Late May 2027

Fred Fuchs has been a Film and Television producer and Network executive for over 45 years.

He was President of American Zoetrope, Francis Coppola’s company for 12 years and produced 6 films Coppola directed, including THE GODFATHER III, BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, and TUCKER: A MAN AND HIS DREAM.

While at Zoetrope he produced 7 other films including THE SECRET GARDEN, MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTIEN, and DON JUAN DEMARCO.

Fred also started a successful television division for Zoetrope and produced shows including THE ODYSSEY, MOBY DICK and KIDNAPPED.

At Zoetrope he was involved in developing, financing, producing and marketing its projects. He also helped Coppola finance and create a short story magazine, Zoetrope All Story to source material for feature films.

After Zoetrope, Fred moved to Toronto where he was the Executive Director, Arts and Entertainment at the CANADIAN BROADCAST CORPORATION and was responsible for commissioning and supervising production of entertainment content, children’s and variety programming, including the shows THE TUDORS, LITTLE MOSQUE ON THE PRARIE and HEARTLAND.

After the CBC, Fred continued to produce international TV co-productions, including CAMELOT, TRANSPORTER, WORLD WITHOUT END, as well as independent features.

Fred now lives in the SF Bay Area and is active consulting with writers and producers in the industry as well as directing local community theatre.

11 Academy Award nominations have been received for films which Fuchs has produced and he has also received 4 Emmy Award nominations.

Stan Zimmerman is a man of many mediums (TV, film and theatre). He’s been nominated for two WGA Awards for Best Comedy Writing – THE GOLDEN GIRLS and ROSEANNE (the infamous lesbian kiss episode). Stan’s also written and produced on GILMORE GIRLS, co-created the Lifetime sitcom, RITA ROCKS, wrote on both BRADY BUNCH movies and rewrote the ABC-TV movie of ANNIE. Stan has a BFA-Drama from NYU/Circle-in-the-Square and has directed LA productions of The Diary of Anne Frank, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, A Tuna Christmas, Gemini, Spike Heels and his original plays – Meet & Greet, Knife to the Heart, Have a Good One, and Yes Virginia (also at Judson Theatre - Pinehurst, NC and North Street Playhouse - Onancock, VA). Stan directed Off-Broadway’s HYPROV (Daryl Roth Theatre). TRWplays has published and licensed his works: Yes Virginia, Silver Foxes and his suicide awareness play, Right Before I Go., which he performs in across the U.S. Zimmerman & Berg wrote the Lifetime hit Christmas movie, LADIES OF THE 80'S: A DIVAS CHRISTMAS. Stan’s memoir, The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore was released by Indigo River Publishing. He’s appeared on numerous podcasts, national morning shows, and as the "Bartender” on Andy Cohen’s WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE to promote it. Stan was the host/showrunner on Bravo’s SITUATION: COMEDY, a reality show produced by Sean Hayes.

Kirsty Bell, founder & CEO of Goldfinch and co-founder of DREAMTOWN, initially qualified in law, then became a chartered tax adviser and strategic tax partner for a top ten firm before the age of 30. Now recognized as one of the UK’s leading filmmakers, Producers and Executive Producers of well over 100 feature films, including the 2023 Best Short Film Oscar and BAFTA winner ‘An Irish Goodbye’.

As the founder of Goldfinch in 2014, Bell demonstrates the viability of private investment in the independent film sector, pioneering new avenues for creative visionaries. She has facilitated the financing of over 300 film and TV projects, guiding more than 20 first-time directors in bringing their cinematic visions to life and is co-founder of Goldfinch’s First Flights programme. Her directorial debut feature film “A Bird Flew In,” starring Jeff Fahey and Sir Derek Jacobi, was selected for over 30 festivals, accumulating an impressive tally of 28 award wins and 30 nominations to date.

Prior to co-founding the management/production company Fictional Entity in January 2017, Chris Deckard spent over seven years working with and representing talent at major agencies such as ICM Partners and WME. He has worked closely with traditional and new media buyers to find and develop content for domestic and international audiences. In addition to helping cast and package numerous features and series, he has evaluated thousands of scripts for actors and directors. Chris graduated from Cornell University and earned his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School.

