Rex Sikes' Movie Beat

Michael Beckner "The Screenwriter Series" EP 2 on Rex Sikes' Movie Beat. Michael launched his writing career with three record-making “spec” script sales: Texas Lead & Gold, Cutthroat Island, Hunchback of Notre Dame. He's writtern dozens of screenplays, studio rewrites, twenty pilots for commercial and cable networks, numerous episodes for network television,  His first original film Sniper spawned three sequels. His big-screen success came with Universal's Spy Games, directed by Tony Scott starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. He created, Excutive Producered and wrote the CBS series, The Agency. He began his career as director, Barry Levinson’s Writing Assistant working with the director on Good Morning, Vietnam and Rain Man.  From 1997 to 2008, he worked extensively with director, Sydney Pollack, adapting John Le Carre’s The Night Manager and writing two more films and developing two television series. Recent writing credits include: CSI: Crime Scene Investigators, Discovery's Gold Fever, and he is preparing the Spy Game prequel Muir’s Gambit for production and has adapted his novel Berlin Mesa into a 4 hour mini-series for AMC, Beckner is currently working on City of Lies with director Wolfgang Petersen. upcoming Civil War Event Mini-Series To Appomattox. 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

Michael Frost Beckner "The Screenwriter's Series" EP 1, [NOTE!!! Show ends abrubtly last 4 minutes, cable company line went down - topic resumes next Episode.] on Rex Sikes' Movie Beat. Michael launched his writing career with three record-making “spec” script sales: Texas Lead & Gold, Cutthroat Island, Hunchback of Notre Dame. He's writtern dozens of screenplays, studio rewrites, twenty pilots for commercial and cable networks, numerous episodes for network television,  His first original film Sniper spawned three sequels. His big-screen success came with Universal's Spy Games, directed by Tony Scott starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. He created, Excutive Producered and wrote the CBS series, The Agency. He began his career as director, Barry Levinson’s Writing Assistant working with the director on Good Morning, Vietnam and Rain Man.  From 1997 to 2008, he worked extensively with director, Sydney Pollack, adapting John Le Carre’s The Night Manager and writing two more films and developing two television series. Recent writing credits include: CSI: Crime Scene Investigators, Discovery's Gold Fever, and he is preparing the Spy Game prequel Muir’s Gambit for production and has adapted his novel Berlin Mesa into a 4 hour mini-series for AMC, Beckner is currently working on City of Lies with director Wolfgang Petersen. upcoming Civil War Event Mini-Series To Appomattox. 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

David Winning, PT 3, director ,16 features, 25 series, over 100 TV credits is mainly known for his work on Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, MGM’s Stargate: Atlantis, ABC’s Dinotopia and the HBO thriller Exception to The Rule, starring Kim Cattrall, Sean Young and Eric McCormack. At 27, he landed directing gigs on the Canadian-produced Friday the 13th: The Series for Paramount Pictures he received three Canadian Emmy Award nominations. M. Night Shyamalan has cited Winning’s episode of Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark:  The Tale of the Dream Girl, as the inspiration for The Sixth Sense.  His episodic work has received twenty-four first places at the Houston Film Festival, a Gold Hugo and two Silver Hugos in Chicago, and Four national Gemini nominations for Best Director/Dramatic Series. He has received over 60 international awards.  He has directed many international stars including: Daniel Baldwin, Patrick Duffy, Peter Strauss, William Devane, Peta Wilson, Markie Post, Lance Henriksen, Frederic Forrest, Jason Connery, Carl Weathers, Margot Kidder, Michael Sarrazin, Bruce Boxleitner, Lesley Ann Warren, Martin Mull and many more. Recently he directed Kevin Sorbo, Robert Englund and Bruce Dern in a Trilogy of monster movies for the US SYFY Channel and Hallmark Entertainment - RHI Films New York and episodes of the Vampire series Blood Ties for Lifetime TV and episodes of TODD AND THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL, for SPACE CHANNEL -- and supervised and directed the far north adventure series YUKONIC! which debuted in 2011 LOST GIRL for Showcase and the SYFY Channel and a Rob Lowe Christmas movie for HALLMARK. Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat for other great archived interviews, cast and crew listings, events, festivals, premieres, and more at rexsikes.com

Adam Rifkin, director/writer/producer/actor, PT3, whose eclectic career ranges from broad family comedies to cult classics to dark and gritty urban dramas. As a writer, he made his mark with hit films like MOUSEHUNT, starring Nathan Lane and SMALL SOLDIERS, starring Tommy Lee Jones for Dreamworks. Recent credits include Sony’s ZOOM, starring Tim Allen and Disney's UNDERDOG, starring Jason Lee as the canine hero. Rifkin earned cult status when his film THE DARK BACKWARD, which he wrote and directed, was named one of the top ten films of its year by The New York Post. He would then be immortalized as the director responsible for New Line Cinema’s DETROIT ROCK CITY, a bona fide cult classic that introduced a whole new generation of fans to the “hottest band in the world…KISS!!!” Rifkin gained critical recognition for NIGHT AT THE GOLDEN EAGLE, a film which he not only wrote and directed, but also produced. The film was an official selection of the London Film Festival and opened to rave reviews. In 2008, Rifkin traveled back to Neolithic times when he starred opposite Ali Larter as an idealistic caveman searching for love and life beyond cave in National Lampoon’s HOMO ERECTUS. Rifkin, who also wrote and directed the film, wanted to capture the essence of early Woody Allen movies like LOVE AND DEATH, SLEEPER, and BANANAS. The prehistoric comedy was recently released on DVD following a theatrical release. Most recently Rifkin wrote, directed and executive produced (along with Barry Schuler and Brad Wyman) all 11 episodes of LOOK the series for Showtime. Based on his critically acclaimed and award winning film of the same name, LOOK is a controversial drama that takes us into the foreboding world of hidden cameras. 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

Michael Frost Beckner, screenwriter, PT 2 launched his writing career with three record-making “spec” script sales: Texas Lead & Gold, Cutthroat Island, Hunchback of Notre Dame. He's writtern dozens of screenplays, studio rewrites, twenty pilots for commercial and cable networks, numerous episodes for network television,  His first original film Sniper spawned three sequels. His big-screen success came with Universal's Spy Games, directed by Tony Scott starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. He created, Excutive Producered and wrote the CBS series, The Agency. He began his career as director, Barry Levinson’s Writing Assistant working with the director on Good Morning, Vietnam and Rain Man.  From 1997 to 2008, he worked extensively with director, Sydney Pollack, adapting John Le Carre’s The Night Manager and writing two more films and developing two television series. Recent writing credits include: CSI: Crime Scene Investigators, Discovery's Gold Fever, and he is preparing the Spy Game prequel Muir’s Gambit for production and has adapted his novel Berlin Mesa into a 4 hour mini-series for AMC, Beckner is currently working on City of Lies with director Wolfgang Petersen. upcoming Civil War Event Mini-Series To Appomattox. 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