PRODUCERS
In the 90’s he moved into feature films while continuing in television. His first picture, The Pompatus of Love, was released theatrically August ‘96. In 1998 he directed the action/drama October 22 for Millennium Films, and festival favorite Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God… Be Back by Five, his second collaboration with Jon Cryer.
In the early 2000’s, he wrote original pilots for VH1 and 20th Century Fox television. He directed episodes of Dick Wolf’s Arrest and Trial, and wrote and directed VH1’s original movie A Diva’s Christmas Carol, which was a ratings blockbuster for the network. He sold a sitcom pilot to NBC entitled “Drama Queen,” starring Vanessa Williams. When his daughter was born, he decided to take a multi-year break from filmmaking to concentrate on raising her. He did, however, teach a Master Class for the Rhode Island Int’l Film Festival, on whose advisory board he serves, and guest lectured at both USC and Cal Arts.
2007 saw the release of two new feature films: And Then Came Love, a romantic-comedy starring Vanessa Williams and Eartha Kitt, in her final screen appearance, as well as the cult phenomenon Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth, based on the final screenplay by the legendary science-fiction author, which is ranked on IMDB as one of the top sci-fi films of all time. He has also taught comedy directing at the LA Film School, and commercial production at Columbia College Hollywood. In 2011/12 he wrote several popular IOS platform games for TinyCo, and in 2012/13 directed three movies back-to-back for legendary micro-studio The Asylum, most notably the historical/horror mashup Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies. More recently he co-wrote, produced and directed the Halloween-themed home invasion thriller, Mischief Night. He also directed a popular Lifetime thriller A Father’s Secret, a hugely successful sequel to I Spit On Your Grave, and a bawdy new comedy, Misfits.
Eric D. Wilkinson (Producer, Story Co-Writer) has enjoyed twenty years of entertainment industry work in acquisitions, sales, marketing and producing. He got the “movie bug” working at Hometown Video in New Jersey back in the late 1980s, eventually going to work for their distributor Schwartz Brothers and ultimately, Valley Media as the Brand Manager for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. When Valley Media relocated to California, Eric took a position at NY-based indie studio Arrow Entertainment, where he relaunched their video division and oversaw marketing campaigns for Dog Run, Jump starring Amanda Peet and James LeGros, The Autumn Heart, Under the Skin, Homage (starring Frank Whaley & Blythe Danner) and My Life’s in Turnaround.
After only nine months at Arrow, Eric was hired away by Metro Goldwyn Mayer where he served five years as a Regional Sales Manager. After MGM was sold, Eric was retained by Sony Pictures, but was eventually recruited by Anchor Bay Entertainment, becoming their Eastern Regional Director of Sales. After three years there, Eric took an opportunity to run Kino Lorber’s Home Entertainment division as their VP of Sales and Distribution. While at Kino Lorber, he launched their successful label Horizon Movies. He currently oversees acquisitions and sales at MVD Entertainment Group, and recently launched and Executive Produces the “MVD Rewind Collection”, a label with jam-packed special edition collectors sets featuring some of the most entertaining “B” movies of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. In 2005, Eric began a successful career as a producer of independent films.
Along with his longtime collaborator and producing partner Richard Schenkman, they optioned the rights to what would be Eric D. Wilkinson’s first film as a producer, The Man From Earth. Armed with a strong script by legendary science fiction writer / author Jerome Bixby (“Star Trek”, “The Twilight Zone”, Fantastic Voyage), Wilkinson and Schenkman were able to assemble an amazing cast that included Tony Todd, John Billingsley, David Lee Smith, Ellen Crawford, Richard Riehle, and William Katt, despite the film’s modest budget.
Eric followed up The Man From Earth as an Associate Producer on both iMurders and the psychological thriller The Quiet Ones, and served as Co-Producer on the horror-comedy-spoof Paranormal Movie starring. Eric’s other producing credits include Do Not Disturb (as Executive Producer), Bad Parents (as Consulting Producer), a black comedy, Sparks (as Producer), a comic-book-based action thriller, the comedy-spoof Midnight Show (as Executive Producer), The Unwanted (as Executive Producer), a suspense-thriller, Subterranea (as Producer), the horror-thriller Mischief Night (as Co-Writer (story) and Producer… reteaming with The Man From Earth producing partner Richard Schenkman and Paranormal Movie producing partner Jesse Baget,. The Man From Earth: Holocene (as Co-Writer (story) and Producer) marks not only a decade of producing independent films but is also one of the most anticipated movies of his career. Eric Currently resides in New Jersey with his wife and two children Logan and Jeremy. When he’s not acquiring, selling, marketing or producing movies, he spends what’s left of his free time watching them.
Emerson Bixby (Executive Producer, Co-Writer) began writing in the '80's, and has since penned over a hundred screenplays, both on spec and on assignment. His films include Bikini Island, Last Dance, and the Malcolm McDowell-starring psychological thriller Disturbed.
