The Unwilling

David Lipper

David Lipper starred in his first TV series (Time Of Your Life/CTV) as a teenager as the key villain in the Canadian show, which ran for 150 episodes. He managed to still graduate on-time with a BFA in Musical Theater from Emerson College in Boston in 1991. Immediately following, David landed in Los Angeles, where he was testing for his first sitcom pilot (Step By Step) within weeks. David quickly signed with famed youth centered talent agent, Bonnie Liedtke and went on to shoot several pilots over the next few years, becoming the series star of Reality Check (opposite Hilary swank and Giovan Ribisi) by famed sitcom creators, Bright/Kaufman.Crane (Friends). By 1995, Warner Bothers had placed David on Full House as DJ’s boyfriend Viper. It was at this point Lipper also started to break away from strictly comedies, and played the lead antagonist Jace in She Fought Alone, opposite Tiffany Thiessen. There would be many more such villains over the next 15 years, including the title role (Ed Amos) in Lifetime’s The Black Widower, opposite Kelly McGillis, and Non-Stop, opposite Lacey Chabert (Lifetime, 2013). There have also been a string of Rom Coms along the way, including the romantic lead in See Jane Date, opposite Charisma Carpenter, Denise Richard’s husband in I Do But I Don’t, and another comedic turn in Love By Design, with Jane Seymour. Over the last few years, Lipper decided to play against the genre once again, and played the Nazi Kurt in the critically acclaimed Exodus To Shanghai and a leading heroic role in the horror film, Lost After Dark (Robert Patrick). Lipper enjoyed the horror experience so much he has continued on with the leading role of David in The Unwilling. David also has two new exciting recurring TV roles to announce. Stay tuned for an update!

Austin Highsmith

Known for her striking long brown hair and good looks, Austin Highsmith brings her clever performances to movies such as Dolphin Tale and Gangster Squad.

She first appeared in the movie “Little Paradise”. In 2002, she appeared in the TV series “CSI: Miami”. In 2004, she appeared in another series “Boston Legal” and “CSI: NY” Audiences saw her in “Ghost Whisperer” and “Close to Home” as well. n 2006, she appeared in the blockbuster movie “Loving Annabelle”. In 2007, she got chance to work in “Room 33”. Then, she came up with the TV series “Dragonaut: The Resonance”.

She has already had success on both the TV and film side of Hollywood. She has played many roles in successful movies. Some of them are Breathing Room, Little Odessa, Room 33 and The Last Harbor and Dolphin Tale 2 which was released in 2014. She is also a producer on Dolphin Tale as well. She appeared in the lead role in the movie “Little Paradise” in 2013. She has recently finished working on the “Circle of Eight” which was released in 2015. Currently she is on the MTV series SCREAM 2.

Dina Meyer

This ravishingly beautiful auburn-haired actress landed her first job in Forest Whitaker’s made-for-cable film “Strapped” (HBO, 1993). Meyer gained the attention of the public in the recurring role of a professor’s wife who falls for Jason Priestley’s Brandon Walsh on the popular series “Beverly Hills, 90210” during the 1993-94 season. Meyer then segued to the big screen landing the leading female role of Jane, the computer-enhanced Amazonian hired to protect Keanu Reeves’ courier “Johnny Mnemonic” (1995). While the film failed to excite audiences, Meyer acquitted herself and was tapped to star opposite Dennis Quaid in Rob Cohen’s sword and sorcery epic “Dragonheart” (1996). Paul Verhoeven then tapped the novice for one of the leads in his sci-fi epic “Starship Troopers” (1997). Subsequently, the beauty displayed her comedic talents in the recurring role of Joey’s actress-girlfriend in the NBC sitcom “Friends” in 1997. Two years later, Meyer co-starred as a no-nonsense government employee in the short-lived UPN series “Secret Agent Man” (2000).

She is also known for her other performances in science fiction films like Birds of Prey and Star Trek Nemesis. She also starred as Detective Allison Kerry in the horror/thriller film Saw and its sequels as well. She has made many guest appearances and played one of the series regular roles in FOX’s Point Pleasant. Her additional guest star roles include Criminal Minds, Castle, The Mentalist, Burn Notice, and Nip/Tuck, and she has recurred on ABC’s Scoundrels, CW’s 90210, CBS’s CSI, and NCIS.

