Rex Sikes' Movie Beat

Fred Fox Jr, writer/producer wrote spec script for All In The Family with friend Gary Shandling. New Year’s Eve 1975 Fred got a call from Cindy Williams saying she was going to be on a new show, Laverne and Shirley. She asked if he wanted to be her gopher and an apprentice writer. Fred met Garry Marshall and was offered the job that started his lucky run in the sitcom world.

He spent a year on Laverne and Shirley, seven on Happy Days as a writer/producer and co-show runner with Brian Levant the last two seasons. Fred wrote the infamous Hollywood III episode that ended up starting the “Jump The Shark” phenomenon. The term got into the Oxford Dictionary of English and is still used today. 

He was on Happy Days when Robin Williams made his sitcom debut in 1978 on the Mork From Ork episode where at the run through blew everyone away. Guest actors aren’t supposed to adlib but Robin did and lef everyone incredulous. That appearance and one other led to the hit series Mork and Mindy and his incredible career.

After Happy Days, Fred wrote and produced for Webster, It’s Your Move, He’s The Mayor and The New Leave It To Beaver. It 1988 he co-created My Secret Identity with Brian Levant, a half hour comedy/action, starring Jerry O’Connell and Derek McGrath, which won an International Emmy for Outstanding Program For Children and Young Adults. In 1990 he joined the hit show Family Matters as a writer/co-executive producer for eight seasons.

Fred has acted and written songs for television He has also scripted films, doing a rewrite on The Flintstones, directed by Brian Levant and has cowrote with Dave Duclon, Gary Menteer and Steve Langford Too Good To Be True for Ned Tanen. Ned produced The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles and as President of Universal greenlit American Grafitti.

He stays busy with speaking engagements and working on television and film projects.

Fred Fox Jr, writer/producer wrote spec script for All In The Family with friend Gary Shandling. New Year’s Eve 1975 Fred got a call from Cindy Williams saying she was going to be on a new show, Laverne and Shirley. She asked if he wanted to be her gopher and an apprentice writer. Fred met Garry Marshall and was offered the job that started his lucky run in the sitcom world.

He spent a year on Laverne and Shirley, seven on Happy Days as a writer/producer and co-show runner with Brian Levant the last two seasons. Fred wrote the infamous Hollywood III episode that ended up starting the “Jump The Shark” phenomenon. The term got into the Oxford Dictionary of English and is still used today. 

He was on Happy Days when Robin Williams made his sitcom debut in 1978 on the Mork From Ork episode where at the run through blew everyone away. Guest actors aren’t supposed to adlib but Robin did and lef everyone incredulous. That appearance and one other led to the hit series Mork and Mindy and his incredible career.

After Happy Days, Fred wrote and produced for Webster, It’s Your Move, He’s The Mayor and The New Leave It To Beaver. It 1988 he co-created My Secret Identity with Brian Levant, a half hour comedy/action, starring Jerry O’Connell and Derek McGrath, which won an International Emmy for Outstanding Program For Children and Young Adults. In 1990 he joined the hit show Family Matters as a writer/co-executive producer for eight seasons.

Fred has acted and written songs for television He has also scripted films, doing a rewrite on The Flintstones, directed by Brian Levant and has cowrote with Dave Duclon, Gary Menteer and Steve Langford Too Good To Be True for Ned Tanen. Ned produced The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles and as President of Universal greenlit American Grafitti.

He stays busy with speaking engagements and working on television and film projects.

Joshua Brandon, director. In his early 20s, Josh ran a theatre company with his cousin Steven known as CANNED LAUGHTER, which specialized in producing and directing world-renowned plays and musicals. In 2008, after less than two years in the industry, Josh and Steven sold a TV pilot to ABC Family called SINGLE GIRL THEORY. They worked as staff writers on CBS’s FRIEND ME before going their separate ways so Steven could concentrate on comedy and Josh on one hour drama and sci-fi. Josh wrote for SyFy's Haven in its last two seasons bringing back fan-favorite character William played by Eureka’s Colin Ferguson who'd later star in Josh’s feature directorial debut.

