WAYNE DARWEN
Director/Writer/Producer
Immortalized in
the book Tabloid Baby as one of the
innovators of the tabloid television genre, Wayne Darwen rewrote the rules of television news, developed the
template for the modern entertainment news package, changed the way stories are
told on television and opened the gates for the reality television
revolution. All the while, he was
developing and cultivating the role of the brilliant Aussie pirate in an
increasingly corporatized industry. Starting out as a 17-year-old reporter for
a newspaper in Sydney, Australia, he traveled the world as a reporter for the
likes of the Sydney Daily Mirror, Star magazine and the New York Post, before
scorching the earth of popular culture when he made the move to television on
influential shows like A Current Affair,
Hard Copy, Geraldo Rivera’s Now It Can be Told and Inside Edition. He saw his reputation reach legendary status
when he inspired the character of newsman Wayne Gale in Oliver Stone’s film, Natural Born Killers, mellowed
considerably during an extended stay in Nashville, and washed up in Los Angeles
at the dawn of the 21st century to write and produce for network,
cable, and the syndicated television series, Extra, while a new generation of television producer and executive
looked upon him with awe -- and a bit of
fear. In his most recent venture, Darwen
confronted his own legacy as well as the devolution of modern journalism in the
service of television entertainment when he wrote, directed, and took on the
guise of Dave High in the documentary film High
There. It is the first leg of a
filmic journey that picks up where his colleague and inspiration Hunter S.
Thompson left off.
HENRY GOREN
Director/Director of Photography/Producer
Henry Goren was born in Hollywood, California, with his future career as a
photographer first taking shape when he was given the family Kodak 8mm movie
camera at age eight to document a family vacation through some 35 states over
42 days. His father, an electrical engineer and writer, was amazed how well his
son did the job, and an inspired young Henry continued to make small one-reel
animation films. He broke into the film industry in the post production
department of Schick Sunn Classic Pictures and was promoted to assistant film
editor before breaking into the television news business as cameraman and director
of photography for shows including Dateline,
Extra, Celebrity Justice, TV's
Practical Jokes & Bloopers and the NBC’s Olympic coverage. Goren was a
stunt driver on Stingray, appeared
onscreen as a footballer on HBO's 1st and
Ten and as a police officer with a whole five lines on General Hospital. He first worked with
Darwen while freelancing for Telepictures in 2002, beginning a long
collaboration that culminated in High
There.
