Meet our Board of Advisors & Board of Directors
Board of Advisors
DOUG BELGRAD
Doug Belgrad is a President of Production at Columbia Pictures, currently supervising several films in development, production and post-production. Among the films that Doug has supervised are Men In Black II, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, National Security with Martin Lawrence, and 8 Crazy Nights, an animated feature produced by Adam Sandler (and starring his voice, too). Doug has also supervised such blockbuster films as Big Daddy, Men In Black and Hollow Man.
SHANE BLACK
Shane Black has been responsible for creating a number of box office blockbusters, including the first two installments of the Lethal Weapon series and 1991’s The Last Boy Scout. In 1990, Shane sold his espionage script The Long Kiss Goodnight for a record sum of money. His directorial debut, the romantic thriller Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, re-teamed him with producer Joel Silver. Shane was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival’s Distinguished Screenwriter Award in 2006.
WILLIAM BROYLES JR.
Bill Broyles was the founding editor of Texas Monthly and editor-in-chief of Newsweek. He was the co-creator of the television series China Beach. He wrote the original screenplay for Cast Away and the screenplay for Jarhead. He’s co-authored six other screenplays, including Apollo 13, Unfaithful, The Polar Express, and Flags of Our Fathers.
JOHN LEE HANCOCK
Bio coming soon
PETER KANG
Peter Kang turned his internship with 20th Century Fox into a full-time position, eventually rising to his current position as Vice President of Production at Fox 2000. A 1996 alumnus of the Peter Stark Producing Program, Peter was recently named one of the “Next Generation” of executives by the Hollywood Reporter.
LYLE LOVETT
A singer-songwriter, guitarist, and sometime film actor and composer, Lyle Lovett won a 1989 Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. His albums, the first of which was released in 1986, incorporated elements of country, Western, folk, swing, jazz, bebop, blues, and gospel music. He graduated from Texas A&M with degrees in German and journalism.
RICK PAPPAS
Rick is an entertainment attorney specializing in motion pictures, publishing, new media and theatre. In 1991 he conceived and produced “red hot + blue,” a charity recording/film project that generated more than $5 million for AIDS research and relief
ANNE RAPP
Anne Rapp is a screenwriter who also works as a script supervisor. She has worked with such noted directors as Judd Apatow, Harold Ramis, Ken Kwapis, Jake Kasdan, Lawrence Kasdan, Sydney Pollack, Robert Benton, Bruce Beresford, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemekis, David Mamet, Rob Reiner, Bill Forsythe, David Byrne, and Tom Hanks. She began writing short stories in the mid ’90s, which led to a job writing for Robert Altman for three years. Altman produced and directed two of her original screenplays, Cookie’s Fortune and Dr. T and the Women, as well as a television episode for the ABC series Gun. Cookie’s Fortune earned Anne an Independent Spirit Award nomination and an Edgar nomination. She wrote a television special for CMT called Stars over Texas starring Dolly Parton, Vince Gill and Ray Benson, then teamed up with Benson again and co-wrote the musical A Ride With Bob about the life and legacy of Bob Wills. It is still being performed around the country. Anne is currently directing and producing a documentary about the acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote. She has also published short stories and essays. Anne lives in Austin, where she has twice served as visiting professor of screenwriting at the Michener Center for Writers at University of Texas.
PHILIP ROSENTHAL
Philip Rosenthal’s early writing credits include the series Down the Shore and Coach. He was the creator/executive producer of the hit CBS comedy, Everybody Loves Raymond, staying with the show for its entire nine season run, beginning in l996. Everybody Loves Raymond was nominated for over 70 Emmy awards, and won 15 times, including for Best Comedy Series in 2003 and 2005.
Rosenthal has the distinction of having directed President Bill Clinton in the White House Correspondents Dinner video, which was shown to wide acclaim at the April, 2000 event. He co-wrote America: A Tribute to Heroes, the 9/11 telethon which aired on all four networks, won a Peabody Award and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing. Rosenthal won the 2002 Writers Guild Award for Excellence in Television Writing for his Everybody Loves Raymond script, Italy. His first feature for Sony Pictures: Exporting Raymond, which he wrote and directed, the true story about the attempt to turn Everybody Loves Raymond into a Russian sitcom, was released in April of 2011.
