Six weeks ago, I put out a call for awesomeosity and y’all came through with flying colors. Thank you! This has been such a great series that I’ll continue to share one “who inspires you” segment each month in Your Turn. So, if you missed your chance to participate in this end-of-the-year rampage of appreciation for others’ awesomeosity, no worries! Send in your nomination and I’ll continue to showcase the people who inspire one another in 2011. Now, to close out 2010, here’s who inspires Cole Matson:

• Who you are (your name, link to your site of choice for promo): I’m Cole Matson, theatre/film actor and theology student at Oxford University: https://colematson.com/about.
• Who you’re nominating for their awesomeosity: I’m nominating Ron Newcomb, the director/co-writer/co-producer of the independent feature film The Fellows Hip: Rise of the Gamers, in which I was a lead.
• What they’ve been doing with their career strides and why we should take notice (why they inspire you so): Ron worked as an actor in LA for a while (and has also been a Marine, cop, and youth pastor), but decided to move back home to northern Virginia and start a film company with some cop buddies. He decided to be proactive with his career and tell the stories he wanted to tell, so he and some friends wrote a feature film script that’s a hilarious tribute to all things geek. (Growing up, Ron was a jock by day, closet gamer by night, and he’s a BIG Lord of the Rings fan.) This handful of guys — not all of whom had worked in film before — raised a sizeable budget for an indie, put together an awesome cast and crew, shot the film in a month, and are now wrapping up the post-production process, as well as doing all the marketing themselves, including hitting the convention circuit with some of us actors (huzzah!). They even managed to get permission from Saul Zaentz and Peter Jackson to reference the Lord of the Rings films, and inked a deal with Turbine, creator of the Lord of the Rings Online MMORPG, to create custom game footage for the movie! The Fellows Hip has been the best film production I’ve ever worked on, both in terms of quality (script, actors, technical aspects) and most especially in terms of the people. Ron created a family atmosphere that was, in my experience, at all times respectful and encouraging, while still maintaining high standards of work. I made a ton of friends on this production I’m still in touch with, and I would gladly rush to join a set he’s running any day. I admire Ron not only for hustling to create his own work, but especially for helping everyone he works with to grow as both creative and loving human beings while he’s doing it. (And speaking of creating and loving, he and his wife just had their first child a few weeks ago!)
• Where to find more info about this person (link to their best promo site): The film’s Facebook group is at https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=39670886057 (The Fellows Hip movie). It has links to both the film’s website (where you can view production samples) and the film company’s website (Opening Act Productions).

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!

Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001282.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.