Sean Covel | |
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| Born | Sean Covel March 4, 1976 (age 48) |
| 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 Maclay Widney, it is the oldest private research university in California, with an enrollment of more than 49,000 students.
The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven 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.
Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 American independent coming-of-age teen comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt, and Sean Covel, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess, and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the titular character, a nerdy high-school student who deals with several dilemmas: befriending an immigrant who wants to be class president, awkwardly pursuing a romance with a fellow student, and living with his quirky family.
Jared Lawrence Hess and Jerusha Elizabeth Hess are husband-and-wife American filmmakers best known for their work on Napoleon Dynamite (2004), Nacho Libre (2006) and Gentlemen Broncos (2009), all of which they co-wrote and which were directed by Jared. For their film Ninety-Five Senses, they were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
Jonathan Joseph Heder is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the title character of the comedy film Napoleon Dynamite (2004). He has also appeared in the films Just like Heaven (2005), The Benchwarmers (2006), Blades of Glory (2007), When in Rome (2010), Walt Before Mickey (2015), Ghost Team (2016) and The Unexpected Race (2018). He also provided voice work for the animated films Monster House (2006), Surf's Up (2007), and Thelma the Unicorn (2024), as well as the Napoleon Dynamite (2012) animated series.
The University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts's Interactive Media & Games Division first accepted M.F.A. students in 2002. The division currently offers both undergraduate (B.F.A.) and graduate programs in interactive media and game design, as well as B.F.A. programs in game art and themed entertainment and an M.A. in media, games and health. The programs include courses in game design, game development, production, audio, animation, and user research as well as experimental work in gestural and immersive interfaces, transmedia design, and interactive cinema.
Sean Hood is an American screenwriter and film director.
Edgemont Junior – Senior High School is a high school in Greenville, New York, serving students in grades 7 -12. Its feeder schools are Greenville School and Seely Place School, where students graduate in the sixth grade. The school's colors are blue and white, and its mascot is a panther. Edgemont Junior – Senior High School has a "California-style campus" which is similar to a small college campus. The school has 5 academic buildings, with one building dedicated mainly to the 7th and 8th graders. Greenville/Edgemont is an unincorporated part of Greenburgh, New York.
Edward Bradley Saxon is an American film producer and endowed Chair of the Peter Stark Producing Program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Saxon is arguably best known for producing the film The Silence of the Lambs, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and is, to date, the third and last film to sweep the five main categories of Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture.
Ernest Pintoff was an American film and television director, screenwriter and film producer.
Barnet Kellman is an American theatre, television and film director, television producer and film actor, and educator, best known for the premiere productions of new American plays, and for the pilots of long-running television series such as Murphy Brown and Mad About You. He is the recipient of two Emmy Awards and a Directors Guild of America Award. He is the co-founder and director of USC Comedy at the School of Cinematic Arts, and holds the school's Robin Williams Endowed Chair in Comedy.
Jim Bernstein is an American screenwriter and producer. He is co-creator and executive producer of the Disney XD series Mighty Med. He is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and has been nominated for three Emmy awards. In 2021, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Animated Program for Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe.
Kevin Feige is an American film and television producer. He has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a combined worldwide box office gross of over $30 billion, making him the highest grossing producer of all time, with Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest-grossing film at the time of its release.
Sanford Bookstaver is an American film, television director and television producer.
Christopher Aaron Wyatt, sometimes credited as Chris "Doc" Wyatt is an American film and TV producer, writer, and second unit director.
Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger is an American actor and model.
Todd Robinson is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer.
Max Daniel Winkler is an American director and screenwriter. His credits include directing the film Ceremony (2010), starring Michael Angarano and Uma Thurman. The film was Winkler's feature film directorial debut.
Tim Doyle is an American television producer and television writer. His credits include Dinosaurs, Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, Ellen, Sports Night, Still Standing, The Big Bang Theory, Better Off Ted, Rules of Engagement, Last Man Standing, and creator of The Kids Are Alright.
Nina Yang Bongiovi is an American film producer and Associate Chair of the Peter Stark Producing Program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. In 2010, she partnered with actor Forest Whitaker to create Significant Productions; together, they have produced Fruitvale Station (2013) by Ryan Coogler, Dope (2015) by Rick Famuyiwa, Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015) by Chloe Zhao, Roxanne Roxanne (2017) by Michael Larnell, Sorry to Bother You (2018) by Boots Riley, and Passing (2021) by Rebecca Hall. She is married to Anthony Bongiovi, the younger brother of musician Jon Bon Jovi.
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!
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