The New Twenty - A Film by Chris Mason Johnson

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Filmmakers

Chris Mason Johnson - Writer, Director, Producer

Chris Mason Johnson began his career as a dancer: he was a soloist with the Frankfurt Ballet in Germany, a member of the Feld Ballet and Lar Lubovitch Dance Companies, and performed alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov in the White Oak Dance Project. Chris then attended Amherst College where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Film and Video studies. While at Amherst he created a series of experimental videos (MICHAEL’S DANCE, LETTER TO TENNESSEE) that drew on his dance background and screened at festivals nationwide. He also studied acting at the HB Studio in New York and performed Off-Broadway and in sketch comedy improv at the original Upright Citizens Brigade Theater.

Chris went on to work as Head of Development at Open City Films in New York (THREE SEASONS, CHUCK & BUCK, LOVELY AND AMAZING), and as a Script Editor and Analyst for Miramax, Dimension, Disney, ABC Family and Fine Line Features. He wrote, directed and edited the short film DO YOU LOVE ME? He then co-wrote, produced, directed and co-edited (under the pseudonym “Adam Raponi”) his award-winning first feature, THE NEW TWENTY, which will be released theatrically in March 2009, on DVD through Wolfe Video in June 2009, and will have a broadcast debut on MTV Logo in fall 2009. Chris’s second feature, SKIRT, a comedy about gay marriage that he co-wrote with former screenwriting student Kate Stayman-London, is currently in development. Chris has taught dance at UCLA and screenwriting at Amherst College and Rutgers University. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Read Chris Mason Johnson’s Director’s Statement for THE NEW TWENTY

Ishmael Chawla - Writer

Ishmael was born in California and raised in India. He graduated from Amherst College in 1995 with a double major in Russian Literature and Computer Science. He wrote his honors thesis on representations of acceleration in film and poetry, focusing on works from Eisenstein and Pushkin. After some years in corporate New York City, Ishmael now lives with his family in New Delhi. THE NEW TWENTY is his first screenplay, which he co-wrote with Chris Mason Johnson.

Aina Abiodun – Producer

Aina Abiodun was born and raised in Nigeria. She attended Amherst College in Massachusetts where she received a BA in English, and subsequently spent a number of years working in New York as a writer and public arts curator and media executive. As an MFA student of Film Production at UCLA, Aina was the recipient of numerous awards for her writing, directing and producing. Her short film, THE BEGINNING OF TIME, was selected as one of six national finalists for the Student Academy Award. Aina has also produced a number of award-winning short films and currently works as a freelance producer of film, television and new media content in Los Angeles. THE NEW TWENTY is her first feature film.

Laura Heberton - Executive Producer

Laura is a writer of fiction, poetry and nonfiction and has been published in many journals and periodicals. She holds an MFA from NYU's Creative Writing Program and has worked as an editor and reporter at several newspapers and glossy magazines, including Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal and Details. With James Ivory, Laura produced the short, LOVE AND ROADKILL (John David Allen, director, 2008), currently showing at festivals around the country. As a producer and screenwriter, she is developing several independent feature films and plays. THE NEW TWENTY is her first feature as Executive Producer. Laura divides her time between London and New York.

Colin Stewart - Executive Producer

Colin was born and raised in Pittsburgh. He attended Amherst College where he majored in Physics and English, with a concentration in film studies. He graduated in 1995, drawn first to New York and then to finance where he has worked ever since. Colin is a long time movie fan, and is grateful to have the opportunity to participate in a work by two of his first and best college friends, Chris Mason Johnson and Ishmael Chawla. THE NEW TWENTY is Colin's first film as Executive Producer.

Andrew Troy - Co-Producer

Andrew Troy is currently the owner and founder of Santa Monica based company The Park Entertainment and TDB Studios, a Production and Post-Production facility. He has worked and performed in the Los Angeles area for the past two decades in a career that spans music, television and feature films. He has worked as a musician/composer, producer, post-production supervisor, recording and mixing engineer, sound supervisor and theatrical/dubbing stage mixer.

