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Company
Summary |
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| Gaston
Pictures Entertainment is an award-winning, full-service
production company specializing in original feature films and
television programming. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gaston Pictures also
produces music videos and commercials featuring local talent. Since its
inception in 2005, this company has expanded and diversified its staff
and specialists to include an experienced team of local writers,
producers, directors, actors, composers, and technicians. In addition
to creating their own original works, Gaston Pictures also
provides a wide range of creative development, production, and
distribution services to other companies and organizations with film
and television projects. |
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As a strong voice in independent
cinema, Gaston Pictures
is more than just a creative force – it’s an
impassioned production outfit characterized equally by innovation,
integrity, and business acumen. Gaston
Pictures has the ability to anticipate shifting trends in
a notoriously competitive and fickle industry, while also adapting
flexible strategies to an evolving marketplace.
As of March 2009, and since it’s inception, Gaston Pictures has
developed seven projects under its umbrella, including OpenCam, 2
Minutes Later, and Will
You… Currently, Gaston Pictures has
two feature projects in pre-production – the narrative
feature Socially
Registered, and a documentary, The Future of
Queer Cinema (working
title). |
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Gaston
Pictures’ films have shown in nearly 100 film
festivals throughout the world, generating profits for investors
vis-à-vis diverse distribution mechanisms, including
television broadcast, DVD sales, streaming downloads, and theatrical
screenings.
To date, OpenCam
has generated more than three times its budget in sales. Will
You… is being distributed on DVD (Fun IN Girls’ Shorts II)
as of April 2009 through Frameline; And after a winning-festival-run,
DVD release in North America, and sale to the LOGO Network for US
Broadcast, 2
Minutes Later financially broke-even prior to its upcoming
spring UK DVD release and hitting the #1 slot among industry-leader
TLA’s On-Demand products in the US. |
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| Additionally, within the LGBT
market, Gaston
Pictures produced the first title of its kind to break
into TOP
50 list of IMDB’s world rankings in 2008 upon their US DVD
release of 2
Minutes Later. Gaston
Pictures also garnered critical praise for
production of the #2 Music Video of the year for 2007, and a #1 Music
Video in 2009 on MTV’s LOGO network. |
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View
Our Press Clippings
For
more information:
215.733.0880
Robert@gastonpictures.com
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| Robert
Gaston |
Producer/Writer/Director |
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In 2005 Robert started Gaston
Pictures Entertainment in his hometown of Philadelphia. Since founding
Gaston Pictures, the company has amassed seven successful projects to
its credit. Robert is passionate about utilizing his years of
production experience to create original works that push boundaries and
entertain a broad cross-section of audiences.
Robert got his start in the
entertainment industry working under some of the best producers in the
business. After nine years in Los Angeles, Robert Relocated to the east
coast and began production on his first feature film OpenCam.
"OpenCam sports some
surprisingly high production values, giving all the scenes a slick
polished look. Writer and director Robert Gaston shows a lot of talent
for pulling off a well-executed thriller, constructing some taut scenes
worthy of any big Hollywood production. OpenCam is worth the
ride." (Reviewer rating: 4 out of 5 stars Metro
Weekly)
Robert went on to receive critical
praise for his next feature 2 Minutes
Later. Instinct Magazine gave it four stars.
Logo’s After Ellen raved, “Gaston flips the
usual stereotypes on their heads,” “Suspense, great
characters, terrific acting, a tight story and a lot of really pretty
people exchanging clever dialogue.” PM
Entertainment said,
“2 Minutes Later usher in a time when gay characters can be
themselves and then some. The time has arrived when the boundaries of
sexuality and lifestyle choices have disintegrated before our eyes. The
dimensions of growth and emotional development add to the mosaic of our
culture. With visionary directors like Ron Oliver and Robert Gaston the
film medium will remain an open book rife with opportunities and
alternatives.”
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| Michael
Medico |
Development |
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In
addition to
acting in Socially
Registered, Michael has joined forces with Robert Gaston
to produce Socially
Registered and an upcoming film documentary.