After Haven, Josh wrote on Fox’s Houdini & Doyle for showrunner David Hoselton and David Shore. This show was a perfect fit for Josh, who counts magic among his hobbies. Josh worked with stars Stephen Mangan, Michael Weston, Rebecca Liddiard, Tim McInnerny and Emily Hampshire. Josh continues to work, developing projects with numerous producers and showrunners, including Rescue Me showrunner Peter Tolan, Shaftesbury Films, and Star Trek’s Roddenberry Entertainment, where he serves in an ongoing capacity as a development consultant. 

In 2019, Josh branched out into directing, writing and directing the comedy short ALEXA, which is currently on the festival circuit. ALEXA stars Jonathan Sadowski, Rachel Nichols, Reggie Brown, and Angie Sims.

In 2019, Josh wrote and directed his first feature film, a psychological drama titled A THOUSAND LITTLE CUTS, starring Rebecca Liddiard, and Marina Sirtis of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame. Peter Foldy produced A Thousand Little Cuts.

Writer Director Todd Robinson’s films often explore the boundaries of the human condition as evidenced by his submarine thriller “Phantom”, Ridley Scott's epic, “White Squall” which he wrote and produced and now The Last Full Measure.

Sidney Sherman is the founder/CEO of Rosa Entertainment an indie film/television production & management co. He's produced both narrative and documentary features and shorts. He co-produced "Lonely Hearts"  written and directed by Todd. 

Byron Werner, Director of Photography has shot a massive collection of work over 20 years in feature films, short films, music videos, and commercials. He's DP on Robinson’s Phantom and The Last Full Measure. Byron’s work in music videos includes Coldplay, David Grohl/FooFighters, Bruno Mars, The 1975, ELO, Pharrell, The Killers and more. 

Philip Klein’s music has been heard in film and TV projects for Sony, Disney, Pixar, Lionsgate, ABC and CBS. Recent projects include Todd’s “The Last Full Measure” and the upcoming Sony Pictures Animation “Wish Dragon”. Philip also penned 18 new orchestral arrangements for Aerosmith’s current Las Vegas residency, “Deuces Are Wild.” He is also an active orchestrator. 

Travis Aaron Wade is a US Marine veteran with a 20 year career in the movie biz. He's acted in over 30 projects, and has discovered his true passion lies in producing. He spends his time helping people develop their intellectual property and getting it to the big screen with his new company, iPitch cofounded with Vicki Bartle. 

John Savage, with over 236 credits to his name is best known for The Deer Hunter, The Onion Field, Hair, Salvador, and TV's Goliath, Twin Peaks and Dark Angel

Christopher Lockhart is a Hollywood executive, teacher and producer with over 30 years of industry experience.  Chris worked as Story Editor at ICM, the William Morris Agency and WME. Chris worked with legendary talent agent Ed Limato helping to find projects for actors such as Denzel Washington, Mel Gibson, Steve Martin, Richard Gere, Michelle Pfeiffer, Liam Neeson, Claire Danes, Robert Downey Jr.and many others.

He's consulted on hundreds of screenplays with studio executives, producers and writers from around the world. He's consulted on THE BIRTH OF A NATION and DREAMLAND starring Gary Oldman. He estimates he's read over 60,000 screenplays. As a producer, Chris set up the noir thriller CROOKED CREEK, and A RHINESTONE ALIBI at Paramount. He produced THE COLLECTOR, and sequel THE COLLECTION which opened in the top 10 U.S. box-office. 

Chris wrote and produce the award winning documentary MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS which Oprah Winfrey Network acquired. Chris has taught screenwriting at UCLA, LA Valley College, and is an adjunct professor at National University's Screenwriting Program. He lectures at conferences around the world.

His article “I Wrote a 120 Page Script but Can’t Write a Logline: The Construction of a Logline” has become the de facto reference on the subject and is used in film schools across the globe. His writing workshop “The Inside Pitch” was televised in Los Angeles and earned him an Emmy nomination.

Chris is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The Writers Guild and The Producers Guild. Stay tuned to Rex Sikes' Movie Beat for other great archived interviews, cast and crew listings, events, festivals, premieres, and more!

Michael Feifer grew up in a show biz family.  His father was Head of Television Research for 20th Century Fox in the late 60's and 70's. After graduating college Mike decided to take advantage of the fact that his father was producing independent films.  After working on only three projects, at twenty-four Mike produced his first feature. 

Eventually, Mike began producing films for others and has now produced more than seventy-five feature films.  When a director dropped out of a film he was producing, he finally got his shot to direct.  The film was called Lethal Eviction and it starred Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) and Judd Nelson (Breakfast Club).

His ability to move his crew quickly and make concise decisions on set allow Mike to get an incredible amount of set-ups shot per day. Mike is considered an actor's director because of his innate ability to collaborate with his talent yet lead them.  But, he's also considered a producer's director due to his ability to bring in films on budget, on-time, and with amazing production quality.

Mike has directed stars such as Val Kilmer, Brittany Murphy, Tom Arnold, Tom Skerritt, Peter Bogdanovich, and many more.  He has worked in a producing and assistant-directing capacity with stars such as Al Pacino, Lorraine Bracco, and Danny Glover. 

Since directing that first feature, Mike has gone on to direct many more films in a wide variety of genres from horror to thriller to drama to comedy. His films are seen regularly on channels such as Lifetime, Hallmark, ION, Uplift TV, and more.  His films are sold in every territory throughout the world.

Director David Winning enjoys 38 features, 29 series, and over 150 TV credits. Known for Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, MGM’s Stargate: Atlantis, ABC’s Dinotopia and HBO's Exception to The Rule, starring Kim Cattrall, Sean Young and Eric McCormack. He's a proven and prolific film and TV director in virtually all genres.

He began making movies at the age of ten. He made his first short Sequence at 18, which he became 1st feature film STORM in 1983. At 27, he directed on Friday the 13th: The Series for Paramount; for this TV debut he received 3 Canadian Emmy Award nominations. His 2nd feature Killer Image followed in 1992 starring Michael Ironside and M. Emmet Walsh.

The next 3 decades he directed more movies and TV, over twenty-five series from kid’s shows to westerns to sci-fi. M. Night Shyamalan cited Winning’s episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark: The Tale of the Dream Girl, as inspiration for The Sixth Sense. His episodic work's received international awards including 24 1st places at the Houston Film Festival, a Gold Hugo and 2 Silver Hugos in Chicago, 4 national Gemini Screen Award nominations for Best Director/Dramatic Series. He's received over 80 international awards. In 2002 he received a National award from the DGA for outstanding achievement in TV drama.

90’s saw him arriving in LA, to directe the hit sequel TURBO: A POWER RANGERS MOVIE the 4th highest selling DVD that summer. He’s directed many stars including: Ryan Gosling, Patrick Duffy, Peter Strauss, William Devane, Markie Post, Lance Henriksen, Frederic Forrest, Jason Connery, Carl Weathers, Margot Kidder, Michael Sarrazin, Bruce Boxleitner, Martin Mull, Kevin Sorbo, Robert Englund and Bruce Dern. He helmed six episodes SYFY's NETFLIX hit vampire series VAN HELSING, including the 3rd Season Finale and opening the 4th season 2020.

Hot Moves helped established Peter Foldy as a writer and before long he also began directing feature films, working with stars such as Paul Rudd, Beverly D'Angelo, Academy Award winner, Louise Fletcher and Eugene Levy among many others.

His 2018 feature, Love on Repeat, is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. In 2019 he also produced 2 films, Finding Hannah, directed by legendary director, Sidney Furie, and A Thousand Little Cuts directed by Josh Brandon.