Robert Rusler

Robert Rusler – actor, athlete, writer, and natural performer – was born on September 20, 1965, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He soon moved to Hawaii, where he lived on Waikiki Beach and started surfing and skateboarding on a semi-professional level. At a young age his family moved to Los Angeles, where he began his martial arts career and entered many competitions. Then the bug struck to become an actor and Robert, right out of high school, met his manager and began taking acting classes at the Loft Studio with Peggy Feury and William Traylor. Soon thereafter he landed his first starring role, opposite Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr. in John Hughes Weird Science (1985). He then starred opposite Marshall Bell and Robert Englund in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) . Later projects included Thrashin’ (1986) opposite Josh Brolin (and all of his top professional skateboarding idols) and _Vamp (1986/I)_ opposite Grace Jones and Chris Makepeace, for which he received the award for Best Actor in a Science Fiction or Horror Film. Robert then starred opposite Bridget Fonda and Phoebe Cates in the cult classic feature film Shag (1989), which landed him numerous Teen Magazine interviews and features. Soon thereafter, he landed his first television series, Fox’s The Outsiders (1990), which was Executive Producer Francis Ford Coppola’s first television venture. His next project was starring opposite Tim Matheson and Brooke Adams in Stephen King’s Emmy award-winning movie of the week, Sometimes They Come Back (1991). He then took another turn at the world of episodics as a series regular in Babylon 5 (1994), where he gained a huge international following and fan club. Robert’s most recent industry accomplishments were in Warner Bros.’ _Underworld, The (1997/II) (TV)_ by Academy Award-winning writer Christopher McQuarrie, followed by the controversial drama Wasted in Babylon (1999), where Robert again received critical acclaim for his innovative performance. When he is not gracing the screen, Robert enjoys surfing, snowboarding, motocross, golfing, traveling, and his new found love; creating and writing projects which he would like to produce and direct in the future.

Jake Thomas

American singer and actor Jake Thomas was born on January 30, 1990 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The son of a radio personality and a TV reporter, he has worked on a number of television productions and series. When he was young, he was exposed to the showbiz industry through his parents. His birth was even on the Knoxville Evening News, shot at the nursery of the hospital where he was born. He grew up making appearances on TV commercials, and moved to Hollywood when he was only six years old. Many agents were entertained upon seeing the actor, and he was next seen auditioning for every role he could get. He has also performed at the Beverly Hills Theater with his parents, and soon achieved a guest-starring role on the series 3rd Rock from the Sun.

Jake Thomas was soon seen on several productions. He was in The Man Show and on an episode of Touched by an Angel in 1999. The next year, he landed small roles in big-budget films like The Cell and If Tomorrow Comes starring James Franco. Thomas soon found himself playing opposite Haley Joel Osment in Steven Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence: AI, while working on the simultaneously on the set of Lizzie McGuire. He was cast as Matt McGuire, the scheming and mischievous younger brother of the title character played by Hillary Duff. He became known for his role, and soon reprised it in 2003’s The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Soon, he was cast in other television productions, appearing in Sixteen to Life and Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure. He was also seen in an episode of Without a Trace and Center of the Universe, and has voiced the character Nigel on the animated series Grim & Evil. In 2004, he worked alongside Nick Moran in Soccer Dog: European Cup, and had a role in Dinocroc. He soon found himself joining the cast of the Disney Channel comedy Cory in the House, playing the role of Jason Stickler. Jake Thomas has also released his debut CD, titled Now and Then under Big Stick Music.

He has most currently been in the films Taken Away, Romantically Speaking and What Happened Last Night.

Bree Williamson

This talented beauty was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and originally had plans to pursue a career in business, psychology or women studies. She attended the University of Toronto, and graduated with a Bachelors degree in Science. While still living in Toronto she devoted her free time to community service, most particularly as a Planned Parenthood supporter at a Toronto organization for teens in need of sexual-health counseling.

But her acting work lead to the 2007 Nomination for Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress, in 2008 received a Pre-Nomination for Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress and in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, received a Pre-Nomination for Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Younger Actress

On One Life To Live this very talented actress played Jessica Buchanan Brennan and was able to portray a loving, warm hearted daughter and mother one moment, and then turn into a sadistically, mentally disturbed altenate personality the next. and from there, then turn into yet another alternat personality, a general who likes to take charge of things; all in one episode. Williamson not only has her hands full with all of her character’s alters, but also takes on a heavy work load outside the One Life to Live Studios.

Bree has played many feature roles on television series, most recently appearing on CSI, Chicago Fire and Castle.

