Don’t think that the people you see on camera are the whole deal. In addition to our fabulous cast, Issues is driven by an extremely dedicated crew.

The Big Cheese

Scott Napolitano
Writer/Director
Scott sometimes feels like his life is being filmed for a kind of twisted reality TV show. What a difference a year can make, or in this case a few months. Following the wrap of Issues Season 1, Scott suffered a number of setbacks including the loss of his job, a brief period of homelessness and financial instability due to the credit crash. Within 9 months he was the subject of a documentary on a cold case murder investigation he aided,  hired as a producer for the newly launched MSG Varsity Network and inducted into the Writers Guild of America East as part of its initial class of digital media creators.  He is eternally grateful for the work his friends in the cast and crew put forth in the production of season 1 of Issues and is thrilled to be developing the further adventures of the Comic Relief crew.

Prior to developing “Issues”, Scott worked on shoots for Fox Sports, Merrill Lynch, The Travel Channel, Fine Living Network, Major League Baseball and served as assistant camera for the short film “MaNic”, directed by new Issues crew member and fellow TCNJ graduate, Carly Reichert (“ER”). In the past, Scott has served as an instructor for Wickline Casting, and as a talent scout/casting assistant for Main Line Models and Talent. Having interned with the New Jersey Film and Television Commission, Scott is aware of the history of film in the Garden State and hopes that “Issues” will honor that legacy. In his spare time, Scott is an avid reader of anything Stephen King, a strong supporter of Joss Whedon and Kevin Smith and rates meeting Spider-Man creator Stan Lee as one of the best days of his life. His current pull list includes all Superman titles, Green Lantern, Unwritten and anything by Geoff Johns. Dream cameos for Issues include Stephen Colbert, Kevin Smith, Brian Michael Bendis, Geoff Johns and Seth Green. Drop him a line at issuestheseries@gmail.com

Joey Harris
Co-Writer/Casting Director
Joey is a writer/director hailing from South Pasadena, California. As a film student at California State University Long Beach, and former protégé of Pasadena City College, Joey has worked on numerous student and independent projects. His award winning student film, Face of the Enemy was recently featured in Pasadena’s Old Town Film Festival. His video game parody Metal Gear F.U.B.A.R has become a quiet internet success along with Negotiations, a commentary on the 2008 WGA strike, featuring an appearance by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog). Joey’s work as Director of Photography on the CSULB short film Super Ordinary nabbed first place in the Superman Celebration Film Festival in Metropolis, Illinois. Along with his student projects, Joey has served on independent feature films such as the Boston International Film Festival winner, This is Not a Test, starring CSI: New York‘s Hill Harper and The Abandoned, starring Brittany Murphy. More recently, Joey has ventured into new media, working on the smash web series The Guild and co-writing episode of Issues with his friend and Negotiations co-writer Scott Nap. He is proud of the fact that the show was one of the first ten chosen for the WGA East’s WGA 2.0 New Media Initiative. When not in school, Joey works as an assistant to Producer David Foster (McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Short Circuit, Mask of Zorro.) A property Joey brought to Mr.  Foster’s attention is currently being developed.

Michelle Dunlap
Production Manager/Series Editor
Although not a comic book geek herself, Michelle does live with one.  He helps her with her questionable “bookie cred.”, which is why she knows of such things as the Skrull invasion and Cosmic Treadmill.  To her credit, Michelle has currently been acquiring some of her own cred.  She’s absolutely addicted to Jeff Smith’sBone, and is a fan of both Watchmen and V for Vendetta.  Michelle is currently certified by Apple in Final Cut and is hoping to continue higher certification in more of the Final Cut applications.  To actually bring in some money, our editor also can be found at the Willowbrook Apple store training users on how to get the most out of their Macs.  (Don’t ask her about her discounts if you value your life.)   On top of her job, and her work for the show, she will be starting her Master’s Program in Media Studies at The New School in January of 2009.  In her spare time (what little of it there is), Michelle can often be found reading, blogging about the environment, or playing Final Fantasy on PSII or Neverwinter Nights 2 on her Mac.  To keep up to date with all of her doings, please visit her website.

Mike Rinkunas
Director of Photography
Series cameraman and all around geek Mike Rinkunas is the owner of MR Productions of the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. He has made several key partnerships with businesses and organizations in PA area, and provides a wealth of resources for those seeking technology and videography services. The science fiction fan was eager to take on a new creative project and is preparing with the director for what should be an interesting shoot. For more information about Mike and his team, please visit his website at mrproductions.org.

