Interview Series

Steven Demmler is a writer/producer, Founder of St. Petersburg-based Talon Entertainment, and one of Variety’s “New Leaders in Hollywood” for 2024. He's written, directed, or produced films that have screened in festivals around the world and has spent more than a decade working in finance, facilitating deals for globally distributed investors. Prior to that, Steven worked for many years on the Emmy-winning crew of Saturday Night Live. He’s also a founding partner of MUTANT, a pop culture-centric art and collectible venture, alongside Mondo founder Tim League and Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah. Additionally, Steven is a strategic advisor and member of the board of directors for Elijah and Noah’s SpectreVision. We talk all of this and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill. Please note there were challenges with the audio recording during this episode, we apologize for the inconvenience.

Saul Blinkoff is a filmmaker and former Florida resident who has worked for numerous high-profile clients including Disney, DreamWorks and Netflix. He was a Disney Animator on the films “Pocahontas,” “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Mulan” and “Tarzan” and directed “Winnie the Pooh,” “Kronk’s New Groove” and the hit show “Doc McStuffins” and also produced the award winning Dreamworks series; “Madagascar: A Little Wild.” Saul travels the world sharing practical tools for success, meaning and fulfillment in all aspects of life and hosts the inspirational podcast; ‘Life of AWESOME!’ We talk all of this and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Donny Herran is a graduate of UCF and an accomplished Producer, Production Executive and Executive in Charge and is currently a Senior Vice President of Production for Paramount. Early in his career he produced content for Disney, ABC, FOX and Discovery Channel while venturing into independent filmmaking, including being a part of the Oscar Winning Film, “Monster.” For the second half of his career Donny joined the production team at Paramount (formerly Viacom), overseeing hit premium scripted shows such as "Yellowstone," “Lioness," and "Mayor of Kingstown," along with unscripted franchises "The Challenge," "Love & Hip Hop," "Martha & Snoop Potluck Dinner Party,” and “Basketball Wives.” We talk all of this and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

For more about or to donate to the Jeremy E. Evans Student Films Fund, visit https://foundation.ucf.edu/FSdonate?bg=2 then search for Jeremy E Evans and select The Jeremy E Evans Student Films Fund, NSCM000108.

Antonia McCutcheon has been with the Tampa Bay Community Network for close to three decades and is currently the Executive Director. TBCN is the last public access television station in Florida and they help Tampa Bay’s diverse community by offering accessible media resources and innovative specialized training and workforce development for the video production industry while providing access for the community to air their shows. We talk all things TBCN and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Michael Wesley has been a Location Manager and Scout for close to thirty years. He’s been a member of the Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) for over a decade and is currently a Board Member for LMGI. Some of Michael’s credits include “Transformers” 2, 3 & 4, “Inception,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Booksmart” and “The Terminal List.” We talk about his career, the evolution of the locations craft, his Master Class in Location Scouting and Managing and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Jonathan Olsberg is the Founder and Executive Chair of Olsberg-SPI, a leading international creative industries consultancy that specializes in the global screen production sector. For the last 30 years, Olsberg-SPI has helped clients plan, design and deliver sustainable growth, evidence impact, and evolve and expand in a highly competitive and fast-moving screen sector. Jonathan’s previous roles in production, distribution and finance have facilitated SPI’s practical understanding of the screen sector that helps deliver focused consultancy services to governments and businesses around the world. Jonathan is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the British Screen Forum and the European Film Academy. We cover a wide range of topics on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Miami-based Alexis Garcia is the Founder of CAT5, a finance and production label for action films focused on building a better machine for filmmakers and financiers. He sees CAT5 as a turnkey financing and production option for filmmakers, leaning in on content with strong commercial appeal. CAT5 targets independently financed and/or produced action films in the $10 - $50 million budget range. Alexis is an entertainment executive with 20+ years of domestic and international dealmaking experience including roles as lawyer, agent, producer and now founder. We talk about all of this and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Stefan Roesch emigrated to New Zealand in 2003 to embark on the world’s first PhD in Film Tourism. Since then, he has 20 years of experience in market research and is a leading expert on film tourism and has consulted with various destinations on film tourism projects around the world. In 2023, he earned the designation of Certified Film Commissioner and is on the Board of Directors for the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI). We talk to Stefan about the origins of film tourism, where his interest started, the global economic impacts of film tourism and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Artie Malesci is an Emmy and SAG Award nominated Stuntman and Stunt Coordinator. Artie has worked on close to 150 major titles including some of the biggest Florida-based projects including “Bad Monkey,” “Moonlight,” “Burn Notice,” “Miami Vice” the series and the movie, “2 Fast 2 Furious,” “The Waterboy,” “Ace Venture: Pet Detective,” “My Girl,” and “Parenthood” among many others. We talk to Artie about his stunt work, the evolution of his craft, some great behind the scenes stories, his acting work and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Dominic Giannetti is the founder of Florida-based Giannetti Films and an award-winning director, writer, and producer. With more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Dominic has worked on over 100 professional TV, Movie, and Music video sets including producing more than a dozen feature films, many of them in Florida helping launch the careers of dozens of professional filmmakers and actors. We talk to Dominic about his professional journey, producing faith-based films, some of his favorite behind the scenes stories and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.