PARTNERS
Our partners and judges are as passionate about film and TV as we are! We have some of the industry's best production companies as potentials partners to develop and produce the competition top selections. We also have some of the best industry professionals as judges!
production partners
 | Rat Entertainment Rat Entertainment is an LA based production company that was founded in 1997 by Director/Producer Brett Ratner. Mr. Ratner has directed a number of high performing films including RUSH HOUR 1, 2 & 3, starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, X MEN: THE LAST STAND, starring Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Famke Janssen and Kelsey Grammar and RED DRAGON starring Anthony Hopkins, Ed Norton and Ralph Fiennes. Rat is currently developing multiple film projects in a wide variety of genres as producers and as well as finding material for Mr. Ratner as a director. |
 | Red Wagon Entertainment Red Wagon Entertainment is a LA based production company that was founded in 2000 by Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher. Amongst other movies they produced GLADIATOR (Russell Crowe and 5 Oscar awards), RV (Robin Williams), MEMOIRS OF GEISHA, JARHEAD (Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx), BEWITCHED (Will Ferrell, Nicole Kidman), STUART LITTLE 1 & 2 and SPY GAME ( Robert Redford, Brad Pitt). Red Wagon is currently in production on NAILED (Dir: David O' Russell, Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Biel). They also have in development UPRISING with Wolfgang Petersen attached to direct, THE HISTORIAN based on the best selling book, TOKYO SUCKERPUNCH with Gary Ross attached to direct, Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon attached to star, THUMB, based on the Tale of Tom Thumb and THE CHANCELLOR MANUSCRIPT based on the Robert Lundlum book with Leo Di Caprio attached to star. They have a first look deal with Sony. Prior to forming Red Wagon Doug’s producing credits included WORKING GIRL (Dir: Mike Nichols, Cast: Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Melanie Griffith), WOLF (Dir: Mike Nichols, Cast: Jack Nicholson) and GIRL, INTERRUPTED (Angelina Jolie, Winona Ryder, Brittany Murphy). Lucy was a n executive at Samuel Goldwyn, MGM, 20th Century Fox , Warner Bros and was the Vice Chairman of Columbia and Tri Star motion picture group. She oversaw movies such as CHARIOTS OF FIRE, BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (Dir: Clint Eastwood, Cast: Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep), MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING (Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz) and MEN IN BLACK (Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones). |
 | Broken Road Productions Broken Road Productions, founded in the summer of 2005, is headed by Todd Garner, former head of production at Disney and a founding partner and head of production at Revolution Studios. Garner is a veteran producer and Hollywood creative executive with a unique gift for creating and nurturing mainstream, commercial motion pictures and television. In various capacities throughout his career, Garner has developed, overseen, executive produced or produced well over 100 movies, many of them major hits for their respective studios. |
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| Underground Films and Management In 2001 O/Z Films, metamorphisized into Underground Films and Underground Management, co-founded by Nick Osborne and Trevor Engelson; two sister companies - one dedicated to producing quality films, the other to finding and managing the careers of talented filmmakers and screenwriters. Trevor was co-producer on LICENSE TO WED, starring Robin Williams, Mandy Moore and John Krasinski. Nick and Trevor were executive producers on ZOOM, starring Tim Allen, Chevy Chase and Courtney Cox. |
 | Varsity Pictures Varsity is a newly-formed director-driven company. Run by Brian Robbins and his producing partner, Sharla Sumpter Bridgett, they’ve been in business under the Varsity Pictures banner since last March when they signed a two-year first look deal with Dreamworks Studios. Prior to Varsity Pictures, Brian was partnered with Mike Tollin under the Tollin/Robbins banner for almost 15 years. It started with a basketball-themed documentary “Hardwood Dreams” in 1993, which spawned several features and television shows over the years. Smallville and One Tree Hill are long-running hit television shows for TRP. |
