DVD Producers 2001 - Panelist Bios

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DVD Producers 2001 - Panelist Bios

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Bill Hunt studied film at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and began his career as a producer and director of industrial and educational video in Minneapolis. There he developed projects for 3M, Texaco, the NFL and the Minnesota Twins among other clients. After working behind-the-scenes in Hollywood, Hunt started The Digital Bits in 1997, during the very early days of DVD, with the goal of bringing together the Hollywood DVD community and movie fans from around the world, to promote the growth of the format. Since that time, The Digital Bits has become one of the leading DVD news and information resources on the Internet, serving more than 1.5 million pages a month to its readers. In addition to editing The Digital Bits, Hunt is also the Inside DVD Contributing Editor to Widescreen Review magazine, and is a frequent contributor to Video Store magazine.

Alita Holly began working in DVD in 1998, when she became the senior DVD consultant for Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. While there, she was a major force in the creative production of many special edition DVDs, including Ghostbusters, Men in Black and Bad Boys. Under the umbrella of her company Organa West, Holly is now an independent producer and has continued to produce major special editions for various studios, including New Line's Frequency and Thirteen Days. She is currently working on MADE for Artisan and Rush Hour 2 for New Line. See www.organawest.com for more information.

J. M. Kenny started his career in Hollywood working behind-the-scenes on such films as Casper, The Flintstones, Jerry Maguire, Jurassic Park and Schindler's List. Through his company Two Dog Productions, Kenny produced over 40 DVD titles, including The Blues Brothers, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and The Mummy (1999). He has won a number of awards for his work, including Best Audio Commentary for The Perfect Storm and Best Original Documentary for The Omen. Kenny is currently a member of the Television Production Division at New Wave Entertainment, which produces DVD supplemental materials for a variety of studios. His most recent DVD work includes the new Dogma: Special Edition and the upcoming Willy Wonka: 30th Anniversary Edition.

Charles de Lauzirika is a graduate of the USC School of Cinema-Television (Production). Lauzirika has worked in a variety of capacities, ranging from development to post-production, for such companies as Lucasfilm Ltd., Silver Pictures, Lightstorm Entertainment and Scott Free. He has also written and directed several commercials, short films and music videos. While at Scott Free, director Ridley Scott tapped Lauzirika to be in charge of the Alien: 20th Anniversary Edition DVD. That led to further DVD producing duties on Gladiator, The Cell and the upcoming Hannibal and Legend discs. Lauzirika is currently slated to produce several DVDs throughout 2002, including the long-awaited Blade Runner: Special Edition.

Van Ling is a graduate of USC's film school. While serving as Head of Production for Lightstorm Entertainment, Ling played a significant role in the design and creation of the visual effects on such films as The Abyss and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. As Creative Director, Designer and Visual Effects Supervisor for Banned from the Ranch Entertainment, Ling went on to create digital graphics for such films as Twister and Starship Troopers, as well as effects shots for Titanic, Doctor Dolittle and other films. Ling currently works as a freelance consultant, visual effects supervisor, producer and digital artist. He recently created the new THX trailer that can be seen in theatres around the world, and has produced several high-profile DVDs, including The Abyss, Independence Day, The Ultimate T2 and the upcoming Terminator: Special Edition and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

David Prior got his start in Hollywood as a child actor and eventually went on to a successful career behind the camera, including work as a writer, visual effects technician and second unit director. Prior produced his first DVD in 1999, with the cult favorite Ravenous. His next project was the highly successful Fight Club two-disc DVD, which nabbed the #1 spot on Entertainment Weekly's "50 Best DVD's Ever Made". This was followed by The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Titus and The Cell. Prior's most recent DVDs include Big Trouble in Little China and the Die Hard: Ultimate Collection. He is currently working on special editions of two of the biggest films of the summer, Tim Burton's Planet of The Apes and Pearl Harbor.

Mark Rance is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, who studied at MIT. While working at Criterion, Rance produced some 21 laserdisc special editions, including The Game, Hardboiled, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, This is Spinal Tap and The Silence of the Lambs (many of which were later released on DVD). He later became the exclusive DVD producer for New Line's Platinum Series, where his work included Boogie Nights, Spawn, Lost in Space, Magnolia, Dark City, Blade, The Nightmare on Elm Street box set, both Austin Powers titles and the re-mastered Se7en. Rance recently completed the special editions of Cast Away and Unbreakable. His company, Three Legged Cat, has produced over 40 DVDs and is currently working on box sets of the John Waters films and the Twin Peaks TV series.

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