Fictional Entity’s clients have been named to The Black List, The Hit List, The Young & Hungry List, The Blood List and been lauded by the PAGE Awards, the International Emmys and placed as finalists in The Heath Ledger Scholarship and the Academy Nicholl Fellowship The Academy Nicholl Screenwriting Awards, the AWG, ADG, SPA, and AACTA. Clients have written, directed, starred, and produced in numerous formats, including features, TV, virtual reality, and podcasts, independently and for companies like Netflix, NBCUniversal, AMC, Legendary, Meta, Marvel, Fremantle, SyFy, the CW, Warner Bros., Amazon, Blumhouse, Comedy Central, BBC, the ABC Australia, Foxtel, TruTV, Super Deluxe, Hallmark, CBS, Lifetime, E!, and MSNBC.

Chris has advised clients through multiple successful series pilot and pitch sales. He and his business partner were non-writing Executive Producers on a series pilot that sold to a major US network in 2021. In 2024, Fictional Entity client highlights include: a book-to-series pitch sale to Netflix, a first-time writer/director’s feature film entering production, the release of three series from first-time writing Executive Producers, and a feature film release.

Michael Davies is a UK-based director and writer, currently in pre-production on THE CAPTIVE HEART, a romantic adventure film, shooting this autumn on the Amalfi Coast.

Michael began his career making a wide range of critically acclaimed, award-winning documentaries and drama-documentaries for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 - including seven films with legendary producer Beryl Vertue at Hartswood Films - as well as dramatised adventure films for Discovery Channel. Michael also directed fourteen episodes of the hit BBC children’s drama series TRACY BEAKER RETURNS, winning a BAFTA and two RTS (Royal Television Society) awards.
 
Michael has a long association with the RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts), working with writers and directing rehearsed readings and performances of new plays. Two of his feature scripts - THE CAPTIVE HEART and PSYCHOPOMP - have been developed with the Academy. Michael also teaches a regular screen acting masterclass in London, and passionately believes that the way to attract the best talent to your projects is to write characters actors will want to play.

Michael's short film WHAT’S VIRGIN MEAN? screened at over sixty international festivals, winning eight awards and attracting more than ten million hits on YouTube; unusually for a short, it also made a profit. Another of his films, LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, starring John Hurt and Phyllida Law, won fifteen awards, including an RTS, Rushes and Raindance, and was shortlisted for an Oscar.

Catherine Hardwicke’s first film as a director (and co-writer) was the critically-acclaimed coming-of-age THIRTEEN, which won numerous awards in global film festivals, including the Director’s Award at Sundance, Golden Globe nominations for Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood, and an Academy Award nomination for Holly Hunter. Hardwicke has since then become best known as the director of TWILIGHT, which launched the blockbuster franchise and earned nearly $400 million at the global box office.  

Hardwicke’s other credits include: LORDS OF DOGTOWN (Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch), MISS YOU ALREADY (Drew Barrymore, Toni Collette), RED RIDING HOOD (Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman), MISS BALA (Gina Rodriguez) and THE NATIVITY STORY (Oscar Isaac).  For television, she has directed episodes of THIS IS US, EYE WITNESS, LOW WINTER SUN, HELL ON WHEELS, RECKLESS and the 14 part Quibi series DON'T LOOK DEEPER (Don Cheadle, Emily Mortimer).

Hardwicke previously worked as a Production Designer on films including VANILLA SKY, THREE KINGS, TANK GIRL, and the classic western TOMBSTONE. She holds an Architecture degree from UT Austin and did graduate work in animation at UCLA Film School.

Hardwicke’s latest work includes the wild action/comedy MAFIA MAMMA, filmed in Rome (Toni Collette, Monica Bellucci), a gritty family drama PRISONER'S DAUGHTER (Kate Beckinsale, Brian Cox), which premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival, DREAMS IN THE WITCHHOUSE (Rupert Grint, Ismael Cruz Cordova), inspired by a J.P. Lovecraft novella - for the Netflix anthology series Guillermo del Toro’s "Cabinet of Curiosities." She recently worked on the acclaimed Hulu series, UNDER THE BRIDGE, starring Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone.

Hardwicke recently finished post-production on her new indie feature called STREET SMART. The film follows a group of street kids living in Venice Beach, struggling to chase their dreams against all odds, forging unbreakable bonds and redefining what it means to be a family (Yara Shahidi, Isabelle Fuhrman, Daniel Zovatto, Skeet Ulrich, Michael Cimino, Paris Jackson, Skylar Astin). Hardwicke co-wrote the drama with New York Times best-selling author and screenwriter Nic Sheff (“13 Reasons Why,” “Tweak”).

Catherine Hardwicke is attending this retreat as a Roving Mentor.