Scheduling the Day

In an environment where less than ten percent of dramas on television are directed by women, Bethany Rooney has enjoyed a long and esteemed career.  She has directed over one hundred and fifty episodes of prime-time network shows, including Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, and Private Practice.  For cable television, she has directed In Plain Sight, Weeds, and Drop Dead Diva.  She began her directing career on the 1980’s iconic television show, St. Elsewhere, where she had served as associate producer.

 

She has also directed eight television movies, including three Danielle Steel adaptations for NBC.  Her movies have earned reviews such as the following from Variety:  “Bethany Rooney’s sensitive direction makes for some vivid and understated moments,” and the Hollywood Reporter noted her “carefully paced and involving direction (featuring) magnificent acting.”   She has directed Oscar winners and contenders Denzel Washington, Hilary Swank, Mary Tyler Moore, Angela Bassett, George Clooney, Alfre Woodard, Felicity Huffman, Sally Field, and Robert Downey Jr., among many others. She is also the author of The Director Tells the Story.

Josh McLaglen graduated from UCLA in 1980 with a major in History.  After working with his father, director Andrew McLaglen, as a stuntman and a production assistant, he joined the DGA in 1984. He worked as a 2nd AD with his mentor Duncan Henderson on several films.  In 1987 he became a 1st AD on the TV mini series, AMERIKA, and his current film, REAL STEEL, marks Josh's 40th film as a First Assistant Director.  In 2002, he started working in a dual capacity as a Co-Producer/1st AD and now works as an Executive Producer/1st AD. Josh has had the pleasure of working with accomplished directors such as current DGA President: Taylor Hackford, as well as Robert Zemeckis, Francis Lawrence, Michael Bay, Shawn Levy and James Cameron.  He's been nominated twice for the DGA Award: AVATAR in 2009 and TITANIC which he won in 1997.  Josh is one of the industry's pioneers of the motion capture technology and has the distinct honor of having the two highest grossing films of all time: #1 (Avatar) and #2 (Titanic) on his resume.

A product of 1970’s working class England, Julia jumped the pond at the millennium and quickly inserted herself in american advertising. Having worked on major campaigns for Sony, Entertainment Arts and Adidas, Julia found her calling outside of video village.  Julia stumbled her way from working on AFI student films to working as an assistant director on more than a two dozen independent features, shorts, music videos and commercials.  In 2009, Julia was excepted into the prestigious Director Guild of America Producers Training Program were she is currently completing her days to become a DGA Assistant Director.  As a Trainee Julia’s credits include the Mentalist, Cold Case, Outlaw and Glee.  Julia holds a BA (Hons) from De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

Matthew Feitshans graduated from the University of Southern California Cinema School in 1991 with a degree in screenwriting, although his career in the film industry began long before that.  As a young teenager he held jobs as production assistant every summer on films produced by his father, Buzz Fetishans.  By 1993 at the age of 23, Matthew had earned a place in the Director’s Guild of America and has worked on several films in the capacity as Assistant Director, including “The Forbidden Kingdom,” “The Last Legion,”  “The World of Tomorrow,” “The Last Castle,” “Remember The Titans,” “Kull, The Conqueror” “Shadow Conspiracy,” “Beverly Hills Cop III,”  “Tombstone,”  “Army of Darkness," “Trading Moms,” “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story,” “Prancer,” “Timebomb,”  and “Total Recall."

 

Beginning in 2006, Matthew assumed responsibilities as VP of Development for Raffaella Productions, Inc.  Projects under his supervision currently include: MacGyver, with New Line Cinema; What Happened To Monday?, with Vendome Films; Killer Pizza with Chris Columbus and 1492 Films; and the upcoming production Vivaldi, starring Luke Evans, Jessica Biel, and Sir Ben Kingsley.