Andrew made his transition into feature films in 1999 through his music career, where he was the guitarist for the seminal LA electronic rock group, Polarbear. In 2000 he was introduced to Wim Wenders and assisted in the making of the Beck segment of SOUL OF A MAN. He then transitioned his company to cater to post-production and worked with The Polish Brothers on the film NORTHFORK in 2001 and Adam Goldberg on the film I LOVE YOUR WORK in 2002. Andrew's Producer and Post-Production credits include: THE LAST MIMZY, HAIRSPRAY, RESIDENT EVIL 3, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BOBBY Z, KARMA CALLING, THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSON, DIVA 51: THE EDDIE IZZARD DOCUMENTARY, RUSH TO WAR, AL ROACH: PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, LOCO COMEDY JAM, THE BAD BOYS OF COMEDY, THE COMEBACK, DEADWOOD, and THE SOPRANOS, among others.

David Tumblety - Director of Photography

David Tumblety has been the cinematographer on over twelve feature films and many shorts. In the fall of 2006 the film SWEET LAND was released theatrically and received much critical praise in addition to an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. BROOKLYN LOBSTER was released in theaters in 2005 after debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival. GOSPEL HILL, directed by Giancarlo Esposito, was released on DVD by Fox Searchlight in December 2008. He has also been the cinematographer on the feature films BITTERSWEET PLACE, RED BETSY, HIT AND RUNWAY, and Chris Mason Johnson’s THE NEW TWENTY, which has a 2009 theatrical and DVD release from Wolfe Releasing. David recently completed production on the feature 7 TO THE PALACE.

Todd Holmes - Editor

Todd Holmes has a wide variety of experience editing narrative films, television and documentaries. His most recent projects include: FASHIONALITY, a reality show pilot for Bravo; a currently untitled documentary about Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who created the Elmo character on SESAME STREET; and Chris Mason Johnson’s THE NEW TWENTY, which premiered at Outfest 2008 in Los Angeles, where it won the Best Lead Actress Award for Nicole Bilderback. Todd’s previous editing credits include Steve Barron's 2006 Gotham Award winner CHOKING MAN and Mystelle Brabbee's award-winning documentary HIGHWAY COURTESANS. In addition to his editing work Holmes occasionally writes and directs his own projects, including the 2005 Slamdance Screenplay competition winner PREETI GIRL, and his first short film RATANA, which played the festival circuit in 2007.

Jeff Toyne - Composer

Jeff Toyne blends orchestral virtuosity with cutting edge music technology, creating a unique voice for each project. His feature film credits as composer include THE NEW TWENTY (2009), BOX ELDER (2008), SHADOW IN THE TREES (2007), THE THIRD EYE (2007), and MAXWELL'S DEMON (1998). In addition, he has scored over forty short films, including two Academy Award nominees. Classically trained, Jeff was commissioned by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to write a work in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The resulting composition, NO FANFARE, had its world premiere in December 2005. Jeff has also earned international recognition as an orchestrator of Hollywood releases, including PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009), EAGLE EYE (2008), KILLSHOT (2008), and SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004). Equally at home in television, Jeff was composer for the much-anticipated show, THE TWO COREYS (A&E 2007), featuring Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. He also composed the theme and underscore for CTV’s THE DAILY BLADE, and has contributed to many Discovery Channel and Fox Kids programs. The recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, Jeff has received commissions from organizations such as the Canadian Armed Forces, for which he composed SPLENDOR SINE OCCASU, the Official March of the British Columbia Brigade. Jeff divides his time between Los Angeles and Vancouver. www.jefftoyne.com

Anne Kenney - Costumes

Anne Kenney is a freelance costume designer and stylist in NYC. Credits include The Shovel, a shortfilm featuring James Strathairn and Tim Guinee, Upheaval with Frances McDormand, various promos and commercials, and recently a pilot for Comedy Central called “Michael and Michael Have Issues.” Ms. Kenney's theater credits include Rabbit Hole at Pittsburgh Public Theatre and Urinetown the Musical at Repertory Theatre of St Louis, which earned her a Kevin Kline Award for Outstanding Costume Design. She also designed costumes for Mikel Rouse’s The End of Cinematics, seen at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival 2006.

Read the Full Credits for THE NEW TWENTY

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