Nick Castle
Director/Writer

Son of Hollywood choreographer Nick Castle Sr., this writer-director has crafted a variety of entertainments for film and TV. Castle's works include his sly screenplay for John Carpenter’s Escape from New York (1983), his own The Boy Who Could Fly (1986), and his old-fashioned homage to black tap dancers, Tap (1989) starring Sammy Davis Jr. and Gregory Hines.

A director from 1982, some of his 13 directing works include Connor’s War (2006), The Seat Filler (2004), ’Twas The Night (2001), Mr. Wrong (1996) and Major Payne (1995).

Castle has written 12 film titles and is credited for providing the original story for Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991). His directorial effort, "The Last Starfighter" (1984) is world renown for the first use of photo real digital visual effects in the history of the cinema.  A sequel that he will direct is currently in the works.  He directed the John Hughes' production of Dennis the Menace (1993), the film version of the venerable children's comic strip starring Walter Matthau.

His list of awards include a Bronze Gryphon and Silver Raven for the children's fantasy, Delivering Milo (2001) starring Albert Finney and Bridget Fonda

Castle's most recent screenplay is August Rush, a musical-drama starring Freddie Highmore, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Robin Williams, and Keri Russell, released in 2007.

Roscoe Orman
Actor

Roscoe Orman is known to millions for his 35+ years as 'Gordon' on PBS-TV's highly acclaimed children's series Sesame Street, where he became a symbol of fatherhood to an entire generation. Born and raised in the Bronx, Orman began his acting studies at the Circle In The Square Theatre School with Michael Kahn and made his professional debut with the Next Stage Theatre Company's 1962 production of If We Grow Up. He was a founding member of Harlem's New Lafayette Theatre and has achieved a long and distinguished list of theatre credits.

In 1973, Orman made his feature film debut in the title role of Universal Pictures' Willie Dynamite. His other films include Follow That Bird, FX, Striking Distance, New Jersey Drive, Drive By, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, 30 Days, and Twilight's Last Gleaming.

In addition to the multiple award winning Sesame Street, television audiences have seen him on such programs as Sanford and Son, Kojak, All My Children, A Man Called Hawk, Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Cosby, Sex and the City, and The Wire.

Orman has narrated many documentary films, including Langston Hughes: The Dreamkeeper on PBS, Lifeline on Discovery Channel, and Heritage of the Black West on National Geographic and audio book biographies of such luminaries as Colin Powell, Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglas, Barack Obama, and Wilt Chamberlain, to name a few.

Angelo Pizzo
Screenplay Writer

Angelo Pizzo’s first feature film as a writer and co-producer was the rousing Hoosiers, which earned two Oscar nominations.  It has been named the best sports film of all time by both ESPN and USA Today, and is also in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.  Pizzo followed Hoosiers with two more sports films based on true stories, the beloved Rudy and The Game of Their Lives.  In addition, he was Second Unit Director on both Rudy and Hoosiers.  He began his career in the story department at Warner Brothers Television before joining Time Life Films, where he became Vice President of Feature Film Productions.  During his television career, Pizzo produced three movies of the week and two pilots.

After living in Southern California for many years, Pizzo and his family moved back to his hometown of Bloomington (IN), where he serves on the Boards of the Heartland Film Festival, the New Harmony Writers’ Project and the Kinsey Institute.  He has received an honorary doctorate from Franklin College and was the commencement speaker there in 2002.  Pizzo was the recipient of the Thomas Hart Benton Award as a distinguished Indiana University alumnus, the Governor’s Art Award for contributions toward the arts and was named a Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest civilian honor given in Indiana.

New York Times selects ‘HOOSIERS’ as top pick.

