2021 MAA Program

Together changing the way we perceive people with disabilities.

Congratulates Tonight’s Honorees and Salutes the

for honoring accurate portrayals and employment of people with disabilities in all media.

WELCOME2021 to the

Media Access Awards Wednesday, November 17

PRESENTED BY

Easterseals In Entertainment Entertainment

has the ability to

influence, inspire

and shift people’s perceptions to

advance social change.

That’s why Easterseals is working with our many partners in the entertainment industry to expand disability inclusion.

Disability Film Challenge

Learn more at EastersealsInEntertainment.org

WELCOME! We are so happy to share this tremendous event with all of you as the reigning Hollywood showcase for disability inclusion.

Every year we come together to celebrate those in the entertainment industry who employ people with disabilities and who depict the disability experience with the same depth and craft they depict any other person.

The Media Access Awards are also a celebration of a vibrant community which wants to see itself represented in media.

In 1979, a nascent group of disability advocates – led by legendary T V producer Norman Lear and a young secretary in his office, Fern Field – hit upon the idea of an annual Hollywood awards event focused on disability, both in front of and behind the camera. That first ceremony was held in a small room at the Holiday Inn in Westwood and as Fern remembers it , they pretty much gave awards to each other, along with the makers of COMING HOME, the Vietnam-era drama featuring John Voight as a returning paralyzed vet. Fern had produced a groundbreaking short film about disability called A DIFFERENT APPROACH, starring a neophyte actor named Michael Keaton.

Norman had produced an episode of MAUDE, the hit CBS sitcom, in which Maude Finley (Bea Arthur), encountering an old friend who had recently suffered a stroke, was discombobulated in her presence. The whole group who gathered that day saw the abysmal absence of characters with disabilities in American mass media and acted to rectify this injustice.

Norman Lear met a young actress/comic with cerebral palsy, Geri Jewell, at the second Media Access Awards and cast her as the first person with a disability as a recurring character in a primetime sitcom, on his series FACTS OF LIFE. With the help of Loreen Arbus and other entertainment industry notables, the MAAs thrived as a non-televised Hollywood event for the next two decades. In the mid-nineties, the California Governor ’s Committee for the Employment of People with Disabilities took over funding, and when that support dried up during the Great Recession of 2007-08, the show went dark for two years.

In 2010, producer-writer Deborah Calla and writer Allen Rucker took on the job of reviving this critical event. With the enthusiastic support of a coalition of Hollywood guilds and unions – the Producers Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America, West , SAG-AFTRA , and the Casting Society of America – plus the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the MAAs resumed in a tiny meeting room at the Peninsula Hotel. That year, honorees included Vince Gilligan, creator of BREAKING BAD, noted actor/activist Danny Woodburn, and the casting directors of GLEE – and the rest is history.

Expanding year after year and drawing upon the participation of noted Hollywood figures like Jimmy Kimmel, Shonda Rhimes, Peter Farrelly, Jane Lynch, and of course, the indefatigable Norman Lear, these awards are now here to stay. In the last two years, Easterseals of Southern California has stepped in as a partner to offer major support and expertise. Other industry sponsors (see accompanying list), have also remained committed throughout. Without them, there would be no Media Access Awards.

Ask long-time Hollywood disability leaders like agent Gail Williamson and they will tell you that a major uptick in the industry’s inclusion of actors with disabilities and storylines featuring them began about three years ago and continues unabated. There is still enormous progress to be made, of course – statistically, the employment of actors and others with disabilities remains hardly a blip on Hollywood call sheets. The Media Access Awards, along with Easterseals, the rest of the everincreasing Hollywood disability community, and hopefully you, are proud to be part of this historic march toward full inclusion.

DEBORAH CALLA and ALLEN RUCKER

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

For more than 100 years, Easterseals has ensured that the needs of children and adults with disabilities are met with services to help them live, learn, work and play in their communities.

As America’s largest nonprofit health care organization, Easterseals is committed to the comprehensive health and wellness of the more than 1.4 million people we serve each year.

Since our founding in 1919, after Ohio businessman Edgar F. Allen lost his son in a streetcar accident, Easterseals has been at the forefront of important change by making a profound, positive difference in people’s lives every day. Whether helping to eradicate polio, supporting returning veterans from WWII, or advocating for legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Easterseals continues to serve a vital and important role in our nation.

A crucial part of our mission is to change the way the world defines and views disability.

