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John Gulager was born on 19 December 1957 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Feast (2005), Piranha 3DD (2012) and He Was a Quiet Man (2007). He has been married to Diane Ayala Goldner since 1986.- Visual Effects
- Animation Department
- Director
Efram's love of storytelling and visual wizardry caught fire as a ten year old kid when he began making cell-animation and claymation films. Three years later he won the top award at a Maine film festival with his first live action short, a super-8 science fiction adventure. After producing numerous independent shorts and features over the next fifteen years, he ultimately won the Project Greenlight directing contest, leading him to co-direct Miramax's "The Battle of Shaker Heights" starring Shia LaBeouf. Since then he's he continued making films, honing his skills as a visual effects artist and supervisor, having been recently nominated for the 2010 VES Awards. Presently he's developing original intellectual properties for the cross-media and the feature film marketplace.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Kyle Rankin was born on 13 September 1972 in Danbury, Connecticut, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Run Hide Fight (2020), Night of the Living Deb (2015) and Infestation (2009).- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Director
Erica Beeney is known for Captive State (2019), Charlie Melody and The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003).- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Pete Jones is known for The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022), Hall Pass (2011) and Ricky Stanicky (2024).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Marcus Dunstan was born on 14 April 1975 in Macomb, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and director, known for The Collector (2009), The Collection (2012) and Feast (2005).- Writer
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Patrick Melton was born on 18 June 1975 in Champaign, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019), Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) and Saw 3D (2010).- Writer
- Director
- Cinematographer
Jason Mann is known for The Leisure Class (2015), Delicacy (2012) and On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres (2007).- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Bruce Lee remains the greatest icon of martial arts cinema and a key figure of modern popular media. Had it not been for Bruce Lee and his movies in the early 1970s, it's arguable whether or not the martial arts film genre would have ever penetrated and influenced mainstream North American and European cinema and audiences the way it has over the past four decades. The influence of East Asian martial arts cinema can be seen today in so many other film genres including comedies, action, drama, science fiction, horror and animation... and they all have their roots in the phenomenon that was Bruce Lee.
Lee was born Lee Jun Fan November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, the son of Lee Hoi Chuen, a singer with the Cantonese Opera. Approximately one year later, the family returned to Kowloon in Hong Kong and at the age of five, a young Bruce begins appearing in children's roles in minor films including The Birth of Mankind (1946) and Fu gui fu yun (1948). At the age of 12, Bruce commenced attending La Salle College. Bruce was later beaten up by a street gang, which inspired him to take up martial arts training under the tutelage of Sifu Yip Man who schooled Bruce in wing chun kung fu for a period of approximately five years. This was the only formalized martial arts training ever undertaken by Lee. The talented and athletic Bruce also took up cha-cha dancing and, at age 18, won a major dance championship in Hong Kong.
However, his temper and quick fists got him in trouble with the Hong Kong police on numerous occasions. His parents suggested that he head off to the United States. Lee landed in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1959 and worked in a close relative's restaurant. He eventually made his way to Seattle, Washington, where he enrolled at university to study philosophy and found the time to practice his beloved kung fu techniques. In 1963, Lee met Linda Lee Cadwell (aka Linda Emery) (later his wife) and also opened his first kung fu school at 4750 University Way. During the early half of the 1960s, Lee became associated with many key martial arts figures in the United States, including kenpo karate expert Ed Parker and tae kwon do master Jhoon Rhee. He made guest appearances at notable martial arts events including the Long Beach Nationals. Through one of these tournaments Bruce met Hollywood hair-stylist Jay Sebring who introduced him to television producer William Dozier. Based on the runaway success of Batman (1966), Dozier was keen to bring the cartoon character the Green Hornet to television and was on the lookout for an East Asian actor to play the Green Hornet's sidekick, Kato. Around this time Bruce also opened a second kung fu school in Oakland, California and relocated to Oakland to be closer to Hollywood.
