An independent producer has just secured the rights to turn The Black Lens novel into a full-length feature film.
Matt Starr, the president and CEO of Kokosing River Productions, has teamed up with Director of Photography Dan Parsons to find the right director, actors and investors for a movie version of my debut novel.
This partnership came after the screenplay version of The Black Lens became a quarterfinalist in the Scriptapalooza Screenwriting Competition, thanks to the hard work and adaptation by Jon Anderegg. Anderegg’s script also placed third in the Oregon Independent Film Festival Screenplay Competition. In addition, it received both developmental editing and industry circulation by Script Pipeline executives after my novel beat out more than 1,300 other books to become a semifinalist in the national Book Pipeline movie competition.
About Matt Starr
Matt Starr is President/CEO of Kokosing River Productions (formerly I-CONN Video Production). He has been a producer for over 16 years with film credits in feature films, commercials, documentaries, television programs and short films. His background in psychology and his passion for storytelling permeates throughout his many award-winning documentary, dramatic narrative and corporate media productions.
In 2016, Matt was recognized for his humanitarian work on the documentary The JJ Project and at several film festivals, including the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Film Festival, The Accolades Film Festival and The IndieFEST. Starr is the recipient of several other film festival awards and numerous Telly Awards for corporate, commercial and industrial films. He also served as producer for Looking for the Jackalope, which was recognized in several categories at the Austin Revolution Film Festival including Best Picture and Audience Favorite.
Matt has performed in several musicals and plays as well as in film and television shows, including ABC’s Final Witness. Other film credits include principle roles in Pregnant Pause, Caleb’s Gift, April Dreams, Recoil, As We Walked In The Woods and the documentary Hunting for Hunger. He is represented by Cam Talent in Columbus, Ohio.
About Dan Parsons
Dan Parsons has been working as a cinematographer for over 17 years with more
than 200 shooting credits on feature films, commercials, documentaries and television
shows. Dan’s experience includes all film and digital formats from 16mm and 35mm to
the latest digital formats.
In 2008, he earned an MFA in film production with an emphasis on cinematography
from Chapman University, where he served as the teaching assistant for esteemed educator and ASC cinematographer Bill Dill. Before relocating to Southern California, Dan had established himself as a cinematographer in Austin, Texas, where he shot numerous
independent films and was privileged to work with talented and award-winning directors.
Dan relocated in 2010 to his home state of Ohio, where he spent seven years as a
professor teaching digital media at Zane State College while continuing to work full time
in production. Dan was awarded a “Distinguished Professorship” endowment during his
time at Zane State College, and this experience enabled him to fulfill his other passion for
training filmmakers as visual storytellers.
About Jon Anderegg
Jon Anderegg is the author of The Black Lens screenplay, which became a quarterfinalist in the Scriptapalooza Screenwriting Competition and placed third in the Oregon Independent Film Festival Screenplay Competition. His third script, Ascension of Jerome, was also a finalist in the 2016 Creative World Awards for Action/Adventure. Jon is an Assistant Professor of Communication at George Fox University and a former lecturer at The Ohio State University, teaching classes in journalism, public speaking, communication theory and writing for scientific research. Jon attended film school at Bob Jones University, where he developed a love for script writing.
Learn more about Kokosing River Productions here.
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