When it comes to this years compelling and trending films, shows, acts and studios, be sure to check out this hot list of individuals on the most talked about projects. Follow them to see what new features, awards and events arise in 2023.
Sean McNamara
Sean McNamara is an American director, writer, and producer with a focus on family dramas, including the breakout hit feature Soul Surfer. McNamara recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of Brookwell McNamara Entertainment, which he co-founded with business partner David Brookwell. Together, they have produced 30 feature films for Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, TriStar Pictures, New Line Cinema, Lionsgate, and Universal Studios.
Currently, McNamara is wrapping up production on the film Reagan, a drama starring Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller. It follows the life of the former president from childhood through his years in Hollywood, his tenure as governor of California, and ultimately his time in the Oval Office.
The King’s Daughter, a romantic fantasy set at Versailles, debuted in theaters in 2022. It features Pierce Brosnan and Kaya Scodelario. On a Wing and a Prayer, a true story starring Dennis Quaid as a plane passenger forced to make an emergency landing to save his family, is in pre-production for MGM produced by Roma Downey.
Previously, McNamara has helmed the films Orphan Horse, with Jon Voight; The Miracle Season, starring Erin Moriarty, Danika Yarosh, Helen Hunt, and William Hurt; Raise Your Voice, featuring Hilary Duff; Hoovey; Field of Lost Shoes; Race To Space and Spare Parts. The latter, which stars Marisa Tomei and George Lopez, was based on the wired magazine article “La Vida Robot.”
For television, McNamara has produced many series and movies, including more than 500 episodes for Hulu, Netflix, CBS, ABC, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network. McNamara co-created the hit TV series Beyond the Break for MTV Networks and was executive producer on Disney Channel’s Even Stevens and That’s So Raven. McNamara’s work for Disney Channel won him a BAFTA as well as five Emmy Award nominations. He is a four-time nominee for the Directors Guild of America Awards. Furthermore, he received a prestigious Best Director Imagen Award, for Spare Parts, and won Best Dramatic Feature at the GI Film Festival, for Field of Lost Shoes. Soul Surfer, Spare Parts, and The Miracle Season all earned an A+ on Cinemascore, among other accolades.
McNamara is an actor’s director, having worked with A-listers such as Pierce Brosnan and Dennis Quaid as well as numerous Academy Award winners and nominees: Helen Hunt, William Hurt, Jon Voight, Marisa Tomei, Mira Sorvino, and James Woods. McNamara has also nurtured rising talents including Shia LaBeouf, Jessica Alba, Erin Moriarty, and Danika Yarosh. McNamara lives in Playa del Rey, California, with his amazing family: Christina, Mark, Dylan, Seamus, and two Golden Retrievers, Bella and Blue.
Josh Webber
A multi-talented Director, Producer, and Screenwriter. Josh A. Webber is an independent filmmaker born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1986 and was raised in Montreal, Canada. In 2009, he graduated from NYFA in New York City, then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue his career. He quickly gained notoriety racking up multiple awards for his work on both commercials and feature films. With Corporate clients such as Warner Brothers, DreamWorks, McDonald’s, General Motors and RedBull.
BATTER UP (2009) a true story of a heroic act of sportsmanship & heroism between opposing teams during a Girl’s Softball Championship. BATTER UP won multiple awards for “Best Family Film”, “Best Drama”, “Best Short-Film” and “Best Canadian Film” in 2009.
A BROKEN CODE (2013) Two brothers Carmelo and Gino are raised by their mob boss grandfather Salvatore Gianni. Through a series of events Salvatore is killed and the boys then go on a journey to find the killers. No one is ruled out as a suspect, including one of the brothers. Released nationwide on DVD and all platforms via Maverick Entertainment.
THERE IS MANY LIKE US (2015) is a documentary/narrative about his grandfather’s astonishing survival escape during the holocaust, losing the love of his life while saving seventeen others and reuniting with her years later. An incredible true story featured in numerous publications such as The Jewish Press, The Canadian Jewish News and counting. Currently available on Amazon, ITunes and televised screenings worldwide.
