FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN DIEGO—The Student Television Network (STN), a non-profit organization uniting schools across the country with their own broadcast programs, has tapped the American Academy of Arts (A3) to develop the professional film & television career track for its national convention, debuting at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication in January.

With speakers ranging from the director of Radio and producer of Smallville to the voice of SpongeBob, SquarePants, among those scheduled to appear during the 3-day A3 line-up:

ART ANTHONY, special effects makeup artist. He has worked on such films and televisions series as Seabiscuit, Homeland Security, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Star Trek: Nemesis, Enterprise, The Majestic, Planet of the Apes, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Galaxy Quest, The Wild, Wild West, Mercury Rising, The Relic, Early Edition, Primal Fear, The Chamber, Stuart Saves His Family, Losing Isaiah, The Untouchables, Groundhog Day, and others.

PAUL BABB, 3-D animation and film production specialist and President and CEO of Maxon Computer USA, Inc. His company's technology is an integral component of most television and feature film visual effects projects today.

STEVEN BONICA, two-time winner of the NPPA Editors Award and two-time Emmy award winner with NBC News. Former Vice President of Advanced Technology Research and Development for NBC, he was responsible for the implementation of high-definition studio and recording technology. Also the former President and COO of Panasonic Broadcast and Television Systems, Steven has played a key role in five international Olympic broadcasts.

STAN FOSTER, a member of the Directors Guild of America he has been active in the financing, managing, planning, budgeting, writing, producing and directing of major television and feature film productions. His credits includes work on films directed by Steven Spielberg, Danny DeVito, Barry Levinson, James Cameron, Peter Bogdonovich, Jackie Cooper, and Hal Ashby. He is the founder and CEO of The American Academy of Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing and awarding student achievement in the visual, digital and performing arts.

MICHAEL STEVEN GREGORY is an independent filmmaker and screenwriter of material spanning mainstream drama to animated action-adventure. Currently finishing We, The Screenwriter, he is the Filmmaker in Residence at AIU, a screenwriting instructor at UCSD Extension, and Executive Director of the Southern California Writers' Conference, which has facilitated nearly $3 million in book and screen deals for emerging writers over the past 18 years.

TOM JEWETT is a director of photography for both feature films and television, spanning the independent and studio systems. Having shot in a variety of formats, extending from 35mm to hi-definition at a wide range of budgets, his credits include Instant Karma, Peacemaker, Rolling Thunder, Talking About Sex, Mikey, Trust Me, Pensacola, Wings of Gold, The Pretender, The Chronicle, and others.

STEPHEN LIGHTHILL is a cinematographer whose work spans from anti-war films to 60 Minutes news segments, Oscar nominated documentaries (Berkely in the '60s) to Grateful Dead music videos, hit TV shows such as Earth 2, The Huntress and Nash Bridges, to independent and studio feature work like Stranger in my House and Kidnapped in Paradise and Kissing Jake.

STARR PARODI and JEFF FAIR are the award-winning husband-wife composing team behind numerous films and TV shows, including The Division, Ghostworld, Do You Wanna Know A Secret?, The Sky's On Fire, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, and The Secret She Carried. Their trailer soundtrack work includes The Last Samurai, Identity, The Lizzy McGuire Movie, Star Trek: Nemesis, The Hulk, The Italian Job, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle of Life, Gangs of New York,, and Johnny English.

PAT PINNEY is among the top voice talents working in features, television and video games. The voice of SpongeBob, SquarePants in the Sponge Bob TV series theme song, he was also the voice of Mighty Mouse in the animated film. His credits include Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, The Powerpuff Girls, Hercules, Aladdin, Look Who's Talking Now, Pryde of the X-Men, Superman and many others.

FAUSTO SANCHEZ is CEO and President of Performance Post, a leading provider of film and television editing and post production services. With its emphasis on emerging technologies, Fausto's vision has enabled Performance Post to be recognized as an innovator in the development of high-definition television.

STANZI STOKES has been casting motion pictures for over 20 years, including such titles as The Terminator, Silent Night, Deadly Night, The Return of the Living Dead, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and the upcoming Fish Don't Blink.

MICHAEL TOLLIN, of Tollin/Robbins Productions, is an Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated writer-producer-director whose credits include the TV series Smallville, What I like About You, I'm With Her and Arli$$. His feature-length films include Big Fat Liar, Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream, Hard Ball, Varsity Blues and most recently, Radio, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ed Harris, which Michael directed.

STEPHAN WILD is a visual effects supervisor who came to Hollywood in 1995 to work on Independence Day. He became Digital Effects Supervisor for Centropolis Effects LLC, overseeing the digital effects on Godzilla and, in particular, the computer generated creature itself. He has worked on such films as The Faculty, Stuart Little, Thirteenth Floor, and Baby Geniuses 2: Super Babies.

Sponsored by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, USC Annenberg School for Communication, American Academy of Arts, and Universal Studios, the event takes place Jan. 8-10, 2004, with an expected attendance of over 700 educators and students. The STN convention will feature seven on-site contests designed to push the envelope of creative and technical skill with exclusive challenges designed by professionals across the creative spectrum.

For more information:

>> Visit the Student Television Network

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