cooper can be seen as the title character in both Amy Alyson Fans, and upcoming thriller, The Resurrection of Serious Rogers.

Brenden Bradley- Producer/Writer/Director/Actor

Born and raised in North Carolina, Brendan graduated with Honors from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. To further hone his skills, Brendan spent time in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). As a Producer, Brendan has enjoyed a decade of developing successful theater and transmedia content through his own established companies in New York and Los Angeles. He writes, directs and stars in Squatters which was picked up this year by DailyMotion as their first comedic original series. Brendan has also developed and produced transmedia commercial campaigns for Post-It Notes, DentaBurst, Kimberly Clark and KABC's Frosty, Heidi & Frank. Currently he is wrapping principal photography on the feature film Amy Alyson Fans, helping develop a new web series for Viacom and can be seen in the newest season of The Legend of Neil.

Sean Becker- Director/Editor

Sean Becker is an Emmy award-winning director as well as a Streamy Award-nominated director and editor. After graduating from San Jose State University in 2003, Sean directed video segments for a variety show which aired on the UPN network. This resulted in a regional Emmy award in 2005 for the short film Parallel/Parallel. In 2006, Sean co-founded Awkward Pictures along with producing/writing partner, Payman Benz. Together they created Comedy Gumbo for Sony Pictures' online division, Crackle.com. Just recently, Sean completed production on season 3 of the popular Microsoft-Sponsored online series, The Guild, and is currently in production on a new sketch show entitled The Jeff Lewis 5-Minute Comedy Hour.

Eric Loya- Writer

Eric Loya is one of the very few native Southern Californians. He grew up in places that those not in the know have never heard of but have fun saying, like West Covina, La Verne and Rancho Cucamonga. He made the move to LA proper a few years back, and has since kept very busy. He's appeared in many student films. The less said about those, the better. He's also appeared on stage at Straitjacket Society, No Shame Theater, and ACME Comedy Theater. His writing has been featured in the Cricket Feet Showcase as well as, obviously, every episode of "Robot, Ninja & Gay Guy." He is also one of the writer/performers of the web series, "The Best Friend." He's having a blast popping up all over the internet, as it's the first step toward his ultimate goal of taking over the... pie. Uh, he meant to say "making pie" and nothing more.

Little Pie Music is a music production and licensing company for film, television and new media. Join us as we talk to music consultant Sandra Rostirolla and composer Kurt Oldman about their business and the business of music in film.

Links

The Business of Music

Sandra Rostirolla- Music Consultant

Sandra has an MBA (La Sierra University) & BAppSc (University of Sydney). She entered the music industry as singer/songwriter playing in and around Los Angeles with her band, Thyme. She has worked as a freelance Music Supervisor and Talent Manager and has been involved with music licensing and contracts for over 10 years.

Kurt Oldman- Composer

Kurt studied the Conservatory of Music, Switzerland, The Lucerne Swiss Jazz School and UCLA. He also undertook master classes with famed film composer Christopher Young (Spiderman 3, The Grudge). Kurt has scored several award winning films including: All Along, Best Romantic Feature, Hollywood Film Festival; Learning To Swim, Showtime Award; Babysitter Wanted, Best Feature, Nuremburg Film Festival and Callous Best Film, IndieFest & Audience Award RIFF. Other notable projects includes the Killer Tracks licensing CD, Homicide By Kurt Oldman and the score for Konami/Cartoon Networks Ben 10 Force.

Join us as we talk to blogger The Oreo Experience about what it's like being, well, an Oreo. TOE opens up about what it's like being a person of color who is white on the inside. She shares her thoughts on everything from Tyler Perry to classical music and hair.

Oreo: Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a black person who is regarded as having adopted the attitudes, values,and behavior thought to be characteristic of middle-class white society, often at the expense of his or her own heritage.

"My grandparents have really cool recessive genes for black people. They have this rich, dark skin with bright blue eyes.

I also have an interesting recessive gene for black people: the one that makes me love Renaissance Fairs, Kristen Chenowith and cat shows."

Links

The Oreo Experience Blog

The Oreo Experience Facebook Page

The Oreo Experience on Twitter

With the rapid emergence of several new models of production, distribution, exhibition and audience discovery comes a quarterly event to Los Angeles that distinguishes itself by curating contemporary art films and connecting the artists and their audience in an innovative, interactive and entirely participatory manner.

