The Biola Media Conference is proud to announce actor, producer, director and author, SEAN ASTIN, as the closing speaker on Saturday, April 30th at the renowned CBS Studio Center lot.

Having performed in over 70 films in the past 25 years, Astin was immortalized as “Mikey” in the 1980’s classic, The Goonies, inspired audiences as the working class dreamer in Rudy, and will forever be remembered as the brave and loyal Samwise Gamgee in the The Lord of the Rings trilogy. 

     "Being around Sean Astin causes you to see the possible in the impossible.           As he was as Samwise Gamgee and Rudy is the way he lives in real life. Strong         will, faith, passion and integrity to accomplish his goals and dreams."                                                              -- Ned Lott, Producing partner with Sean Astin                                                                   and Biola Studio Task Force member          

Astin’s roles behind the camera have earned him recognition as director and producer on the Academy Award Nominated live action short film, Kangaroo Court. While his acting roles have found substantial audiences in films such as: 50 First Dates, Click, Memphis Belle, Courage Under Fire, and Encino Man – with television appearances that have included: 24, Law & Order, My Name Is Earl and Monk.

2011 BMC SPEAKER ROSTER

Astin joins keynote speaker, Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine, along with an all-star roster for the 2011 Biola Media Conference that includes:

• Tom Halleen - Senior Vice President, AMC
• DeVon Franklin - Vice President of Production, Columbia Pictures
• Tim Naylor - Visual Effects Technical Director, Transformers, Pirates of Caribbean
• Bill Marsilli - Screenwriter for the Jerry Bruckheimer film, Déjà Vu
• Scott Smith - Visual Effects, Industrial, Light and Magic
• Lisa Blum - Talent manager and producer, Scary Movie
• Bobette Buster - World-renowned Hollywood Story and Economics lecturer
• Bobby Downes - Producer, Like Dandelion Dust starring Mira Sorvino
• Thomas Ethan Harris - Co-Founder of the LA Film Festival
• Susana Zepeda - Production executive, building film & TV slates for major studios
• Arthur Anderson - Co-producer of Mission Impossible III, 1st AD on Faceoff          • Phil Cooke - BMC host and founder of Cooke Pictures
• Dan Rupple - Former supervising producer for The Late Show, Price is Right
• Matt Meeks - Social media strategist for the entertainment industries
• Bob Kuns and Charlie Matz - The Veracity Project, Church Media specialists
• Adam Collis - Director’s Perspective Acting Studio, director of Fox’s Sunset Strip   • Travis Mann - Entertainment Law, Business Affairs, Infinity Media

The BMC welcomes two leading FX artists who share a wide variety of skill sets and experiences from virtual reality to high-end visual effects, Scott Smith and Tim Naylor.  Tim just completed Rango as a Creature Technical Director at ILM and prior to that was Creature Supervisor on Transformers and Pirates of the Carribean 2. Scott has worked as Digital Compositor, Rotoscoper and Digital Painter on films such as Evan Almighty, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3 and Transformers.

2011 BMC WORKSHOPS

PITCHING AND SELLING YOUR PROJECTS /// HOLLYWOOD ECONOMICS 101 /// MAKING IT REAL FOR THE ACTOR /// OFF-THE-SHELF VISUAL EFFECTS /// ANATOMY OF A SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN /// BRINGING FILMS OF FAITH TO SCREEN /// NAVIGATING THE FILM FESTIVAL WORLD /// PLOT AND SOUL /// and more…

MAIN STAGE SPEAKERS:

AMC VP of Programing and Columbia Pictures VP of Production

Tom Halleen,  AMC Senior Vice President
Senior VP of programming and acquisition for AMC, Tom Halleen was a key team member responsible for the launch of the Emmy winning Mad Men and Breaking Bad series, and the record breaking miniseries, Broken Trail and The Walking Dead.

DeVon Franklin, VP of Production, Columbia Pictures
As VP of Production for Columbia Pictures, DeVon Franklin oversaw such films as Karate Kid, Pursuit of Happyness and Not Easily Broken. DeVon's new book,  Produced by Faith, is about maintaining your faith while advancing in your career.

REGISTER NOW!
 

BEYOND DIGITAL: What Matters Now
The entertainment and media industries can agree on one thing: Disruption has become the “new normal.”  As a result, at this year’s BMC, we’re focused on priorities for the future and defining success in the new entertainment economy.   The world has gone digital, but in that world, what matters now?

The Biola Media Conference brings together top industry leaders who offer their expertise from the trenches and forecast their vision for future opportunities in media.  Leading voices, fresh vision...DON'T MISS IT!

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The Biola Media Conference has numerous sponsorship opportunities available through FrontGate Media. CLICK HERE for a complete list of sponsorship options and secure your sponsorship slots...while they last.

       For more information or to REGISTER ONLINE, visit BiolaMedia.com.                $150 General Admission from Feb. 1st – April 24th; and $180 at the door.          Lunch and coffee bar provided.