SECRETS OF DECEPTION (2017) a story about a loving husband’s dangerous path of revenge and destruction. Stars Tom Sizemore, Lorenzo Lamas, Robert Lazardo, Richard T. Jones, Noelle Gugliemi releasing worldwide in February 2017 through Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and GVN Releasing.
NEVER HEARD (2018) an urban faith based gospel film, starring David Banner, Romeo Miller, Robin Givens, Dorien Wilson, Karrueche Tran, Jackie Long, Jay Moss, Karen Abercrombie, Master P, Brian White and Diezel Braxton. A compelling story about second chances, forgiveness, and redemption set to release theatrically through Fathom Events to over 500 screens nationwide and distributed worldwide through Gravitas Ventures and released on Netflix.
DEAR FRANK (2019) After Frank’s wife is mysteriously poisoned, he discovers a diary with indicating all of her previous lovers who also are potential murder suspects. A psychological thriller starring Brian White, Claudia Jordan and Columbus Short. Set to release theatrically in November 2019.
AMERICAN RACKETS (2020) based on a true life events of Rocco and James Napoli, members of the Genovese crime family, both arrested in 1988 for the plot to kill John Gotti. James Jimmy Napoli ran the largest number racket dating back to the 1930’s, accredited with what is now known today as the modern day lottery, currently in post production. Set to release in 2020.
Currently, Josh is actively focused on directing and producing multiple feature films simultaneously – THE NEXT CLIFF, ISAAC AND ATHENA SAVES CHRISTMAS. CEO and Founder of both Webber Films and Webber Studios, Josh Webber is just beginning to make his mark in Hollywood.
Joe Callahan
As the go-to guy for all things technology, Joe Callahan is co-founder and chief technology officer at Veuit, the world’s first web 3.0 block chain media and entertainment technology company.
As a serial entrepreneur and perpetual innovator with a passion for outside-the-box problem solving, Joe strives to help others utilize unfamiliar technology to align their organizations’ processes and goals with the human needs and incentives of their employees. For the last 30 years, Joe has funded over 100 companies across multiple industries all with the common thread of the unfair advantage of the Ciright monolithic core.
An enterprise software system expert responsible for guiding the company’s development extension from the Ciright core overseeing the key Veuit features such as the block chain Player Chain ledger eliminating the creative accounting challenges that have taken advantage of so many in Hollywood.
Driven by an unwavering inventor mentality, Joe leads a development team of over 60 engineers all skilled in the Ciright OS structure and distributed environments. Joe and his team have invested over one million-man hours into the monolithic core technology.
Joe is a graduate of Drexel University and recognized as an award winning entrepreneur. Joe’s awards include but are not limited to the EY Entrepreneur of the Year for technology, the Drexel University Entrepreneur Alumni of the Year, and the Irish American Entrepreneur of the year.
Joe is the author of multiple utility patents which include dozens of CIP patents across multiple industries including Digital Media, Iot, FinTech, and the metaverse.
The quote that drives Joe on his quest to continually deliver innovative technology is, “Nobody is going to hit as hard as life, but it ain’t how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.” – Rocky
Bayan Joonam
The prolific Bayan Joonam is returning to ViceTV’s Season 2 of “The Search for Q”. The show revolves around the mysterious conspiracy movement that has gained some media and online attention over the past year and the people who consider themselves a part of it. The three-part docuseries explores the conspiracy movement that erupted in the wake of the Capitol riots, with an eye toward understanding its radicalizing impact on society.
Bayan Joonam is an award-winning filmmaker and host of ViceTV “The Search for Q” which is the networks third most popular show of all time. Prior to that, he was a producer on MTV’s “16 & Recovering” which won the RFK Human Rights Book & Journalism Award for Best Domestic TV. He also served as senior producer on CNN’s Anthology of Short Documentaries which aired in the summer of 2021.
Bayan partnered with actor Rainn Wilson (of NBC’s The Office) between 2012 and 2018 to build the uplifting digital media brand SoulPancake. He was also head of production for OWN. During his tenure, he led the development and creation of over 50 award-winning original programs such as “Kid President”, “My Last Days” and “SoulPancake.” These shows led to nearly a billion views, 10M+ followers, and multi-season television franchises. In 2016, they were acquired by Participant Media.