Links

Sabi Pictures

Cinefist Website

The New Year Parade Website

The New Year Parade on Facebook

Carnivalesque Films Website

Dead Center Film Festival

Workbook Project- Radar

Crowd Controls Website

Zak Forsman- Filmmaker and Cinefist Founder

Zak Forsman is an American interdependent filmmaker whose emotionally-charged work is known for authentic performances and beautiful compositions. In 2006, he co-founded SABI PICTURES and has produced and directed several award-winning motion pictures. In response to the changing landscape of independent cinema, he co-founded CINEFIST to focus all of SABI's direct-to-audience distribution and exhibition endeavors. Zak also serves as the editor of the NEW BREED blog at THE WORKBOOK PROJECT and you can follow him on Twitter at @zakforsman. (www.sabipictures.com)

Tom Quinn- Filmmaker

Tom Quinn grew up in Bucks County, PA, where he directed a few shorts and freelanced as a camera assistant. His directorial debut The New Year Parade was selected for the IFP Narrative Rough Cut Labs, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative at Slamdance, and was a Gotham Award and Independent Spirit Award nominee. Tom has been listed one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine and Ten Young Writer-Directors to Watch, by MovieMaker Magazine. He was fortunate to be the first American filmmaker accepted to the Toronto International Film Festival Talent Lab and is currently working toward his MFA at Temple University.

The 48 Hour Film Project, which is the world's biggest timed filmmaking competition in which you and your team get a genre and 3 elements (character, prop, line of dialogue) to make a movie - write, shoot, edit, score and get it in the can - in 48 hours. After catching up on sleep, watch your completed film on the silver screen in a local theater!

Join us as we speak to Jeanette Di Pinza, who represents The 48 Hour Film Project in the Inland Empire and Scott Baker, the filmmaker whose film Rationed was 2nd runner-up in the world finals of 48 Hour Film Project, aka, Filmapalooza as part of the NAB Show in Las Vegas. The film was also selected for a showcase at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival (Short Film Corner: Marche du Film).

Show Links

Inland Empire Film Commission

48 Hour Film Project- Inland Empire

48 Hour FP Posterous Website

JDS Actor's Studio

Vegan Cannibals Productions

Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire

Jeanette Di Pinza- Festival Coordinator/Producer

Full Filipino yet Guam born and -raised Jeanette Di Pinza joined the Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival as a staff member in 2008, and although still staff, she has successfully weaned herself from many duties in the pursuit of more sleep, less stress, and a chance to do other film-related activities. Jeanette dabbles in filmmaking - mainly as a screenwriter, producer or anonymous crew member - but is making her directorial debut with a short film that will finally see principal photography at the end of 2010.

Scott Baker- Filmmaker

Scott Baker, a native of Northern California, received a degree in History from Sonoma State University and served in the United States Peace Corps from 2000-2001 in Turkmenistan. ÂHe co-founded Vegan Cannibals Productions with Philip Stimmell in 2002. ÂTheir first film, Brunch of the Dead was a feature-length zombie-comedy. ÂSince re-locating to Riverside they have done several award-winning short films, including Rationed which screened at this year's Cannes Short Film Corner and 2 episodes for their new series Findings (think Ghosthunters meets Reno911!). ÂYou can find out more atÂwww.VeganCannibals.com

Scott's film Rationed was 2nd runner-up in the world finals of 48 Hour Film Project, aka, Filmapalooza as part of the NAB Show in Las Vegas. The film was also selected for a showcase at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival (Short Film Corner: Marche du Film).

Shorts & Spirits Showcase (S3) is a networking event that allows filmmakers to primiere their short film, webisode, or music video on the big screen. Shorts & Spirits is a year-round, quarterly, multi-city event, which means they are always taking submissions!

Shorts & Spirits on Facebook

Mental Eclectic on Twitter

The Crusader

Universal Dead Web Series

Kelly Parks- Writer/Producer

Filmmaker/Buisnessman Kelly Parks is the world's only ex-CIA, Rocket Scientist, Stand-up Comic, Screenwriter! Kelly grew up in Wisconsin (mmmm... cheese) and spent his youth watching sci-fi and horror movies as well as gazing up at the heavens, wishing he could live among the stars. After high school, Kelly moved to Arizona to study Engineering Physics and one fateful day he met a recruiter from the CIA. Soon after, Kelly was recruited as an analyst into the CIA's Space Systems Division (he highly recommends getting a Top Secret Clearance if you ever have the opportunity) where he and a few other hand picked scientists kept track of what the Russians were doing in space. Realizing that The Agency was never going to fulfill his dream of space travel, Kelly left public service and took a job in the private sector as an aerospace engineer specializing in Orbital Mechanics. These days Kelly writes screenplays and recently won 1st prize at the International Horror & Science Fiction Screenplay Competition. Kelly's greatest writing honor came in 2007 when he was a semi-finalist for the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship, a feat rarely accomplished by a screenplay in the sci-fi/horror genre. In 2008, he became a partner in Unconventional Films and finished writing and directing the awesome comedy web series, The Crusader, and is now producing Universal Dead, a new horror/sci-fi web series that he also wrote.