One the ways to influence change is through the power of entertainment. Entertainment has the ability to inspire and change people’s perceptions about who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we understand and empathize with other people.

Together, Easterseals is working alongside the entertainment industry to advance disability representation. We work to bring tangible employment opportunities to people with disabilities and increase the volume of stories being shared through efforts such as the Easterseals Disability FilmChallenge, a filmmaking contest offering important mentorships and opportunities to build and entertainment career in front of or behind the camera.

Through our partnership with the Media Access Awards, we honor and applaud those who are doing the best work. By participating in key industry events and film festivals, partnering with studios, entertainment media and organizations, we have brought attention to the previously ignored need for authentic disability inclusion and stories. We continue to push for real and systemic change. We hope that you will support us in our efforts to build a world where everyone is 100% included and 100% empowered.

Learn more by visiting EastersealsInEntertainment.org

We are pleased to announce our streaming partner

WELCOME!

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Millicent Simmonds

Photo: Paige Kindlick

Tonight’s Host Millicent Simmonds burst onto the scene as the star of Todd Haynes’s film, WONDERSTRUCK opposite Julianne Moore, and most recently in the Paramount blockbusters A QUIET PLACE and A QUIET PLACE II opposite Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt.

When she was three years old, she started attending the Jean Massieu School of the Deaf, where she participated in its drama club. After completing sixth grade, she mainstreamed at the Mueller Park Junior High School in the fall of 2015.

She has performed at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah, and in a deaf student’s short film, COLOR THE WORLD, before her breakthrough performance in WONDERSTRUCK. Millicent has appeared in two episodes of the Disney Channel’s TV series, ANDI MACK, as well as the TV series, THIS CLOSE as Emmaline.

Upcoming projects include a series based on Sara Novíc’s forthcoming novel, True Biz, and director Wash Westmoreland’s (STILL ALICE) new project, HELEN & TEACHER. Wash tapped the rising star to play opposite Rachel Brosnahan (THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL) in this poignant story about famous deaf/blind activist Hellen Keller and Anne Sullivan.

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Alice Sheppard

Photo: Beverlie Lord

Performers Accepting the outcome of a dare, dancer and choreographer Alice Sheppard, resigned her tenured professorship to train with Kitty Lunn and Infinity Dance Theater. After an apprenticeship, Alice joined AXIS Dance Company where she became a core company member, toured nationally, and taught in the company’s education and outreach programs.

Since becoming an independent dance artist, Alice has danced in projects with Ballet Cymru/GDance and Marc Brew Company in the United Kingdom. In the United States, she has worked with Marjani Forté, MBDance, Infinity Dance Theater, and Steve Paxton.

As a guest artist, she has danced with AXIS Dance Company, Full Radius Dance, and MOMENTA Dance Company. Alice has also performed as a solo artist and keynote academic speaker throughout the United States.

A USA Artist, Creative Capital grantee and Bessie Award winner, Alice Sheppard creates movement that challenges conventional understandings of disabled and dancing bodies.

Engaging with disability arts, culture and history, Alice’s commissioned work attends to the complex intersections of disability, gender, and race. Alice was a 2018 AXIS Dance Company Choreo-Lab Participant made possible with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Her work has been commissioned by producers from KQED and UCLA as well as physically integrated companies such as CRIPSiE, Full Radius Dance, and MOMENTA Dance Company. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times and such journals as Catalyst and Movement Research and Performance Journal.

Alice is the founder and artistic lead for Kinetic Light, a project based ensemble, working at the intersections of disability, dance, design, identity, and technology to create transformative art and advance the intersectional disability arts movement. Through nuanced investment in the histories, cultures, and artistic work of disabled people and people of color, Kinetic Light promotes intersectional disability aesthetics as a creative force and access as an aesthetic critical to the creative process and not a retroactive accommodation.

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Rex & Friends

Photo: Martín Yernazian

Performers Rex & Friends is a program in Southern California that provides support and training in musical abilities for individuals who are blind or autistic. These musicians come together to receive ongoing professional support, guidance, and performance opportunities. Participants develop musical repertoire in an environment that grows friendships, self-esteem, and skill while rehearsing, then ultimately performing in front of live audiences.