Bayan worked as a producer at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., where he helped restructure the organizations online content workflow to deliver daily content. He earned a B.F.A. in Film, Photography, and Visual Arts at Ithaca College in New York. He attended Idyllwild Arts Academy prior to that, where he studied cinematography. Growing up in Israel, Banyan’s bus stop was attacked by a suicide bomber, inspiring his dedication to pursue work that addresses ideological divides.
Ron Russell
Ron Russell is THE KING OF HOLLYWOOD.
He is an expert in the Golden Era of Hollywood, an actor, tv host, producer and writer who has worked in Hollywood for over 65 years, sharing the screen with Hollywood Legends Sophia Loren and Tab Hunter. He is a world-renowned entertainment personality.
Ron Russell has a history with his Time Warner TV Show “Set The Record Straight”, where he interviewed Hollywood Legends like Lauren Bacall, Tony Curtis, John Waters, Renee Taylor, Joe Bologna, Jane Russell, Tab Hunter, Cliff Robertson, Arlene Dahl, Tippi Hedron, Cloris Leachman, etc….he pulls no punches and asks the questions that fans really want to know, and gives his interview subjects an opportunity to clear up any mis-information ever said about them and let’s them “Set The Record Straight.”
Ron Russell is also the co-host of The Jimmy Star Show with Ron Russell, the #1 Webshow in the world with 4.5 million weekly viewers/listeners. Known as the Cool, Outrageous Man About Town, the show recently broke 1 Billion Streams/downloads. Celebrity guests include Morgan Fairchild, James Faulkner, John Barrowman, Ernie Hudson, Christopher McDonald, Devon Sawa, Sean Kanan, Stephen Lang, Lainie Kazan, Joe Bologna, Paul Sorvino, Jack O’Halloran, Peter Jason, Michael Rooker and hundreds more….
Musical guests include Earth Wind & Fire, Siedah Garrett, Chairmen of the Board, Mary Wilson, Karyn White, RATT, Guy Sebastian, Sophie B. Hawkins, Expose, Pink Floyd, Jeff Timmons, Three Six Mafia and many others.
Ron Russell founded “Have A Heart,” where a troupe of female impersonators performed up and down the Eastern Seaboard raising money for AmFAR and The Elizabeth Taylor Foundation for Aids Research, founded by Hollywood Actress Elizabeth Taylor. He was as well part of the movement for Gay Rights and Stonewall.
As an actor Russell has a 64 plus year career on stage, television and film. He has appeared in numerous television series including Charlie’s Angels, Sara, Miami Vice, MacGyver, and McMillan & Wife. His film credits start with That Kind of Woman (with Sophia Loren and Tab Hunter) and he currently has become the go to actor for indie horror films such as Clown Fear, Big Freaking Rat and the recently wrapped The Beast Inside and Clown Motel 2. He is currently scheduled to appear in 9 feature films in different stages of development.
The icing on the cake will be a starring role in the upcoming dark comedy “The Curse Of Magic” which was written by Ron Russell himself, and will have an incredible cast of well-known actors in co-starring and supporting roles. “The Gift of Magic” is currently in development.
When asked about his incredible career Russell stated, “I am 82 years young. Never give up no matter how difficult things become, given time things will go your way! I’m living proof.”
Bernice Ye
Born and raised in China, Bernice Ye came to the U.S. with just $1000 in her pocket, in 2004. As her motto “rules are suggestions”, she abandoned a rising career in tech to pursue stand-up comedy full-time, in the middle of the pandemic. In just over a year, Bernice’s comedy has generated 40M+ views on Instagram and Tiktok. When she moved to rural Washington, she created the town’s only comedy show and has been selling out 160+ seats every single show.
She has featured for national headliners Ryan Niemiller, Steve Brown, and Nate Jackson and performed at the New York Comedy Festival, San Diego Comedy Festival, AV Comedy Festival, and Northwest Women’s Comedy Festival, as well as clubs and theatres all over the west coast.
