The Good Witch

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PRODUCTION BIOS

ORLY ADELSON (Executive Producer) – Since the formation of Orly Adelson Productions in 1995, Orly Adelson has become recognized as one of the most prominent and distinguished producers in the television and film industry, and has been recognized as one of the 100 most powerful people in sports in America by the Sports Business Journal.

Utilizing Orly Adelson Productions’ ability to finance multiple projects worldwide, she has created a dynamic production company, boasting a diverse and eclectic slate of high profile entertainment, including the company’s upcoming first ventures into the world of animated and musical films.

The company recently produced “Ruffian,” which chronicles the greatest female racehorse of all time, which premiered on ABC to critical reviews and will soon begin showing on ESPN, ESPN.com, Mobile ESPN and ESPN Motion.  Other projects for ESPN have included “3,” which starred Barry Pepper as NASCAR hero Dale Earnhardt and debuted as the network’s highest-rated movie ever and the second-highest rated basic cable movie of the year; “Code Breakers,” which was recently nominated for a CSC Award as well as an Eddie Award; “Tilt,” an ESPN series centered around the volatile world of high stakes poker starring Michael Madsen and Eddie Cibrian; “The Junction Boys” and “Playmakers,” which was ESPN’s first original dramatic series

Other highly publicized, award-winning projects produced by Orly Adelson Productions include “Cavedweller,” which was based on the novel by Dorothy Allison and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, “DC Sniper: 23 Days of Fear,” “The Truth About Jane,” which garnered the highest ratings for Lifetime in five years and “Plainsong,” an adaptation of the National Book Award finalist for Hallmark Hall of Fame.     

Orly Adelson Productions’ feature films in development include “The Sixth Man,” an inspirational true story in the world of college basketball, with Walden Media; DreamWorks film “Shackled,” a comedy about a father and son ordered by a judge to be shackled together for a month; and “Chasing Dinner,” a comedic film written by Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans (“Stand By Me”) as an independent feature.

Over the years, Orly Adelson Productions has built an impressive library of films.  Past productions include CBS movies “One True Love,” “To Love, Honor and Betray” and “God’s New Plan.” Other credits include TBS movies “The Triangle,” starring Luke Perry, and “On Hostile Ground,” Christmas romance “A Chance of Snow” for Lifetime and “Ultimate Deception” for USA Network.

As President of Orly Adelson Productions, Adelson brings a unique point of view to film production.  A native of Israel, Adelson served as a lieutenant in the Israeli Army prior to earning her Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Musicology from Hebrew University, simultaneously graduating from the Academy of Music and Dance.  She also attended Tel Aviv University Graduate School before marrying and moving to the U.S. She began her career in the advertising trade in a three-year staff producing position at Bozell, Jacobs, Kenton and Eckhardt, working on prominent accounts including their popular Chrysler campaign. 

Adelson entered the arena of television movie production as vice president of development at Brandman Productions, where she executive-produced her first project, the NBC telefilm “Shoot First.”  She then joined Roger Gimbel as an independent producer at Carolco-Gimbel, which, after three years, became Gimbel-Adelson Productions.  While there, Adelson served as an executive overseeing the acclaimed movie “Chernobyl: The Final Warning” (TNT), and executive produced “Desperate Rescue” (NBC), “Murder Between Friends” (NBC) and “The Perfect Mother” (CBS).  On her own, Adelson produced “Keeper of the Light,” a documentary on the state of Israel, directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Chuck Workman.   

A Renaissance woman with interests ranging from art, music, theater and all forms of sports, Adelson lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

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JONATHAN ESKENAS (Executive Producer) – Jonathan Eskenas currently serves as President of Orly Adelson Productions.  In this position, he has become one of the industry’s top young executives, developing and producing numerous television movies, miniseries, and series for various networks and cable stations.

Among Eskenas’s producing credits are “Odd Girl Out” for Lifetime, ESPN’s critically acclaimed telefilm “Code Breakers” starring Scott Glenn; the widely publicized true story “The Madam’s Family:  The Truth About Canal Street Brothel”, starring Ellen Burstyn, Annabella Sciorra, and Dominique Swain, for CBS; “3: The Dale Earnhardt Story,” ESPN’s all-time highest rated movie; USA Network film “D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear,” winner of NAACP Image Awards for best television movie and best lead actor (Charles Dutton); ESPN film “The Junction Boys” starring Tom Berenger as coaching icon Bear Bryant; and comedic detective film “Mystery Woman,” for Hallmark Channel.

