Four top Hollywood professionals come together in order to embark on a cinematic journey, as they present their art and work processes, illuminating how each contributes to the making of a story.
Angeliki Giannakopoulos (moderator) began her career as an actress, theater director and producer. She produced and co-directed her first documentary, AGE OF ELEGANCE, in 2001. Her award-winning documentary, MY CHILD – MOTHERS OF WAR, aired on PBS. Her film production company is now developing RUTHLESS, a suspense thriller. Giannakopoulos co-founded Los Angeles Greek Film Festival in 2007.
A member of the Producers Guild of America, Casey Cannon has served as a music video director and producer, working with such luminaries as Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock and Grover Washington, Jr. and Michael Jackson. She founded Banned from the Ranch Entertainment, one of the industry’s premier digital visual effects ‘boutiques’, producing work for films such as TITANIC, MEN IN BLACK, STRANGE DAYS, TWISTER, DANTE’S PEAK, JERRY MAGUIRE, HOLLOW MAN, CONGO, DOCTOR DOLITTLE and many others. Cannon served as the Creative Visual Producer/Supervisor for the MTV Movie Awards (1998-2002), co-produced and created the Life Extension sequence with director Cameron Crowe and actor Tom Cruise for the feature film VANILLA SKY, and more recently contributed to projects ranging from PUBLIC ENEMIES and MILK to John Adams and The Walking Dead. Currently, Cannon’s RanchWorks Picture Show is producing with Aegean Entertainment, a romantic drama set against the Greek Revolution that is slated to shoot in spring of 2014.
Director of Photography Russell Carpenter, A.S.C., won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for TITANIC (1997), directed by James Cameron, with whom he also collaborated on TRUE LIES(1994)and T2-3D: BATTLE ACROSS TIME (1996). Carpenter partnered with Director McG on the CHARLIE’S ANGELS films and, most recently, THIS MEANS WAR (2012). He enjoys shooting independent features, including the soon to be released JOBS, about the life of the late Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs.
Nelson Coates (Production Designer) designed BIG MIRACLE, Robert Zemeckis’ FLIGHT and THE GUILT TRIP in 2012 only. Equally adept at comedy and drama, Nelson has designed such films as THE LAST SONG (2010), THE PROPOSAL (2009), THE CODE (2009), THE EXPRESS (2008), SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS (2006), AQUAMARINE (2006), MAN OF THE HOUSE (2005), and ANTWONE FISHER, named one of AFI’s (American Film Institute) top 10 movies of 2002. Earlier, Coates designed a wide variety of films from LIVING OUT LOUD (1998) to MURDER AT 1600 (1997), Kevin Spacey’s directorial debut ALBINO ALLIGATOR (1997), and more.
Paul Deason attended film school at UCLA and spent the next 10 years adventuring all over the globe as a documentary technician for National Geographic and Survival Anglia, among others. Later on he worked in film and television. He served as the Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager on several Hollywood productions. He was Co-Producer/UPM on the films OLD SCHOOL (2003), EVOLUTION (2001), THIRTEEN DAYS (2000), END OF DAYS (1999) and SMALL SOLDIERS (1998); and was an Associate Producer on AMISTAD (1997), MARS ATTACKS! (1996) CONGO (1995) and CASPER (1995).