Denise Barbarita
Composer
With 3 albums under her belt, Beauty Lied” (2002) “Chaos & Congeniality” (2005), & “Alive & B-Sides” (2007), “Avante-Rock” songstress, Denise Barbarita is hard at work with her 4th album, “A Beautiful Mess”, slated for release in June 2009. The new album features her new band line-up, The Morning Papers, as well as a few prominent guest musicians, and co-writers. This past summer, Denise was delighted to find her song entitled, “No More Words”  was used in the opening of a film for the Nissan Outdoor games 2008. Denise’s songs have received international airplay and have been featured regularly on the daytime TV drama, “One Life to Live”. The single from “Chaos & Congeniality”, entitled “Hush Hush” was featured on the ABC prime time TV series, “Traveler” and is also slated to be featured as the opening theme for the independent film, “How to Grow an Olive Tree”. Since 2003, Denise has toured across the US, wowing audiences with her live shows. When not on the road, Denise works hard as a producer/engineer to help other independent & major label artists realize their dreams of making great albums at the world class facility, Kampo Studios in NYC. As a recording engineer, Denise has worked with a long list of top selling and independent artists alike; credits include Grammy nominated artists such as Angie Stone, Karrin Allyson, Herbie Hancock, David Byrne, Mary J. Blige, Bruce Cockburn, and The Roots. Independents include, singer/songwriters, Brenda Kahn, Kristi Martel, Celia Shacklett, Halley Devestern, Alyson Greenfield and guitarist, Michael Hewett.  Denise’s CDs can be purchased online from CDBaby.com and Amazon.com. Songs can also be downloaded individually at iTunes and CDBaby.com. For more information, please visit Denise’s Website: http://www.MyShyTune.com or http://www.myspace.com/denisebarbarita

Colleen Napolitano
Production Artist
While not nearly as avid a bookie as her brother, production artist Colleen Napolitano’s general interest in the aesthetics has drawn her into the Issues universe.  When not sketching out sequences or designing fliers for the show, Colleen can be found attending classes at The College of New Jersey, where she studies graphic design and interactive multimedia.  Outside of academics, she actively pursues the arts- from painting to published commercial work.  Over the past two years, Colleen has been worked on a portrait series highlighting the musicians who inspire her work; once each piece is completed, she delivers the finished piece to the subject. The series includes portraits and multimedia renditions of Saves the Day, Against Me!,  Kevin Devine, Jack’s Mannequin, and We Are The Fury, among others. Colleen’s own music, recorded under the name White Star City, can be found at www.myspace.com/whitestarcity. She hopes to release her first album, Love Songs for Strangers, in 2010.

Eric Owens
Script Supervisor

Eric is glad to be part of the Issues team, whether it involves getting knocked to the floor, being manhandled, ogling statuary, or acting as a sandbag.  A lifelong bookie, one of his earliest memories of purchasing a comic book is picking up Marvel Swimsuit Special #2 at the age of ten, which may explain how he ended up with his current role as Top Shelf Man.  He has since traded in his Merry Marvel Marching Society card for citizenship in the DC Nation.  His current pull list includes Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps., and Tiny Titans.  Given the money, he’d buy everything Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Alan Moore, and Gail Simone have written. Outside of comics, Eric recently completed his paralegal certification. He may end up using this as a step toward working in entertainment law or as a way to move on to grad school for communication.  Now that he’s had a taste of making movies, he’s hungry for more.

Matt Schwabauer
Casting Assistant
Matt Schwabauer has been a requisite world traveler since shortly after being born in the bright Midwestern city of Holland, MI. With his father serving in the U. S. Navy as a chaplain, he has seen much of the United States and Europe, which has tempered the majority of his life experience. Sunday night viewings of Star Trek: The Next Generation were a staple in his house by the time he was five years old. His fascination with the comic universe began at a very early age as well, when he discovered the Christopher Reeve Superman films. It was slightly later in life that Matt’s obsession with the X-Men began, thanks to the FOX Kids animated TV show. He has been devoted to Cyclops and Jean Grey ever since. Matt attended Hope College, back in his “hometown,” going on to earn a B.A. in Theatre and Creative Writing. His most recent acting credits include his first professional acting job as a company member in Cry Innocent: the People vs. Bridget Bishop, and as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice. He will next be seen in An Elizabethan Valentine, where he will play Edward II in a scene from Marlowe’s play of the same name as well as Orlando in a scene from Shakespeare’s As You Like It. His goals for 2010 include gaining practical experience acting in front of the camera, finishing the novel he began back in 2008, and getting some of the scripts floating around his head down on paper.

