Where
Philip Chosky TheatreCarnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Driving Directions
Contact
Sara KantnerSteeltown Entertainment Project
412-251-0890
info@steeltown.org
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
MODERATED BY JAMIE WIDDOES
James Widdoes has been one of the leading directors of TV sitcoms since the late ‘90s, contributing to some of the most successful shows during that time. His career began acting in comedies such as Animal House and its spin-off Delta House. In 1998, he moved behind the scenes as director of some of television’s most successful sitcoms including Two And A Half Men, 8 Simple Rules, The King Of Queens and Mom, and also as producer of 8 Simple Rules and The Bill Engvall Show. Collectively, the hundreds of episodes of television Jamie has directed have generated billions in revenues for its production companies and studios. Jamie has also done innovative work in new media, producing and directing “4 to 9ers”, a web series with millions of viewers funded by Subway as part of the new “branded content” paradigm.
Jamie first became part of Steeltown in 2003 when he crashed a “mother’s lunch” at the University of Pittsburgh which his mother Babs Widdoes, the founder of the Three Rivers Arts Festivals, was attended with other mothers whose children were leaders in the entertainment industry. A longtime Steeltown adviser, Jamie is planning on directing the short “Savsies” which came out of the Steeltown Film Factory with comedian Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly) in 2016.
PANELISTS INCLUDE:
One of the largest independent gaming studios in the U.S., Schell Games’ expertise ranges from mobile and virtual reality games to interactive installations and theme park attractions. They have won numerous awards for work as diverse as apps for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood to the prestigious 2016 Vision Inspire Award for the virtual reality game, “I Expect You to Die".
Emmy Award-winning producer Ellen Doherty began her career in children’s television on the show “Reading Rainbow.” Before joining The Fred Rogers Company, Ellen was most recently the executive producer of the PBS KIDS show “Cyberchase,” where she also drove the show’s digital content. Ellen now oversees development and production of The Fred Rogers Company’s children’s programming, including “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Peg + Cat” and “Odd Squad.”
These shows garnered 15 nominations and 6 wins for the 2016 Daytime Emmy Awards. “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” has had more than 480 million video streams in the past 12 months and is now seen in over 100 countries.
“Peg + Cat” and “Odd Squad” were recently selected by the White House to support early STEM learning through Television, Media, and Technology.
MICHAEL KILLEN & KATHY DZIUBEK // CO-FOUNDERS // ANIMAL MEDIA
Animal Media is a Pittsburgh-based production company that has produced award winning work seen across the nation and the world. Animal has produced the upcoming ABC pilot Downward Dog and many award films including the Sundance Grand Jury Award-Winner Blood Brother and Almost Unholy coming to theaters in May 2016.
JAMES PASTORIOUS // CO-FOUNDER // SAVAGE VFX
Savage Visual Effects has done stunning visual effects for productions such as House of Cards, The Social Network, The Fault In Our Stars and Twilight. A Pittsburgh native and CMU graduate, James runs the Pittsburgh office while his partner works in Los Angeles. His credits as visual special effects supervisor also include the films Lucy, Gone Girl, Foxcatcher and Her to name a few.
STEVE TOLIN // OWNER & OPERATOR // TOLIN FX
A West Virginia native, Steve thought about going to New York or L.A. before his business here in Pittsburgh allowed him to work on such projects as The Outsiders, Jack Reacher and The Dark Knight Rises. The company also does fabrications and specialized design including recently making reproduction of a C-130 for Lockeed Martin, pieces of “Noah’s Ark” for a national project out of Kentucky and a fat suit for CMU’s production of The Full Monty. Steve is also the inventor of Squibb Fx, a new way to safely explode blood in movies and on stage.