RANDALL WALLACE
Randall Wallace is unique among Hollywood filmmakers; his movies have been both critical award winners and tremendous commercial successes. Combined, his four films have grossed nearly $1 billion dollars at the theatrical box office, garnering numerous accolades including the Academy Awards®’ prestigious Best Picture Oscar. Randall wrote the Academy Award® winner Braveheart and the blockbuster Pearl Harbor. He also wrote, directed and produced the critically acclaimed We Were Soldiers and The Man in the Iron Mask. For his work on Braveheart, he received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay as well as Academy Award® and Golden Globe nominations. Randall is also the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and the lyricist of the acclaimed hymn “Mansions of the Lord,” performed as the closing music for President Ronald Reagan’s national funeral. In 1999, Randall founded Wheelhouse Entertainment with the purpose of creating original films, music, videogames and books for a worldwide audience based on the classic values of love, courage and honor.
Randall Wallace is unique among Hollywood filmmakers; his movies have been both critical award winners and tremendous commercial successes. Combined, his four films have grossed nearly $1 billion dollars at the theatrical box office, garnering numerous accolades including the Academy Awards®’ prestigious Best Picture Oscar. Randall wrote the Academy Award® winner Braveheart and the blockbuster Pearl Harbor. He also wrote, directed and produced the critically acclaimed We Were Soldiers and The Man in the Iron Mask. For his work on Braveheart, he received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay as well as Academy Award® and Golden Globe nominations. Randall is also the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and the lyricist of the acclaimed hymn “Mansions of the Lord,” performed as the closing music for President Ronald Reagan’s national funeral. In 1999, Randall founded Wheelhouse Entertainment with the purpose of creating original films, music, videogames and books for a worldwide audience based on the classic values of love, courage and honor.
JIM DAUTERIVE
A native Texan, Jim Dauterive was one of the original writers on the Emmy® award-winning comedy King of the Hill. Recently, he wrote a television pilot for Fox with Mike Judge called Monsignor Martinez, about a Mexican priest who kills drug lords. Turns out, priests are a touchy subject. The pilot was not picked up. Never one to learn from its mistakes, Fox has hired Jim to write another pilot. Jim has also recently completed a feature script about bull semen.
ROBERT DRAPER
A contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and National Geographic, as well as a correspondent for GQ, Robert is the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times bestselling biography Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush. A former Austinite and senior editor for Texas Monthly, he now lives in Washington, D.C.
MATTHEW GROSS
MATTHEW GROSS currently has an overall POD deal with Universal Television, recently wrapped production on The InBetween for NBC, is developing a series for Universal entitled Queens and recently sold a feature film Country musical to Paramount Players. Gross is the former President of EuropaCorp Television Studios USA., which he formed from the ground up, overseeing all development, production, distribution, finance and business affairs for the studio. While there, Gross developed and executive produced TAKEN the television series.
Before joining EuropaCorp TV USA, Gross served as President of his own film and television production company, Gross Entertainment, which had a Pod/overall deal with ABC Studios from 2003 to 2014. While there, Gross developed and was the Executive Producer/Showrunner of BODY OF PROOF starring Dana Delany for all three seasons. He also Executive Produced two seasons of the hit ABC series DIRTY SEXY MONEY, starring Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland and Lucy Liu. Additionally, he developed and Executive Produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning action series DAY BREAK starring Taye Diggs. At ABC, Gross developed and produced the television pilots MURDER IN MANHATTAN, SEE KATE RUN, TWENTY QUESTIONS and NEIGHBORS. Matt is also a writer and director and has written and directed multiple episodes of BODY OF PROOF and directed episodes of DIRTY SEXY MONEY. In 2014, Gross produced History channel’s event historical mini-series, SONS OF LIBERTY for A&E Studios.
On the feature side, Gross produced the motion pictures FIRED UP, JOE SOMEBODY and the Beatles musical ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (Golden Globe nominee). He also received an Oscar nomination for his live-action short film Bronx Cheers.
Gross also produced the live stage musical adaptation of the Oscar winning film THE STING at The Papermill Playhouse starring Harry Connick, Jr.
Gross is also the former President of production for Kopelson Entertainment and Kopelson Telemedia. During his tenure, the company produced DEVIL’S ADVOCATE, A PERFECT MURDER, U.S. MARSHALS, MAD CITY, MURDER AT 1600, DON’T SAY A WORD and TWISTED. On the TV side, Gross developed THE FUGITIVE and THIEVES.
