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Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an African-American R&B singer and actress from Glen Cove, New York. She acted in films and shows such as The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, Resident Evil: Extinction, Coach Carter, John Tucker Must Die, Bride and Prejudice, Malcolm X and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She has released six albums.

A 25-year veteran in the Hollywood exploitation field, writer/producer/director Jim Wynorski is responsible for over 150 varied motion pictures in a myriad of genres. Leaving behind a successful commercial business in New York, Wynorski relocated to California in 1980 and soon found himself on the doorstep of his childhood idol, B-film king Roger Corman. "The rest was destiny," recounts Wynorski, who soon found himself hired by the renowned movie mogul to cut "coming attractions" for all of the company's new action and horror films. "It was like grasshopper learning from the kung-fu master," says Wynorski, who claims his six-months internship with Corman taught him more than four years at film school.

"It wasn't long after that Corman offered me the first of many writing/directing assignments. Some distributor wanted a flick about a killer in a shopping mall," recalls Wynorski, "and Roger trusted me enough to say 'come up with something good, and you can direct it." Well, a couple days later, the director walked in with the first treatment to a film called Chopping Mall (1986), and the rest was history. From then on, Jim Wynorski turned out an average of three to five films a year as a director, and even more as a producer/writer. Throughout the 1980s came a steady stream of wild exploitation titles like Big Bad Mama II (1987) with Angie Dickinson, Not of This Earth (1988) with Traci Lords and The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) with Heather Locklear. On into the 1990s, Wynorski continued to climb to the top of the B-Film mountain with flicks like Hard Bounty (1995) starring Kelly LeBrock, Point of Seduction: Body Chemistry III (1994) & Body Chemistry 4: Full Exposure (1995) with Shannon Tweed and Morgan Fairchild and Munchie (1992), which featured the first film appearance of the then-unknown 12-year-old child actress Jennifer Love Hewitt.

As the years peeled by and tastes changed, Jim Wynorski kept hip by innovating new special effects techniques that landed the director no less than seven world premieres on the Sci-Fi Channel. His credits there include films like Gargoyle (2004), The Curse of the Komodo (2004), Project Viper and Cry of the Winged Serpent (2007).

As for the future, the 59-year-old Wynorski feels the audience for alternative cinema made away from the studio system will continue to grow thanks to new advances in Internet and Cable technologies. In fact, he is in post-production on another thriller, Vampire in Vegas (2009). "And you can bet I'll be there," he offers with a big smile, "with some really fun stuff." Jim has a huge following in the MidWest and is beloved in Franklin, Indiana, Home of The B Movie Celebration.

Perky actress and producer Ellie Cornell was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. After graduating from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida in 1986, Cornell had a small guest appearance in a 1988 episode of Thirtysomething (1987). The same year, she played an assertive reporter in the Oscar-nominated comedy movie Married to the Mob (1988).

Cornell's best-known role also came about in 1988 when she auditioned for parts in two horror films: lead girl Alice Johnson in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) and Rachel Carruthers, foster sister of Jamie Lloyd, in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), winning the latter. Halloween 4 grossed over three times its budget and Cornell reprised her role as Rachel in its sequel, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989). After appearing in episodes of TV shows ABC Afterschool Specials (1972) and Gabriel's Fire (1990), as well as the made-for-television movie Chips, the War Dog (1989), Cornell was set to appear in the comedy A League of Their Own (1992), but had to drop out after finding out she was pregnant.

After an eight-year break from the film industry, Cornell returned to executive produce and act in Free Enterprise (1998) and The Specials (2000). She played tough cop Jordan Casper in the critically-panned, video game-based zombie movie House of the Dead (2003) and its sequel, House of the Dead 2 (2005), and appeared in five more horror films in 2005 and 2006. Moreover, Cornell was in the pilot episode of The Event (2010) and played a detective in four episodes of the short-lived Femme Fatales (2011); she also tried a hand at directing Prank (2008) with Halloween 4 and 5 co-star Danielle Harris and horror actress Heather Langenkamp, which fell through, and was interviewed in the documentary Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006).