 | Contradiction Films With offices in Los Angles and Vancouver, Canada, Contradiction Films is a fully integrated production company dedicated to creating quality film and television projects that combine creative and artistic merit with commercial appeal. Contradiction Films was founded in 2004 by Tim Carter and Tom Harlan. It represents a merger of Tim’s creative storytelling skills with Tom’s solid background in business, especially international finance, tax strategies, and venture capital. Contradiction’s strengths lie in storytelling and the creative conceptualization of stories and in the raising and management of venture capital and investment funds. Tim and Tom bring years of experience in each area to a unique combination of creative skills and financial management. In 2004 the company began to actively develop projects with the support of Movie Central and the CHUM television networks in Canada. In 2006 the company sold its first television property, the series concept QUARANTINE, to CBS/Paramount. At present the company has numerous projects in with Canadian TV networks as well. Also in 2006, the company sold its first script, THE DEMONSTRATION, a thriller written by partner Tim Carter, to Gold Circle Films. THE DEMONSTRATION will now be financed by Contradiction Films and will shoot shortly after the company’s first self-financed feature, DIARY OF A SUPERHERO, which is scheduled to shoot in Winter ’09. |
 | Tribeca Productions Tribeca Productions was co-founded in 1988 by actor Robert De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal in lower Manhattan. Tribeca’s credits include both critically and commercially acclaimed films including one of the highest grossing comedy franchises of all times, Meet The Parents (2000) and its sequel Meet The Fockers (2004); the box office sensation Analyze This (1999) and its sequel Analyze That (2002); the Academy Award©-nominated Wag the Dog (1997); and critically acclaimed films Marvin’s Room (1996) and About a Boy (2002). Tribeca’s most recent films include The Good Shepherd (2006) and What Just Happened, which opened in theaters October 3, 2008. |
 | Jersey Girl Films Jersey Girl Films is an LA-based production company with a first-look production deal with Michael London's Groundswell Productions, an independent production/financing entity. Juliana Farrell founded the company in fall 2008 to develop and produce romantic comedies with budgets under $20 million and to focus on making low budget films by emerging filmmakers. Previously, Farrell was the Vice President of Groundswell, where she co-produced Paramount Vantage's upcoming release The Marc Pease Experience, directed by Todd Louiso and starring Ben Stiller. At Groundswell, Farrell also worked on Milk, Appaloosa, The Visitor, Smart People, and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. |
 | Paul Schiff Productions Paul Schiff Productions is a small but highly active independent film and television production company. Paul Schiff Productions credits include RUSHMORE, MY COUSIN VINNY, YOUNG GUNS, WALKING TALL, MONA LISA SMILE and many more. We work with both independent financiers and major studios and we have active projects of all budget sizes and genres. |
 | Aperture Entertainment APERTURE ENTERTAINMENT is a new management/production company. Its writer/director clients’ credit include the indie horror cult classic AUTOMATON TRANSFUSON (2007), MGM’s RED DAWN (2010) , Screen Gems’ PRIEST (2010), THE HUNTED (2010), David Cronenberg’s THE BROOD (2011) and its actors can be seen on such hit shows as CW’s 90210 and ABC Family’s GREEK. |
competition judges
 | Jay Emmett Mr. Emmett was the founder of the Licensing Corporation of America which he developed into the leading licensing company in the world and sold to what is now the Time Warner group. After joining Warner Communications Inc. he became a member of the Office of the President, responsible for the motion picture division of Warner Communications, a position that he held until 1980. He sits on the boards of a number of companies including The Special Olympics and 4 Kids Entertainment Inc. which specializes in licensing and TV entertainment for children. |
 | Sean Robins Sean Robins has been the senior executive at Broken Road Productions since its inception two years ago. Over that time the company has seen the release of four films (THE FOG, ZOOM, ARE WE DONE YET?, NEXT) and has such projects in the works as WITCHITA, slated to begin production for Fox this fall starring Chris Tucker and Jennifer Lopez; JACK AND JILL at Columbia to star Adam Sandler; BASSMASTER at Lionsgate to star Tim Allen; SORCERER’S APPRENTICE at Disney to star Nic Cage; ONE OF THE GUYS at Fox to star Sandi Bullock; AMIGOS at Disney to star Tim Allen and George Lopez; among many others. |