Prior to working with Kopelson, Gross was the Executive Vice-President of Wilshire Court Productions, a division of Paramount Television where he developed and produced more than 75 films for USA Network and various other networks.
Matt received his M.F.A. from the American Film Institute and graduated from UCLA with a major in Economics. Gross also taught at the USC School of Cinema and television-MFA graduate program. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.
BARRY JOSEPHSON
Barry Josephson is a film and television producer. His distinguished career ranges from personal management to key roles in music, television, and film productions, including Enchanted, Like Mike, The Lady Killers, and The Last Boy Scout. Barry was formerly President of Worldwide Production for Columbia Pictures and is a founding member of Comic Relief.
LAWRENCE KASDAN
Lawrence Kasdan, a four-time Oscar© nominee, has directed eleven films, among them: Body Heat, The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, Grand Canyon, Wyatt Earp, and Dreamcatcher. In addition, he has written or co-written four of the most successful films in motion picture history: Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Bodyguard. The Big Chill and The Accidental Tourist were both Oscar®-nominated for Best Picture. The Accidental Tourist was named Best Picture of 1988 by the New York Film Critics and Grand Canyon received the Golden Bear for Best Picture at the 1992 Berlin Film Festival. Meg Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan’s script for Grand Canyon was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay.
CHRIS MCQUARRIE
After an abysmal showing as assistant teacher at a West Australian boarding school, Christopher McQuarrie returned to his home state of New Jersey, where he worked for four years at his uncle’s detective agency. His first produced screenplay became the utterly abysmal Public Access – inexplicable co-winner of the 1993 Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize. Shortly thereafter, Christopher was at work on The Usual Suspects. He has been working for the last six years on an untitled project for director Ed Zwick. It had better be good.
DANIEL PETRIE, JR.
Daniel Petrie, Jr. wrote the screenplays for Beverly Hills Cop and The Big Easy, co-wrote and produced Shoot to Kill, co-wrote and executive produced Turner & Hooch, and co-wrote and directed Toy Soldiers, Petrie served two terms as President of the Writers Guild of America, West, and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Writers Guild Foundation. Petrie is a partner in Enderby Entertainment, an independent film company. Enderby is the judge for the AFF Screenplay Competition’s Enderby Entertainment Award, open to original feature scripts that can be independently produced under $5 million.
ALVARO RODRIGUEZ
Alvaro Rodriguez is a screenwriter who has co-authored the films Shorts and Machete, both directed by Robert Rodriguez, as well as The Hangman’s Daughter, a prequel to From Dusk Till Dawn. A frequent panelist and presenter at the Austin Film Festival, he has also curated an Epoca de Oro Mexican film series at the Museum of South Texas History and has presented on the smuggled subtext(s) in Machete at South Texas College. His border influenced short fiction has appeared in multiple publications both physical and digital, including Along The River (edited by David Bowles, 2011) and After Death (edited by Eric J. Guignard, 2013). He helped to develop a television series for Robert Rodriquez’s EL REY television network while juggling fatherhood and family along the south Texas border.
WHIT STILLMAN
Writer/director Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco, Damsels in Distress
BILL WITTLIFF - EMERITUS
Bill Wittliff had a distinguished career as photographer, film producer, director, publisher and screenwriter. Mr. Wittliff is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, a past board member of the Sundance Institute, a board member of the Austin Film Festival and member of the Texas Philosophical Society. In the late 1980s, Wittliff wrote the teleplay and served as executive producer for the Emmy award-winning TV mini-series Lonesome Dove (1989). Previously, he had written scripts for the westerns Barbarosa (1982) and Red Headed Stranger (1986). His other film credits include The Black Stallion (1979), Country (1984), Legends of the Fall (1994), and The Perfect Storm (2000). As a photographer, Wittliff is best known for his photographs made on the set of Lonesome Dove.
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Lidia Agraz – Member
Naila Ahmed – Member
Miguel Alvarez – Member
George Anson – Member
Olga Campos – Member
Deepa Donde – Member
Fabienne Harford – Member
Erin Hallagan – Member
Chris Hyams – Member
John Langmore – Member
Marsha Milam – Co-Founder
Barbara Morgan – Co-founder
Allen Odom – Member
Maya Perez – Member
Andrew Shea – Member
Ryan Piers Williams – Member
Ric Roman Waugh – Member