The group’s “leader,” Rex Lewis-Clack was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, and then labeled a musical genius (piano) by the age of seven. Considered a prodigious musical savant, musicologists became astounded by his ability to play back complex piano pieces and transpose them into other keys with little effort. For Rex, music released the floodgates of other underdeveloped areas of his mind allowing them to flourish unabated by former cognitive restrictions. Rex found his voice, literally and figuratively.

For people living with the challenges of autism, alternative avenues of communication can provide a pathway for the autistic mind to bridge the gap towards interconnection. Music can transform their lives by offering important cognitive, social, and emotional benefits. Rex & Friends allows these talented musicians to work in a professional studio and to collaborate with their peers on ensemble show pieces, in a variety of musical genres. Through the process of perfecting their live performance skills, these very talented individuals are seen as able-bodied musicians and can contribute to the disabled community, and the community at large through their performances.

Rex & Friends is a program with ArtsUP! LA: a nonprofit theater and arts program serving people with disabilities, military veterans, and opportunity youth. They remove barriers to participation and provide unlimited possibilities for artistic expression, building diverse artists and audiences who are changing how the arts are presented and experienced.

Comprised originally of talented members of Performing Arts Studio West in Inglewood, California, Rex & Friends, under the direction of Laurie Grant, was officially launched by Matt Wolf in 2013.

2021 Writers Guild of America, We MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Ryan O’Connell

Photo: Aaron Jay Young

est Evan Somers Memorial Award Ryan O’Connell is an Emmy®-nominated and Writers Guild Award-winning writer, actor, and producer who can currently be seen starring in the critically acclaimed SPECIAL, a four-time, Emmy®-nominated and Writers Guild Award-winning short form series on Netflix, which he wrote and executive produced. SPECIAL, which is also executive produced by Jim Parsons, is loosely based on O’Connell’s own upbringing and experience as a gay man navigating the world with cerebral palsy.

In what became a cultural phenomenon, SPECIAL premiered to rave reviews, with critics calling the show, “The television revolution you didn’t know you needed” (Romero, Refinery29), and “A rare, important perspective to TV” (Maple, Bustle). Fans around the world praised the series for its refreshing, honest, and long-overdue portrayal of a gay man living with cerebral palsy.

Next, O’Connell will write, co-executive produce and star in the QUEER AS FOLK reboot for Peacock.

O’Connell is also an accomplished, sought-after writer and his voice is both refreshing and unique. He is the author of I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves, part-memoir, partmanifesto which was published by Simon & Schuster in 2015 to widespread praise.

O’Connell’s forthcoming debut novel Just By Looking At Him will be published in Spring 2022

by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. He is currently working on the film adaptation of the novel Film Nation with Greg Berlanti producing.

Presenter: Jim Parsons (Actor, THE BIG BANG THEORY )

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

SAG-AFTRA Troy Kotsur

Photo: Courtesy of Apple

Harold Russell Award Troy Kotsur has been acting and directing for over 20 years. Deaf since birth, he was raised in Mesa, Arizona.

In his career, he has had critically acclaimed performances in major films, a lead role in the Broadway run of a Tony Award-winning play, and numerous memorable roles on television.

Troy has garnered rave reviews for his supporting lead role in the 2021 feature CODA, which took home four awards, including Best Ensemble Cast at Sundance. He is credited with being a big part of the feature’s festival success that led to its record-breaking $25M sale to Apple.

Previous to this, Troy had a supporting role in THE NUMBER 23 starring Jim Carrey, and in subsequent years became known for stand-out performances in indie features. In television, Troy made headlines in 2019 for his acting role in THE MANDALORIAN on Disney+ because along with acting, he choreographed an adapted form of sign language for the series.

Other notable television roles include guest star appearances on CRIMINAL MINDS, SCRUBS, CSI: NY, and a fan favorite recurring character on PAX’s SUE THOMAS: FB-EYE. Much of Troy’s success has stemmed from his highly respected career on stage. This includes a role in the Tony Award winning run of BIG RIVER on Broadway, performing at the Mark Taper Forum, and the 2015 LA Drama Critics Circle Award nominee SPRING AWAKENING. Up next, Kotsur is set to star in FLASH BEFORE THE BANG, a sports drama television show with an all-deaf cast.