Michael received a BFA from Boston University and attended the British
American Drama Academy. He is also the creator and executive producer
of Hot in Hollywood,
a celebrity driven AIDS benefit. He’s also slated to star in Everything is Going to Be Just
Fine and Low
Grounds, both of which are shooting this year.
His other film credits include - Day
Stripper, Pro-Choice,
Life’s
too Good, Queer
Eye for the Homeless Guy, and Grace. His
television credits include - House,
The New
Adventures of Old Christine, Threshold, Frasier, Will and Grace, Sex and the City, Law & Order: SVU,
Roswell,
Angel,
Good Morning
Miami, and The
Young and the Restless. He also has written and directed
the shorts Bitch.
and Power Play
which have both been receiving attention on the festival
circuit.
He has 6 other digital projects he will direct presently in development.
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| Megan
Mascena Gaspar |
Post Production |
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Since her
days lugging around a twenty-pound video camera at Emerson College,
Megan has spent her career working in all aspects of film and
television production. After a series of positions producing content
for major networks, Megan found her niche as a post- production
specialist. Some of her TV credits include Mistresses, Miss Guided,
Journeyman, Windfall and JAG.
Megan first teamed up with her former Emerson classmate Robert Gaston to
produce the independent films 2 Minutes Later and Will You…
Megan is an active member of the Producer's Guild of America and the
community organization, Friends of Franklin. Currently residing in Los
Angeles, Megan self-identifies as “a Philly Girl from the
Jersey side.” She divides her time between coasts working as
an Associate Producer on one-hour dramas and as a Producer for Gaston Pictures Entertainment.
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| Kurt
Leitner |
Line
Producer |
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Born in Wilmington, DE, Kurt has
been involved in the Arts & Entertainment world for almost 20
years. Working in film, television & theatre throughout the
years has given him an amazing perspective in life. Kurt attended the
prestigious NYU film school in New York City where several of his
student films are now included in the NYU Student Archive / Hall of
Fame.
In Hollywood, Kurt has had the great fortune of working with
Academy-Award winning filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese (The
Departed), Peter Weir (Dead
Poets Society), Dante Ferretti (The
Aviator), Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge). He
has even gone toe-to-toe with
the sly Sylvester Stallone in Rocky
V! On television, Kurt has won
awards for his commercials for Tommy Hilfiger, Nokia & Icehouse
Beer. He also had the honor of being selected by legendary horror
director, John Carpenter (Halloween),
to have his
“Sixty-Second Screamer” broadcast on AMC for their
annual MonsterFest.
Kurt’s most recent journey took him on a 21,000 mile
production road trip for the hit series Artland, which can
be seen by
millions on GALLERY HD. Kurt spent 3 months in a 38ft RV, driving from
Key West, FL to Anchorage, AK! Kurt is extremely excited to begin his
next great journey: Socially
Registered. |
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| Jay
Whitney Brown |
Fundraising |
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Jay began his
career as a staff writer for ABC News in Washington, D.C.
where he worked on several news programs, including Ted
Koppel's Nightline.
JWB then joined legendary Broadway and film producer Frederick Brisson
as a development & production executive to bring Alan Jay
Lerner's final musical, Dance
a Little Closer, to the stage at the
Minskoff Theatre. JWB also utilized his Art
History degree from Amherst College, becoming a highly successful
private
dealer in contemporary European art. JWB followed his growing
passion for filmmaking by securing a position at Paramount Pictures
where he worked with renowned producers Mace Neufeld
& Robert Rehme (Patriot
Games, Clear & Present Danger,
Gettysburg) as Senior Production & Development
Executive. The
ensuing two and a half years were spent at Columbia/TriStar, where JWB
was Senior Vice President of director Carl Franklin's Monarch Pictures,
most notably working on Franklin's critically acclaimed Devil in a Blue Dress
with Denzel Washington before the company's move to a
term-deal at 20th Century Fox. JWB then informally realigned with Mace
Neufeld Productions, acting as a development consultant and book scout
based in London for several years, during which time he
worked on The General's
Daughter and The
Sum of all Fears. |
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JWB
served as Executive Vice
President, Production & Development for Idiom Films
& Entertainment where he developed a film with
Thomas Bezucha which later became The
Family Stone
starring Diane
Keaton.
