Teachers

Hollywood and Australian Teachers

Teachers and mentors are organized by UCLA Extension and Participate Film Academy from Hollywood and Australia respectively. The names below are subject to change at any time due to unforeseen film projects and/or other professional commitments that might clash with Participate Film Academy class schedules. However, in any event, both UCLA Extension and Participate are under contractual agreement to arrange for substitutes of equal or greater industry status.


Bettina Moss, Managing Story Editor for HBO Films. Stephanie Allain, Senior Vice President Columbia Pictures whose credits include Biker Boyz, Good Boy!, The Craft, El Mariachi and Desperado. Brent White, credited in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Matilda, A River Runs Through It and TV series Desperate Housewives. Mark Kamps, credited in Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Waterworld, Last Action Hero, A League Of Their Own, Nip/Tuck, Profiler and Beverly Hills, 90210. Steven Stamstad, VP of Marketing for The Walt Disney Co. Carole Kirschner, VP of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television. Oriana Panozzo (NIDA), Sons and Daughters, Young Doctors, Sum of Existence. Sam Noble, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Gabriel, Home and Away. Michael O'Rourke, Neighbours. Paul Brincat, Star Wars Episode II & III, Son of the Mask, Scooby-Doo, Mission Impossible II. Jerry Jeffress (3 time Academy Award Winner), ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Poltergeist.

Tony Barry is a multiple award winning Australian actor, with credits in over 50 feature films and 45 television series, from Australia and New Zealand to the UK & Korea. He has performed in stage plays in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and been an active supporter of the Australian film and television industry during his entire 38-year performance history. [For an extensive list of film credits see http://pro.imdb.com/name/nm0058181/]. Most recent feature films include Middle of Nowhere, Solo, Cross-Life, Sympathy for Lady Vengance, Lennie Cahill Shoots Through, A Man’s a Gotta Do and The Night We Called It A Day.
 

Paul Brincat is a very well credited Australian Production Sound Recordist / Mixer with extensive Hollywood experience. He has won the Satellite Award, the Australian Screen Sound Guild Award, he was nominated for the Academy Award for his work in The Thin Red Line. His credits include: Star Wars Episode II & III, Son of the Mask, Ghost Ship, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, Scooby-Doo, Hildegarde, Red Planet, Mission Impossible II, Pitch Black, The Thin Red Line, The Real Macaw, Blackwater Trail, Sniper, Return to the Blue Lagoon, and Young Einstein.

Tolley Casparis is an independent casting director for film and television, including commercials and music videos. Ms. Casparis's casting credits include the motion picture Guncrazy (Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress, Drew Barrymore); numerous television commercials for clients, including Levis and The Gap; and over 400 music videos for such artists as Prince, Nelly, and The Crystal Method.

Josef Demian is a multiple award winning cinematographer with credits as DoP, director and writer in 22 motion pictures, several documentaries, shorts and television productions including "A Maiden Tear" featured in Cannes' Official Selection. He has presided as jury member in several national and international film festivals and has taught at prestigious educational institutions in Australia and Europe. Head of Cinematography Department at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School for seven years, Josef also created and conducted the Kodak International Masterclasses - series worldwide distributed by Kodak and "The American Cinematographer" magazine.

Richard Friedman is a director, writer, and producer of motion pictures, television movies, episodic TV, network specials, and music videos. Richard just completed directing and producing the feature film “DarkWolf” for Twentieth Century Fox, slated for an upcoming release. A veteran of over thirty-five episodes of Network and Syndicated series TV, Richard has directed multiple episodes of Warner Bros.’ “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Baywatch Nights,” “Silk Stalkings,” “Friday the 13th, The TV Series,” “Tales From the Darkside,” and “Monsters.”

Adam Fields is a composer whose television credits include the music for the WB drama “Dawson's Creek,” the Lifetime original movie Dawn Anna, and the ABC Family Drama “Beautiful People.” Mr. Fields composed feature film scores for such films as Lovelife, The Sky Is Falling, and Meeting Daddy.

Beverly Graf PhD. has been the VP of Development at Abilene Pictures since 1996 with credits as producer in such films as, among others, Primal Fear, Frequency, Fallen, Hart's War and Fracture, with several other projects currently in development. Beverly has a PhD from Princeton University in Classics. She has also worked as story analyst for Creative Artists Agency, Triad Agency and several other production companies.

