Crew
Jan Wilson - Writer, Director, Producer
Jan Wilson is a Los Angeles-based screenwriter. She was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She knew she was destined to be a writer since the third grade when she wrote her first book, "Bert the Monkey." It was a great success with her teacher, who told her he was impressed that her story had "a beginning, a middle, and an end." She wasn't sure what that meant but she could tell it was a good thing. So from as early as the third grade she was instinctively writing in a three-act structure. She was hooked for life, and she's been a writer ever since. She was always a movie nut, so in high school it seemed natural to turn her attention to screenwriting.
After high school she went to college in London before returning to America to get her Bachelor's Degree in psychology with a heavy concentration in parapsychology (ESP, ghosts, paranormal phenomena). Having a degree in psychology turned out to be an excellent tool for writing layered, realistic characters.
Before moving to Los Angeles she got another case of wanderlust and spent a summer in Moscow teaching English to unemployed Russian adults in an attempt to make them more employable in the tough Russian job market.
In 2012 she was interviewed by Indie Source Magazine. Read the article here.
Jan is head of Happy Frog Films, LLC which will be producing The Mercy List in partnership with Escargo Productions. You can view Jan's other film projects on her website, www.HappyFrogFilms.com, LLC.
So who says she can write?
After high school she went to college in London before returning to America to get her Bachelor's Degree in psychology with a heavy concentration in parapsychology (ESP, ghosts, paranormal phenomena). Having a degree in psychology turned out to be an excellent tool for writing layered, realistic characters.
Before moving to Los Angeles she got another case of wanderlust and spent a summer in Moscow teaching English to unemployed Russian adults in an attempt to make them more employable in the tough Russian job market.
In 2012 she was interviewed by Indie Source Magazine. Read the article here.
Jan is head of Happy Frog Films, LLC which will be producing The Mercy List in partnership with Escargo Productions. You can view Jan's other film projects on her website, www.HappyFrogFilms.com, LLC.
So who says she can write?
- In 2000 Jan was a semifinalist in the Nicholl Fellowship (the top 3% of 4225 entrants) with 900 Days.
- Also in 2000 she was a semifinalist in the Austin Heart of Film screenwriting contest with 900 Days.
- In 2004 she was a Top Ten Finalist in Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope screenwriting contest (out of over 2000 entrants) with 900 Days. She got her first mention in Variety! Read the article in Variety.
- In 2006 she was a quarterfinalist in the AAA screenwriting contest (sponsored by Creative Screenwriting magazine) with her script Milo.
Scarlet Karimian - Producer
Scarlet Karimian owes her life in America to her dad's deep love of films and a hungry Iranian cat.
Back when her dad was living in Iran, most films were banned, and this ban was strictly enforced. But his desire to watch these films refused to die, and he was soon running a booming black-market film business out of his home. People from all over would seek him out for his huge rental collection. He was even jailed when officials discovered his pseudo-Blockbuster operation.
Rewind a bit...when Mr. Karimian was a baby he was premature, and very tiny. His parents had so little money that they used a shoebox as a crib. One day he was in his little box by the window and a neighborhood cat approached the box. A neighbor observed this and was frightened because it seemed the cat was going to eat the premie baby! He scared the cat off, thus saving the baby's life. Decades later this baby - Mr. Karimian - was in jail for his illicit movie renting business. In a wonderful plot twist, it turns out that the warden of this jail was in fact the neighbor who had chased off the hungry cat. He realized who Mr. Karimian was, felt responsible for his life, and arranged to have him released.
Other Iranians also refused to go along with the movie ban, thus his rental business was very profitable. This financial boost is what enabled him and family, including baby Scarlet, to move to America. Scarlet inherited her father’s passion for movies, which eventually led to her enrolling in UCLA where she studied Film & Television. She has experience in casting, and worked in development at Tobey Maguire’s production company, Maguire Entertainment. Scarlet is president of Escargo Productions. The Mercy List will be co-produced with Escargo Productions.
Back when her dad was living in Iran, most films were banned, and this ban was strictly enforced. But his desire to watch these films refused to die, and he was soon running a booming black-market film business out of his home. People from all over would seek him out for his huge rental collection. He was even jailed when officials discovered his pseudo-Blockbuster operation.
Rewind a bit...when Mr. Karimian was a baby he was premature, and very tiny. His parents had so little money that they used a shoebox as a crib. One day he was in his little box by the window and a neighborhood cat approached the box. A neighbor observed this and was frightened because it seemed the cat was going to eat the premie baby! He scared the cat off, thus saving the baby's life. Decades later this baby - Mr. Karimian - was in jail for his illicit movie renting business. In a wonderful plot twist, it turns out that the warden of this jail was in fact the neighbor who had chased off the hungry cat. He realized who Mr. Karimian was, felt responsible for his life, and arranged to have him released.
Other Iranians also refused to go along with the movie ban, thus his rental business was very profitable. This financial boost is what enabled him and family, including baby Scarlet, to move to America. Scarlet inherited her father’s passion for movies, which eventually led to her enrolling in UCLA where she studied Film & Television. She has experience in casting, and worked in development at Tobey Maguire’s production company, Maguire Entertainment. Scarlet is president of Escargo Productions. The Mercy List will be co-produced with Escargo Productions.