Many fans compare Bernice to the Jackie Chan of Comedy, not only because she is also a martial artist with a great sense of humor, but also because she shares her culture in a way that’s universally relatable without being raunchy – leaving those who she represents feeling proud and empowered. Bernice is faithful to her voice as a first-generation immigrant and stands out a mile by being honest, courageous, and super funny.
In a world that’s more divided than ever, Bernice’s passion is to bridge cultures and empower immigrants through humor and personal stories.
Wendy Stuart
Wendy Stuart is an author, actress, producer, celebrity interviewer, model, filmmaker and co-hosts “If These Walls Could Talk,” a popular Youtube celebrity interview show and TriVersity Talk, a weekly web series with featured guests discussing their lives, activism and pressing issues in the LGBTQ Community.
As an actress, print model, and stand up comedienne, Wendy has worked in film, television and theatre and has made appearances on many syndicated and daytime talk shows. Her fun personality and quick sense of humor made her a standout guest whether she was modeling unusual wedding gowns on Geraldo or selling shoes on Speigel TV. Her ecclectic career also includes being voted Mrs. NY, going on to compete in the National Mrs. America pageant.
Erika Nicole Malone
Ericka Nicole Malone tapped into her creativity during college and paid her undergraduate tuition by writing and producing theatrical plays. Ericka began her screenwriting debut of the television sitcom pilot “Ward of the State”- A rich heiress is forced to move in with her middle class daughter after her fourth suddenly husband dies and leaves her penniless. Ward of the State helms the iconic Janet Hubert (Fresh Prince of Bel Air), Aloma Wright (Suits) and Vanessa Estelle Williams (Soul Food.) Her latest projects are “Remember Me” : The Mahalia Jackson Story – A new biopic of Gospel legend Mahalia Jackson starring R&B legend Ledisi, actors Columbus Short, Janet Hubert, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Keith David, Vanessa Estelle Williams, Corbin Bleu and Keith Robinson and several other projects in development including animation feature film “JG and the BC Kids”, live action and theatrical productions. As President of Ericka Nicole Malone Entertainment along with her business partner Phillip Robinson, Ericka is becoming one of the most prolific screenwriters and producers in Hollywood and is only just beginning.
Gary Robinson
Gary Robinson is an acclaimed writer, director, producer, editor, photographer, and comedian who began writing and producing songs 12 years ago with Jeremy Jordan, star of the hit movie, “Never Been Kissed.” Their collaboration brought attention to the growing homeless problem with the heartfelt song, “Forgotten People.” Robinson’s collaboration with Mitchell, “The Goodbye Song,” is featured in the new documentary “Altitude Not Attitude.” Robinson’s latest song “The Power of One”, also under DJ Sharpcut, is a tribute to the legacy of George Floyd. It has over 12 million plays in TikTok videos, and it’s just getting started. Robinson’s clients have included: CBS, Sony, Universal, and Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation to name a few. He has produced thousands of nationally broadcast promos for shows, such as: Married With Children, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blind Date, and many others. He has shot interviews with Jim Carrey, Miley Cyrus, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Foxx, and many others.
Bringing his writing talent to stand-up comedy, Robinson has performed stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, The Improv Comedy Clubs, Levity Live Comedy Clubs, and numerous dive bars. He can be seen in Showtime’s “Just Another Immigrant,” and JLTV’s “Bubbies Know Best.” Utilizing his video production expertise, he produced two comedy specials, “Jimmy Shin’s Wok of Shame” and “Sarah Halstead’s RVs and Cats,” which are available to stream on Amazon Prime. Gary Robinson continues to perform on shows with top headliners, such as: Bill Burr, Iliza Shlesinger, and Jamie Kennedy as he prepares to shoot his own comedy special.
