THE FILM MAKERS

Timothy J. Watkins – Producer. Tim Watkins is the owner and CEO of Renegade Productions. A degreed accountant from Benjamin Franklin University, he was able to combine his financial expertise with a skilled team of creative professionals to transform what was a small, boutique post-production house into a full-service agency and production facility.

Tim is co-founder of Leo McWatkins Films, which focuses on content development and co-productions of long-form programming and documentary filmmaking.

Tim is also a regular speaker and media guest on many news and entertainment outlets from the Fox News Channel to local radio.

In addition to In the Face of Evil, Mr. Watkins has also produced Distant Signals, a story about the history of cable television, and is currently in pre-production on the next chapter of In the Face of Evil.

His television productions include Grace Before Meals, a cooking show with a family-friendly message and Home of the Brave, a look at the heroic efforts of our military in the international War on Terror.

Renegade is a leader in consumer and business-to-business advertising. In addition to producing over 300 television commercials each year, Renegade develops print, radio and web applications for some of the biggest national clients in the network and cable industries.

Renegade also maintains a vibrant training division that focuses on creating and delivering corporate certification training tools and seminars. Renegade trains more than 25,000 people per year.   

Outside of the business realm, Tim is an avid participant in charitable organizations, including the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR). Tim Watkins resides in Westminster, Maryland with his wife and three children.

Stephen K. Bannon –Writer/Director/Producer.  Mr. Bannon has spent 15 years in media investment banking and film financing. A former Goldman Sachs banker, he formed his own firm and sold it to Societe Generale in 1998. He has arranged the financing for numerous film producers and distributors including Newmarket Capital, MGM, Polygram Filmed Entertainment and First Look Pictures. 

Mr. Bannon was Executive Producer of Julie Taymore’s directorial debut, Titus, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus,starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange; nominated for an Academy Award, the film was an official entry in the Venice Film Festival.  Mr. Bannon was also Executive Producer of Sean Penn’s directorial debut, Indian Runner, an entry into the Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

From 1976 until 1983, Mr. Bannon served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy, with four years of sea duty onboard the destroyer U.S.S. Paul F. Foster (DD964) with the Pacific Fleet.  The Foster was assigned to battle groups in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf during the Iranian Hostage Crisis.  After sea duty, Mr. Bannon served as Special Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon during President Reagan’s first term. 

Mr. Bannon is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and holds a Masters Degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University.  In 1985, Mr. Bannon received his MBA with honors from Harvard Business School. 

He is a trustee of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and a board member of Paulist Pictures. He is currently the chief executive officer of American Vantage Media, a branded entertainment, film, and TV production and distribution company.

Peter Schweizer – Executive Producer is also author of the best-selling book Reagan’s War, upon which the film In the Face of Evil is based.  Mr. Schweizer is a prolific author in the area of political affairs and national security.  His works include The Fall of the Wall; Victory; and The Next War, coauthored with Caspar Weinberger; his latest, The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty, was co-authored with his wife, Rochelle Schweizer.  His books have been translated into eleven languages.

His work has also been published in Foreign Affairs, the New York Times, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, Defense Nationale (France), National Review, International Herald-Tribune, and ORBIS: A Journal of World Affairs. Mr. Schweizer was an on-air commentator for CNBC during President Reagan’s funeral ceremonies.

Mr. Schweizer is currently a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institute.  He received his  Masters in Philosophy and International relations from Oxford University and his B.A. from George Washington University. 

Julia Jones – Writer.  Ms. Jones has a 15-year career in the development, production, and financing of feature films and television. Her original screenplay, Discretion Assured, starring Michael York, screened at Cannes; produced by Curb International, the film was Executive Produced by James Aubrey, former head of MGM Studios.  Ms. Jones is also creator, writer, and producer of the feature length documentary film, Invisible Worlds: The Life and Martyrdom of Giordano Bruno.  The film was shot by Emmy award-winning cinematographer, Michael Rubbo (Vincent and Me) on location in Rome, the Vatican, and throughout Italy during the events commemorating the 400th anniversary of Bruno’s burning.  Invisible Worlds is scheduled for release in Spring 2005.

Ms. Jones was a student of playwright William Alfred and poet Robert Fitzgerald at Harvard College, where she graduated with an A.B. cum laude in English Literature.