 | John Cheng John Cheng has spent ten years working alongside Director/Producer Brett Ratner. He started as a development assistant at Rat Entertainment the first day the company opened its doors and is now the Head of Feature Development. John has been instrumentally involved in the development of Mr. Ratner’s films including, Rush Hour 1, 2, & 3, The Family Man, and Red Dragon. In addition to developing these directing vehicles for Mr. Ratner, John has spearheaded the drive for Rat Entertainment to produce films with other directors. Rat Entertainment’s slate of projects reflects John’s keen eye for identifying new talent and commercially viable concepts. |
 | Kirsten Smith KIRSTEN SMITH co-wrote the comedies "Legally Blonde", "10 Things I Hate About You", "Ella Enchanted", "She's the Man" and "The House Bunny". With writing partner Karen Lutz, she recently wrapped "The Ugly Truth", starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, to be released by Sony in April 2009. Kiwi just directed her first short film, "The Spleenectomy", starring Anna Faris, for Glamour Magazine's "Reel Moments" series. Her first project as a producer, "Whip It" (directed by Drew Barrymore and starring Ellen Page), will be released in 2009. |
 | Josh Weinstock Josh Weinstock began his career working at Silver Pictures before working at Endeavor Talent Agency for a year in their motion talent department. He went on to work as a development assistant at Karz Entertainment eventually being promoted to Vice President after working on several projects including GOOD LUCK CHUCK starring Dane Cook and Jessica Alba In June of 2008, he joined Red Wagon Entertainment as Vice President. |
 | Ava Jamshidi Growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the 80s didn't provide a lot of cinematic inspiration. It wasn't until Ava's Mom had rented the film CHARADE starring Audrey Hepburn & Cary Grant that she realized she had to somehow make movies. After getting a degree at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in her "back-up" major of Computer Engineering, Ava moved to Los Angeles to find out how the business works. While taking a producing class at UCLA, Ava got her first internship on the production of the film SLACKERS. From there she interned for Penny Marshall's company Parkway Productions where a month later she was hired to work on Penny's film RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS. After finishing work on the film and seeing it released, Ava took some time to try and get a better job in development. Having little opportunity, she decided to get some desirable "agency experience" and started in the mailroom at the Agency for the Performing Arts (APA). A year later, after realizing that nice people can be successful agents, she was promoted to agent. After spending the next 3 years as an agent at APA, Ava then moved to International Creative Management (ICM) where she has been for almost another 3 years. |
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| Trevor Engelson Trevor Engelson is a founding partner of Underground Films & Management, an up-and-coming production and management company based in Los Angeles. Underground Films has a first look deal with The Weinstein Company. |
 | Paul Pender Paul Pender has an extensive writing career in the United States, the U.K. and Scotland. His was the original writer on NACHO LIBRE, starring Jack Black and was the writer and co-producer on EVELYN, starring Pierce Brosnan. He was awarded the ACADEMY AWARD for Best Live Action Short while Executvie Producer for the BBC on Franz Kafka's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. He received BAFTA nominations for Best Writer, Best TV Single Drama for THE BOGIE MAN, starring Craig Ferguson and for BEAUTIFUL LIES, starring Sir RIchard Todd. He has been series script editor for the BBC on PLAY ON ONE and ENCOUNTERS. |
 | Joe Haidar Animated American is Joe Haidar's debut as an independent film director. Joe was a feature animator at Walt Disney Studios for fourteen years and was responsible for the idea behind Disney’s 1997 version of Hercules. Joe has animated some of Disney’s most beloved characters, including the Genie (Robin Williams) in Aladdin and Roger Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with academy award winner Richard Williams and Robert Zemekis. He worked on the highly acclaimed film Beauty and the Beast (the only animated feature ever to be nominated for Best Picture), as well as Mulan, Pocahontas, Atlantis, and Home on the Range. Joe continues to work in animation; he has storyboarded such films as Curious George, Enchanted, and the soon to be released Alvin and the Chipmunks. Prior to Disney, he worked in London, England on feature films, rock videos and commercials. Joe is a graduate of Sheridan College in Toronto, Ontario. |
