2. INTRODUCTION
Take a background that combines writing, storytelling, and
directing... add over a decade of working with high-profile
entertainment brands & location-based attractions... mix in a good
dollop of pop-culture & technology geekdom... and there you have
it, a fifteen-year career that’s always been about dreaming up new
and unique ways to entertain people.
From theme parks, rides & attractions to museums, retail & resorts,
I’ve collaborated on numerous entertainment projects all over the
world, constantly looking for new ways to integrate technology,
interactivity, and theatricality to engage and excite an audience.
3. NOTABLE PROJECTS
• Men In Black: Alien Attack
• The Italian Job Stunt Track
• Toymaker 3000
• Survivor: The Ride
• Tomb Raider: Firefall
• The Mask 4D
• Landmark Entertainment
• Paramount Licensing
4. MEN IN BLACK: ALIEN ATTACK
• Creative director, show producer & writer from concept to opening day.
• This award-winning attraction is a a “life-sized, ride-through video game”
where riders defend the streets of NYC from a horde of marauding aliens,
competing against each other for points and the chance to become a full-
fledged MIB agent. Combining dual ride tracks, 100+ animated figures, full
interactivity, spinning vehicles and multiple endings, MIB is an experience
that’s never the same ride twice.
• Opened in 2000 at Universal Studios Florida.
5. THE ITALIAN JOB STUNT TRACK
• Creative director & show producer from concept to opening day.
• Based on both a hit movie and a hot lifestyle car brand.
• Recreates climactic car chase from the hit movie with launched
Mini Coopers, on-board audio, dramatic music & sound, and
environmental theming & special effects.
• Opened in 2005 & 2006 at Kings Island, Canada’s Wonderland &
Kings Dominion parks.
6. TOYMAKER 3000
• Creative director, show producer & writer from concept to opening day.
• An “Adventure in Automation” that educates & entertains with
numerous interactive robots and a real toy-making assembly line where
you can purchase & customize your very own toy top.
• Opened in 2003 at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
7. SURVIVOR: THE RIDE
• Creative director & show producer from concept to opening day.
• Celebrates the most popular television show in the world, combining a team-based interactive game and a spinning, coaster-like
family thrill ride.
• Transforms an “off-the-shelf” ride conveyance into an interactive experience for both riders & specatators through environmental
theming, water & fire effects, a custom musical score, and unique “rhythm-game” interactive video media in the queue area.
• Opened in 2006 at Great America park.
8. TOMB RAIDER: FIREFALL
• Creative director & show producer from concept to opening day.
• Transforms an “off-the-shelf” ride conveyance into an intense cinematic
experience for both riders & specatators through environmental theming,
water & fire effects, and a dramatic custom musical score.
• Opened in 2005 at Kings Dominion park.
9. THE MASK 4D
• Creative director & writer from concept to opening day.
• Integrates live performers, show action equipment, 3D film,
computer-generated imagery and in-theater effects.
• Opened in 2002 at Warner Bros. Movie World park in Madrid, Spain.
10. LANDMARK ENTERTAINMENT
I was a show writer and creative director at Landmark
Entertainment Group for nearly seven years, participating
on numerous projects at both the conceptual and
production levels. Highlights include:
• Show writing for Terminator 2: 3D at
Universal Studios.
• Early concept development for SpiderMan at
Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
• Attraction & park development for Universal
Hollywoodland regional theme park concept.
• Show writing for Star Trek: The Experience and Borg
Invasion 4D at the Las Vegas Hilton.
• Creative direction & show writing for M&Ms 3D
attraction in Las Vegas.
• Show writing & on-site direction for Caesars Magical
Empire in Las Vegas.
• Concept development & show writing for Aliens 3D
attraction for 20th Century Fox (unproduced).
• Concept development, show writing, and on-site
direction for TimeEscape at Navy Pier, Chicago.
• Misc. creative direction and writing for countless
unproduced concepts, as well as on-site production
support and direction for many other produced shows.
11. PARAMOUNT LICENSING
From 2003-2007, I worked for Paramount Pictures’ licensing department,
developing rides, shows, attractions, theme parks, and integrated resort
concepts that utilize Paramount’s vast library of intellectual properties.
This included designing and supervising regional attractions for the
Paramount Parks chain in North America (sold to Cedar Fair in 2006), as
well as creative development of much larger blue-sky concepts for major,
world-class destination projects in locations around the globe.
Unfortunately, the international projects are strictly confidential, so I
cannot share any of the designs. My role included overall creative
direction and branded attraction development for the following:
• Four separate and distinct destination theme parks, in various places
throughout Asia and the Middle East.
• Three different integrated resort concepts with themed retail, dining
& attractions.
• Conceptual development of a Paramount-branded hotel, both to
compliment other resort concepts, and as a stand-alone property.
• Countless attraction concepts, based on such properties as Titanic,
Transformers, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Addams Family, Tomb
Raider, Mission: Impossible, School of Rock, Braveheart, Beowulf, Star
Trek, and Lemony Snicket’s ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’.
• More info at paramountlicensing.com
12. HOW I EXPRESS MYSELF
I don’t draw, but I am a designer
that uses many other forms of
expression in my work.
Here’s a handy chart!
Wr i t i n g
Media
Te c h n o l o g y
Po l l e n a t i o n
Enthusiasm
13. WRITING
• Treatments, presentations, scripts, story
development, storyboard direction,
screenplays, programming scripts, etc.
• I enjoy discovering a project’s narrative flow
and creating engaging ways to tell that story
to clients, collaborators, and customers
• It all starts with a story...
14. MEDIA
• I like to use audio/visual presentations as part
of the concept design process, and have
presentation-level skills in video & audio
editing & post production.
• When in production or in the field, I have
extensive directing experience with media
artists such as cinematographers, editors,
sound designers, and animators.
15. TECHNOLOGY
• I keep current with all forms of technology as
both a professional and an end user, and aspire
to integrate it seamlessly into both the design
process and the end product.
• From concept development to production in
the field, I have a high degree of understanding
of entertainment technology systems and can
“speak geek” fluently in almost any creative
application.
16. POLLENATION
• From directing artists & talent, to brainstorming
with engineers & technicians, I pride myself on
being an all-around collaborator who
understands and embraces every part the
design process.
• I can synthesize the various components of a
project into an exciting, attainable goal for the
team, by seeing the “big picture” of a project,
and how each element will affect the audience
experience.
17. ENTHUSIASM
• At the end of the day, I’m also a consumer,
enthusiast, and honest-to-goodness fan who
actually enjoys and spends money on the kind of
entertainment I create.
• I’m an avid theme park goer, movie watcher,
video gamer and all-around pop-culture junkie.
• If the audience isn’t happy, I haven’t done my job.
18. OTHER COMPANIES
In addition to my project-based work, I have consulted with numerous
other entertainment companies and design firms, such as:
• Universal Creative
• Six Flags
• Thinkwell
• Hettema & Associates
• BRC
• Blur Studios
• Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Committee
• The Bezark Company
• Cirque du Soleil
19. REFERENCES
• Phil Hettema, 626-683-9876
Principal, Hettema & Associates
• Ty Granaroli, 818-445-1158
Writer, Director, Creative Executive
• Craig Hanna, 818-333-3444
Principal, Thinkwell Design & Production
• Adam Bezark, 818-720-3158
Creative Director, Disney Creative Entertainment
• Kurt Haunfelner, 773-947-6796
VP of Exhibits, Chicago Museum of Science & Industry
• Robin Hall, 626-437-8252
Art Director/Designer
• Christian Hope, 818-259-2059
Illustrator/Designer