Billy Higgins
Producer/Line Producer

Billy Higgins has worked on the production side of film and television for over 30 years, on more than 25 films.  He served as Executive Producer for the Universal Pictures releases The Perfect Man and Honey. Among other films, Higgins has produced, co-produced or line produced projects including Rudy, The Game of Their Lives, Proof, Two for The Money, and Simon Birch. He served as the unit production manager on such films as Ali, High Fidelity, The Straight Story, Rudy, Music, Betrayed and on the sports drama, "The Game of Their Lives"  with filmmaker David Anspaugh.  In addition, Higgins’ television credits include television miniseries, pilots, telefeatures and episodic series for CBS, NBC and ABC. He recently completed work as a production or unit production manager on major studio projects, such as The Express for Universal, and on independent films, such as completing post-production on The Cache (formerly Root of All Evil).  Higgins lives on the Fox River, northwest of Chicago, Illinois.

Nancy Cuomo Bailey
Producer

Nancy Bailey is a seasoned professional in the world of film and video.  A native of upstate New York, Ms. Bailey’s career began in still photography; among those praising her work was National Geographic.  She transitioned into video, first shooting projects and eventually becoming an editor as well.  In 1995, Bailey founded ACT 2, Inc., a successful producer of television pilots, commercials, corporate promotional and instructional videos and CD and DVD programming. 

ACT 2’s clientele includes local, regional and national businesses and organizations.  Based in Nashville, Bailey and her company have earned a reputation for creating a finished product equal in quality to anything made in Los Angeles or New York.  A member of the Writers Guild of America, Bailey was named the female entrepreneur of the year in the Southeast Region of the United States in 2001 by Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter.

Larry Anreder - DTC
Marketing Consultant

Larry Anreder, in partnership with Marilyn Nelson, founded DTC in 2003 as a unique resource for filmmakers, film finance companies, investors, marketers and distributors. He represents  their clients' interests during all phases of filming, from pre-production through release (Theatrical, DVD, VOD and International). Throughout the process he oversees, evaluates and develops targeted marketing campaigns encompassing public relations, promotion and all aspects of media. His career spans more than two decades in marketing and public relations, and the company has been structured in a way that ensures senior level strategic leadership without layers of bureaucracy and middle management.

Prior to forming DTC, he began his career at Lorimar Film Entertainment and then went on to become marketing and public relations executives at Warner Bros.

DTC has worked on over 400 feature film campaigns including “Ocean’s Eleven,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Interview With A Vampire,” “Twister,” “Batman,” (and 3 sequels), “The Hours,” “The Matrix,” “Superman” and “The Italian Job” from major motion picture studios including Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures and Lorimar Film Entertainment. DTC has also provided additional marketing support on a variety of campaigns from studios including Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Summit Entertainment, MGM, Paramount Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Liberation Entertainment, Disney Home Entertainment, Goldhil Entertainment and other companies including Nintendo of America, The Pokémon Company, Lexico’s online site dictionary.com, Turner Broadcasting and NASA.

Maynard Crawley
Business Advisor

Maynard Crawley is President of 21st Century Marketing Group, LLC (www.go21stgroup.com); a business administration firm that produces fund raising programs and provides complete business management services for entertainment bureaus, entertainers, stage and film producers.

21st focuses on projects that seeks to advance humanitarian causes in areas such as Autism, Literacy, Black History and to children hospitalized for severe medical conditions.

Maynard has worked with some of the most prestigious organizations around the country in organizing events intended for the public good to include; Sesame Street Work Shop, audible.com an Amazon company , Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center of TN.,  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation as well as Ken Browne Productions "signature" half-hour film documentary Look, I'm in College!, that captures a small miracle in the world of higher education and autism.

As a former Executive Vice President for more than 20 years with Prudential Financial, Maynard has an impressive resume of national responsibilities in leading thousands of employees through business process organizational change under the tutelage of McKinsey & Company, an industry leader to fortune 500 companies around the world in management control and continuous improvement processes.

His business processes have been featured in Fortune Magazine and he was the recipient of the Chairman's award for leadership and innovation.

Among the company's many projects, 21st Century Marketing is the exclusive business manager for Roscoe Orman, known to millions around the world as "Gordon" of Sesame Street.