Scott Uhlfelder - Cinematographer
An LA transplant, Scott Uhlfelder found his passion for cinematography while shooting skateboarding videos on the streets of Miami. He further refined his talents at the University of Central Florida where he was one of the most sought after directors of photography among his peers. It was in school and on set where Scott was able to develop his natural style of shooting. In the last few years his work has appeared on screen at The LA Film Festival, AFI Fest, SXSW, Slamdance, and Sundance, for which he has received high commendations for his work such as Douchebag and The Attic Door.
To view Scott's reel click here.
To view Scott's reel click here.
Rami Rank - Unit Production Manager
Rami’s career began as the production coordinator on the independent feature Unbeatable Harold starring Dylan McDermott and Henry Winkler. For the next five years he continued to work as a production coordinator and manager on independent films and television shows such as Help Me Help You, Swingtown and most notably, Showtime’s hit series Dexter.
Eventually Universal asked Rami to join their team that oversaw the studio back lot and stages. During his tenure at Universal, his duties expanded as he helped develop Universal’s Virtual Production business and took over its management. In this capacity he worked to further the capabilities of real time visual effects, allowing productions to complete their VFX shots in camera, rather than wait weeks or month for them to be completed in a traditional fashion.
Since departing Universal, Rami has continued to production manage, most recently on Original Production’s series, Barry’d Treasure – a spinoff of the A&E hit Storage Wars. Rami has extensive experience in the television, feature and reality worlds. He has shot both in and out of California and understands how to balance the hunt for rich tax incentives against the cost of shooting on distant location. Rami holds a B.S. in Film and Television Production from Boston University, and an MBA from Arizona State.
Cameron Teisher - Editor
Cameron is an Emmy-nominated editor who has worked on such shows as Tori Spelling's Tori and Dean: Inn Love, Miss Advised, and The Rachel Zoe Project, as well as the Chaz Bono documentary Becoming Chaz, for which he received an Emmy nomination.
Watch part one of Becoming Chaz below.
Watch part one of Becoming Chaz below.
Adam Gorgoni - Composer
A native of New York City and the son of a studio musician, film composer Adam Gorgoni's scoring credits include Sundance favorite Starting Out in the Evening, Karen Moncrieff's Blue Car and The Dead Girl which was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards in 2006 including Best Picture and won the Grand Prize at the Deauville Film Festival, the hit comedy Waiting for Lions Gate Films, the HBO documentary I Knew It Was You, and many others. Television work includes three season of USA Network's Necessary Roughness, the critically acclaimed CW series Aliens in America, Lorne Michaels' ABC comedy Sons and Daughters as well as shows for NBC, Disney, Discovery Channel, Bravo and National Geographic among others.
Please view the reel below. It shows clips from movies Adam has scored. These clips were chosen because the music will be similar in tone to the music Adam will compose in The Mercy List.
Please view the reel below. It shows clips from movies Adam has scored. These clips were chosen because the music will be similar in tone to the music Adam will compose in The Mercy List.
Chelsey Hemstreet - Costume Designer
From an early age Chelsey knew her future was in the world of fashion. When other girls were playing with conventional toys she was begging her mother to take her to the local department store to make outfits! As she grew older she developed a strong interest in and desire to learn about many different eras of fashion history. When her college days rolled around Chelsey chose to major in fashion design at Woodbury University. After graduation she went to work as a design assistant for a sportswear company, but that longing to delve into the world of costume design was always in the back of her mind!
A chance encounter with a producer/director gave Chelsey her big chance. He was making his pet project film and needed people who were willing to contribute their talents for a product they believed in as opposed to a big paycheck! He took a chance on a girl with no experience but a huge amount of determination. After this project Chelsey went on to work as a wardrobe assistant on larger projects including feature and short films and television commercials.
The fashion industry then came calling again. From 2004-2010 she worked in design and product development for an industry leading screen printing company working on the Disney accounts. In the fall of 2010 Chelsey's love and passion for costume design finally won out and she decided to leave her position in fashion and give costume a second shot! Since returning she has worked on a number of feature and short films, web series, commercials and nabbed a position at NBC/Universal in costume archiving. In 2011 she was granted admission into the Costume Designers Guild.
Check out Chelsey's costume design website.
A chance encounter with a producer/director gave Chelsey her big chance. He was making his pet project film and needed people who were willing to contribute their talents for a product they believed in as opposed to a big paycheck! He took a chance on a girl with no experience but a huge amount of determination. After this project Chelsey went on to work as a wardrobe assistant on larger projects including feature and short films and television commercials.
The fashion industry then came calling again. From 2004-2010 she worked in design and product development for an industry leading screen printing company working on the Disney accounts. In the fall of 2010 Chelsey's love and passion for costume design finally won out and she decided to leave her position in fashion and give costume a second shot! Since returning she has worked on a number of feature and short films, web series, commercials and nabbed a position at NBC/Universal in costume archiving. In 2011 she was granted admission into the Costume Designers Guild.
Check out Chelsey's costume design website.
A PDF of this information can be downloaded on the "Downloads" page.
