Filmmakers

JOHN STIMPSON director/writer/producer

John Stimpson is a producer, writer, director and editor. Having worked extensively in episodic, documentary style television on programs for Discovery, Animal Planet, HGTV and Outdoor Life, Stimpson turned his focus on scripted, narrative content in the early 2000’s. Over the last fifteen years he has directed many independent films including The Legend of Lucy Keyes, A Christmas Kiss, Sexting In Suburbia and The Wrong Car among others. His interest in film and television began at Harvard where he majored in Visual and Environmental Studies and was President of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. He then spent five years as a professional actor in Los Angeles before returning to the East Coast and refocusing his talent on the other side of the lens. Stimpson has directed more than ten features and worked on many others as a writer, editor, producer or consultant. "At the end of the day, making movies is a blast. It is the ultimate collaborative creative medium and the work is too difficult for it not to be fun."

GEOFFREY TAYLOR writer/producer

Geoffrey Taylor is a long-time feature film producer and writer who worked with famed director Paul Mazursky for many years. His films include Tempest, Moscow on the Hudson, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Moon Over Parador, Enemies a Love Story, Faithful and Taking Care of Business. He has produced music by Little Richard and Billy Preston, designed national ad campaigns for his films and produced and directed a documentary for PBS. Over the years he has worked with almost every major studio and a few minor ones. Starting with running his film society at Yale, Taylor earned a law degree from Georgetown and left a career as an LA music lawyer after winning a contest as a comedy writer at Fox Television. In the last decade Taylor has concentrated on his first love, writing, and has written or co-written half a dozen screenplays. "Making movies is such a great mix of creativity and execution... it’s a thrill to watch an audience enjoy something you’ve helped bring to life.”

TERRENCE HAYES director of photography

Terrence Hayes was born and raised in the same neighborhood as the infamous Irish gangster, Whitey Bulger. Terrence chose a different path... while his friends played hockey and stole cars, Terrence studied painting at the Museum of Fine Arts. His love of art and his unbreakable bonds with his friends from the neighborhood of South Boston, served as the catalyst for the professional path that led him to filmmaking. Early on, Hayes went to Los Angeles and the American Film Institute where he honed his skill as a cinematographer. Terrence is an accomplished director of photography who has lensed numerous independent films and television shows but also has had two feature scripts chosen as finalists for the esteemed Motion Picture Academy’s Nicholl Fellowships. He lives in Boston with his son Hudson and loves the opportunity his work provides to tell stories that engage in and move the world.

CHAD DETWILLER production designer

Chad Detwiller has worked on many film and television projects during his nearly thirty years in the industry. His passion for film began with his early interest in illustration, graphic design and theatrical set design at the University of Hartford and grew from there. He is also an avid music fan (just ask him to name that song), drummer (his band opened for The Spin Doctors in the 90's), a talented artist and illustrator and an accomplished carpenter in his own right (with special interest in timber framing). Chad is most at home when surrounded by artists creating a visual expression of a story someone has chosen to tell. Chad's designer credits include Hachi, A Dog's Tale, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, Brotherhood, directed by Philip Noyce, Outside Providence, directed by Michael Corrente and Next Stop Wonderland, directed by Brad Anderson. He has worked with the Farrelly brothers on several projects as both Production Designer and Art Director, including Me, Myself & Irene, Osmosis Jones and Stuck on You.

JOANNA MURPHY costume designer

After studying costume design at Emerson College, Joanna started her career in Los Angeles, assisting in theater and film. She returned home to Boston in 2002 where she spent six seasons at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, MA and designed Forever Plaid, Crazy For You, Cinderella (2006), Fame, and A Christmas Carol in three iterations. Other Boston area theater credits include Miracle on 34th Street, It’s A Wonderful Life, and A Year with Frog and Toad. Joanna was the Assistant Costume Designer on Stronger and the Oscar nominated Manchester by the Sea. Television movie designs include work with Stimpson on The Spruces and The Pines and The March Sisters at Christmas. Ghost Light provided Murphy an exciting opportunity to meld her theatrical design experience with modern film costuming.

ED GRENGA composer

Ed Grenga played his first professional gig at the age of thirteen. By seventeen he was a full- time professional musician in the Boston area and by nineteen was crisscrossing the country in various rock and R&B bands. In 1985 he moved to Los Angeles where he worked for award winning producer Ross Vannelli, brother of Canadian recording star Gino Vannelli. Together they wrote and produced records for such artists as Jeffrey Osborne, Howard Hewett (Shalomar), Kim Carnes, Buddy Miles, and others. Grenga moved back to Boston in 1989, after having bolstered his resume with music scores and songs for three major motion pictures, a Top Ten song, two Gold and two Platinum albums. In 1990, Ed, along with two partners, started Handsome Brothers, Music, Inc. in Somerville Massachusetts. It quickly became one of the top music production houses in the Boston area. In his career Grenga has composed thousands of soundtracks for Fortune 500 companies and contributed his talents to numerous PBS programs, Emmy Award winning documentaries, feature films and television shows. Ghost Light is his eighth collaboration with John Stimpson.