As part of his position, he has also supervised development and production of “Playmakers,” ESPN’s first original dramatic series, and “Tilt,” ESPN’s gritty series set around the world of professional poker. Originally from Boston, Eskenas studied film at Syracuse University before moving to Los Angeles.  He has been with Orly Adelson Productions since August 2000.

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Frank Siracusa (executive Producer) – Executive Producer and founding partner of Whizbang Films, Frank Siracusa has produced more than 80 hours of television, including series, TV movies and mini-series for Hollywood’s major networks and studios including Disney, Paramount, ESPN, Dreamworks, and American Zoetrope.  Currently, Siracusa is executively producing “ZOS: Zone of Separation,” an eight-part drama series about the life and death struggle to enforce a UN-brokered ceasefire in a fictionalized war-torn Balkan town, starring Lolita Davidovitch and Colm Meaney. An Emmy Award Winning producer, Siracusa has maintained strong connections with broadcasters and distributors worldwide, making Whizbang one of the most renowned film and television companies in Canada.

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Ian McDougall (Supervising Producer) – Over the course of his career, Toronto-based Ian McDougall has produced or supervised the production of over four hundred and fifty hours of filmed drama with budgets totaling more than $600 million.

These productions have received 12 Emmy® awards, and more than forty-five Emmy nominations, as well as numerous Golden Globe, Golden Satellite, Gemini, Peabody, Humanitas, and other awards and nominations.

McDougall's recent credits include Terry Gilliam's feature film “Tideland,” starring Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Tilly and Jodelle Ferland;  “Hitler: The Rise of Evil,” a four hour mini-series for CBS starring Robert Carlyle, Peter O'Toole, Stockard Channing, and Julianna Margulies, which won two Emmy awards and seven nominations including Best Mini-Series; “Nuremberg,” a four hour mini-series for TNT which also won two Emmy awards, and “Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay,” a two hour MOW for CBS starring Shirley MacLaine, Parker Posey and Shannen Doherty, which garnered two Golden Globe nominations and Le Chaise d'Or for Best TV movie of 2002.

Among McDougall's other long-form producing credits are: “Gridlock,” “Woman on the Run: The Lawrencia Bembenek Story,” “Trial & Error,” “Clearcut,” “Passion and Paradise,” and the hugely popular Emmy, Gemini and Peabody Award winning mini-series “Anne of Green Gables.” McDougall's series credits include “Total Recall,” “Fast Track,” “Sins of the City,” “The Crow,” “Little Men,” “Jett Jackson,” “Betaville,” “Due South,” “Once a Thief,” “Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy” and “Power Play.” McDougall's most recently was Supervising Producer on the one-hour drama series "Whistler" for CTV and The N.

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CRAIG PRYCE (Director) – Craig PRYCE was born in Toronto, Ontario, where he graduated with a degree in film production from York University.  While attending York, he received a scholarship from Famous Players Theatres and made a short film that was sold to the CBC.  Upon graduating, he used this sale to negotiate a deal to direct three shorts for the network.

PRYCE spent the next two years raising funds to make his first feature film, “Revenge of the Radioactive Reporter.”  This campy horror film went on to win Best Independent Feature at The Houston International Film Festival and was sold to MCA/Universal Studios, who released it in 65 countries.

Following up on his first success, PRYCE went on to direct the horror flick “The Dark,” starring Neve Campbell.  The film won Best Horror Movie at The Festival of the Americas. The film enjoyed solid reviews and was picked up by HBO, Miramax and Polygram Film Entertainment.

PRYCE’s directing credits feature several television series, including “Psi Factor” for CBS/Eyemark, “Goosebumps” for Fox and “Zack Files” for ABC Family.  With more than 50 episodic credits to his name, he has received three Director Guild nominations and a Gemini nomination for direction in comedy and family entertainment.  PRYCE also directed several episodes of the series “Dark Oracle,” which won an International Emmy.

Returning to long form, Pryce has recently directed the romantic comedy TV movie “I Me Wed” for Lifetime, starring Erica Durance (“Smallville”).

Pryce is also currently directing a block of episodes for the hit Disney Channel series “Life with Derek.”

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ROD SPENCE (Writer) – This is Spence’s first teleplay.  Born and raised in the Midwest, Spence has traveled around the world as a freelance mechanical designer while pursing a writing career.  He loves writing family friendly stories and has two scripts currently in development, one a feature film and one a television movie.  His hobbies include art collecting and travel.  Spence is single and looks forward to relocating to Los Angeles which has already become his second home.

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