She and her husband also founded production company Mindfire Entertainment and own Ship's Inn, a restaurant in Massachusetts, together.

David Strickland was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, on October 14, 1969. Raised in Princeton, New Jersey, he never thought about an acting career until moving to the LA suburb of Pacific Palisades while in high school. Instead of going to college, he joined a theater company and began performing comedy sketches that he wrote along with a friend. To gain some acting experience, Strickland also participated in 64 student films. His stage credits include Biloxi Bluesues, Bye Birdie, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Pizza Man, and I Won't Dance. He went on to earn guest-starring roles on Roseanne (1988) and Dave's World (1993), as well as recurring roles on Sister, Sister (1994) and Mad About You (1992) (as Paul Reiser's backstabbing co-worker at the Explorer Channel). When not acting, his pastimes included golf, making fruit smoothies, and playing "a mean game of paddle-tennis." He will best be remembered by TV fans for his co-starring role of Todd, the magazine's music critic, on the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan (1996) (which stars Brooke Shields). Recent movie achievements, before his untimely death, included a lead role in the independent film Delivered (1998) (a dark comedy directed by Guy Ferland) and the role of 'Steve' in the hit movie Forces of Nature (1999).

American character actor who became a casting director following an accident, then returned to acting years later. The son of a New York policeman, Remsen lived a colorful life before turning to acting. He made his film debut in 1959 and was busy before the cameras in both film and television. Five years later, however, a collapsing crane on the set of the TV series No Time for Sergeants (1964) broke his back and nearly killed him. He recuperated for months and was able to walk again with crutches, but he believed his acting career was ended. He became a casting director, eventually heading the casting department of Lorimar Productions. While casting the film Brewster McCloud (1970), he was given a role by director Robert Altman. Though he continued to work in casting with his wife and partner Barbara Dodd, he resumed his acting career, working in scores of films and television episodes, most of the time requiring only a cane to walk. He appeared in many of Altman's films and was a popular figure in the film industry for his generosity and his vivid story-telling. He died in his sleep at age 74 in 1999.

Laurie Bird was a cute and charming actress who appeared in only three pictures during her regrettably short-lived career. Bird was born on September 26, 1953 in Long Island, New York. Laurie was working as a model when she was chosen by director Monte Hellman, from nearly 500 women, to portray "The Girl" in Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). Bird gave a fine and impressively natural performance in her film debut as the chatty and rootless hippie wanderer, "The Girl", in Hellman's extraordinary road movie masterpiece. She was likewise excellent as Harry Dean Stanton's snippy young wife, "Dody Burke White", in Hellman's bleakly fascinating character study Cockfighter (1974). Following her small role as Paul Simon's L.A. girlfriend in Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), Laurie quit acting, altogether, and became a photographer. Bird committed suicide in boyfriend Art Garfunkel's Manhattan penthouse, at the tragically young age of 25, on June 15, 1979. Garfunkel dedicated his album, "Scissors Cut", to Laurie. The album features a partial photograph of Laurie Bird on its back cover.

Thomas Pynchon was born on 8 May 1937 in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Inherent Vice (2014), Prüfstand VII (2002) and Thomas Pynchon: A Journey Into the Mind of P. (2002). He has been married to Melanie Jackson since 1991. They have one child.