Mel Huff man- Event Coordinator/Production Designer

Mel's passion has always been art. After creating her first work at the age of 5, she joined the Buena Park Civic Center Arts earning multiple awards for her oil paintings. Spending years working backstage with her family on productions, she found her calling behind the scenes. She has previously worked closely with such artists as Artis Lane, Richard MacDonald, and Ricky Swallow at the LA Fine Art Foundry. Mel helped these artists create their vision in fine art bronze sculpture. Mel is also the Los Angles Regional Manager for Mental Eclectic, assisting Southern California filmmakers in production, networking and marketing. She has now dedicated herself to a full time career in the film industry. Mel produced The Return of the El Diablo, which premiered at Geekfest in Mexicalli in 2009. She was also the on-set dresser for The Guild season 3 in addition to working as the production designer for Simply Simon, Art Director for the music video Feel Better by Nikki Lang and Production Designer for the web series The Last.

Craig Wilson- Producer/Director

Craig started his 12 year career in entertainment as an Artistic Director for a black box theater troop. In 2003 he graduated Los Angeles Film School majoring in Directing and minoring in Producing. Since that time he has worked as a Producer, Director, First Assistant Director, Grip, Electrician, Craft Service and Production Assistant in television and film. He has produced two independent feature films, is in pre-production for one and is in development of another, both slated to shoot 2010. He has also Event Coordinated and Produced five world premiere screenings, four monthly networking events and is currently a Producer for the San Diego Indie Festival Film Stage.

Ivana Todorovic

Ivana is a self -proclaimed video street fighter from Belgrade, Serbia. She has shot, directed and co-produced three short social documentary films in Belgrade and New York City on low-to-no-budget, with the aim of both helping the people she filmed and producing social change.

In 2006, Everyday life of Roma children from Block 71 about Roma children living in shanty town in Belgrade. In 2009ÂA Harlem Mother about a mother who after losing her only son, she decides to fight despair by organizing her Harlem neighborhood against gun violence. In 2008, Rapresent about 19 year old homeless man, Bojan, who is a passionate graffiti artist and hip hopper surviving on the streets in Belgrade.

Her documentary films have been shown in over 40 International Film Festivals around the world, and have been used in educational settings for high school and university classrooms, including NGOs, in order to bring awareness to social issues. Films have won acclaim at the Mixed Messages Film Festival in New York, the Ethnographic Film Festival in Belgrade and the Human Rights Film Festival in Montreal.

Links

Raprasent & A Harlem Mother

Ivana Todorovic on Facebook

Newfilmmakers LA Website

Larry Laboe- Producer/Executive Director

Larry Laboe has been working as part of the professional media industry for over 8 years, in a truly collective experience of various mediums; film, TV, radio, print advertising, new media and most recently film exhibition. While in New York City, Mr. Laboe was employed on TV, print and radio campaigns by the world's most prestigious marketing and advertising firms, including McCann-Erickson Worldwide, Publicis Groupe, J. Walter Thompson (JWT) and Arnold Advertising Worldwide.

After Relocating to Los Angeles Mr. Laboe began consulting with key entertainment venues, promoting their properties through corporate media events. These events included film premieres and television series launch parties for such networks as Showtime and CBS. After working on numerous narrative short and feature film productions, Larry began producing television and new media projects with international production and distribution company SXM. The first network series was NBC's 'Ctrl' starring Tony Hale and Steve Howey. Larry more recently began work as a producer on Comedy Centrals newest network web series 'Matumbo Goldberg' starring Anthony Anderson, Directed by Oscar nominated Rob Pearlstein and NBC's 'FCU: Fact Checkers Unit' starring Jason Alexander, Jon Heder, Donald Faison, Dave Navarro and more.

Larry co-founded NewFilmmakers Los Angeles in 2007 with partner and Program Director Susie Kim. In an effort to bring opportunity to filmmakers, film goers and entertainment industry professionals in Los Angeles Larry is working as Executive Director of the organization and coordinating film screenings on a monthly basis, along with on-camera interviews with MovieMaker Magazine for each filmmaker selected as part of the festival at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood.