Rex Sikes' Movie Beat

Bonnie Garvin lives and works in Los Angeles where she is part of the USC School of Cinema faculty and teaches screenwriting. Additionally, she teaches privately and does weekend screenwriting workshops around the country in addition to her own writing.

Originally from Detroit Bonnie began her writing career by accident. While working in the theatre as a publicist and attending Wayne State University evenings to attain a Masters Degree in Communications, she mistakenly ended up in an advanced playwriting class. She stayed in the class and wrote her first play, which became a finalist for the Eugene O’Neill Award.

Later she adapted her play into a screenplay, which was optioned as a feature film. She has written television films for the three major television networks, as well as for cable television and has also produced several of her own scripts. “The Killing Yard” for Showtime, starring Alan Alda, won her an “Edgar Award” nomination for “Best Television Feature/Miniseries.”

“The Killing Yard” also won the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award for “Best Television Feature/Miniseries.

Bonnie writes projects for European television and film. Currently, she has several original film scripts under option, and has optioned a novel, which she plans to adapt to a film.

She also played a role in the Writers Guild strike last year as a member and spokesperson on the media team.

Listen to archived interviews and read blogs at the official Rex Sikes' Movie Beat site at www.rexsikes.com

Director Oliver Robins began his career in the film industry at the age of ten, starring in Steven Spielberg’s Poltergeist. After acting in various film and television roles, he moved behind the camera. At the age of fifteen, he wrote, directed and produced The Crystal, which won first prize at the French Les Mesnil-le t-Roi Film Festival. Upon graduating from the University of Southern California Film School’s Production Program, he wrote, directed and produced close to fifty industrial, short and feature films. He also wrote the feature film Eating L.A., which premiered on television in 1999. Oliver then wrote and directed the feature romantic comedy Dumped, starring Seth Peterson (NBC’s Providence) and Dana Barron (National Lampoon’s Vacation), which was released internationally by Showcase Entertainment. Oliver also directed the feature comedy Wild Roomies, starring A.J. Buckley (The In Crowd, Extreme Days), Holly Fields (Wishmaster 2), and Stephen Furst (Animal House), which was released on television and DVD throughout the world by Monarch Home Video and American World Pictures. Additionally, the Hallmark Channel produced Oliver’s screenplay You’ve Got A Friend in 2007, starring John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard) and Dylan McLaughlin (Kicking & Screaming), which aired in 2008 and received the best ratings ever for a June movie premiere on the network. Most recently, Oliver directed the indie feature comedy Man Overboard, written by Ashley Scott Meyers and Nathan Ives (Dish Dogs, Reunion). Oliver is also attached to direct Treasure Entertainment’s Prom Date, with a story by Mark Brown (Barbershop 1 & 2), to star Jeremy Sumpter (Peter Pan), Dan Byrd (The Hills Have Eyes) and Eddie Griffin (Undercover Brother), which goes into production in 2009. Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat for other great archived interviews, cast and crew listings, events, festivals, premieres, and more at http://www.rexsikes.com

Filmmaker Magazing Heralds director Frankie Latina as one of the new faces of independent film. “Frankie Latina's Modus Operandi is a trip. A fuzzed out ode to B-gangster films, '60s political paranoia thrillers, '80s late-night Skinemax, and raunchy underground cinema (think a Quinn Martin production directed by John Waters from a script by Jean-Pierre Melville), the picture is the 30-year-old Milwaukee writer-director's debut, an act of will shot on Super 8 (with bits of video) over the course of four years. Listen in and learn how he did it. Film includes Danny Trejo currently starring in Robert Rodriguez upcoming film "Machete". Latina, who has worked as everything from a clerk at Blockbuster to, currently, a teacher of film production to twelfth graders in the Milwaukee public school system, would buy film whenever he had the cash, purchase and paint his own sets and props and assemble whatever crew he could round up on the weekends. Things got better as he assembled a team of producers, starting with a local woman, Janet Beasley, and later, a production company, Special Entertainment.Latina cites as a seminal influence Waters and his film Female Trouble. "When I saw Female Trouble in my friend's parents' living room, not only did I understand that I can make a movie, I understood that I would make a movie." Tune in as he discusses the film's reception at CINEVEGAS, how he got a buyer for the film, the production challenges and more. And Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat for other great archived interviews, cast and crew listings, events, festivals, premieres, and more at http://www.rexsikes.com

You know him as Hercules in the show that surpassed “Baywatch” as the most watched show in the world “Hercules, the Legendary Journeys” and as Captain Dylan Hunt in Gene Rodenberry’s “Andromeda” The series, based upon writings from the late “Star Trek” creator’s archives, debuted as the number one hour show in first run syndication and held that spot throughout it’s five year run from 2000-2005.? Electronics Media Magazine named Sorbo TV’s third most bankable star behind Oprah and Regis. Sorbo has guest starred on the hit shows “Just Shoot Me”, “According to Jim”, “Hope and Faith”, “Two and a Half Men, USA networks “Psych”, and had recurring appearances on “Dharma and Greg”, and on Fox’s “The OC” in 2006-2007. In 2005, he signed an unprecedented development deal with ABC/Touchstone Television that resulted in the creation of “Bobby Cannon”, a half-hour comedy pilot written by Barry Kemp of “Coach” and “Newhart” fame. In 1997, Sorbo made his feature film debut in “Kull, the Conqueror”, a prequel to “Conan, the Barbarian”. Other films include, “Walking Tall, the Payback”, “Walking Tall, Lone Justice, “The Last Chance Café”, “Something Beneath”, “Clipping Adam”, and most recently, “The Avenging Angel” which aired on Hallmark summer of 2007 and was the third highest rated movie in the history of Hallmark. “Meet the Spartans” just wrapped principal photography for a January ’08 release from New Regency and 20th Century Fox. Sorbo also finished shooting another western for Blockbuster called, “Prairie Fever”. Another ’08 release for Sci Fi cable network is “’Fire From Below”. “The House Next Door” is an independent film to be distributed by The Weinstein Company in ’08 as well. Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat for other great archived interviews, cast and crew listings, events, festivals, premieres, and more at http://www.rexsikes.com

Producer Mark Heidelberger has produced music videos, commercials, documentaries and feature films. Mark will discuss his recent film "Man Overboard", the process of preparing the movie’s script for shooting, how they assembled the money for the shoot & marketing, casting, pre, production & post, out of the box methods of marketing, the process of DIY (do-it-yourself) distribution and more! His Treasure Entertainment company has produced at least 10 feature films including "Harsh Times" starring Christian Bale, Freddie Rodriguesz, & Eva Longoria Parker directed by David Ayer writer of "Fast and the Furious", "Training Day", "S.W.A.T.", "U-571" among others. As an Executive Producer Mark produced an independent feature called Cycles, served as a producer on NBA basketball docu-drama Flintown Kids, and developed and helped package the indie thriller Don Mckay, starring Thomas Haden Church (Sideways), Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), and Melissa Leo (Frozen River). His next feature "High Midnight" directed by Mary Lambert, stars Billy Baldwin and Thomas Kretschmann. So Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat and listen live or listen to the archived shows. Visit the Official Rex Sikes Movie Beat website for other great archived interviews, cast and crew listings, events, festivals, premieres, and more at http://www.rexsikes.com