J.J. Abrams J.J. Abrams serves as creator and executive producer of "Alias", which received an outstanding 11 Emmy nominations in its freshman season, including a nod to Abrams for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the "Alias" pilot. Abrams made his first foray into television with "Felicity", which ran for four seasons on The WB. Abrams served as the show's co-creator and executive producer. Abrams feature film screenwriting credits include "Armageddon", "Forever Young" and "Regarding Henry". Most recently he co-wrote and produced the film "Joy Ride", and is currently writing "Superman" for Warner Bros. His feature producing credits include "Taking Care of Business", "The Pallbearer", and the independent film "The Suburbans", with Jennifer Love Hewitt. Mara Brock Akil Mara Brock Akil currently serves as Creator and Executive Producer of the hit comedy series "Girlfriends" for UPN. Brock Akil began her career in the entertainment industry at the age of 24 when she was hired to write on Fox's critically acclaimed "South Central". She later moved on to write for UPN's groundbreaking series "Moesha". After spending an impressive four years writing for the hit show, Akil found herself handling a new role, as one of the series' producers. Brock Akil later served as supervising producer on the comedy series "The Jamie Foxx Show". A native of Los Angeles, Brock Akil was primarily raised in Kansas City, Missouri. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from the prestigious Northwestern University. William Blake Herron As a student at New York University's graduate film program, Herron won over twelve national and international awards for his film shorts. After graduation, Herron wrote, directed and executive produced the feature film "Liebestod", an edgy update of Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde". Herron has written for literally every major studio, in both film and TV. Herron's produced film credits include "The Bourne Identity" starring Matt Damon; and the soon to be released "White on White", based on the Patricia Highsmith novel “Ripley Underground”, starring Barry Pepper, Willem Dafoe, Tom Wilkinson, and Allen Cumming. In addition, Herron returned to his passion for directing with the semi-autobiographical film "A Texas Funeral", starring Martin Sheen, Joanne Whalley, Robert Patrick, and Chris Noth. Jennifer Klein Jennifer Klein, who runs her own company, Apartment 3B Productions, has a first-look producing deal at MGM. In 1996 she helped launch director Michael Bay’s company, Bay Films, and served as his production head through 2001. Klein was associate producer of the World War II epic "Pearl Harbor" and production associate on the 1998 mega-hit "Armageddon". Throughout her tenure at Bay Films, Klein developed several film projects, and shepherded "Quantico", the company's first foray into television. Klein met Bay when she was an executive at Columbia Pictures. Klein served as an executive at the studio for four years. Prior to starting Apartment 3B in October 2003, she was co-president of production at The Mutual Film Company for two years. Klein got her start in the entertainment business in 1986 as an assistant to recording artist Jermaine Jackson. She then moved over to Fox Broadcasting Company in 1989 as a coordinator in Current Programming, working on shows such as "Beverly Hills 90210", "Melrose Place" and "In Living Color". She held that position for two and a half years before joining Columbia. Klein also produced "Dysenchanted", a short film starring Jim Belushi, Sarah Wynter, and Alexis Bledel that will premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Carol Leifer When it comes to the world of comedy, Long Island native Carol Leifer is a major "hyphen". As a stand up comedian-show host-writer-sitcom producer, Leifer has paved a variety of paths in a field where not many female comedians have ventured. Leifer was co-executive producer of the DreamWorks/ABC series "It's Like, You Know". Recently, Leifer starred in and executive produced the WB Network sitcom "Alright Already". Previously, Leifer served as a writer and supervising producer on HBO's critically acclaimed "The Larry Sanders Show". Prior to that, she spent three years writing for the enormously popular Seinfeld. Her outstanding work on the show led to both Writer's Guild and Emmy Award Nominations. Dan McDermott Dan McDermott graduated from UCLA where he majored in Motion Pictures/Television and then continued his studies by attending AFI as a Screenwriting Fellow. McDermott rose through the ranks at Fox Broadcasting Company, starting as Director of Current Programming, eventually ending up as Executive Vice President Primetime Programming. He then ran the television division at DreamWorks from its inception until his departure in 2001 to focus on his writing. McDermott currently has the following features in development: "Selling Time" at Fox 2000, "The Adventurers Club" at Paramount, "Connection" at New Line and "Eagle Eye" at DreamWorks. On the television side, McDermott has set up "Surveillance" at Fox Broadcasting Company and "Regarding the Dead" at NBC. David McKenna David McKenna graduated from San Diego State University in 1991 and now resides in Newport Beach, CA, with his wife Marcy and sons Jack and Colin. David McKenna sold his first screenplay, "American History X", to New Line Cinema at the young age of 26. The film, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, starred Edward Norton. McKenna's next work "Body Shots", another New Line film, was directed by Michael Cristofer and starred Jerry O'Connell, Amanda Peet, Tara Reid and Ron Livingston. His third film "Get Carter" was a remake of the 1971 cult film that starred Michael Caine. This updated version starred Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Miranda Richardson, Rachel Leigh Cooke, Mickey Rourke, and Alan Cumming. McKenna's next assignment was adapting the Bruce Porter book "Blow", starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ray Liotta and directed by Ted Demme. This past summer Sony Pictures released "S.W.A.T.", based on the 1970's TV show, a script McKenna co-wrote with David Ayer that starred Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell. Scott Rosenberg Scott Rosenberg grew up in Boston and currently divides his time between New York and Los Angeles. Rosenberg's writing credits include "Con Air" with Nicolas Cage, "Kangaroo Jack", and "Gone in Sixty Seconds", all three for producer Jerry Bruckheimer. He also wrote the critically acclaimed "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead", "Beautiful Girls", and "Disturbing Behavior". Rosenberg's television credits include "Going to California" for Showtime, "Highway" and "Impostor". David Self David Self's most recently wrote the screenplay "Road to Perdition", staring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Stanley Tucci. His previous feature, New Line's "13 Days", starred Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp, Dylan Baker and Michael Fairman. In 1999 Self was brought in to DreamWorks, on the strength of the "13 Days" script, to work on Jan de Bont's "The Haunting", his first produced film. The film starred Liam Neeson, Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Owen Wilson. Self is currently working on several projects in development at Universal Studios, including Marvel hero "Namor, The Sub-Mariner", and an adaptation of Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire". Sheldon V. Turner Sheldon Turner graduated from Cornel University and NYU Law School. Turner's upcoming film credits include the Ashton Kutcher/Shawn Levy feature "Overtime", MGM's "Pursuit" and "Scrawl", Paramount's remake of "The Longest Yard" starring Adam Sandler, the book adaptation of "Up in the Air" produced by Ivan Reitman, and "The Booster". Turner's television credits include "Dakota Diggs" and "Hardware" for Fox Broadcasting Company with John Woo directing. Sheldon V. Turner Screenwriter/playwright Jim Uhls wrote the screenplay for "Fight Club", with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, directed by David Fincher. For Steven Spielberg, he was creator and executive producer of a two hour pilot, "Semper Fi", about young recruits in the Marine Corps, which aired as a special on NBC. Uhls is also a playwright, with "The Relative Importance of Jeri" produced in New York, and numerous plays produced in Los Angeles, including "Collections of a Long-Distance Garbageman". Uhls and his wife, Yalda Tehranian-Uhls, started a production company "Peculiar Films", and under their banner are producing Uhls’ script "Hard Hearts", partnering with Hyde Park. Other projects in the works include "Flicker" for Darren Aronofsky and New Regency, "Gideon Force" for Imagine Entertainment and "Trick Monkey" for Tribeca Films, and an indie project "Sweet Talk".