 | Scott Neustadter In 2001, Scott Neustadter was Director of Development at Robert De Niro's Tribeca Productions. He eventually grew a pair and left the development side to try writing screenplays for himself. |
 | Meghann Collins Born and raised in the suburbs outside of Los Angeles, Meghann didn’t think of the movie business as a career possibility until after college. Graduating from UC Berkeley with an English Lit major, working with writers seemed like a logical next step. After the requisite summer internship, her first real job in the real world was an assistant at Tollin/Robbins. After working her way up, she was promoted as a creative executive at TRP, and now runs point on feature development at Varsity. Most recently, Meghann set up a romantic comedy at Dreamworks called SHARED FARE. |
 | Jeffrey Reddick Raised in Eastern Kentucky, Jeffrey Reddick, at the age of 14, forged a friendship with Robert Shaye, the head of New Line Cinema. Jeffrey was awarded his first job at the rapidly growing mini major in 1989. He worked at the studio for over a decade where he learned virtually every aspect of film development, marketing and production. In 1996, Reddick set up his first feature, Final Destination, at New Line Cinema. The film was released in March 2000 and heralded the arrival of a successful new horror franchise. Jeffrey followed Final Destination with Tamara, which was released by Lionsgate Entertainment. April 2008 saw the release of the Jeffrey scripted remake of the George Romero classic, Day of the Dead. Jeffrey recently penned the supernatural thriller Dead Awake for Gold Circle Films and is currently working on projects for Regent and The Cartoon Network. Previously, Jeffrey Reddick wrote the teleplay for USA Networks’ Return to Cabin by the Lake and adapted the novel Nine for Constantin Film. |
 | Zach McGowan Zach McGowan was born and raised in New York City, where he started acting at an early age in school productions. His passion for the stage followed him through his high school and college years and landed him on the New York City stage in 2003 where he honed his craft in numerous off Broadway productions. In 2005 Zach moved to Los Angeles to work in film and Television. Zach's film work includes TERMINATOR SALVATION directed by McG, THE HUNT FOR EAGLE ONE (Sony Screen Gems) directed by Brian Clyde, CRASH POINT (Sony Screen Gems) directed by Henry Crum, and SEAL TEAM SIX directed by Mark Andrews. On Television Zach Guest starred in the premiere episode of the 5th season of NUMB3RS, and in season 7 episode 6 of CSI MIAMI. Zach short film work includes leading roles in "The 14th Morning" (LA International Short Film Festival, New Haven Film Festival, and The Method Festival), and "Sadiq" (official 2006 MTVU Student Film Maker Award Nominee, and winner "BEST SHORT" at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival) by Sean Mullin. Zach can also be heard in numerous advertisements, video games, and animation projects doing Voice Over work. Zach currently lives in Los Angeles and is a member of both SAG and AFTRA. In addition, Zach is currently developing an internet series with STAGE NINE at ABC/DISNEY titled STEELE VOWS. |
 | Ian Berger Ian started his career writing for cable networks like VH1, Comedy Central, and MTV (on their long-running comedy series, "Boiling Points"). He has since co-written feature film scripts for Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Apatow Productions and did punch-up work for 20th Century Fox Animation. He is currently a Producer at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. |
 | Cliff Dorfman Cliff wrote on season two of Entourage for which he was nominated for a WGA Award. After leaving the show he was given a blind script deal at Paramount Television for a spec pilot he wrote entitled, "Five Towns" which was later used on the show as the title of Johnny Drama's fictional TV series. Hisdeal was renewed the next year under which he co-created a show with writer Director Gavin O'Connor (Pride and Glory, Miracle, Warrior) for MinnieDriver entitled, "Keep Up With the Jones." He went on to co-create shows for FX with Neil Strauss (The Game) and DaveNavarro; MTV with David Arquette and Tommy Mottola; and most recently, "The Line" about the US/Mexican Border which he co-created with Peter Berg(Hancock, Friday Night Lights) and Kem Nunn (John From Cincinnati, Deadwood)at HBO which Berg is directing and Exec Producing as well. In addition he also has an untitled pilot he created for ABC Family currently in development. On the movie front he co-wrote and co-storied the Lionsgate