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. Aft

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. Aft

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 s

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 Animati

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,

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 o

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 Fe

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 signe

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 natio

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 awar

Michael Sajbel is a feature film writer, producer and Director whose career has now spanned over three decades. Wraith (2018) is his most recent film, shot in Neenah, Wisconsin, starring Lance Henriksen, Jackson Hurst and Ali Hillis. Michael is perhaps best known for The Ultimate Gift, starring James Garner, Brian Dennehy and Abigail Breslin. He also directed, One Night with The King, a faithful retelling of the Biblical story of Esther, starring Omar Sharif, John Rhys-Davies, Tiffany DuPont, John Noble and Peter O’Toole.  Altogether Michael has worked in the above capacities or as a Director of Photography on over 40 feature films and over 400 television episodes.  Michael is currently in production on The Mulligan, based on the Ken Blanchard & Wally Armstrong book of the same name. The film stars Eric Close (American Sniper, Nashville) and Pat Boone (Journey to the Center of the Earth.) He was born and raised in Wisconsin and is married to Susan Allen, MD, (Anesthesiology) with three children. He at

Michael Sajbel is a feature film writer, producer and Director whose career has now spanned over three decades. Wraith (2018) is his most recent film, shot in Neenah, Wisconsin, starring Lance Henriksen, Jackson Hurst and Ali Hillis. Michael is perhaps best known for The Ultimate Gift, starring James Garner, Brian Dennehy and Abigail Breslin. He also directed, One Night with The King, a faithful retelling of the Biblical story of Esther, starring Omar Sharif, John Rhys-Davies, Tiffany DuPont, John Noble and Peter O’Toole.  Altogether Michael has worked in the above capacities or as a Director of Photography on over 40 feature films and over 400 television episodes.  Michael is currently in production on The Mulligan, based on the Ken Blanchard & Wally Armstrong book of the same name. The film stars Eric Close (American Sniper, Nashville) and Pat Boone (Journey to the Center of the Earth.) He was born and raised in Wisconsin and is married to Susan Allen, MD, (Anesthesiology) with three children. He at

Michael Sajbel is a feature film writer, producer and Director whose career has now spanned over three decades. Wraith (2018) is his most recent film, shot in Neenah, Wisconsin, starring Lance Henriksen, Jackson Hurst and Ali Hillis. Michael is perhaps best known for The Ultimate Gift, starring James Garner, Brian Dennehy and Abigail Breslin. He also directed, One Night with The King, a faithful retelling of the Biblical story of Esther, starring Omar Sharif, John Rhys-Davies, Tiffany DuPont, John Noble and Peter O’Toole.  Altogether Michael has worked in the above capacities or as a Director of Photography on over 40 feature films and over 400 television episodes.  Michael is currently in production on The Mulligan, based on the Ken Blanchard & Wally Armstrong book of the same name. The film stars Eric Close (American Sniper, Nashville) and Pat Boone (Journey to the Center of the Earth.) He was born and raised in Wisconsin and is married to Susan Allen, MD, (Anesthesiology) with three children. He at

Rod Lurie wrote & directed the Academy Award & Golden Globe Award nominated thriller “The Contender” starring Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Gary Oldman & Christian Slater which was honored by the Broadcast Film Critics with the first-ever Alan J. Pakula Award. Lurie created the TV series “Commander In Chief”  nominated for the Best Drama Series Golden Globe. Geena Davis won the Best Actress Golden Globe. Recent projects include directing “The Outpost” starring Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones & Orlando Bloom based on the book with same title by CNN anchor Jake Tapper. The remake of “Straw Dogs” starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth & Alexander Skarsgard, “Nothing But the Truth” starring Kate Beckinsale, Alan Alda & Matt Dillon, “Resurrecting the Champ” starring Samuel L Jackson & Josh Hartnett. He created and executive-produced “Line of Fire,” FBI drama for ABC, and directed “The Last Castle“ starring Robert Redford, James Gandolfini &Mark Ruffalo. Lurie made his writing and dire