Foldy is developing several new film projects for 2020 and has recently returned to his musical roots with the release of a 10 track CD entitled Nine Lives as well as a new single, Toxic World. Both projects earned strong reviews and airplay in the US, Canada and beyond.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Peter spent his formative years in Sydney, Australia. After a family move to Toronto, Foldy enrolled in film school, supporting himself by playing music at night with a rock & roll band. When a record company heard some of his original songs, Foldy was signed to a record deal and his first single, Bondi Junction went to Number One on the Canadian charts.

Foldy was soon lured by Capitol/EMI where two more top ten hits followed. He toured Canada, opening for acts such as The Hollies as well as headlining his own shows backed by a seven-piece band.

Arriving in Los Angeles, Foldy once again began thinking about film production. He co-wrote and was able to set up a teen comedy script, Hot Moves that soon found worldwide success.

Writer/Director Todd Robinson — Before working with a cadre of major talent alongside the likes of Ridley Scott, Sydney Pollack, Shakar Kapur, Jan DeBont, Michael Bay and others, Robinson was trained as an actor which has informed his considerable work in film and television. 

Robinson’s films often explore the boundaries of the human condition set against the action of large-scale theatrical backdrops as is evidenced by his cold war submarine thriller “Phantom” starring Ed Harris, David Duchovny and William Fichtner, and the Ridley Scott sea faring epic, “White Squall”.

Known as an actor’s director, Robinson’s next film is “The Last Full Measure” about Medal of Honor recipient AFC William Hart Pitsenbarger.  This film stars Sebastain Stan, Allison Sudol, Jeremy Irvine, Christopher Plummer, Samuel L. Jackson, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Peter Fonda, John Savage, Amy Madigan, Diane Ladd, Bradly Whitford, Linus Roache, Ser Darius Blain, James Jagger, Cody Walker, Zack Roerig and LisaGay Hamilton. It opened nationwide on Jan. 17th, 2020.

Robinson wrote and directed the noir thriller “Lonely Hearts” starring John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Salma Hayek, Jared Leto and Laura Dern.

Robinson wrote and produced “White Squall”, working closely with director Ridley Scott.  The film stars Jeff Bridges, Ryan Phillippe, Jeremy Sisto, and Scott Wolf. He wrote “The Four Diamonds” for Disney, directed by Peter Werner, “Mermaid” helmed by Peter Masterson and was a contributing writer on Bad Boys II directed by Michael Bay. 

Robinson wrote and directed “The Legend of Billy the Kid” for the Disney Channel, winning a Primetime EMMY. He has numerous television series credits.

Lance Kawas, director, has a passion for writing screenplays and directing. Lance spent ten years writing 30 screenplays which earned him 19 national screenplay competition awards and opened the door for him to direct indie films. His films include horror feature Silent Scream, true mob story Street Boss. A children's movie The Deported. His 4th the drama/action Restitution. Recent projects include his “Revenge of The Mask Film” which has 39.8 million views. He produced the entire series. A High End commercial that's won 18 Best Commercial Awards from around the world. Trailers for A Silent War & Odin’s 9 and an award winning music video. He's developing his script to direct The Violinist, with Armory Films (Peanut Butter Falcon, Mudbound) with producer Tim Zajaros. Lance has directed actors such as, Tom Arnold, Mena Suvari, C Thomas Howell, William Sadler, Talia Shire, Michael Rappaport, Paul Rodriguez, Vincent Pastore, Carmen Argenziano, and Nick Turturro to name a few. He has two best feature film awards and one nomination for best director. He's hired to write scripts for producers and has inked four such writing deals. He holds a BA in Finance & Banking from The U of Michigan. His finance background helps him prepare film budgets. As a director he says "i engage in incongruence and non linear story telling showcasing drama through color and shadows seen in a multi layered frame accentuated though various lighting techniques, arcs, looks, feel, and aesthetics - This is what I put on the screen.