film entitled, "Warrior" which is currently finishing production in Pittsburgh with GavinO'Connor directing and starring Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte and Jennifer Morrison as well as penning what will be his directorial debut entitled, "Criminal Empire for Dummy's" which is set to start production in the fall in Atlanta, GA. Furthermore he was given a "Special Thanks" on the Bill Maher/Larry Charles film, "Religulous" for which he added content. In addition to film and television he also co-wrote a comic book for DC Comics with David Arquette called, "The Watchdogs"; wrote a video game for Sega entitled, "Full Auto 2"; consulted on, "Dead Space" for EA Games and penned a column for the last year in the magazine LA Confidential named, "Cliff's Notes." When Cliff's not writing you can find him holed up somewhere deep in the valley with lots of ammo, arms, canned goods, water and his three Schutzhund trained Dobermans. |
 | Juliana Farrell Jersey Girl Films is an LA-based production company with a first-look production deal with Michael London's Groundswell Productions, an independent production/financing entity. Juliana Farrell founded the company in fall 2008 to develop and produce romantic comedies with budgets under $20 million and to focus on making low budget films by emerging filmmakers. Previously, Farrell was the Vice President of Groundswell, where she co-produced Paramount Vantage's upcoming release The Marc Pease Experience, directed by Todd Louiso and starring Ben Stiller. At Groundswell, Farrell also worked on Milk, Appaloosa, The Visitor, Smart People, and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. |
 | John Orlando John Orlando began his career in entertainment writing and editing a magazine for Disney Channel where he caught the film bug. He went on to be a creative executive at Codikow Films and then took a job at the William Morris Agency where he worked for 2 1/2 years in the feature and television literary departments. John left WMA to get back into development, working in features development at John Wells Productions and subsequently at United Artists until the studio's restructuring in 2005. After UA, John worked as a talent/literary manager at Circle of Confusion where he saw the completion of the first feature he brought in to the company, SENSELESS, which shot independently in Scotland last year. Presently John runs production and development for Contradiction Films, an independent producer/financier based in Canada. They plan on shooting their first 2 feature, DIARY OF A SUPERHERO, this Winter. |
 | Berry Welsh Berry Welsh began his career at Tribeca Productions, where he's currently working as Creative Executive and assisting with the development of various projects including LITTLE FOCKERS, THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS and CHASING THE DRAGON for Universal Pictures. Having assisted Jane Rosenthal during the productions of THE GOOD SHEPHERD, WHAT JUST HAPPENED and two Tribeca Film Festivals, his prior experience includes development internships at New Line Cinema, Revolution Studios and MTV. |
 | Shira-Lee Shalit Director/writer Shira-Lee Shalit was chosen by Steven Spielberg out of 12,000 directors, as one of 12 Finalists for the 2007 Fox/DreamWorks TV show, "On The Lot.” While on the show, Shira-Lee wrote and directed 3 films: Check Out, Beeline and Open House, to critical acclaim from the judges: Garry Marshall, Carrie Fisher, David Frankel and Brett Ratner. Shira-Lee was recently selected as one of the New Directors for the SHOOT 7th Annual New Directors Showcase, 2009 at the DGA Theater in New York City, and featured in SHOOT magazine. Shalit’s feature film directorial debut, A-List, a comedy starring Daphne Zuniga, Sally Kirkland, Renee Taylor and Damon Shalit, won the Audience Award at the 2007 Milan International Film Festival, the Gold Remy Award for Best Comedy at the 2006 Worldfest Film Festival in Houston, TX, and was selected for the LA Women's Directors Film Fest, the Miami International Women's Director's Festival, and profiled as one of the IFP East's Project Involve Awardees.?? |
 | Rebecca Gushin Casting DirectorRebecca has been a casting professional for nearly 10 years, during which time she has worked on Broadway plays, in television, and on both independent and studio feature films. Her film credits include Welcome to Collinwood, Scary Movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and the upcoming independent feature, The Vicious Kind. She is a graduate of the Brearley School for Girls in New York City and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. |