Every so often, a prodigy is born of immeasurable talent and potential... Kasan Butcher doesn't really fall into this category, but he's a nice guy nonetheless. His tireless journey began 32 years ago in Glen Cove, New York on April 7, 1973. His childhood was, well, uneventful due in large part to his being an introvert. Most parents have trouble keeping tabs on their kids' whereabouts. They wonder and worry if their children are safe when they are not at home. Kasan's parents did not have this problem; in fact, they used to beg him to leave the house. They often used the phrase, `Why don't you go somewhere!' It seemed hopeless. Although Kasan was about as shy as one person can get, he was a clown and loved entertaining his friends and family. His mother would always tell him that she was going to put him on TV to make her some money. This got him to thinking. After graduating high school, Kasan slowly began to break out of his shell and surprised everyone by announcing that, he wanted to pursue an acting career. One day he went to an open call audition at a casting agency and it changed his life. Soon after the open call he booked his first commercial, it was only background work, but it was a commercial nonetheless. As with everything in nature with good comes bad, doing the commercial costs Kasan his day job. Conundrum: does he risk losing every job he holds until he can support himself with just acting (which could take forever), or bank on faith? Somehow, he combined the two, did several commercials and countless student films in New York, before deciding to take on Hollywood. He arrived in Los Angeles with a group of aspiring actors and was supposed to stay a week, seven years later he is still plugging away. Kasan's battle for success in the early stages was rough. He tried his best to shake it off and keep going, but rejection is never easy. Finding comfort in the little things made life bearable. Unhappy at work, homesick and loneliness started to take its toll. As we, all know success may be elusive, but it is out there. After a heart to heart with a very wise and close friend, Kasan proceeded to book his first national commercial, then his second. He worked on a USC short film that won him an award for "Best actor in a short" at a well-known film festival. He followed that up with appearances on shows like "The Parent'Hood", "Any Day Now", "Boston Public" and "Sabrina". Reuniting with actor/writer/director/producer Robert Townsend, Kasan helped make history by becoming a member of the first family of black superheroes in "Disney Channel's Up, Up, and Away". On returning from Vancouver, he earned a spot on "Malcolm in the Middle" and was recurring for the entire second season. Kasan's most challenging role and to some his best performance came on "MTV's Undressed" where he played a character who starts out gay, but turns straight. Achieving a personal milestone, he books his first guest-starring role on "One on One". Kasan supported a talented cast in the low budget horror film "Drive-In", and followed that up with his first starring role in the feature "Tapped Out". Pilot season is not always kind, but he managed to get a piece of the pie by booking "ACES". Warner Bros. passed on the pilot, but booking "Jeepers Creepers II" brought back that infectious smile of his. Returning to the short film circuit landed him in "Instinct vs. Reason", yet again playing a superhero. Lightning striking twice? His most recent endeavor finds him mercilessly harassing the President's daughter on "Commander in Chief". All of these experiences are what prepared him for, in his opinion, his greatest accomplishment. Writing, producing, financing (which he's still hurting from), and starring in "El Mariachi Negro". A black Mariachi who can't sing, play an instrument or speak Spanish. Semi-autobiographical, it holds a special place in his heart, and, as stated earlier, his wallet. He has not figured out yet if it is luck or talent that has gotten him this far, but whatever it is Kasan Butcher is thankful for each and every one of his blessings.

Scott Goldberg is a cinematographer, director, producer, and writer from New York dedicated to visual storytelling.

His latest film release is The Forest Hills, featuring Shelley Duvall (The Shining), Edward Furlong (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), Stacey Nelkin (Halloween III: Season of the Witch), Marianne Hagan (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), and Dee Wallace (The Howling).

Lovely, shapely, and captivating brunette Rita Bennett was born on January 26, 1941 in Glen Cove, New York. An only child, Rita grew up in a dysfunctional household in Long Island. Unhappy with her turbulent home life, Bennett focused primarily on her burgeoning comely looks as a teenager. Rita left home at age sixteen and moved into a room in a Manhattan apartment with five girls who she barely knew. Bennett soon started modeling and was featured in ads in both newspapers and magazines as well as on billboards (she even was the face of an ad campaign for a Manhattan department store). Rita appeared in her first soft-core film in 1961. Among the notable East Coast soft-core cinema directors that Bennett appeared in films for are Joseph W. Sarno, Barry Mahon, William Rose, and John Amero and Lem Amero. Outside of acting, Rita also worked as a stripper in the tri-state area on the East Coast and managed to land the occasional small role in a major mainstream movie in which she was cast to type as a stripper. Bennett quit acting and stripping in the mid-1980's and went on to focus on fashion and animal welfare instead. Alas, Rita had serious problems with alcoholism throughout her life. Bennett died in 2017. Her body was unclaimed and ultimately wound up buried in a potter's field.