Eugenia Kuzmina
Eugenia Kuzmina is a Russian-American actress, comedian, and model. Her father was a renowned nuclear physicist, who was one of the first responders to the Chernobyl disaster. Her mother is a former scientist and a housewife. Eugenia grew up on food lines in Post Soviet times. She was training to be a professional ice skater when at 13 years old she was pulled out from a group of kids in her school to appear in a Russian version of SNL “Eralash.” She was then cast to appear in Chuck Norris’s film, but couldn’t leave the country due to visa issues. After appearing in commercials for Coca-Cola, L’Oréal, and Wrigleys in Moscow, for which she was paid more than her scientist’s dad, she was noticed by a scout at Nathalie Models Europe. She signed a contract and moved to Paris at 15 to work with such brands as Cartier, Dior, Armani, Hermes, Loreal, Vogue among many others…
After Ford Models, then IMG resigned her contract and moved her to the US, she was noticed by Rodrigo Prieto (cinematographer “Wolf Of Wall Street,” “Babel”) to appear in his directorial debut opposite Elle Fanning “Likeness.” The movie was screened at Tribeca Film Festival and received excellent reviews. John Turturro cast Eugenia to play opposite him in a film with Woody Allen “Fading Gigolo.” Recently Eugenia worked opposite Bill Murray in “Rock The Kasbah”, Milla Kunis, and Christina Applegate in “Bad Moms “, Guy Ritchie’s ” The Gentlemen “, and the new upcoming one in 2022. Eugenia’s Tv credits include ” Spy City “, “True Blood,” “New Girl,” “Castle,” “The Comeback,” “Lady Dynamite”,” Tour De Pharmacy “, etc
Eugenia is very passionate about comedy and writes and performs Stand Up regularly at The Comedy Store and The Laugh Factory and is on tour. Her other hobbies include motorcycles, doing her own stunts, languages (French, Portuguese), and supporting environmental causes around the world.
Kuzmina resides in Los Angeles with her husband Bill Block ( Miramax CEO )and three children. She also runs a blog www.modelmom.tv
Claire Chubbuck
The daughter of world renowned acting coach, Ivana Chubbuck, and late film director, Lyndon Chubbuck, Claire Chubbuck is an emerging female director that creates mission driven content that creates catharsis for those working on it – she calls it “Cathartic Realism”. She works withn actors to use the traumatic events in their lives in order to make art – as a director, and a teacher at Ivana Chubbuck Studio, where Claire is also the Vice President.
Currently, Claire’s “Cathartic Realism” genre is being studied by medical professionals. Previous research from notable studies, including those by Dr. Brene Brown and Dr. James Penny baker, among others, has provided evidence that Cathartic Realism is efficacious. Now, they are evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of Claire’s work with a rating scale that was created specifically for Cathartic Realism and the way Claire takes her artists through their work.
President of Global Ascension Studios Joshua Macciello
Global Ascension Studios (GAS) was created in hopes that it will grow to become the number one source of truth-telling to ultimately bring back a country so divided into one that the rest of the world aspires to be. President Joshua Macciello and his two partners, CEO Derek Chan, and Head of Production Arthur Sarkissian, are prepared to create that change and fight to preserve the faith that many Americans have unfortunately lost. Arthur Sarkissian has been in the movie scene for over 30 years. Arthur has created a plethora of blockbuster films but most notably, the Rush Hour trilogy, While You Were Sleeping, The Protégé, Last Man Standing, and Memory. Derek Chan graduated top of his class at Stanford and became the Chief Technology Officer responsible for helping to found, build and staff Oriental DreamWorks and continued to become the Chief Operating Officer of DreamWorks NOVA.
Global Ascension Studios (GAS) will initially begin as a production studio. GAS already has a deck of movies that they own the rights to or that are in pre-production. GAS’s first film is a true story about a 17-year-old kid named Ross Capicchioni who was shot and left for dead by someone he thought of as a childhood friend. It follows a survival story where Ross recaps an inexplicable revival and first-hand experience by the hands of God. Another film is called 10 days in Kabul which tells the story of Joe Bidens order for the United States to exit Afghanistan. Task Force Pineapple is a task force set up by a volunteer group of U.S. veterans to evacuate American citizens, as well as Afghan allies and their families, following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, per Bidens botched exit. As of 30 August 2021, the group had evacuated over tens of thousands of people. GAS also own the rights to a film called Charisma which shows an exemplary reflection of US politics and how secretive and deceiving society believes them to be. These are only a few of the many inspiring and eye-opening stories that GAS is striving to show the world. The stories are real, they are honest, they are not something that the compromised people of the world want out. GAS is here to relinquish the truth. GAS wants to globally communicate the information that only a select group of people have been trying to warn society with for a while. GAS is here to be different from the rest of the world while also educating and healing the world from the deception that has been fed to society.