 | David Boxerbaum David Boxerbaum attended NYU film school and after school moved out to Los Angeles and found himself working for Jerry Bruckheimer Films. After spending a little less then a year as an asst there, he moved on to the William Morris Agency where he went from the mailroom to working for one of the senior partners, Lee Rosenberg. David then moved on to Endeavor Agency where he worked for the heads of television. After a short stint as a production executive at RKO pictures, David became an agent specializing in film/tv writers and directors at Metropolitan Talent Agency. After a 3 year stint at MTA, where he ran the literary division, David came to APA where he still works with literary talent in both film and tv. David’s clients’ work ranges from the Saw franchise to the recent comedy hit Role Models. David was also awarded the distinguished Hollywood award “Hollywood Reporters’ 30 under 30 to watch” where he became one of the youngest recipients at 26 years old. David is currently vice president in the literary division at APA Talent Agency. |
 | Taryn Southern Since moving to LA in 2006, Taryn Southern has received more than 50 million hits on internet videos that she has written, produced, or starred in. She has worked with companies such as MSN, Fremantle, Reveille, Cosmopolitan, theWB, Heavy.com, MySpace, DirecTV, MTV, AT&T, 60Frames, McG, The Big Fantastic, and more. Because of her online work, Taryn sold her first series to DirecTV at the age of twenty and is now executive producing, writing, and starring in a scripted pilot for MTV. In the film world, she has had supporting roles in Comedy Central’s Senior Skip Day, the upcoming comedy Deep in the Valley with Scott Caan, and she just finished filming the indie drama Pound of Flesh alongside Malcom McDowell. In addition, she has hosted the first-ever LIVE red carpet of The Golden Globes for MSN, and The Grammys for CBS.com. In 2008, Taryn won a Spike TV Guy’s Choice Award and made CNN’s Most Influential Viral Videos of the Year list. Taryn has also been featured in USA Today, Maxim, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, People, Christian Science Monitor, and been a guest on shows like CNN, MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, The Insider, and Entertainment Tonight. |
 | Tim Harms Tim Harms is a graduate of Duke University with degrees in Literature and Film. He began his career working for producer Steve Golin (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). After working for television showrunner David Milch (NYPD Blue, Deadwood), Harms moved to Contemptible Entertainment, Neil LaButes production company, where he was a creative executive and worked on projects including LaButes The Shape of Things and Bill Condons Kinsey. In mid-2004, Harms and writer/director Lee Toland Krieger partnered in 72nd Street Productions. Together they have a produced the award-winning feature film December Ends, The Wilton, an hour-long television pilot developed by the CW television network, and The Vicious Kind, Kriegers latest feature, starting Brittany Snow (Hairspray, Prom Night) and J.K. Simmons (Juno, Spider Man). The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. |
 | Adam Goldworm Adam Goldworm was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He left home with starry eyed dreams of fame and success in Hollywoodland. He never even bothered to pick up his diploma from UCLA's School of Film and TV. His breakthrough film, Luckytown (2000), which at one point was among the five to watch at the 2000 Cannes Film festival, now awaits a handful more votes before it can attain its well deserved status on IMDb's list of the worst 100 films of all time. At least they didn't steal his sense of humor along with his pride and his soul. He landed a job at Industry Entertainment, a preeminent management production company and quickly worked his way up; during his five year tenure, Goldworm, ultimately served as Executive Vice President, TV. At the company, Goldworm demonstrated his keen eye for spotting new talent and managed the careers of several hot writers, directors and actors. He also became an involuntary, pseudo-Canadian citizen, having spent countless months in in various regions (and nether-regions) of Canada, producing several television series including Showtime's "Masters of Horror" (2005), ABC's "Masters of Science Fiction" (2007) and NBC's "Fear Itself" (2008) , desperately trying (and ultimately failing) to create a new anthology as fresh and exciting as the "Twilight Zone" (1959) series that he admired so. In 2009, Goldworm left to start his own management/production business -- Aperture Entertainment. |
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