Presenter: Lauren Ridloff (Actor, ETERNALS)

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Producers Guild of Andrea Warren Producer, LUCA

America George Sunga Award Andrea Warren joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1998, when she began as a maketing production assistant on A BUG’S LIFE. She then moved on to be an art department coordinator for the Academy Award®-winning feature, MONSTERS, INC., and served as a digital painter for another Academy Award®-winning feature, FINDING NEMO. Warren accepted her first managing role on the Golden Globe ®-winning film, CARS, when she acted as the art department manager. Next, Warren stepped up to production manage Academy Award®-winning features, WALL•E and BRAVE. Warren made her producing debut with the short film, LAVA, and went on to co-produce the feature film CARS 3. She most recently served as producer on Disney and Pixar’s newest feature LUCA, which released on Disney+ on June 18, 2021.

Prior to Pixar, Warren interned on the Walt Disney Pictures feature, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, and was a web editor for JavaSoft.

Warren attended Westmont College, a liberal arts college in Santa Barbara. She grew up loving the art of story telling in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and drew early inspiration from Babar books, the Muppets and STAR WARS. Warren currently lives in Alameda, CA with her husband and two children.

Presenter: Jacob Tremblay (Actor, WONDER, LUCA)

2021 IMDbPro | Media Access Aw MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

John Krasinski

ward for Excellence in Directing John Krasinski is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his role as sardonic nice guy, Jim Halpert, on NBC’s popular TV series, THE OFFICE, and Jack Ryan, in the political TV action series of the same name. He has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.

He attended Brown University, graduating in 2001 as a playwright with Honors, then studied at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. Krasinski made his big screen debut in 2002 in KINSEY, followed by DUANE HOPWOOD, JARHEAD, THE HOLIDAY, LICENSE TO WED and LEATHERHEADS. In 2013, Krasinski and his producing partner, Allyson Seeger, founded Sunday Night Productions. They are best known for producing the television series LIP SYNC BATTLE, DREAM CORP LLC, and JACK RYAN, the YouTube streaming news show SOME GOOD NEWS, and the feature-length films THE HOLLARS, A QUIET PLACE, and A QUIET PLACE II. They have also inked a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures.

Kransinski powerfully showed his talents as a director in A QUIET PLACE, which was an instant smash hit in horror and sci-fi and grossed over $350 million worldwide. Though he had directed in the past, his work on A QUIET PLACE trilogy proves he is a smart filmmaker who prioritizes human relationships and feelings in the midst of high stakes.

He couples visual command with magnificent performances to create compelling, meaningful stories. As he says in Philadelphia Style Magazine, “within three hours, I had the idea and the specifics of how I’d want it to play out, which was bizarre. I mean, I’ve never been struck by lightning like that.”

A QUIET PLACE also made its mark in disability representation.

Krasinski cast Millicent Simmonds as Regan, a heroic deaf girl whose cochlear implant can detect nearby aliens. Secondly, sign language plays an integral role in the film and Regan’s disability helps her save her family, and hopefully mankind.

Krasinski is married to English actor Emily Blunt, with whom he has two children.

Presenter: Millicent Simmonds (Actor, WONDERSTRUCK , A QUIET PLACE , A QUIET PLACE II)

2021 Norman Lear–Geri Jewell MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Marlee Matlin

Photo: Jeff Vespa

Lifetime Achievement Award Marlee Matlin is the youngest Academy Award® Winner for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD. Her film CODA (available now on Apple TV+) premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and earned a record breaking four awards including Cast, Jury, and Audience, as well as setting new record in its sale to Apple. The film also won 2021 Sundance Film Festival: London BIFA Award.

Marlee is the executive producer of Academy Award ® Nominated short film FEELING THROUGH. Her previous work in REASONABLE DOUBTS, nominated her twice for a Golden Globe ® Award and a People’s Choice Award.

Since then, she received nominations for four Emmy ® awards for her appearances on SEINFELD, PICKET FENCES, THE PRACTICE, and LAW AND ORDER: SVU. Marlee’s other notable TV credits include critically acclaimed series, WEST WING, THE L WORD, and FAMILY GUY just to name a few.

Matlin has been instrumental in many activities to grant accessibility to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities — Marlee has worked tirelessly on making all media provide Closed Captions. She helped get legislation passed that mandated ASL interpreters be present at all COVID-19 press conferences. She also organized a PSA that included leaders in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community that aided Deaf and Hard of Hearing Americans in accessing resources on how to vote in the past elections.