Bruce's screen test was successful, and The Green Hornet (1966) starring Van Williams aired in 1966-1967 with mixed success. His fight scenes were sometimes obscured by unrevealing camera angles, but his dedication was such that he insisted his character behave like a perfect bodyguard, keeping his eyes on whoever might be a threat to his employer except when the script made this impossible. The show was canceled after only one season (twenty-six episodes), but by this time Lee was receiving more fan mail than the series' nominal star. He then opened a third branch of his kung fu school in Los Angeles and began providing personalized martial arts training to celebrities including film stars Steve McQueen and James Coburn as well as screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. In addition he refined his prior knowledge of wing chun and incorporated aspects of other fighting styles such as traditional boxing and Okinawan karate. He also developed his own unique style Jeet Kune Do (Way of the Intercepting Fist). Another film opportunity then came his way as he landed the small role of a stand over man named Winslow Wong who intimidates private eye James Garner in Marlowe (1969). Wong pays a visit to Garner and proceeds to demolish the investigator's office with his fists and feet, finishing off with a spectacular high kick that shatters the light fixture. With this further exposure of his talents, Bruce then scored several guest appearances as a martial arts instructor to blind private eye James Franciscus on the television series Longstreet (1971).
With his minor success in Hollywood and money in his pocket, Bruce returned for a visit to Hong Kong and was approached by film producer Raymond Chow who had recently started Golden Harvest productions. Chow was keen to utilize Lee's strong popularity amongst young Chinese fans, and offered him the lead role in The Big Boss (1971). In it, Lee plays a distant cousin coming to join relatives working at an ice house, where murder, corruption, and drug-running lead to his character's adventures and display of Kung-Fu expertise. The film was directed by Wei Lo, shot in Thailand on a very low budget and in terrible living conditions for cast and crew. However, when it opened in Hong Kong the film was an enormous hit. Chow knew he had struck box office gold with Lee and quickly assembled another script entitled Fist of Fury (1972). The second film (with a slightly bigger budget) was again directed by Wei Lo and was set in Shanghai in the year 1900, with Lee returning to his school to find that his beloved master has been poisoned by the local Japanese karate school. Once again he uncovers the evildoers and sets about seeking revenge on those responsible for murdering his teacher and intimidating his school. The film features several superb fight sequences and, at the film's conclusion, Lee refuses to surrender to the Japanese police and seemingly leaps to his death in a hail of police bullets.
Once more, Hong Kong streets were jammed with thousands of fervent Chinese movie fans who could not get enough of the fearless Bruce Lee, and his second film went on to break the box office records set by the first! Lee then set up his own production company, Concord Productions, and set about guiding his film career personally by writing, directing and acting in his next film, The Way of the Dragon (1972). A bigger budget meant better locations and opponents, with the new film set in Rome, Italy and additionally starring hapkido expert In-shik Hwang, karate legend Robert Wall and seven-time U.S. karate champion Chuck Norris. Bruce plays a seemingly simple country boy sent to assist at a cousin's restaurant in Rome and finds his cousins are being bullied by local thugs for protection.
By now, Lee's remarkable success in East Asia had come to the attention of Hollywood film executives and a script was hastily written pitching him as a secret agent penetrating an island fortress. Warner Bros. financed the film and also insisted on B-movie tough guy John Saxon starring alongside Lee to give the film wider appeal. The film culminates with another show-stopping fight sequence between Lee and the key villain, Han, in a maze of mirrors. Shooting was completed in and around Hong Kong in early 1973 and in the subsequent weeks Bruce was involved in completing overdubs and looping for the final cut. Various reports from friends and co-workers cite that he was not feeling well during this period and on July 20, 1973 he lay down at the apartment of actress Betty Ting Pei after taking a headache medicine called Equagesic and was later unable to be revived. A doctor was called and Lee was taken to hospital by ambulance and pronounced dead that evening. The official finding was death due to a cerebral edema, caused by a reaction to the headache tablet Equagesic.
Fans worldwide were shattered that their virile idol had passed at such a young age, and nearly thirty thousand fans filed past his coffin in Hong Kong. A second, much smaller ceremony was held in Seattle, Washington and Bruce was laid to rest at Lake View Cemetary in Seattle with pall bearers including Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Dan Inosanto. Enter the Dragon (1973) was later released in the mainland United States, and was a huge hit with audiences there, which then prompted National General films to actively distribute his three prior movies to U.S. theatres... each was a box office smash.
Fans throughout the world were still hungry for more Bruce Lee films and thus remaining footage (completed before his death) of Lee fighting several opponents including Dan Inosanto, Hugh O'Brian and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was crafted into another film titled Game of Death (1978). The film used a lookalike and shadowy camera work to be substituted for the real Lee in numerous scenes. The film is a poor addition to the line-up and is only saved by the final twenty minutes and the footage of the real Bruce Lee battling his way up the tower. Amazingly, this same shoddy process was used to create Game of Death II (1980), with a lookalike and more stunt doubles interwoven with a few brief minutes of footage of the real Bruce Lee.
