James Westby (Writer/Director/Editor)
James Westby is a filmmaker who lives and works in Portland, OR. He has written, directed, and edited five feature films and several shorts. Legendary Producer’s Rep John Pierson quoted James in the book Spike, Mike, Slackers, and Dykes as a voice of a new generation of filmmakers, and Roger Ebert wrote of his BLOODY MARY (1996), “it is an audacious thriller in the vein of Blood Simple.”
Westby’s 2006 movie FILM GEEK won the Independent Visions Award at the Sarasota Film Festival and was picked up for distribution by First Run Features (28 Up, Trials of Henry Kissinger). Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave FILM GEEK a B+, calling it “perceptively hilarious.”
His newest feature is THE AUTEUR, a sweet romantic comedy about the world’s greatest porn director, which just premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. Vanity Fair called the film “laugh-out-loud funny.” The film is currently continuing on the festival circuit. Westby’s next projects include an adaptation of the cult novel THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY by Charles Willeford, the domestic drama RID OF ME, and the surreal comedy DYKES: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON. He is represented by BenderSpink in Los Angeles.
Byrd McDonald (Producer/Editor)
Byrd McDonald is a Portland-based producer/director. A graduate of NYU, Byrd worked for Jonathan Demme's production company Clinica Estetico from 1994-1999. A founding producer of Phat Shorts, Byrd ran the New York City short film festival from 1995-2001. He produced HUGE (2001) and RAW (2002), two collections of short films directed by various gay/lesbian directors including Bruce La Bruce, Rose Troche, and Ira Sachs. In 2004, Byrd directed and produced the feature length documentary HAUNTERS, about the obsessive subculture of haunted house creations, and in 2006, Byrd produced FILM GEEK, which was released theatrically to enthusiastic reviews. Byrd is currently completing his narrative film debut THE KILLING JAR. With Westby, Byrd is currently adapting Charles Willeford's cult novel THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY for the screen.
With her considerable background producing commercials and international photography shoots, Amber brings valuable production sense to The Auteur. While pursuing her passion for the arts at The Met and Columbia University in New York, Amber received her Bachelor of Arts from New York University in 1996. She subsequently worked for Christie's and studied photography and fine art in Japan before launching her own production company. Amber was also a Co-Producer on FILM GEEK.
Davis Priestley (Co-Producer and UPM)
Davis Priestley's recent projects include the indie THE AUTEUR (premiere Tribeca 2008), Gus Van Sant's PARANOID PARK, Craig Lucas' THE DYING GAUL, HBO's ENTOURAGE, and the Emmy-nominated Bravo Series PROJECT RUNWAY. Davis has worked in production as an Assistant Director, UPM, Line Producer, and Producer for film and TV projects. As a member of the development team at Mythgarden, he was actively involved in bringing SAVE ME (Sundance 2007) to the screen. His work also includes several live event projects with music talent such as Madonna and Paul McCartney. He recently produced the short films, THE KILLING JAR in Eastern Oregon, and SANTOS in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is currently in development on the screen adaptation of the novel, THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY by Charles Willeford.
Alan Jacobsen (Director of Photography)
Alan Jacobsen graduated with a film degree from NYU, where he met Byrd McDonald. Currently based in New York, he’s worked with directors Victor Nunez, Jem Cohen, Christopher Munch and Kevin Smith. Recent projects include Sundance Festival winner WET DREAMS and FALSE IMAGES, Academy Award shortlisted and Sundance Official selection, THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT, and the much-lauded HBO doc THE JOURNALIST AND THE JIHADI, THE MURDER OF DANIEL PEARL.
David Storm (Production Designer)
David Storm has Art Directed for some of the industry’s pioneering independent artists including David Lynch, Wim Wenders, The Polish Brothers, and the Late photographer Herb Ritts. With more than 15 years of high profile film, print, and commercial experience and working with legendary production designers Mark Friedberg (THE ICE STORM) and Patricia Norris (BLUE VELVET) helped shape his understanding of art direction. David attended Montana State University for film production and later Columbia College in Chicago with a focus on Production Design and Art History.
Jason Wells (Original Music)
After their successful collaboration on "Film Geek," composer Jason Wells again reunited with James for the score of "The Auteur." Along with creative interpretations of many famous soundtracks for such classics as "Full Metal Jackoff," "Requiem for a Wet Dream," and "Dyke Club," Arturo Domingo's personal story is one of love, passion, and innocence and is therefore treated orchestrally with huge swells of strings, whimsical accordion, gypsy jazz, and a touch of progressive rock to give epic scope and sensitivity to the character. Wells has recently composed music for Tim Burton (Sweeney Todd) and Mark Palansky (Penelope), has many film credits as a sound designer and recording engineer (Disney, Dreamworks), and travels the world playing trumpet, writing and performing with the ragtime group Trashcan Joe and the sensational 36-member MarchFourth Marching Band (who contributed an iconic song to the soundtrack).