Alicia Hirsch works as a consultant for ABC and 20th Century Fox. Previously, Ms. Hirsch was co-producer in charge of post-production for “The District,” “Nash Bridges,” and the final episode of “American Dreams;” former senior vice president of special editorial projects, technical services, and worldwide distribution for Universal Studios; former vice president of post-production at MTM Studios.

Jerry Jeffress, three time Academy Award winner, worked as engineer and electronic system designer, Special Effects for most of Steven Spielberg's great classics: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the temple of Doom, ET The Extraterrestrial, Poltergeist, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Other credits include: Star Wars: Episodes V and VI, Ghost Busters, Big Trouble in Little China, and Dragonslayer.

Corey Kaplan is a production designer on Jerry Bruckheimer's television series “Cold Case” and former designer on the television series “The X-Files.” Ms. Kaplan received two Art Director Guild Awards of Excellence in Production Design for a TV Series (1999 and 2001), was nominated for the award in 2000, and was nominated for an Emmy in 1999. She also has worked as a production designer on many feature films, movies-of-the-week, music videos, and commercials.

Kelly Kiernan is a production executive for New Regency Films. Most recently she completed principal photography on Just My Luck (starring Lindsay Lohan) and Big Momma’s House 2 (starring Martin Lawrence) as production executive and on Mr. & Mrs. Smith (starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) as a UPM and studio representative. She was also directly involved in the production of Man on Fire (starring Denzel Washington) where she was overseeing all of the action sequences and stunt units as the 2nd Unit UPM. Ms. Kiernan has worked as a producer, line producer, production manager, and assistant director on numerous feature films, television series, and national commercials. Ms. Kiernan is a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), has worked for various studios, and was a development producer at Disney Television Animation.

Doug McClure is an entertainment attorney whose most recent position was at 2929 Productions LLC, a financing, production and sales entity owned by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, in January of 2005. There, Mr. McClure’s responsibilities included negotiation and drafting of financing documents, underlying rights agreements and talent agreements, day to day production supervision, corporate financings and negotiation and drafting of domestic and foreign licensing agreements. Prior to that, Douglas spent 10 years with First Look Media, Inc. (formerly known as Overseas Filmgroup, Inc.). His responsibilities there included negotiation and drafting of domestic and foreign licensing agreements, negotiation and drafting of acquisition agreements, project and corporate financings, production legal work and general corporate legal matters. Douglas was admitted to the California State Bar in 1995. He is a member of the Intellectual Property Section, the Entertainment Section and the Business Law Section of the California State Bar. Douglas has taught various courses in the UCLA Extension Program.

Douglas 'Rocky' McDonald is a stunt coordinator with an extensive list of film credits in Hollywood and Australia. These are some of the films he has worked in: Stealth, The Quiet American, Mission Impossible II, Mr Accident, Dark City, Muriels Wedding, Lightning Jack. (For a more detailed filmography go to http://pro.imdb.com/name/nm0567976/).

Judith Merians is President of Fireproof Careers Workshop. A published author, Judith’s former positions include Senior Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs, Regent Entertainment; COO, The Hollywood Experts Online; literary agent, Media Artists Group; Senior Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs, Saban International; assistant general counsel, Warner Bros.; and Director of Business Affairs, Paramount Pictures Corporation.

Bettina Moss is a screenwriter, script analyst, published journalist, consultant to the Santa Fe Screenwriters Conference, member of the board of directors for the Robey Theater Company, and chairwoman emeritus of The Scriptwriters Network. Ms. Moss was the managing story editor at HBO films for over eight years.

Sam Noble is an excellent young actress and acting teacher with post graduate University qualifications (Masters with Honors), who has taught both in Sydney and Los Angeles. She has worked in feature films, shorts, TV drama and numerous commercials. Some of her credits include Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, See no Evil, Court of Lonely Royals, All Saints, Home and Away, New Awakenings, Gabriel and many others. She is also an accomplished writer and runs a private theatre company, Parlour Productions.

Deland Nuse is a cinematographer with experience in theatrical features, short films, and documentaries. Mr. Nuse is currently working in the independent film movement as a director and cinematographer. His credits include The Chilling and the documentary The Other Bridge.

Michael O’Rourke is a screenwriter and script-editor, who graduated from the London International Film School in 1981 with a distinction for the direction of his screenplay A Visitor in the Piano Warehouse. Since returning to Australia, Michael has been a full-time writer and script editor with more than a hundred hours of television credits on programs such as Neighbours (Channel 10) and Going Home (SBS). His feature film screenplay, Holy Tequila has recently been filmed in Italy and the USA by director Roberto Siviero. In addition to his writing activities, Michael is a passionate campaigner for screen culture through his involvement with the Federation of NSW and Associated Film Societies and the Workshop Film Group.