Matlin has several producing projects in development, including the recently announced NBC Comedy, which she will also star, about the cutthroat, fast-paced world of sign language interpreting. As well as a feature film about Princess Alice, the mother of Prince Philip, mother-in-law to Queen Elizabeth, who was Deaf and rescued a Jewish family during WWII.

Presenter: Shoshannah Stern (Actor, Creator, THIS CLOSE)

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Media Access Selma Blair

Visionary Award Selma Blair has been one of the most versatile actresses, beginning with comedic roles in pop culture classics in the 2000s. Blair has worked with acclaimed directors including Guillermo del Toro, Todd Solodnz, & John Waters.

Blair can currently be seen as the subject of the documentary, INTRODUCING, SELMA BLAIR, which premiered to rave reviews at the 2021 SXSW Festival, where the feature won the Special Jury Recognition for Exceptional Intimacy in Storytelling. The film also won the New York Women in Film & Television Documentary Award at the Hamptons Film Festival and received three Critics Choice Documentary Award nominations, including Best Documentary Feature. The documentary, which reveals Blair’s intimate and raw journey with Multiple Sclerosis, opened in theaters on October 15 and began streaming on Discovery+ on October 21, 2021.

Previous film credits include CRUEL INTENTIONS, LEGALLY BLONDE, HELLBOY, HELLBOY II, STORYTELLING, DARK HORSE, and MOM & DAD.

Presenter: Keah Brown (Author, Journalist , Actress , Creator of #DisabledAndCute)

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

SAG-AFTRA Peter & Ila Halby Founders Peter Halby & Hannah Gallivan Accepting

Disability Awareness Award Zeno Mountain Farm supports lifelong friendships and opportunities for people with and without disabilities, and other marginalized communities. Zeno hosts annual retreats and camps at their home base in Lincoln, Vermont. They create a world where all can thrive, feel connected, and be empowered. Zeno believes the diverse abilities of the group enhances everything they do. Each camp and retreat has a focused project that unifies the group, these range from filmmaking to art, skiing, adaptive windsurfing, musical theatre, and storytelling. The mission is to build community, and contribute one’s talents to something bigger than themselves. Zeno’s passion for inclusive filmmaking spans over a decade and includes over ten short films and one feature film, BEST SUMMER EVER. In the spring of 2021, Zeno Mountain Farm’s film, BEST SUMMER EVER, premiered at SXSW. Complete with eight original songs, it is their first feature film and the first film of its kind.

This groundbreaking film has a cast and crew with over 50% people with disabilities, yet the film is not about disability.

“BEST SUMMER EVER serves as a template for Disability representation in Hollywood” – Variety.

It’s a classic teen drama, “the kind of movie that vibrates with the energy of the people who made it, whose enthusiasm radiates from the screen” – New York Times.

Zeno’s films are a testament to what it looks and feels like to have a better representation of humanity on the big screen.

Presenters: Jaime Brewer (Actor, AMERICAN HORROR STORY ) Zack Gottsagen (Actor, PEANUT BUT TER FALCON)

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Casting Deborah Aquila

Society of America Award After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and The Stella Adler Conservatory, Deborah Aquila worked on the first two seasons of MIAMI VICE and several feature films including Michael Mann’s MAN HUNTER and THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE, as an associate. Her independent casting director career began with Steven Soderbergh’s SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE and Uli Edel’s THE LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN. Before moving to Los Angeles in 1993 to cast Frank Darabont’s THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, Deborah had completed over 18 independent films in New York.

In 1993, she was named Senior Vice-President of Features Casting for Paramount Pictures.

During her nine-year tenure at the studio, Deborah cast such notable films as PRIMAL FEAR, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II, DOUBLE JEOPARDY, VARSIT Y BLUES, THE BRADY BUNCH, KISS THE GIRLS, MOTHER, and WHAT WOMEN WANT. In March of 2020, Deborah returned to Paramount as Executive Vice President of PTVS Casting.

Most recent film credits: CODA, CHERRY, THE TOMORROW WAR, LA LA LAND, WONDER, STRONGER, DEEP WATER HORIZON, and WOMAN IN GOLD. Television credits include the critically acclaimed Showtime Series DEXTER, FX’s THE SHIELD, and TNT’s MOB CIT Y. Deborah is a proud member of the CSA and has been nominated sixteen times by the Casting Society of America for the Artios Award, winning for the features RED, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, and LA LA LAND. In 2003, Deborah was recognized by the Hollywood community with the Hollywood Film Festival Career Achievement Award.