Bixby's producing credits include the mocumentary Welcome to Hollywood, the horror drama Lisl and the Lorlok, and Jerome Bixby's The Man From Earth. Bixby and his father, Jerome Bixby, collaborated on several stories and screenplays intended as sequels to Jerome's 1966 sci-fi classic, Fantastic Voyage.
All of Jerome and Emerson's proposed sequels have since been purchased by 20th Century Fox, for the upcoming James Cameron remake, which Bixby will co-produce. Bixby's production company, Falling Sky Entertainment, currently has three projects in the works; the comedy-thriller Murder for Dummies, INRI, a feature based on Bixby's short film of the same name spoofing the crucifixion, and Judgment, a thriller based upon a story by Jared Phillips and starring Nicholas Brendon of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" fame, which will begin filming in 2018.
Bixby lives in Hemet, California, with his wife Amy and their two children, where he is currently scripting an ultra-violent Western trilogy which he began in 2012. In addition to filmmaking, Bixby also co-owns the Historic Hemet Theater, one of the oldest theaters in North America, which shows classic, foreign and independent films.
MARK PELLINGTON is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles. A native of Baltimore, MD, he attended the University of Virginia, receiving a B.A. in Rhetoric in 1984. Upon graduation, he joined MTV’s award-winning On-Air Promotions Department, where he created short conceptual spots, editing original footage with found sound and images. This groundbreaking work in collage and sound/image/text juxtaposition became the primary focus of Pellington’s early work. While at MTV, he branched out as a freelance music video director shooting clips for Information Society, Malcolm McLaren, and De La Soul.
He also ventured into the art world, collaborating on text image pieces with New York gallery artist Jenny Holzer and William Burroughs.In 1988, Pellington developed an idea for a non-linear collage program. Created in partnership with MTV Europe producer/director Jon Klein, Buzz was an ambitious 13-part global series commissioned by MTV and channel 4 (UK). Hailed by critics as progressive adventurous television, it was the culmination of Pellington’s aesthetic and MTV career.
Upon completing Buzz, Mark refined his unique personal vision through a series of TV and video projects. He is internationally recognized as one of the world’s premiere music video directors. His video for Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” is one of the most popular in history, as well as one of the most honored. It earned him Best Director at the 1992 Billboard Video Music Awards, and picked up four 1993 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Director and Video of the Year. His videos for such noted rock, pop, and rap performers as U2, Bruce Springsteen, Public Enemy and Alice in Chains form a prolific and often imitated body of work. A piece for INXS, entitled “Beautiful Girl,” is a provocative visual essay on the female body that garnered a Grammy nomination. With his video for the Jungle Brothers’ “I Get A Kick Out Of You,” Pellington joined Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, and Jonathan Demme as one of the elite group of directors chosen for Red, Hot & Blue, a landmark AIDS special shown on ABC.
Mark brought his media manipulation techniques to stadiums around the world when he helped create the multi-screen image environment for U2’s highly acclaimed “Zoo TV” tour. He also served as creative director on an experimental multi-media project for the Spanish exhibition at World Expo ‘92 in Seville, Spain. “The Memory Palace” was a five-screen live-action/film evocation of cyberspace made in collaboration with science fiction writer William Gibson, and musicians Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel.Outside of the music world, Pellington developed his eye for documentary and narrative. Words In Your Face, a half-hour film he created for PBS’s prestigious series Alive From Off Center, anticipated the current appeal of spoken word poetry. A half-hour television poem, Words featured John Leguizamo, KRS-ONE and Henry Rollins. He also wrapped Red Hot & Dance and collaborated with Obie-award winning director David Gordon and music producer Hal Willner on a half-hour live action cartoon called “Punch and Judy Get Divorced” for PBS.
In 1993 he created his most personal work to date, a 30-minute film for PBS, called Father’s Daze, in which he came to terms with his father’s suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. This intense, impressionistic diary film was screened at the Berlin, Montreal and Rotterdam Film Festivals and was praised by critics worldwide. The United States of Poetry was a five-part series for PBS that took a year-and-a-half to complete. In the program, Pellington takes the viewer on a cross-country journey through end-of-the-century America, guided by 72 poets and spoken word artists. A kaleidoscopic portrait of America, the series captured the moment and will last as an artifact of a turbulent but hopeful time.
In 1997, Pellington’s feature film debut, Going All the Way, bowed at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Gramercy Pictures. Starring Ben Affleck and Jeremy Davies, the movie received good reviews and firmly planted Mark on the Hollywood radar. Next, he directed Destination Anywhere, an experimental short film for MTV, starring Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Bon Jovi and Kevin Bacon. That fall, he directed James Earl Jones in an episode of the dramatic television series Homicide.