Tragically, his son Brandon Lee, an actor and martial artist like his father, was killed in a freak accident on the set of The Crow (1994). Bruce Lee was not only an amazing athlete and martial artist but he possessed genuine superstar charisma and through a handful of films he left behind an indelible impression on the tapestry of modern cinema.- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Jeff Deverett is a producer, director, writer, and actor known for Full Out 2: You Got This! (2020), ism (2019), The Samuel Project (2018), Kiss & Cry (2017), Full Out (2015), King of the Camp (2008) and My Brother's Keeper (2004). Jeff's successful film and TV career began with distribution with New World Entertainment, Astral Communications, Anchor Bay Entertainment and his own company, Deverett Media Group.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Chris Moore is known for Manchester by the Sea (2016), The Adjustment Bureau (2011) and Joy Ride (2001). He is married to Jenno Topping. They have three children.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
James Baldwin was born on 2 August 1924 in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for I Am Not Your Negro (2016), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) and American Playhouse (1980). He died on 1 December 1987 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Alpes-Maritimes, France.- Director
- Editorial Department
- Producer
Alex Ferrari is an author, blogger, speaker, consultant, the host of the #1 filmmaking podcast on iTunes Indie Film Hustle Podcast, and an award-winning writer/director with 25 years of experience in the film industry. As a director, his films have screened in over 500 international film festivals.
Alex exploded onto the indie film scene with his award-winning short film Broken. To date, the film has screened at over 200 international festivals and has been reviewed by over 250 news outlets world-wide including famed film critic Roger Ebert.
"Broken is essentially a demonstration of the mastery of horror imagery and techniques." - Roger Ebert.
Through self-distribution, the Broken: Special Edition DVD has also sold over 5000 units worldwide. Produced on a budget of $8000 and boasting over 100 visual effects shots, Broken is one of the most celebrated shorts in recent years.
Frustrated that his fellow filmmakers were being "chewed up" by the film business, Alex decided to start Indie Film Hustle®, a website dedicated to educating filmmakers and artists on how to survive and thrive in the film business. He also launched a podcast focused on filmmaking called The Indie Film Hustle® Podcast. Within three months of its start date. the show became the #1 filmmaking podcast on Apple Podcasts. He's also the host of the popular screenwriting podcast Bulletproof Screenwriting®, and the filmmaking business podcast Filmtrepreneur®.
After launching Indie Film Hustle, Alex created the world's first streaming service dedicated to filmmakers, screenwriters, content creators and artists called Indie Film Hustle Tv. Alex has worldwide his life to helping people realize their dreams using Indie Film Hustle and Indie Film Hustle Tv as platforms to do so.
Alex's feature film debut was the award-winning This is Meg. The film stars comic actress Jill-Michele Meleán (Reno 911, MadTV), along with Krista Allen, Joseph Reitman, Debra Wilson, Carlos Alazraqui, and Jenica Bergere. Alex wore many hats on this indie film including directing, producing, cinematographer, cameraman, editor, and colorist. The film was sold to on Hulu and is available on Indie Film Hustle Tv, Apple Tv, and Amazon.
Alex's current project is the feature film On the Corner of Ego and Desire. A satirical look at the indie film world shot entirely at the Sundance Film Festival. It will be released sometime in 2020.
His book Shooting for the Mob (Based on the Incredible True Filmmaking Story) hit the Amazon Best Seller's List within a week of its release.
The book is about: A bipolar gangster, a naive, young film director, and Batman. What could go wrong? Alex Ferrari is a first-time film director who just got hired to direct a $20 million feature film, the only problem is the film is about Jimmy, an ego maniacal gangster who wants the film to be about his life in the mob. From the backwater towns of Louisiana to the Hollywood Hills, Alex is taken on a crazy misadventure through the world of the mafia and Hollywood. Huge movie stars, billion-dollar producers, studio heads and, of course, a few gangsters, populate this unbelievable journey down the rabbit hole of chasing your dream.
His second book Rise of the Filmtrepreneur® How to Turn Your Indie Film into a Moneymaking Business rocketed to the top of the Amazon charts and became a #1 Best Seller within 10 hours of its release as well.
Alex lives in Los Angeles with his lovely family. He is a devoted practitioner of meditation and how it aids in the creative process. He also speaks regularly at screenwriting and film events, festivals and conventions.- Producer
- Director
- Additional Crew
Jeff Balis was born on 13 April 1975. He is a producer and director, known for Waiting... (2005), Infestation (2009) and Jon Davis gets a Sex Robot (2013).