D.J. Snell
Literary Agent

D.J. Snell is president and founder of Legacy, LLC, a full-service boutique agency specializing in sports and speakers management and literary representation.

DJ began his management career in 1990, when he joined Orlando, FL based sports management firm, Leader Enterprises, Inc.  Leader exclusively represented such elite clients that included Bill Parcells, Payne Stewart, Paul Azinger, Joe Gibbs, Bill Cowher, Tom Coughlin, Orel Hershiser, Frank Thomas, Chipper Jones, Cortez Kennedy, Dan Reeves and Ray Everhaum.

In 1991, D.J. attended Harvard Law School but returned to Leader upon graduation. For the next eight years, D.J. played instrumental roles in client management, marketing, event planning and eventually served as its President.

In 2002, D.J. launched Legacy. The literary division of the company works primarily with authors who are established personalities and those with strong promotional platforms.  Legacy specializes in nonfiction about sports and Christian topics. The company represents such formidable writers as Tony Dungy, Don Shula, Bill Parcells, Mark Merrill and Mike Adams.

D.J. also contributes his time and talents to various charitable organizations. When he is not traveling for business, you may find him leading missions work in Africa, a passion that takes him out of the country a few times a year.

Tracy A. Powell
Legal Counsel

Tracy Powell is a member of Sherrard & Roe in Nashville, TN, where he practices primarily in the areas of health care and commercial transactions, securities, and general corporate law. He is experienced in developing, negotiating, and completing corporate, securities, and other business transactions ranging from small private transactions to larger public securities offerings or transactions. Mr. Powell received a B.S. in accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1986 and was a 1989 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review and Order of the Coif. He is a member of the Nashville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations, with memberships in the business and health law sections of each.

Gregory Pease
Legal Counsel

Greg Pease is an associate at Sherrard & Roe in Nashville, TN, and a member of the Firm’s corporate practice group. Mr. Pease practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, securities and general corporate law.  His experience includes representing public and private companies in operational matters, acquisitions and divestitures, corporate governance matters, private placements and joint ventures.  Mr. Pease’s public company experience includes advising clients regarding periodic reporting required by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Mr. Pease received his J.D. cum laude in 2004 from the University of Memphis, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Memphis Law Review and was one of two recipients of the Dean’s Distinguished Graduate Award for the Class of 2004.  Pease authored “Bluer Skies in Tennessee - The Recent Broadening of the Definition of Investment Contract as a Security and an Argument for a Unified Federal-State Definition of Investment Contract,” University of Memphis Law Review (2004). Mr. Pease is a member of the Nashville Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, American Bar Association and American Health Lawyers Association.

Kevin Mills
Entertainment Legal Counsel

Kevin Mills is a partner in Kaye Mills law firm in Beverly Hills CA. Started his legal career as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C. There, Mr. Mills assumed leadership roles on a variety of legislative and oversight initiatives including telecommunications and cable broadcasting matters, judicial appointments and the Immigration Reform Act.

Upon his return to Southern California, Mr. Mills practiced as a trial and appellate attorney until entering entertainment law.

Mr. Mills has held senior business affairs positions with several studios, including Republic Pictures Corporation, Independent Artists Company, Hal Roach Studios and what is now Hallmark Entertainment. While at Republic Pictures, Mr. Mills was instrumental in recapturing the copyright to the classic film “It’s A Wonderful Life,” which previously had been widely distributed as a work in the public domain.

Over the past 15 years Mr. Mills’ practice has encompassed all aspects of talent representation and also the financing, production and distribution of entertainment product in the areas of both television and feature films. He has extensive experience in international television and film distribution and has studied international business transactions in London, England. In addition, his practice includes general business transactions and represents a number of different types of businesses, both large and small. Internet, computer and digital rights are an important aspect of Mr. Mills’ services to his clients in both the general corporate and entertainment fields.

Mr. Mills is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. He also has served on the Copyright Protection Committee of the American Film Marketing Association, the trade association for independent producers and distributors.