Dan Davies is an internationally acclaimed and award winning writer/actor/producer. He's co-starred, produced or written feature films that have been nominated for a BIFA (British Independent Film Award), the African Academy Award, AIFI's American Indian Best Film Award, Toronto Film Festival Best Film, Raindance Film Festival Best Film etc., and he has won Political Film Society's Best Film (Human Rights and Peace), the AMVCA (African Magic Viewers' Choice Award), AELA (African Entertainment Legend Award) and the Golden Movie Award (Africa) Best Supporting Actor Comedy. He is also the first American to ever be awarded a Golden Movie Award (Top 3 film award on the continent of Africa). His films have been nationally showcased on PBS, Retro TV Network, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Redbox, Tribeca Shortlist, Walmart, Barnes & Noble etc. He also co-stars in two films that are respectively the No. 6 and No. 32 Highest Box Office Nollywood films of All-Time. Nollywood is the second largest film market in the

Susan Sherayko, authored 'Rainbows Over Ruins', is a 3-time Daytime Emmy nominated Executive in Charge of Production/Line Producer of Home & Family on Hallmark Channel. She's a member of PGA & Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She's a Certified psychosynthesist, Empowered Spiritual Life Coach, LifeSuccess Consultant, Power Habits Coach and Afformer.  Susan Sherayko offers life, success and power habit coaching services, on and offline, that support change from within to overcome your most difficult experiences as you tap into your full potential and attain your goals. A mudslide destroyed her family’s home. Susan and her family survived. Their recovery inspired her to become a Life, Success and Power Habits Coach who began guiding others to survive major setbacks, rebuild, and ultimately, create a new vision that allows them to create again. Armed with inner strength, you can accomplish anything. Susan recognized there are common traits between success and survival that enable us to survive

Producer, Director, and Finisher Jeff Olm started in the business as a cameraman and editor for Green Bay, WI television stations. He moved to Hollywood to work as Flame/VFX artist on movies like Fifth Element, Titanic, Die Hard, Zodiac, Spider-Man, and Armageddon. He was working as a colorist for Dreamworks where he graded Madagascar 3, Puss in the Boots, How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda. Jeff is always willing to experiment and master new technologies. He was one of the first people to grade stereoscopic 3D or 360 VR. He' s also one of the first to take the process of dailies to the next level while working on movies like Revenant. He developed Virtual Machines and Cloud workflows with Eclipse Tech for Universities, Studios, and streaming services. Currently Jeff is utilizing these tools on 3 Wisconsin based projects. He has 5 Wisconsin based projects in development. One,"Farm State" which currently is in production has farmers telling their family farm stories in the Midwest, It includes interv

Producer, Actor, Author Peter Sherayko makes himself available to colleges and universities to share his 40 years in the business with those who wish a career in entertainment. Peter acts and produces for both film and television, appearing in over 81 films and 200 television and stage shows. Peter was a producer on the film Bone Tomahawk with his longtime friend, Kurt Russell. His last two productions are Soldier’s Heart to be released in June, 2020 and Shooting Star currently in post-production. Spring of 2020, Peter is consulting producer for the INSP series, Wild West Chronicles.  John Milius told him once, “Before you write, you have to have something to say.” Peter waited until he had over 30 years experince to do that. He's authored fTombstone: The Guns and Gear, describes in detail all the firearms and props his company Caravan West supplied for the iconic film Tombston. His second book, The Fringe of Hollywood, is a fact filled instructional guide to assist writers, directors and actors in making We

To be successful in the movie business you need to known and understand the movie business. It is a profit driven manufazturing process of creative content. You need to know how to find or raise money to make get your projecgs done. You need to know where to go and what to do to get your projects released, distributed to the markets so you can see a return on your investment. If you want to make a living making movies and television you must listen to Michael Feifer as he gives you tips, methods and know-how to be more successful. Mike is President of Feifer Worldwide, Inc.A Production Company. He's produced/Line Produced more than 100 feature films and directed more than 60 feature films. He's written more than 40 feature films. His past experience includes VP of Sales & Distribution for Vista Street Entertainment. Was Head of Production & Development-Vista Street Entertainment (1992-1998) VP of Home Video for Vista Street Entertainment (1993-1998) and President of Flat Iron Multimedia an (Entertainm

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 o