Everyone knows that summer time is the perfect time to read, read, READ! The SAGIndie Staff reveals what illustrious titles they have on their summer reading lists.
Darrien Michele Gipson
SAGIndie Director
An M.F.A. recipient from the Peter Stark Producer’s Program at USC, as well as a USC President Samples Fellows, a university honors program for Community Service, Darrien was formerly the Vice President of Production for DEF Pictures, where she shepherded such films as Gridlock’d and How to be a Player. Darrien began her career at SAGIndie as the Event Coordinator, where she traveled throughout the country to festivals, educating filmmakers on SAG’s low budget contracts and all ensuing budgetary and distribution concerns. She visited more than 25 states, 3 countries, and over 55 festivals to consult with independent filmmakers. Yes, she has a lot of frequent flyer miles. No, she isn’t sharing them.
As the new National Director of SAGIndie, Darrien is responsible for just about everything – global warming, demoting Pluto, lowering Cancer rates. She is also responsible for the strategic planning and oversight of SAGIndie, including administration, sponsorship negotiations, national advertising campaigns, and SAGIndie.org – the organization’s online resource for independent filmmakers. Darrien is the engine behind SAGIndie, pushing it into being the best independent filmmaking resource EVER. If you love SAGIndie, send her flowers. If you don’t, send all hate mail to Alexis Fish, c/o SAGIndie.
On Darrien’s summer reading list is TWILIGHT because, in her opinion, nothing says “romance” like a bunch of adolescent, emo blood suckers.
Alexis Fish
SAGIndie Manager of Development and Sponsorship
Alexis comes to SAGIndie with a strong background in production of both independent film and television projects. She was recently an Executive Producer of Shortbus, and as Senior VP at Q Television Network (QTN), she grew the new cable venture from a company of 6 people in Fort Worth, TX with 3 hours of live programming, to a network with production facilities and studios in Burbank, CA that employed a staff of over 150 people producing hours of programming every day.
In addition to Executive Producing and overseeing originally produced shows at QTN, she also oversaw all marketing, branding, sales, acquisitions as well as building strategic partnerships with various GLBT outlets and sponsors. While at QTN, she brought multiple projects to the network including Shortbus.
This past fall, Pretty Things, a documentary she produced and sold to HBO, aired on the cable network.
She holds a BA from Smith College having majored in Political Science, is an alumni of the IFP Producer’s Lab, and was also selected to attend the Producer’s Network at the Cannes Film Festival and the Producers Conference at the Sundance Institute. Her work has been featured in Curve Magazine, The Lesbian News, and the Advocate.
Alexis is also passionate about documentary film and has been working on her own project chronicling the lives of transgendered youth. She has worked on various documentary projects including HBO’s Vagina Monologues and the HBO documentary Naked World, the sequel to HBO’s Naked States. She was also the outreach coordinator on Sugar Pictures feature documentary Our House: Kids of Gay and Lesbian Parents.
Her duties as Manager of Development and Sponsorship encompass (among other things) traveling to film festivals, speaking on panels and at seminars, and interacting with independent producers worldwide in order to get the word out about the SAG Low Budget Agreements.
This summer Alexis will listen to books on tape. Her eyes hurt from too many hours in front of the computer.
Will Prescott
SAGIndie Information Coordinator
Will hails from Seattle, Washington where he grew up subjected to gross amounts of rain and outdoor activities. He came to Southern California to pursue lesser air quality and a career in filmmaking. Since obtaining his M.F.A. from the Conservatory of Motion Pictures at Chapman University’s Dodge College, Will has worked on many film, video and new media projects in various capacities. He most recently served as Managing Editor of the KCET produced website, Wired Science.
As the new “Scott” (a.k.a. Information Coordinator), he will handle, among other things, SAGIndie web operations, marketing and PR efforts, interviews with indie filmmakers, and will travel to film festivals and other functions to help spread the word about the Screen Actors Guild Low Budget Agreements. He hopes to one day own a German Shepherd and a Pug whom he will name De Niro and Pesci, respectively.
Will’s summer reading list consists of various survival guide pamphlets. First up – HOW TO SURVIVE A HOTEL FIRE.
Eliza Hajek
SAGIndie Assistant
Raised in Arizona (where people go to die), Eliza spent her childhood eating cacti and shooting things. After high school, she escaped to Chicago to attend college at Columbia, where she honed her skills as a pretentious film student. While in college she maintained several internships, including the Cannes Film Festival, in addition to working on several films in all different capacities. Upon receiving her BA in film, she worked in advertising post production before moving to Los Angeles. In her work as SAGIndie Assistant she will assist in the education of filmmakers about the Screen Actors Guild’s Low Budget Agreements.
Eliza is one of the few people who has written more books than she has read and this probably won’t change any time soon.
Michael Sladek
New York Coordinator
Michael is an independent director, producer, screenwriter, and designer. He founded and currently runs Plug Ugly Films, a Brooklyn-based film, video, web and theater production company.
In addition to his position as SAGIndie’s rep in New York, he freelances as a director, producer, writer, cameraman and coordinator and has worked for Tribeca Film Festival, Clinton Global Initiative, painter Mark Kostabi, RKO Pictures, ACME Pictures, and many more. Michael was Talent Coordinator and Floor Producer at MTV News, worked as Personal Assistant to author Jamaica Kincaid and, in Los Angeles, for the entertainment ad agency Jacobs & Gerber. A professional stage and screen actor since childhood, Michael has been a member of SAG for over twelve years. A proud dropout of many mediocre colleges, he’s also a published journalist and used to manage New York punk bands before realizing that the music industry is a mess.
This summer Michael will be reading SE Hinton’s THE OUTSIDERS for the five millionth time. He’s doing it for Johnny.