Following Idiom Films, JWB produced the indie feature Zerophilia award
winner at several festivals.
JWB served on a consulting basis as President of Production
& Development at Filmmakers Ltd, a Hong Kong-based film sales
& production company. While there, JWB assembled development
and/or production elements for the upcoming films The Way of the Rat,
with Chuck Russell directing and The
Hummingbird's Daughter, with Luis
Mandoki directing.
During his career Jay has helped bring films into production such as The General's Daughter, Patriot
Games, Clear & Present Danger, and Bless
the Child.
Additional credits include: Flight
of the Intruder, Gettysburg,
Beverly Hils Cop III, and A Midsummer's Night Rave.
Additionally, JWB has been invited to join the Advisory Board
of the International Emerging Talent Film Festival in
Monaco (IETFF). The IETFF focuses exclusively on first-time directors.
The Festival has the informal,
enthusiastic support of HSH Prince Albert, a longtime friend and
college classmate of JWB.
As of June '08, JWB joined the executive team of newly-formed Sure
Crossing Films LLC and Land Run Film Fund LLC as Executive Vice
President of Production & Development on a consulting basis,
helping to raise production finance as well as to further
develop and oversee its' independent films. Simultaneously, JWB is
putting together his
own slate of micro-budget films,
under his own banner, Greentree Pictures. JWB continues to work as an
independent development and financial consultant to various production
companies who need assistance in growth and expansion. |
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| Laurence
Ducceschi |
Contracts/Sales |
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Laurence
Ducceschi began his work in film with Malpaso Productions on Midnight in the Garden of Good
and Evil. Since that time, he has held staff positions in
programming and development at CBS Entertainment and at Fox Television
Studios as a producer/writer on various series and specials for
A&E, AMC, Fox Movie Channel, and Animal Planet. He
has worked as a field producer for NBC
News and The
Today Show and is currently Vice President of Production
for von Zerneck/Sertner Films, a Los Angeles based production
company where recent projects have included, Ambulance Girl, Category 7: The End of the
World, Vampire Bats, Queen Sized, Racing for Time, The
Circuit, Girl, Positive and Flirting with 40.
Under his own production shingle Malvern Productions, he executive
produced the independent feature The Art of Being Straight
which will be distributed theatrically through Regent Entertainment in
the summer of 2009. He has been a guest lecturer for the Film/Media
Studies department at UC Riverside and is a member of the digital
filmmaking & video production advisory council for the Art
Institute of California. He is also an active member of the
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Producers Guild
of America. |
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| Lindsay
Grow |
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Lindsay Grow is
a
filmmaker and artist in residing Philadelphia. After receiving her
degree from the University of the Arts, Lindsay began working on music
videos along with short and feature films. She has been a Producer,
Production Coordinator, Editor, and Camera Operator along with
producing and directing her own documentaries. When not occupied with
film production work, Lindsay is works for the Mural Arts Program of
Philadelphia, getting her hands dirty painting walls for the city. Her
fine art work has been recently featured at the Thomas Eakins House and
First Friday in Old City. Lindsay’s passion for fine art is
exceeded only by her love for cinematography and film. She is currently
a member of the National Geographic Society. With a background in film
and photography, she hopes to travel the world and document her
adventures. |
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| Farrel
Lever |
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Farrel is Gaston Pictures’
South African transplant. He brings with him an extensive background in
computer technology, unyielding patience and unbelievable
organizational skills. Farrel’s insatiable passion for
filmmaking lead him to be a producer for OpenCam, Will
You… and 2 Minutes
Later for Gaston
Pictures. Between projects, Farrel
currently lives in New York City and Rio de Janeiro developing computer
programs.
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