Pellington helmed his second feature film, Arlington Road, starring Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins. Screen Gems released the controversial political thriller in the summer of 1999. The movie established Mark’s ability to work with A-list actors and saw his unique creative vision expand. Following the release of Arlington Road, Pellington was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Music Video Producers’ Association. He stayed true to his documentary and experimental roots when he directed Of Time and Memory, an impressionistic adaptation of Don Snyder’s novel. The half hour lyrical documentary depicts Snyder’s struggle to reconstruct the identity of his mother, who died after his birth. The film aired on the Independent Film Channel in the spring of 2002. Pellington’s third feature, the cult favorite The Mothman Prophecies, arrived in the winter of 2002.
A cerebral, paranormal thriller, Mothman starred Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Alan Bates and Debra Messing. It proved that Mark was adept at handling complex set pieces and special effects. That fall, he directed “Lonesome Day”, Bruce Springsteen’s premiere video from his acclaimed album, The Rising. Other video highlights included clips for The Flaming Lips, Nine Inch Nails, Kings of Leon and Dave Matthews.
In the spring of 2003, Mark moved in to the world of network television. He directed the pilot episode of CBS’ Cold Case, a one-hour series Executive Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. He served as a Consulting Producer overseeing the visual look of the top rated show for 4 years. A highlight was the January ’06 episode entitled “8 Years” in which Cold Case producers were able to license nine Bruce Springsteen songs. Springsteen very rarely licenses his music and his relationship with Mark was an integral part of his decision.In 2005, Pellington’s video for the Foo Fighters’ “Best of You” was nominated for two prestigious awards, Best Rock Video and Best Editing, at the MTV Music Awards.
That year Pellington also Executive Produced a documentary called Our Town by director Scott Kennedy. It was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. He continued to work commercially, shooting campaigns for Subaru, Lowe’s, Honda and Cingular – the latter a collaboration with Savion Glover. In March of ’06, Mark traveled to South America to direct the U2 3D concert film. A longtime
collaborator with Bono and U2, Pellington and co-director, Catherine Owens, broke new cinematic ground for both cameras and technology. Nine HD cameras were used to bring the visual spectacle to life. The film was released in 3D in theaters and IMAX in the spring of ‘08. 2007 included the video for The Fray’s: ‘’How To Save A Life’’ which was awarded Adult Contemporary Video of the Year by the MVPA. The summer of ‘07 saw Pellington’s fourth feature “Henry Poole is Here”. A personal uplifting story about hope and faith the film stars Luke Wilson, Rahda Mitchell, and Adriana Barraza. The film by Lakeshore Entertainment premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Overture Films in the Fall of 08’.
In early 2009 Pellington directed the CBS pilot BACK, an intense mystery featuring Skeet Ulrich as a man returning home after disappearing in the tragedy of 9-11. Pellington further established his legacy with a trio of artistic videos, for indie-rock sensation Alpha Rev, Grammy-nominated mainstay Moby, and Grammy winners The Fray. His video “Skyscraper” for Demi Lovato won the MTV award for Best Video With A Message in 2012. Other award winning videos for Kid Rock and Jason Mraz further cemented his reputation as a master stylist.
Mark’s 5th feature film was “I Melt With You,” starring Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven, Rob Lowe, and Christian Mckay as four friends who make a life-altering pact in college and are forced to confront it 25 years later. This controversial film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and Magnolia Pictures released the film in December 2011. In 2012, he directed the pilot “Red Widow” starring Radha Mitchell and written by Melissa Rosenberg about one woman’s dangerous journey into the world of organized crime. The show aired on ABC in March 2013. Also in Fall 2012, NBC and Bruckheimer TV again teamed with Pellington to produce the pilot “Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives” written by Sasha Penn.
Pellington continued his passion in directing compelling music videos, including directing grammy-nominated band Silversun Pickups for their single “Nightlight”, hard rock band Three Days Grace for their single “Human Race”, and an up and coming Norwegian pop talent MIIA for her international hit “Dynasty”.
Pellington began 2016 with the start of his sixth feature film, THE LAST WORD starring Shirley MacLaine and Amanda Seyfried. The Last Word was produced by Pellington and Myriad Pictures and distributed by Bleecker Street in early 2017. The year ended shooting the feature film NOSTALGIA, a meditative drama written by Alex Ross Perry, and starring Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn, Nick Offerman,Catherine Keener, James LeGros and Bruce Dern. The film was released on February 16th, 2018.
In early 2018, Pellington returned to NBC to direct THE ENEMY WITHIN, a pilot starring Jennifer Carpenter and Morris Chestnut, which was picked up for the fall season. He also shot an 11-minute music film for the Grammy Award-winning band Imagine Dragons new single “Next to Me,” and a branded content short film featuring the NFL’s Tom Brady for Aston Martin. Pellington teamed up again with pop superstar Demi Lovato to direct the music video for her song “Tell Me You Love Me.” He just wrapped production in Miami on a music video for Damian Marley.
Leaning again into his love of the experimental, Pellington directed an art film called “Fly” for Minnesota noise masters LOW, as well as a series of commercials for clients including ITVS.