GAS has several different branches of the military who back their fight and support the lesson they are pushing to teach.
GAS will ultimately move on to integrate news outlets, sports broadcasting, television, streaming shows, and a music department. With 20 acres in Nevada already secured, there is so much that GAS will strive to conquer. GAS is truly seeking like-minded people who believe and trust that this mindset will only ensure that truth, pride, and ultimately, praise to God, will do nothing short of change the world for the better.
David Brookwell
David Brookwell is a respected film and television producer with over 38 years of experience in
the entertainment industry. David is the co-founder of BROOKWELL MCNAMARA
ENTERTAINMENT, INC. with his partner Sean McNamara in 1997. David’s passion has always
been to entertain, since his beginning days at 20th Century Fox Studios to today, David has
managed the business of BME and has written and directed many of BME’s projects as well.
As a producer, his feature film credits include the recent 2022 release “THE KING’S
DAUGHTER” (Gravitas/Universal) starring Pierce Brosnan, Kaya Scodelario, and William Hurt
based on the Vonda McIntyre novel “The Moon & the Sun”, “HOOVEY”, and “SOUL SURFER”
(TriStar) starring AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, and Carrie Underwood, “RAISE
YOUR VOICE” (New Line Cinema) starring Hilary Duff. David produced the James Wood’s
“RACE TO SPACE,”(Lions GateFilms), and Ben Stiller’s “PERMANENT MIDNIGHT” (Artisan).
David’s television credits include the Disney Channel hit series “EVEN STEVENS” which
launched actor SHIA LABEOUF’S career; one hundred episodes of the hit comedy “THAT’S SO
RAVEN. David also co-created, wrote, and directed the MTV television series “BEYOND THE
BREAK,” shot entirely in Hawaii. Cartoon Network’s first live-action series, “OUT OF JIMMY’S
HEAD”, as well as Nickelodeon’s “JUST FOR KICKS” and “THE SECRET WORLD OF ALEX
MACK.” He also produced “THE TRIAL OF OLD DRUM” for Animal Planet and PorchLight
Entertainment.
Currently, BME has several feature films and series in development including “BAU, ARTIST AT
WAR”, “OMAHA”, and Leon Uris’s “TRINITY”. BME also produced the feature-length
documentary “LOOPERS; THE CADDIE’S LONG WALK” in 2019. David is a father of two and is
an avid surfer, scuba diver, and boater. David also competes in both open water swimming and
U.S. Masters Swimming as well as being a recurrent Los Angeles County Ocean Lifeguard and
private pilot.
Jimmy Shin
Jimmy has been Mixing his musical and comedic talents all of his life. After graduating from California Western School of Law, Jimmy decided to take a more humorous path.
While in Seattle, Jimmy won the honor of “Rookie Comedian of the Year” in the Seattle International Comedy Competition in 2005 and was advised by Ron Reid (The Producer of the competition) to move to Los Angeles. Although urged by his parents to become a lawyer, Jimmy decided to take a leap of faith and pursue his dreams of becoming a comic in LA.
After moving to Los Angeles, Jimmy has been performing all around the country and producing shows at The World Famous Comedy Store. He has performed regularly at the Improv, Laugh Factory and The Comedy Store. His break came when he performed three times on The Tonight Show.
His parents finally acknowledged that he was a real Comedian when they saw him perform on The Tonight Show and began supporting his decision to pursue a career in Entertainment. He has also appeared on the HBO Series “LUCK”, The Carson Daly New Year’s Special 2015, Jimmy Kimmel Live and most recently on the action movie Silencer with Danny Trejo as he makes his debut as an action movie star.
Or Mash
Or is an Israeli stand-up comedian, and actress. As of Season 18, she is currently one of the recurring cast members of the improv comedy show, Wild ‘N Out, on VH1.