Levy Tran

The talented, terrifying and drop dead gorgeous scream queen, Levy Tran plays Father Harris’ (Lance Henriksen) Nurse in THE UNWILLING.  Levy is best known for her roles in Fast And Furious 7, Female Fight Club,  Gemini, Jungle Justice and Guy Code.   An up and coming Vietnamese actress / model (with some of the craziest tattoos you’ll ever see on a girl) that is making a BIG name for herself – in America, Asia – and the rest of the known universe.

Levy Tran is bona fide bombshell and a social media superstar – with an active and rabidly engaged following.

THE CREW BEHIND THE UNWILLING

Jonathan Heap

Academy Award Nominated director JONATHAN HEAP has worked in Hollywood as a film director and producer for the past 25 years. He received an Oscar Nomination for his short film 12:01 PM when he was 28 and was a producer of the full length feature (12:01) that it inspired. From there he developed scripts at RKO and Warner Bros until he directed his first feature Benefit of the Doubt for Miramax in 1993. Benefit of the Doubt starred Donald Sutherland and Amy Irving and set him on a path that embraced suspense and action. From there he went on to direct three features, the next one for NUmage with Eric Roberts and then two HBO premieres with Rob Lowe, Tom Skerritt and Stephen Baldwin. Concurrently Jonathan produced and directed an adventure reality show for syndication called Destination X and pursued his other love, the comedic adventure. He has shot and produced numerous satiric shorts, several of which have gone on to Funny or Die fame. Jonathan recently finished Plan B, one of several shorts he directed and produced with a grant from the Albert R. Broccoli Foundation. Plan B is a comedic romp about a control freak starring John Michael Higgins. Jonathan founded the nonprofit company Primary Purpose Productions with his partner Lowell Cauffiel to produce these shorts and create issue oriented and educational films to help those with substance abuse and recovery.

David Stump

David Stump ASC is a working Director of Photography, Visual Effects Director of Photography, Visual Effects Supervisor, and Stereographer, earning an Emmy Award, an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement and an International Cinematographers Guild Award.  He is currently chairman of the Camera Subcommittee of the ASC Technical Committee, and a member of  the AMPAS Science & Technology Council, where he co-chairs the Next Generation Cinema Technology Work Group, and participates in the AMPAS ACES project. Under his guidance, the combined efforts of the Producer’s Guild of America and the American Society of Cinematographers produced both the ASC / PGA Camera Assessment Series, and the ASC / PGA Image Control Assessment Series, side by side comparisons of virtually all of the high end digital cinema cameras against film. He recently authored the Focal Press book; “Digital  Cinematography – Fundamentals, Techniques and Workflow”s.

Gianluca Bertone

Is an Executive Producer of The Unwilling, a post production consultant and a cinematographer who also owns and operates the Digital Intermediate and digital camera rental house company Bertone Visuals with offices in Burbank and El Segundo in California.

He is a graduate from U.C. Hastings College of the Law where he earned an LLM in US legal studies specializing in entertainment law and IP. His education also includes a J.D. from the University of Turin, Italy and a film school degree earned with distinction in cinematography. Since he moved to the US from Italy 10 years ago he and his company have worked for studios such as Dreamworks Pictures, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.  He has also shot episodic TV shows, indie features, commercials and holographic projects for Samsung.

He also taught digital cinematography classes at U.C.L.A. Extension and Color Timing at Columbia College Hollywood. He consults about digital cameras, 4K workflows, color management and Digital Intermediate processes for PGA producers, DGA directors and ASC directors of photography. He has extensively participated in the making of the feature The Unwilling from principle photography through to the end of post-production.

Indeed, Bertone Visuals provided the production all of the Sony 4K digital cinema cameras it used during productions including the Leica Summilux-C lenses, zooms, gimbal stabilization systems, dolly, drone for aerial cinematography, advanced DIT carts for data and color management and 4K P3DCI color timing, compositing and VFXs services all the way to the theatrical DCP master.

Currently, while the movie is submitted to film festivals, Mr. Bertone is working on an HDR (High Dynamic Range) color timing pass to have The Unwilling ready for a second level of distribution after its theatrical release. Therefore, our feature will have “new look” to be enjoyed at home on all the HDR on line TV Apps (Amazon Video, Netflix, Vudu, etc…) or on 4K DVD with the recently introduced UHD 4K 10bit Blu Ray players.