In 2020, Deborah was recognized with the CSA’S Hoyt Bowers’ Award for Career Achievement. Deborah has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1994.

Presenter: Sian Heder (Director, CODA)

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Casting Tricia Wood

Society of America Award Tricia Wood started her casting career as an intern in 1993 in the Features Casting Department at Paramount Pictures Studio under her mentor and then Sr. VP of Casting, Deborah Aquila.

During the next three years, Tricia continued her casting education in the features casting department, moving up from Casting Assistant to Casting Associate.

After a brief period of working in production, Tricia reunited with Deborah Aquila in 1999 as an independent casting team. After several years as a successful independent casting company, in 2014 Aquila Wood Casting joined Lionsgate Entertainment as their in-house casting department. After five successful years at Lionsgate, in September of 2019, they returned to independent casting, relocating to downtown Los Angeles in the Russo Bros. production space at AGBO. In March of 2020, Tricia returned to Paramount as the head of features casting and is currently their EVP, Casting Film.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Tricia is a member of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation and Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She studied Architecture at Oklahoma State University before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Film.

She has cast over 150 feature films and several notable television pilots, including LA LA LAND, WONDER, AMERICAN PASTORAL, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, and THE HUMAN STAIN as well as DEXTER and THE SHIELD. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Presenter: Sian Heder (Director, CODA)

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Casting Lisa Zagoria

Society of America Award Lisa Zagoria started her casting career at Aquila Wood Casting where she worked alongside her mentors, Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood, and Jen Smith for 13 years.

During her time at Aquila Wood, she worked on such films as CODA, starring Oscar®-winning actress Marlee Matlin, International film star Eugenio Derbez, and breakout find Emilia Jones, which swept the top awards at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and the Academy Award ®winning LA LA LAND. In late 2019, she opened her own office, Lisa Zagoria Casting. Her recent credits include BROTHERS, starring Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage, and Glenn Close, and the Showtime pilot, RITA, starring Lena Headey.

In addition to film and TV, she also cast the music videos “Magic” and “True Love” for GRAMMY ® award-winning rock band Coldplay, as well as the plays, A SONG AT TWILIGHT, STOP KISS and NATIVE GARDENS at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Lisa is a graduate of the Florida State University School of Theatre and a proud member of the Casting Society of America.

Presenter: Sian Heder (Director, CODA)

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Christopher Reeve Jamie Nieto

Photo: Stephanie Girard

Scholarship Award Jamie Nieto was born in Seattle, Washington and was raised as an only child in a single parent home in Sacramento, California. He’s a two-time Olympian, actor, writer and producer.

After high school, Nieto attended Sacramento City College, and Eastern Michigan University where he earned a full scholarship in athletics. Nieto is a four-time National Champ, three-time World Champ Team Member, three-time Pan Am Team Member, three-time All American, EMU indoor and outdoor school record holder, and was inducted into Sacramento City College and Eastern Michigan’s Hall Of Fame.

As a high jumper, Nieto’s career has taken him to over 40 different countries around the world.

After the Olympic Games in 2012 Nieto planned to retire, but instead, had a change of heart and decided to compete one more year to round out a twenty-year career. Nieto is also a two-time Olympic finalist and has been ranked top ten in the world on numerous occasions.

In 2007, Nieto decided to pursue his childhood love for movies, acting, producing, and writing while still competing. 2009 marked the year of Nieto’s first feature film, THE ENCOUNTER, which has been ranked the top ten faith-based film of all time. He’s been in numerous other films and TV shows. Most recently has had recurring roles on Bounce TV’s FAMILY TIME as the bartender and Netflix’s Sci-Fi, AWAY, playing Travis Parker opposite Josh Charles and Hillary Swank. Nieto also produced a gritty crime drama pilot he wrote and starred in called BLOOD BROTHERS. Nieto suffered serious injury resulting in paralysis while doing a back flip in April, 2016.

He was told that he would never walk again, but he defied his doctor’s predictions to walk his wife-to-be 150 steps down the aisle at their emotional wedding ceremony.

Nieto’s passion and drive for success is uncanny. He has developed several original pilots and currently writes for one of the number-one rated shows on Bounce TV called FAMILY TIME and another called IN THE CUT. He continues his road to recovery and living his dream of acting, writing, and producing.