Doug McIntyre is a writer/producer/comedian and radio talk show host who has worked for all the major television networks as well as PBS. Host of "McIntyre in the Morning" on Talk Radio 790 KABC in Los Angeles, he created the nationally syndicated "Red Eye Radio" for WABC in New York City and is a weekly columnist for The Los Angeles Daily News.

Doug was raised in New York where he wrote/produced TV commercials before moving to Los Angeles to work on a short lived NBC sitcom, "You Again?" with Jack Klugman and John Stamos. McIntyre spent the next 20-years primarily in television, writing for "Married...with Children", "WKRP in Cincinnati", "Full House" and he wrote the pilot and first 14 episodes of the critically acclaimed PBS animated series, "Liberty's Kids" for which he earned a Humanitas Award nomination. With his actress/wife Penny Peyser, Doug McIntyre wrote, produced & directed "Trying to Get Good: the Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon" an was Executive Producer on the feature documentary, "Stillpoint."

Christopher Cass was born on 30 September 1958 in Glen Cove, New York, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Trey Pops (2020), Scrubbers (2014) and The Bus Stop (2017). He has been married to Winship Cook since 1988.

Laurel Casillo was born on 20 February 1985 in Glen Cove, New York, USA. She is an actress and cinematographer, known for Chicago Fire (2012), Live from Lincoln Center (1976) and Roman Citizen (2015).

Larry Kemp was born on 12 April 1950 in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. He is an editor, known for The Day After Tomorrow (2004), The Last of the Mohicans (1992) and The Revenant (2015).

Brian Myers was born on 19 April 1985 in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for WWF SmackDown! (1999), GTS Wrestling (2015) and WWE Saturday Morning Slam (2012). He has been married to Lizzie Karcher since 9 October 2015. They have one child.

Gaye Kruger (born Gaye Rescher) also known as Gaye Kruger Ribble, is a former American actress and voice actress. She is the daughter of cinematographer Gayne Rescher (Jay Gayne Rescher) and Broadway actress Ottilie Kruger. Her paternal grandparents were cinematographer Jay Rescher and silent film actress Jean Tolley, and her maternal grandparents were Broadway, Radio, Film & TV actor Otto Kruger (who was related to South African pioneer and president Paul Kruger) and Broadway actress Sue MacManamy. She is the sister of actress Dee Dee Rescher and Deborah Jean Rescher Miller. Gaye Kruger is most known for her stage roles. She originated the role of Kelly Moran in "The Great American Backstage Musical" in 1975. Other television and film credits include Mr. Mom, Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, Venice Venice, Illusions, Eight is Enough, Police Story, and The Scarlett O'Hara War. Kruger was also seen on the small screen in over 100 TV commercials in the 70's. She also gained recognition for her voice performance as Makie in the Streamline Pictures English dub of Yoshiaki Kawajiri's OVA film Wicked City, released in 1993 in North America. Wicked City is her only known role as a voice actress. Kruger has effectively retired from acting, and now works with her husband, Dave Ribble, (author of "The Way of the Conscientious Connector") and their company StandOut Marketing Strategies, providing business and marketing strategies to clients.

Self taught film-maker since High School. His sister was the popular Lower East side punk star Wendy Wild (1956-1996), and his father, Alexis Andreiev helped design portions of the Lunar Module for NASA during the Apollo Years. Glenn Andreiev's first films were in Super 8mm.