Stephen Melillo

Music by composer Stephen Melillo has been played and recorded by some of the World’s finest ensembles and conductors. More than 1115 works span from the IBM Thinkpad® Demo to the Concerto for Violin & Orchestra. Currently 155 commissions for Ensembles of the 3rd Millennium™ comprise the body of recorded work called STORMWORKS.

ASCAP continues each year since 1992 to recognize Stephen’s work with Special Awards in Concert Music. In 2005, his Documentary in Music, KAKEHASHI: THAT WE MIGHT LIVE was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Music. In 2006, The World Historic recording, STORMWORKS Chapter 5:8, Writings on the Wall, was balloted in 4 categories in the 49th Grammy Awards. In 2008, the “visually scored,” DVD version of THAT WE MIGHT LIVE was balloted in the 50th Grammy Awards for Best Long Form Documentary. The same work won 2 Telly Film Awards for History/Biography and Music Concert. It also won an AVA Award that same year.

You will find Stephen’s scoring work in 14 feature films (another in progress) and 28 network television programs, and in the 1991 Academy Award-nominated movie 12:01PM starring Kurtwood Smith.

Philip Morton

Producer PHILIP MORTON is an award nominated Hollywood screenwriter as well as a television & radio producer and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. A professional writer for 25 years, Morton started his career at Saturday Night Live and has written on numerous Hollywood studio assignments writing for Paramount, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, New Line Cinema and DreamWorks Animation.

He has written for talent from Schwarzenegger to Eddie Murphy. The writer of Fire Down Below starring Steven Seagal, he wrote the movies 12:01 PM starring Martin Landau which won the Brussels Film Festival Audience Award for best picture and an Honorary Edgar Award for best mystery writing, Man-eater starring Gary Busey and the ABC sketch comedy TV show On the Air. He has written on studio features from Fantastic Four to Jack Frost (starring Micheal Keaton) and has been hired on studio projects as far ranging as science fiction, action-adventure and suspense films to family pictures and has taught writing at UCLA.

His current projects are the TV mini-series ‘One Question for God’ and the Warner Brothers Feature ‘Amortals’.

David Lipper

David Lipper starred in his first TV series (Time Of Your Life/CTV) as a teenager as the key villain in the Canadian show, which ran for 150 episodes. He managed to still graduate on-time with a BFA in Musical Theater from Emerson College in Boston in 1991. Immediately following, David landed in Los Angeles, where he was testing for his first sitcom pilot (Step By Step) within weeks. David quickly signed with famed youth centered talent agent, Bonnie Liedtke and went on to shoot several pilots over the next few years, becoming the series star of Reality Check (opposite Hilary swank and Giovan Ribisi) by famed sitcom creators, Bright/Kaufman.Crane (Friends). By 1995, Warner Bothers had placed David on Full House as DJ’s boyfriend Viper. It was at this point Lipper also started to break away from strictly comedies, and played the lead antagonist Jace in She Fought Alone, opposite Tiffany Thiessen. There would be many more such villains over the next 15 years, including the title role (Ed Amos) in Lifetime’s The Black Widower, opposite Kelly McGillis, and Non-Stop, opposite Lacey Chabert (Lifetime, 2013). There have also been a string of Rom Coms along the way, including the romantic lead in See Jane Date, opposite Charisma Carpenter, Denise Richard’s husband in I Do But I Don’t, and another comedic turn in Love By Design, with Jane Seymour. Over the last few years, Lipper decided to play against the genre once again, and played the Nazi Kurt in the critically acclaimed Exodus To Shanghai and a leading heroic role in the horror film, Lost After Dark (Robert Patrick). Lipper enjoyed the horror experience so much he has continued on with the leading role of David in The Unwilling. David also has two new exciting recurring TV roles to announce. Stay tuned for an update!

Julia Verdin

Producer JULIA VERDIN (Merchant of Venice, 2 Jacks, Stander) has established herself as one of Hollywood’s leading independent producers with over 30 critically acclaimed feature films produced to date. She has served as a Director on the Board of BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) for six years and on the Board of Seven Arts Pictures PLC, a public film production and foreign sales company, for three years. She is currently on the Board of LA Femme Film Festival. She founded and has been running Rough Diamond Productions, one of the major independent film production companies in Los Angeles, since 1995. She has produced over 30 independent films through her shop and has the network of production talent, distributors and foreign sales agents required to complete the project.

Producing, directing and writing features films is a thrilling challenge and that is why we brought together only the highest level of producers, artists and designers.