Sean Covel | |
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Born | Sean Covel March 4, 1976 |
Other names | Sean C. Covel |
Occupation | Film producer |
Years active | 2004–present |
Spouse |
Sean Covel (born March 4, 1976) is an American film producer best known for being a producer of Napoleon Dynamite .
Covel grew up in Edgemont, South Dakota [ citation needed ]and attended college at the University of Nebraska, Kearney, majoring in Broadcast Management with a minor in acting. Covel then took a position as a headhunter in San Francisco, and eventually opened his own firm before ultimately turning his attention back to film making. Covel received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, Peter Stark Producing Program where he occasionally lectures. [1] [2]
After college, Covel began work on the film Think Tank . In 2003 he joined the team writing and producing Napoleon Dynamite, which won critical acclaim. [3] For his and Chris Wyatt's work on the film, they were nominated for the producer award at the 20th Independent Spirit Awards. [4]
Covel's other producing credits include 12 Dogs of Christmas, Beneath , [5] Carter & June [6] and Cafe . [7]
In 2019, Covel gave a TED talk entitled “The mind is a computer. The question is how,” on the mental framework of problem-solving. [8]
In 2015, he founded a children's charity, 12 Days of Pizza, which works annually with Pizza Ranch to help low-income elementary school children eat over school holiday periods. It started with 144 meals being provided to 12 families. Within a three-year period, the program grew to provide over 12,000 meals to over 1000 food-insecure families with elementary school aged children. The program continues to expand each year. [9] [10] The program is also available for people affected due to coronavirus. [11]
In 2019, Covel partnered with illustrator Rebecca Swift to launch a 64-book series for kids, in which the title character is called Porter the Hoarder. The first book, Porter the Hoarder and the Ransacked Room, was a bestseller in 2019. [12] [13]
The Porter the Hoarder series is now part of a charitable program with The United Way called Black Hills Reads. The partnership saw over 2000 books given to elementary school children in the Black Hills area in January 2019. [14]
Following the success of this initiative, the S.D. Statewide Family Engagement Center (SDSFEC) became involved with the series, using the books as a vehicle for promoting more active engagement from children and their parents in literature and literacy. As part of the partnership, over 10,000 more students received books. The partnership will run for four more years. [15]
Covel was married to actress Alexa Vega from 2010 to 2012. [16] [17]
The University of Southern California is a private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in California, and has an enrollment of more than 49,000 students.
Mark Jonathan Harris is an American documentary filmmaker, writer, and educator known for his award-winning work in the documentary genre. Over the course of his career, Harris has earned three Academy Awards and numerous accolades for his contributions to filmmaking and education. He served as a Distinguished Professor and Head of Advanced Documentary Production at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he taught from 1983 until his retirement in 2023. Harris is also an accomplished author, having written five children's novels and a collection of short stories.
The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses eight academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television; Interactive Media & Games; Media Arts + Practice; Peter Stark Producing Program and the Expanded Animation Research + Practice Program.
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Jonathan Joseph Heder is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his breakout lead role as the title character of the comedy film Napoleon Dynamite (2004). He also voiced the character in the Fox animated series of the same name (2012).
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After the Saturday evening (7 pm) show, Vega came to the front for what was intended to be a question and answer session. However, during the show, Sean had surprised her with an engagement ring, so that took center stage!