Learned most of his film-making skills by working on cult film "Street Trash" in 1985. After Graduation from New York's School of Visual Arts in 1987, he produced and directed his first feature film- "Angela", for which the distributor re-named "Vampire's Embrace" for more market ability. During the early 1990's Andreiev moved to Jacksonville, Florida where he tried to start production on a Revolutionary War thriller- "Mad Wolf" (which he later made in 1997), and a cannibal-thriller "Red Partners" (some photography done in 1993)

When he moved back to New York in 1995, he made a series of feature films, "Night" (1997) "Mad Wolf" (1998), "Sharp and Sudden" (2001), "Every Move You Make" (2002), "Silver Night" (2005) and "The Deed To Hell" (2008)

Since "The Deed To Hell", Andreiev produced a series of feature documentaries - "The Make Believers" (2009), about internet scams, "Lost Emulsion" (2016), about the plight of lost films and film preservation, "The Wendy Wild Story" (2017), "Found Emulsion" (2022), and "Long Island Joins The Space Race" (2023)

Eric Almquist was born in Glen Cove, New York, USA. He is known for The Funtastix (2014), Criminal Minds (2005) and House (2004).

Penelope Grover was born on 11 April 1953 in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Technoburger, Momma Bird and Nobody Wants to Be Here, Nobody Wants to Leave.

Leah Gillingwater was born on 21 August 1980 in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. She is a production manager, known for Kurbaan (2009), The Hungry Ghosts (2009) and Santa Live (2016).

Ryan Famulari attended Stony Brook University where he majored in Journalism and played quarterback for the Seawolves football team. Upon graduation, Ryan received an MFA in Creative Writing from Stony Brook Southampton. He has worked with his brother, Anthony Famulari, as self-taught filmmakers, relocating to Los Angeles in 2016. Ryan and Anthony have collaborated on a number of projects, having most recently finished their debut feature film, Best Man in 2024. Before moving to Los Angeles, Ryan was a production assistant on ABC's daytime cooking show 'The Chew.' He has since worked as a post-production coordinator in animation for shows such as 'Disenchantment' and 'The Great North.'

Vanessa Gould was born on 30 January 1974 in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. She is a director and producer, known for Between the Folds (2008), Obit. (2016) and Independent Lens (1999).

Marylee Picciano was born on 5 January 1979 in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for The Plight of Clownana (2004).

Lee Ranaldo was born on 3 February 1956 in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Never Back Down (2008) and I'm Not There (2007).

Alex Flinn was born in Glen Cove, New York and grew up in both Syosset, New York, and Miami, Florida. She learned to read at three and wanted to be a writer at five. She received her first rejection letter (from Highlights magazine) at eight. At twelve, her family moved to Miami, Florida, where she had a really hard time making friends, due to congenital shyness and a really bad haircut. So she read a lot and tried to write a novel but never finished because she had no idea what to write about.

Alex attended a performing arts high school program, similar to that portrayed in her book, Diva, then majored in vocal performance at the University of Miami where she graduated with a bachelor of music in 1988. She panicked upon realizing that there weren't many available jobs for opera singers (she was a coloratura - the really loud, high-pitched sopranos), she enrolled at Nova Southeastern University Law School, where she earned her J.D. in 1992.

Law school was, it turns out a really good place to learn to write for teenagers. Writing for teens and writing for judges are very similar because both judges and teens have a lot of demands on their time and minimal time for reading. Alex interned with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office in a misdemeanor court and volunteering with battered women. As an intern, she became involved with domestic violence cases, and she would later draw on this experience in her novel Breathing Underwater. She thereafter went into private practice for a time and married fellow attorney Eugene Flinn and had two daughters Katherine and Meredith.

Breathing Underwater was published in 2001. It received many honors, including being chosen a Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association. It was followed by Breaking Point, Nothing to Lose, Fade to Black, Diva, and Beastly. Beastly was released as a motion picture. Her book A Kiss in Time, is about a modern Sleeping Beauty.

She has lived in Miami with her husband, two daughters, a dog, cat, and African Spur-Thighed Tortoise. She enjoyed performing arts, biking, and travel.