THE AUTHORS

DAVID SHELDON 

David Sheldon, a busy writer-director-producer, is currently producing a slate of nine motion pictures.  He produced and directed "Grizzly Adams: The Legend of Dark Mountain" which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival.   He co-authored the screenplay "Predator: The Concert" which stars George Clooney, Charlie Sheen, Laura Dern, Louise Fletcher, Deborah Raffin and John Rhys-Davies.  He has written, directed and/or produced twelve feature films and is also active in television.  He wrote and produced "Secrets of a Small Town" for Twentieth Century-Fox Television.  He has been in business with most of the Hollywood studios.  One of his first feature films, "Grizzly," which he wrote and produced, is one of the most financially successful independent films in motion picture history, earning 50 times its cost worldwide.  He wrote, directed and/or produced "Lovely But Deadly,"  "Just Before Dawn," "The Guardian," "The Evil," "Day of the Animals," "The Manitou," "Sheba Baby," "The Devil Times Five" and "Abby."  

He started out in Hollywood as Director of Screenplay Development for Lawrence A. Gordon ("48 Hours," "Field Of Dreams," "Die Hard," etc.) at Orion/American International Pictures.  He supervised various aspects of productions such as "Dillinger," "Sisters," "The Reincarnation of Peter Proud," "Futureworld," "Amityville Horror," and "Walking Tall."  He subsequently went into partnership with producer Phil Feldman ("Blue Thunder," "The Toy," "A Star is Born," "The Getaway.").

Sheldon earned an M.F.A. degree in writing and directing at the Yale University School of Drama and has been a member of the Director's Unit of the Actors Studio in New York.  During his college years and shortly thereafter, he produced and directed over 100 Broadway plays and musicals at the Gateway Playhouse in Bellport, Long Island, owned by his family.  He subsequently became director of the Columbia Pictures Talent Farm developing new writers and actors under the supervision of Columbia Pictures talent scout Joyce Selznick.


JOAN McCALL

One of the most prolific writers in Hollywood, Joan McCall has written over forty screenplays on assignment including the recent sale of three "spec" scripts "Timelapse," "Between Two Worlds," and "Respect."   She is producing a slate of nine motion pictures in Hollywood with her husband and partner David Sheldon. Her screenplay, "Shirley," about the racecar driver, Shirley Muldowney, was developed and produced as a popular motion picture under the title "Heart Like a Wheel." 

Her feature film, "Predator: The Concert," which she co-authored with David Sheldon, filmed in Europe starring George Clooney, Charlie Sheen, Laura Dern, Deborah Raffin, Louise Fletcher and Deborah Foreman, is in post-production.  

In addition to her screenplay writing, Joan has written over 200 scripts for network television. She was a staff writer for NBC's "Santa Barbara," for New World Television, and has written many scripts and stories for " Days of Our Lives" (NBC).   As a contract writer for "Another World" (CBS), Ms. McCall wrote two scripts a week.  She was a continuing writer for "Capitol," and she wrote a bible (a six-month story projection) for "Search For Tomorrow" (CBS). 

Joan McCall has also had a successful career as an actress.  She has starred on Broadway in several hit plays by writers such as Neil Simon, Woody Allen and Evan Hunter, in a number of national tours of Broadway shows, and in several Hollywood motion pictures.  

A native of Kentucky, Joan graduated from Berea College with a B.A. degree in art and theater.  She trained for the theater in New York and studied with Lee Strasberg and Charles Conrad.  A novelist as well as a screenwriter, she just completed two new books, "Maggie" and "When I Knew Al," a biography of Al Pacino.  Speaking fluent French, she is a member of the French Circle in Los Angeles and has served as President of the prestigious Salon Francaise.



ED DE LEO

ED DE LEO was an actor and an acting coach.  He and Al Pacino studied acting together at the Herbert Bergoff Studio in New York in the 50s.  De Leo coached Pacino and encouraged him to pursue an acting career.  He and Al Pacino stayed in touch over the years while pursuing separate careers.  De Leo  appeared in several movies including "Gettysburg," "The Pope of Greenwich Village," "My Favorite Year," "Sunrise at Campobello" and "Author, Author." His television appearances include "Mission Impossible," "Search For Tomorrow," "Naked City," "East Side West Side," "Fantasy Island," and a recurring role on "City." He performed in New York in productions of "A Hatful of Rain," "End as a Man," and "Death of a Salesman." Many of his acting students have gone on to achieve success in film, television and on Broadway. 

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