Presenter: Michael Patrick Thornton (Actor, PRIVATE PRACTICE , AWAY )

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Special Zac Efron

(Actor, BAYWATCH, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN)

Peter Farrelly

(Academy Award® Winning Director, GREEN BOOK)

Jimmy Kimmel

(Emmy® Award Winning Host, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!)

Presentations Wilmer Valderrama

(Actor, THAT ‘70s SHOW, NCIS, ENCANTO)

Meredith Scott Lynn

(Actor, DAYS OF OUR LIVES, LEGALLY BLONDE, THE MORNING SHOW)

Russell Crowe

(Academy Award® Winning Actor, GLADIATOR, LES MISERABLES)

Congratulations to IMDbPro for their Inagural Directing Award

A Special Thank You to our Platinum Sponsor

KEVIN BRIGHT

A Special Thank You to our Gold Sponsors

A Special Thank You to our Friends & Partners

A Special Thank You to our Silver Sponsors

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

Credits

MEDIA ACCESS AWARDS

EASTERSEALS

CO-CEOs Deborah Calla & Allen Rucker

Mark Whitley Chief Executive Officer

HONORARY CO-CHAIRS Kevin Bright Peter Farrelly Vince Gilligan Robert David Hall Gale Anne Hurd Daryl “Chill” Mitchell RJ Mitte Margaret Nagle Jane Seymour Mike Tollin

Nancy Weintraub Chief Development Officer

FOUNDERS Norman G. Brooks Fern Field Norman Lear

Norita Jaeger Development & Campaign Manager

Kimberly Cohn VP, Marketing Communications Shelley Ginsburg-Brown Director, Digital Marketing Becca Hawkins Manager, Digital Marketing

Media Access Awards - The Show 2021 MEDIA ACCESS AWARDS STARRING

Deborah Aquila Selma Blair Jamie Brewer Keah Brown Russell Crowe Zac Efron Peter Farrelly Hannah Gallivan Zack Gottsagen Peter Halby Sian Heder Jimmy Kimmel John Krasinski Troy Kotsur Marlee Matlin Jamie Nieto Ryan O’Connell Jim Parsons Lauren Ridloff Meredith Scott Lynn Shoshannah Stern Michael Patrick Thornton Jacob Tremblay Wilmer Valderrama Andrea Warren Tricia Wood Lisa Zagoria

PRODUCED BY Calla Productions HOST Millicent Simmonds EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Deborah Calla WRITER Allen Rucker PRODUCER Lauren Selman CO-PRODUCER Cesario Tio POST PRODUCER Jenni Gold VIRTUAL PRODUCTION COMPANY Atsion Run Media VIRTUAL TECHNICAL PRODUCER Will Bozarth 2ND UNIT CAMERA Ezequiel Casares POST PRODUCTION SERVICES Gold Pictures EDITOR Jenni Gold ASSISTANT EDITOR David Beeler POST PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Matt Gillette POST MUSIC SUPERVISOR Robby Heisner MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR Martín Yernazian GRAPHICS CREATION Darryl Harrris

2021

Credits

MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

AUDIO DESCRIPTION SPONSORED BY

NEW YORK STAGE SHOOT

DIRECTORS Deborah Calla and Jeff Burns CO-PRODUCED WITH Cliff Hahn Sound NARRATED BY Michele Spitz WRITTEN BY Liz Gutman ANNOUNCER Dina Morrone PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Amelia Olson MILLICENT SIMMONDS ASL INTERPRETER Lynnette Taylor ASL INTERPRETERS Karri Aiken (for Shoshannah Stern) Ramon Norrod (for Lauren Ridloff) Joshua Steckel (for Troy Kotsur) MILLICENT SIMMONDS MAKE UP Kelly Tomlinson Pollack PROGRAM DESIGNER Gabrielle Raumberger for eposinc.com Brynn Shuller/retouching PUBLIC RELATIONS Slate PR: Andy Gelb Shawn Purdy Lindsey Brown

EFX SUPERVISOR Joe Jett EIC/DP Jeff Burns CAMERA Nathan Trucks JIB CAMERA Steve Marchiarullo AUDIO Dale Whitman TELEPROMPTER OPERATOR Evan Torres RENDER ENGINE OPERATOR Lucy Song ULTIMATTE OPERATOR/ MEDIA RECORDIST Greg Zifcak PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Jamie Flor COVID OFFICER Elizabeth Jett LOCATION Jett Set Studios

