FACULTY A - C
Justin Bell has worked as Director of Development for Academy Award-winning producer Edward Saxon (Silence of the Lambs). He helped Mr. Saxon produce two major motion pictures, Away We Go (2009) directed by Sam Mendes, and Our Family Wedding (2010) starring Forest Whitaker. Bell is a graduate of USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program (MFA), and has also worked at Imagine Entertainment and Sony Pictures Animation. He currently has several feature films in active development. Prior to film school, Justin was a producer of the 2004-2006 City of the Angels Film Festival. He also served as Assistant Director of Reel Spirituality, Fuller Seminary’s film institute. He received a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Fuller in 2006. With a dual passion for ministry and entertainment, Bell continues to create media for churches and non-profit organizations. He has been on worship programming staff at several churches, including Willow Creek (South Barrington, IL), Warehouse (Pasadena, CA), and Bel Air Presbyterian (Los Angeles, CA).
Brian Bird is currently writing and/or producing four films: The Shunning, When Calls the Heart, Jake’s Run and Deep in the Heart all as co-founder with Michael Landon, Jr. of Believe Pictures. Most recently, Bird and Landon wrote and produced two novel inspired films for Fox. Bird wrote and co-produced the Tri-Star film Not Easily Broken. His script Call Me Claus became the highest rated cable film of 2002. Brian’s other film credits include Bopha!, Captive Heart: The James Mink Story, In Silence, Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation, Before Time Runs Out, The Deaths of Sybil Bolton, and A Dirty Business. Previously, Bird served as Co-Executive Producer and senior writer for four seasons on the series Touched By An Angel and his TV writing/producing credits include more than 250 episodes of Touched By an Angel, Evening Shade, Step by Step and The Family Man.
Terry Botwick is partnered with Ralph Winter in 1019 Entertainment. Terry was previously the President of Vanguard Films & Animation, during the production and marketing of production of Space Chimps, released by Fox in the summer of 2008. Previously Terry founded Thunderpoint Partners, a co-finance and production company. He has also served as President and COO of Big Idea Productions (Veggie Tales). Terry’s credits include Jonah-a-Veggie Tales Movie, Kids Say the Darndest Things, The Grammy Awards, The Tony Awards, The People’s Choice Awards and more. Over his career, Terry has been responsible for over $500 million of co-financing dollars and 400 plus hours of content.
Brady Brim-DeForest is CEO and co-founder of Tubefilter, the leading authority in the web television industry. In 2000, he built one of the first streaming media labs in the country and pioneered deals with major cable television operators. In 2003 he founded Kiwi, an interactive advertising and branding agency which he sold in 2005. An ardent evangelist for the digital entertainment medium, Brady gave his first lecture on the convergence of television and the internet in 1999. He has spoken at numerous conferences since, including NATPE, NAB, LATVFest Digital Hollywood, OMMA, and NxtStage, and has guest lectured at both UCLA and USC. He is a co-founder and executive producer of the Streamy Awards, the first awards show celebrating excellence in digital entertainment, and co-founder of the International Academy of Web Television, a professional organization of content creators, producers and talent dedicated to the growth of the online entertainment industry. He is also a co-founder of the Open Entertainment Alliance, a public policy advocacy group for the online entertainment industry, and is a juror for the International Emmy Awards. He sits on the boards of the Open Web Foundation and DataPortability, and studied film and television production at the University of Southern California.
Todd Burns is the co-founder and COO of Mpower Pictures, his venture with Act One instructors Stephen McEveety and John Shepherd. He began his career as a grip and editor on local San Diego productions, and worked for the Shepherd Group, WorldWide Pictures, and Dean River Productions on numerous feature films after relocating to Los Angeles. An attorney with a BA in Economics and English from UCLA and a JD-MBA from Pepperdine University, Todd has also worked in the areas of legal affairs, financing, and creative development in the US and London, and assisted with internet startups DEN.net and Pop.com.
Bobette Buster is a world-renowned lecturer on “What’s the Big Idea? The Art and Craft of Feature Film Development” and “The International Principles of Cross-over Success.” Bobette’s career as a Hollywood Creative Executive includes working for director,Tony Scott, screenwriter, Larry Gelbart and producer, Ray Stark, while also serving as an Adj. Professor at USC since 1992, where she created the first ever MFA curriculum for feature film development. For the past eight years, Pixar Studios has asked her to create a lecture series for their animators. Bobette also consults major production companies worldwide, including Disney Animation, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, Cattleya Productions (Universal), and Twentieth Century Fox who commissioned her to create a major lecture on the History of Hollywood Economics, “Fox Thru Film.” As well, Bobette has served on the Visiting Faculty of La Fémis in Paris, the University of Milan, and the Media Business School in Ronda, Spain, along with guest lecturing at the Sundance Lab for Latin American Writers, and film programs in Ireland, Mexico, Cuba, Berlin, Prague, Denmark, Norway and Japan. Bobette has various screen credits and is also completing the book and DVD to her international course. In the past twelve years, Bobette’s students’s works have been in the Top 10 Box Office worldwide, and have won or been nominated for Oscars, Emmys, Cesars, Cannes Jury Prizes, etc. Some examples of projects created or headed up by Ms. Buster’s former students include: “Persepolis,” (Best Animated Film Oscar nominee, 2007), “Peter and The Wolf” (Best Oscar Short Film, 2007), “The Proposal,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, the “Harry Potter” franchise, “Wild Hogs”, “Training Day”, “Far From Heaven”, “Chocolat”, “Dodgeball”, “What Happens in Vegas,” “What Women Want”, “Big Fish”, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House,” “Smallville”, “The King of Queens”, “Swimming Pool”, “8 Femmes” and “Enter the Void.”
Charlie Robert Carner has written, produced and directed feature films, television movies, and TV series. His best-known titles include A Killer Among Friends, Who Killed Atlanta’s Children?, The Fixer, Crossfire Trail, Judas, Blind Fury and Witless Protection. His next film is War Dogs, which deals with the fall of the Roman Empire. He has served on the Executive Committees and Boards of Directors of the United States Catholic Conference, Catholics in Media Associates, the City of the Angels Film Festival and Family Theater Productions. In addition to Act One, he has been on the faculty of Columbia College Chicago and Pepperdine University. Most importantly, he is married to actress/writer Debra Sharkey; they have three children, Michael, Grace and Vincent.
Phil Cooke advises many of the largest and most effective Christian organizations in the world, and his ideas are changing the way people of faith use media to communicate with the culture. Christianity Today magazine called him a “media guru” and you’ve seen him on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and numerous national magazines. His blog at philcooke.com is a highly respected resource on media, faith, and culture. Phil is also a founding partner in TWC Films, an award-winning TV commercial company in Los Angeles that produced two spots for Super Bowl 2008.
Jim and Karen Covell are veteran Hollywood professionals with a passion for challenging the church to see Hollywood as the world’s most influential mission field. Together, they have authored two books, How to Talk About Jesus Without Freaking Out and The Day I Met God, and contributed to several others,
including the Act One book, Behind The Screen. They travel the country on behalf of the Hollywood Prayer Network, which Karen founded and directs; and in Los Angeles, you’ll find them practicing what they preach. Karen is a producer whose credits include Headliners & Legends with Matt Lauer for MSNBC. Jim is a composer whose musical scores, currently featured on the new Veria Network, range from nationally performed orchestral works to feature films (Dennis The Menace Christmas), television series and specials. The Covells have two sons who hope to be part of the next generation of Hollywood tent-makers.