Danielle Tararuj
Production Assistant

From an early age, Danielle has been unafraid of proclaiming her geek-hood loud and clear.  A certified guy’s gal, Danielle’s earliest geeky memory comes from St. Mark’s preschool where she asked Santa for a Nintendo for Christmas.  The boys in the class replied, with their noses high in the air, “Nintendo is for boys!”  But Santa knew it was her destiny to avoid the realm of the girly-girly, and granted her wish that holiday circa 1989.Aside from her Lord of the Rings tattoo, love of zombies, and calloused thumbs (from gaming, of course), Danielle can be spotted behind the camera, in the editing room, or doing whatever she can to help on set.  Lover of dogs, movies, and reading, she is at home with the crazed Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fans.  Danielle’s collection of Marvel Masterpieces started her interest and eventual love of all things comic-related.  She is by no means a bookie-veteran, but her knowledge keeps growing and growing.  Her newest comic obsessions are Marvel Zombies and Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, and her favorite comic movies are Hellboy I and II.Danielle believes she is destined for great things, whether global or local, and wishes one day to help change the world for the better.  Check out her website (www.danielletararuj.weebly.com) or her youtube account to check out her movies and credits.

Angie Velez
Production Assistant
In a time of modern enthusiasts, freaks and geeks, a production in turmoil cried out for an assistant.  She was Angie, a mighty sidekick forged in the heat of really, really bright stage lights. A not-so-recent graduate of The College of New Jersey, Angie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies.  A superhero in her own right, Angie embarked on a path to service upon her graduation by joining City Year, a non-profit organization that strives to improve failing schools in urban areas.  As a tutor and mentor, Angie served as a positive role model to the students of West Philadelphia High School.  Now returned to her Jersey Shore roots, Angie continues to follow her own path to self discovery; and hopes to someday attend NYU to obtain her Master’s degree in Cinema Studies.  When she grows up, Angie would love to become a film critic. In short, Angie is truly geeky!  She believes that everyone should embrace their inner geekdom and take pride in knowing that YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!  Some of her interests include anime, manga, comics (Batman), videogames, films, and LOST.

Jess K. Witty
Story Assistant and Casting Assistant
Jersey Girl (though current Marylander) Jess K. Witty makes no attempt to hide her own geeky tendencies at home, at work, or in the classroom. And she certainly makes none at any of her usual comic book shops, where she can be found stocking up on whichever Stephen King book has most recently turned comic, the latest Heroes graphic novel, and at least one Star Wars comic. (And, of course, anything Lost she can get her hands on.) Jess completed her Master’s degree in literature and film in Boston, where she cites her proudest moments as getting at least one student a semester hooked on Lost, all the while writing, presenting, and defending a conference paper on Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. Currently she is working toward her doctorate in theatre and performance history at the University of Maryland. Jess chose geekhood early on, having declared Luke Skywalker her first crush (“I just wanted him to come live at my house with the droids!”) at the age of four. At nine she made plans to run away to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters to hang out with Jubilee and Gambit (and might still consider going if Wolverine was the same as he was in the movies). She furthered her geek cred one step further by marrying a fellow geek who introduced her to such wonders as tabletop gaming, They Might Be Giants, and “games where you make ships out of cards!” Jess is proud to say she’s been part of the Issues project since its conception and requests anyone direct any grammar problems in the scripts directly to her.

Danielle Yannotti
Production Assistant
Surrounded by self proclaimed geeks on the “Issues” set, Danielle found herself embracing the “Super PA.” within.  Growing up, her father (a Superhero himself), called his daughter “Supergirl.”  This name has held the key to unlocking her most astounding powers yet- as one of the elite, the amazing, “Issues” Super Crew!

Danielle united with the “Issues” crew after director, Scott Napolitano, extended an invitation through her Motion Picture Production class in the fall of 2008.  A graduate of The College of New Jersey’s Communications: Radio/TV/Film track, Danielle added plenty of tech skills to her resume as a member of LTV, The College’s television station where she served as a production coordinator and cinematographer. She also edited news packages for TCNJ’s student magazine show “Lions Now”, edited news packages for the TV magazine show “Lion’s Now” and produced “Cooking On Campus”. She hopes to one day become an editor or director of photography for an original series at a major network.