LOS ANGELES MUSIC VIDEO SHOOT

DIRECTOR Martín Yernazian GAFFER Declan Berkeley CAMERA Jimmy Valentine

ASSISTANT CAMERA Angela Piazza EDITOR Archie Gunn REX & FRIENDS Rex Lewis-Clack Coco Atama Alan Davis Michael Gouriz Patrick Storey Andrew Weitz BARTENDER Ben Carroll WAITRESS Rachel Deustch MUSIC DIRECTOR REX & FRIENDS Laurie Grant TALENT SUPPORT Melanie Gouriz Mike Gouriz Cathleen Lewis Jim Storey MUSIC “Go” performed by Rex & Friends with the permission from The Black Keys LOCATION The Urban Jungle, LLC

Media Access Awards - The Show KINETIC LIGHT DANCE PERFORMANCE DIRECTORS Michael Maag and Alice Sheppard PRODUCER Disability Dance Works LLC, dba Kinetic Light EMPAC CAMERA & VIDEO ENGINEERS Eric Brucker, Lead Mick Bello Ryan Jenkins

MUSIC CREDITS Joan Jeanrenaud. Visual Music. With performers PC Muñoz and William Winant Deconet Records 2016. With the kind permission of the composer.

“Song of Songs” by Karen Tanaka is used by arrangement with G. Schirmer Inc. publisher and copyright owner.

AUDIO DESCRIPTION Cheryl Green

“Empty Infinity” by Cornelius Dufallo.

Journaling, Innova Recordings 2012 is used by kind permission of the composer.

AUDIMANCE DESIGN Laurel Lawson

“Waiting,” by Joan Jeanrenaud. Strange Toys, Talking House Records 2008.

EDITOR Shaina Ghuraya SOUND DESIGNER/MIXER Andy Slater LOCATION Goodman Studio The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Art Center Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York DANCE CREDITS

DIRECTED & CONCEIVED Alice Sheppard CHOREOGRAPHY & PERFORMANCE Alice Sheppard in collaboration with Laurel Lawson LIGHTING, PROJECTION & VIDEO DESIGN Michael Maag COSTUME & MAKEUP DESIGN Laurel Lawson

MUSIC EDITING Dan Wool Video design and projection images inspired by selected sculptures of Auguste Rodin and created by Michael Maag Original images provided by Stanford University’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center For Visual Arts Additional video courtesy of EMPAC/ Eric Brucker and Ryan Jenkins

2021 MEDIA ACCESS

AWARDS

RAMP DESIGN TEAM Sara Handren, Yevgeniya Zastavker, and Katie Butler, Daniel Daughtery, Duncan Hall, Andrew Holmes, Erica Lee, Scott Mackinlay, Apurva Raman, March Saper, Alexander Scott, Kimberly Winter, Rachel Yang, Jingyi Xu, with support from Olin College RAMP ENGINEERING AND FABRICATION Rooster Productions, LLC a small employeeowned scene shop located in Martinez, CA AUDIMANCE CONTENT CONTRIBUTORS Advisor Georgina Kleege App Design and Development CyCore Systems / Laurel Lawson Audio Description Cheryl Green, George McRae Empac Spatial and Ramp Sound Todd Vos, Lead Audio Engineer Lead Audio Technologize Javier Molina Poem Sound Design Dylan Keefe Poet Eli Clare Producer Caitlin Robinson Script David Linton Sound Designer TK Broderick Sound Mixer Aaron Montoya-Moraga Spatial Sound JM Creative Alchemy Tactile Experience Lisa Niedermeyer Voices Eli Clare, Erin deWard, David Linton

Credits Audimance and its content are made possible in part by Creative Capital, the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; the MAP Fund, and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation The film premiere of DESCENT was made possible, in part, by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; and through a residency by Walker Art Center and Northrop at the University of Minnesota.

CLIPS PROVIDED BY Academy Awards® Clips: ©Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences, Apple TV+, discovery+, Netflix, Paramount Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Raising The Bar Entertainment, LLC, Walt Disney Television, Wild Prairie Rose Productions, Zeno Mountain Farm MESSENGER SERVICES Lightning Messenger Express Debbie Hoffman & Naomi Osugi SPECIAL THANKS Easterseals of Southern California Tara Samuel Chris Suso Scott Richter Spring Street Cafe Tina Hittenberger The Hand Prop Shop ©2021 Media Access Awards

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