Actors, Producers and Entertainment Executives Come Together to Decide Who Will Ride into the Sunset with a 2008 Cowboy Award

COWBOY AWARD at 2007 JHFF Award Ceremony
photo by: Michael Caulfield

On May 14th, the Jackson Hole Film Festival (JHFF), announced the judging committee, comprised of entertainment industry leaders and influencers, that will select the winners of the 2008 Cowboy Awards. Announced at the Awards Ceremony to be held Sunday, June 8 at the Center for the Arts, with committee members in attendance, the awards are given in recognition of the top film in each competitive category including: Features, Documentaries, Global Insight, World Program: Spotlight Latin America, Sports Action, Shorts and Student Voices.

The judging committee for the 5th annual Jackson Hole Film Festival includes:

Frank Cappello (Writer/Director/Producer): Writer, director, SPX artist, Frank Cappello has worn many hats in his 25 years in the entertainment business. He has written on many studio projects including Timeline, Constantine, Rainbow Six and the recently re-potted Swamp Thing. Cappello has directed three films including He Was A Quiet Man, a Cowboy Award winner at last year’s festival for Best Feature Director.

Kattie Evans (VP of Acquisitions and Production – National Geographic): Kattie Evans is vice president of acquisitions and production for National Geographic Films and National Geographic World Films. Acting as co-producer on Arctic Tale (Paramount Vantage) and The Slave Next Door as well as supervising National Geographic Films’ partnership on the Sundance award-winning film God Grew Tired of Us (Newmarket Films), Evans was instrumental in National Geographic Films’ acquiring and releasing of March of the Penguins (Warner Independent) and Oscar nominated film The Story of the Weeping Camel. She is currently overseeing all National Geographic Films acquisitions activity.

Alexis Garcia (Agent – Endeavor Talent Agency): Alexis Garcia is an agent in the independent packaging group of the motion picture literary department of Endeavor Talent Agency. There, he is involved in putting together the financing and selling distribution rights for a variety of independent films. Garcia is also involved in identifying and working with international financiers, producers and filmmakers and speaks regularly on Latin film financing and distribution.

Jonathan King (Executive Vice President of Production – Participant Productions): Jonathan King oversees development and production of Participant’s slate of narrative feature films. Prior to joining Participant, King was executive vice president of production at Focus Features, president of Laurence Mark Productions and was an acquisitions and production executive at Miramax Films. King currently serves on the board of advisors for the Outfest Legacy Project, the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Florida State University Film School and as a mentor for Film Independent’s Project: Involve.

Samara Koffler (Producer): In 1995, Samara Koffler transitioned from print ad production to a career in film and started working with Harrison Ford to run his production company. Koffler associate produced K-19: The Widowmaker. Additional production credits include: What Lies Beneath, Random Hearts, Air Force One, Six Days Seven Nights, and Devil’s Own. In 2004, she founded RedBone Films with Jen Roskind and has developed more than 25 projects. Their first production, Stephanie Daley premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Waldo Salt award for best screenwriting.

Brian Liu (Filmmaker): Brian Liu has more than a decade of experience as a designer and photojournalist with published work in a wide range of publications from The New York Times to Rolling Stone Magazine. In addition, he has completed documentary photo and video assignments for clients including: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, The Peace Corps, and Icelandair. Liu is also accomplished in documentary filmmaking, having worked on projects for various independent productions (incl. Frontrunner, Pancake Mountain) and for major music artists on tour (incl. Manu Chao, Thievery Corporation, Devendra Banhart, Bob Mould, Brazilian Girls). Liu’s feature documentary, Disarm, a film about the global landmine problem, won the 2006 JHFF Cowboy Award for Best Global Insight, and he has subsequently served on juries at the 2007 JHFF, 2007 Silverdocs (Discovery Channel/AFI) Film Festival and 2008 Big Sky Film Festival.

Thomas Mount (Chairman, CEO – Reliant Pictures Corporation): At age 26, Thomas Mount became president of Universal Pictures where he helped develop and oversee such films as Coal Miner’s Daughter, Smokey And The Bandit, National Lampoon’s Animal House, The Deerhunter, E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Scarface and many others. He also created a division of MCA/Universal that produced Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Carwash, Monty Python’s Meaning Of Life, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Repo Man and more. The Mount Company which he founded in 1985, has produced Can’t Buy Me Love, Natural Born Killers and Bull Durham to name a few. Mount has also served two terms as president of the Producers Guild of America. Since early 2006, he has been the chairman and CEO of Reliant Pictures Corporation.

Bridget Moynahan (Actress): Bridget Moynahan’s talent and beauty combined with blockbuster films have established her as one of Hollywood’s favorite leading ladies. Moynahan is starring in the black comedy Noise with Tim Robbins, and directed by Henry Bean. She has appeared in numerous blockbusters including: Serendipity, Lord of War, I, Robot, The Recruit and The Sum Of All Fears. Moynahan has recently starred in J.J. Abram’s Six Degrees and also portrayed Natasha, Carrie’s rival and ‘Mr. Big’s’ wife on the critically acclaimed HBO series Sex And The City. Born in Binghamton, New York and raised in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, she currently resides in New York City and Los Angeles.

Bill Pullman (Actor): Bill Pullman has been working in film and theater for more than twenty years as an actor and director. He has been nominated for awards for his work on Broadway, and his film credits include more than fifty motion pictures, including major roles in The Accidental Tourist, The Serpent And The Rainbow, Sleepless In Seattle, While You Were Sleeping, Independence Day, Spaceballs, Lost Highway and The Grudge. Pullman has an MFA in theater from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and currently, is a MS Society “Ambassador” and a Cornerstone Theater board member in Los Angeles.

Greg Rhem (Manager of Documentary Acquisitions – HBO Documentary Films): Greg Rhem is manager of documentary acquisitions, original programming for Home Box Office. He’s been involved in discovering new and distinctive documentary programming for the Cinemax Reel Life, as well as (what was formerly known as) HBO’s award-winning America Undercover banner. Some of his finds have included: the Oscar®-winning Born Into Brothels; Oscar®- nominated Spellbound and the critically acclaimed Watermarks.

Michael Sugar (Literary Manager/Producer – Anonymous Content): Michael Sugar, a literary manager and producer from Anonymous Content, recently produced Gavin Hood’s Rendition starring Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhall and Maryl Streep (New Line Cinema). Prior to Anonymous, Sugar and his brother, JB, founded Sugar Brothers Entertainment. SBE produced the Emmy nominated A Separate Peace with Dustin Hoffman’s Punch Productions (Paramount and Showtime) and executive produced Wintuition with Henry Winkler (The Game Show network). In 2006 Sugar was selected as one of Hollywood Reporter’s Next Generation 35 executives under the age of 35.

Stu Zicherman (Writer/Producer): Stu Zicherman has been a film and television writer since 1995. He created ABC’s series Six Degrees, starring Campbell Scott and Hope Davis, and was a writer/producer on ABC’s What About Brian. Zicherman has also written or worked on some 20 studio-feature film projects, including Elektra and Rush Hour 2. He is currently writing a romantic comedy for Universal Pictures and prepping his first directorial effort.

Read the full press release by visiting: http://www.jacksonholefilmfestival.com/