Stephanie Palmer is the founder of the consulting firm Good in a Room. She leads workshops and offers private consultations throughout the United States and internationally to teach creative professionals how to present their projects so they are purchased and produced. She was named one of the “Next Generation: Top 35 Executives Under 35” by The Hollywood Reporter and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Variety and on National Public Radio. As the Director of Creative Affairs at MGM Pictures, she acquired screenplays, books, and pitches and supervised their development. Some of her projects include Be Cool, Legally Blonde, Sleepover, A Guy Thing, Good Boy, Agent Cody Banks and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London. Prior to MGM, she worked in development at Jerry Bruckheimer Films on Con Air, Armageddon and Enemy of the State. Her first job in the business was as an intern on the Academy Award winning Titanic. A passionate advocate for emerging creative voices, Stephanie promotes diversity and equality in the entertainment industry. She is a member of the Chamber of Commerce's Entertainment Industry Business Council, American Film Institute, Museum of Television and Radio, and Women in Film. She has a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University.

Wendy Phillips is an actor who has worked extensively in television dramas, sitcoms, feature films, and independent cinema. Ms. Phillips played the female lead in seven network television series, including “Falcon Crest” and the Emmy Award-winning “A Year in the Life” (with Richard Kiley, Adam Arkin, and Sarah Jessica Parker); guest-starred on numerous shows, including “The Ghost Whisperer,” “Joan of Arcadia,” and “ER;” and played principal roles in feature films, including Midnight Run (as Robert DeNiro's ex-wife), Bugsy (as Warren Beatty's wife), and I Am Sam.

Adam Platnick is a film producer and the current President of Freestyle Pictures. Adam is former president of both Mandalay Pictures and New Regency Pictures. He’s served as executive producer and/or producer on more than 40 films, including - most recently - The Score starring Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, and Marlon Brando.

Peter Russell, story analyst employed by Imagine Films Entertainment, CBS Television Network, and Anschutz Film Group (AFG). Mr. Russell has worked as an analyst for Lifetime, Viacom, HBO, Paramount Productions, The Alliance-Atlantis Company, Hearst Entertainment, Dan Curtis Productions, The Landsberg Company, and Citadel Entertainment. He also is a former theater director whose credits include New York Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park and Joseph Papp's Public Theater. He is the recipient of the Nick Adams Short Story Award.

Michel Shane, Producer, Hand Picked Films, who is currently working on a number of productions, including The Italian, The Lodge, and Paranoia. Past projects include I, Robot, starring Will Smith; Northfork; and Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. The company currently has 12 properties in active development.

Dov S-S Simens. For over a decade, Dov S-S Simens has been voted "America's # 1 Film Instructor" by the National Association of Film Schools, and having taught at USC, NYU, UCLA and over 18 other major universities and film schools around the world, Dov S-S Simens has been revolutionizing the film industry with his 2-day Film School that packs four years of film education into a single weekend. His world-famous Master Classes have now been incorporated into PartyCp8's feature film production programs. Dov's Grads - which include the likes of Quentin Tarantino ("Kill Bill"), Guy Ritchie ("Snatch"), Will Smith, Kirk Jones (Director of "Waking Ned Devine"), Chris Nolan (Director of "Memento"), Paul Brooks (Producer of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"), the makers of "The Blair Witch Project," "The Matrix" trilogy and many others - have gone on to shoot, produce and direct films that have grossed over $6 BILLION at the box office.

Jason Sprague is the partner in charge of Champion Legal’s corporate/ commercial and intellectual property divisions. Jason has acted for a diverse range of clientele, from small and medium enterprises through to multinational organizations, at local, national and international levels.

Jim Tanenbaum, CAS, has mixed 88 features during his 38-year career -- from The Stunt Man to Volcano -- as well as numerous television shows, documentaries, and over 300 commercials. Mr. Tanenbaum recently won an Emmy Award for production sound mixing on Live from Baghdad and was previously nominated for Tuesdays with Morrie. He has written two technical manuals on time code as well as The StellaDAT Recorder and the textbook The Production Mixer's Manual.

Amotz Zakai is Vice President of Production, Echo Lake Productions (Levity, Thirteen Conversations about One Thing, Things Behind the Sun, La Ciudad) who also assists the company in its search for international directors looking to make English-language films

Filmography links, film posters and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.