Blue Heron International Pictures LLC

Our Business

Blue Heron International Pictures LLC is a limited liability company registered with the State of Florida Division of Corporations.

First and foremost, we are film production consultants.

We are also engaged in activities which promote student film-making, as well as actual film production.

In addition, we offer limited production services to major projects filming in the Daytona Beach area.

Blue Heron International Pictures LLC is represented by the law firm of Spiegel & Utrera, who serve as corporate counsel for the company.

         
            Who We Are

                              R.I. Lester, Jr.                         

                             Executive Producer

R.I. Lester. Jr. brings a wide variety of television and motion picture experience to Blue Heron International Pictures.

Lester has appeared in a number of major motion pictures, including Silverado (Columbia), American Anthem (Columbia), Police Academy 5 (Warner Bros), White of the Eye (Paramount) and Cobra Mission by Italian film director Fabrizio DeAngelis (released in the USA as Operation Nam).

He is a current member of Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA).

In the 1980's, Lester worked as a producer for WLRN-TV in Miami, FL. He wrote an article for True Detective magazine titled "Buford Pusser's Last Ride: Accident or Murder?" -- a story depicted in Bing Crosby Productions' Walking Tall: Final Chapter.

Lester is also the author of the best-selling book, Flight of the Blue Heron.

In 2009, Lester worked as an associate producer for Producer/Director Ted V. Mikels in Astro Zombies M3: Cloned.

Lester holds a bachelors degree in theatre and speech; a masters degree from the University of Southern Mississippi; and an Ed.S degree from Nova University in Miami, Florida.

He created Blue Heron International Pictures in 2005.

                                                       John Martino

                             Producer/Screenwriter

John Martino serves as a consultant to the Project Development Division and recommends which scripts should be produced by the company and which projects should be pitched to the major studios or major independent filmmakers.

John is an accomplished screenwriter with several of his own projects presently under consideration in Los Angeles. He is currently a member of SAG and has starred with Sylvester Stallone in Capone, with Warren Oates in Dillinger, and as Paulie with Marlon Brando and Al Pacino in The Godfather. 

                       Alex Ringer

                                    Producer

Alex Ringer worked with us as our associate producer in Israel on our first Holocaust film, Deliver Us From Evil.

Alex is the producer of our latest Holocaust film, Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo.

                     Feliks Pastusiak 

                                       Producer

Feliks Pastusiak  is our Warsaw-based producer of Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo.

Feliks is one of Poland's busier producers.  He has worked on a few major projects  such as Steven Spielberg's Schindler’s List , The Ogr,  Proof of Life, Jacob the Liar, Aimee and Jaguar,  and Roman Polanski's Holocaust film, The Pianist.

Feliks holds a diploma in geology from The Warsaw University.

        Filmography

• 2008 - EXPECTING LOVE Producer
• 2008 - SAFE HAVEN: THE WARSAW ZOO Producer
• 2008 - LOVE THE SMALL Producer/Actor
• 2006 -FANAA Line Producer (English team),
• 2004 - THE ARYAN COUPLE Co-Producer
• 2003 - PORNOGRAFIA Public Relations (spokesman)
• 2002 – THE PIANIST Assistant Producer
• 2002 - I REMEMBER Unit Production Manager
• 2000 - PROOF OF LIFE Assistant Producer
•             (Producer accompanying English team)
• 1999  - JAKOB THE LIAR Assistant Producer
• 1998 - AIMEE & JAGUAR  Line Producer (Production Manager, English team)
• 1998 - THE LAST DAYS  Production Supervisor
• 1997  - BANDYTA Co-Producer
• 1996 -THE OGRE Co-Producer
• 1994 - EDUCATION DIABELSKA Production Coordinator
• 1993 -  SCHINDLER’S LIST Production Assistant                                      

Charlie Carlson is Florida's most famous folklore story-teller and historian. Author of numerous books, including  the iconic Weird Florida coffee-table book published by Barnes & Noble. His fictional thriller, Ashley's Shadow, is currently under review by several producers for feature film development.

Charlie is also known as Florida's Man in Black, and the Master of the Weird. His numerous books about the paranormal have generated excitement among sci-fi fans around the world.

In addition to being an accomplished stage magician with his own side show, Charlie Carlson's World of the Weird and Wacky, Charlie is also a veteran radio performer and film actor. He is still seen occasionally on cable television in his debut film role as Professor Morehouse in Curse of the Blair Witch.

Charlie is the producer of our first blockbuster feature film, Henry Blackhart is Dead. He has also starred in The Cleansing from Blue Heron, as well as the Blackhart film.

Charlie's latest assignment from Blue Heron is as an associate producer for Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo.

                       Gary Lester

                                             Director

Gary Lester holds an associate of science degree in photography from Daytona Beach Community College and a bachelor's degree in photography from the University of Central Florida. He is currently working on his master's degree in Motion Picture Editing from Academy of Art University in San Francisco. 

Gary also completed training at The Hollywood Film Institute in Los Angeles, where he earned a certificate of completion in motion picture production. His film debut as an actor occurred in 2001 when he appeared in Flamingo Rising on The Hallmark Hall of Fame. The production aired on CBS and is available on VHS.

Gary is an award-winning director. His documentary films include Courtney, Fuzzy Little People, Eyewitness To History, The Cleansing, Deliver Us From Evil, Bogart & Friends,  Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo, and A Night With Johnny Duncan. He also directed the paranormal comedy Henry Blackhart Is Dead.

All have screened at film festivals ranging  from Boca Raton, Florida to Busan, South Korea to Ontario, Canada. Three have won Best Documentary awards, and one captured an Audience Choice award at the Daytona Beach Film Festival. On-line presskits for all  films are available at the ultimate film festival website, Withoutabox.

In February 2008, Gary finished Deliver Us From Evil,  his gripping story of two people who survived the Holocaust.  On May 1, Israel 10 television broadcast the film as part of the nation's Holocaust remembrance events. In August, 2008, the film won the prestigious Crystal Reel Award from the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association.

During the summer of 2008, Gary released his docu-thriller, Henry Blackhart is Dead and his latest animal documentary, Bogart & Friends. His most recent Holocaust project -- Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo -- was released in March, 2009 and premiered at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California.

The film went on to capture six Crystal Reel Awards from the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association, a Special Juror Mention from the West Hollywood International Film Festival, and a Best Director award at the Treasure Coast International Film Festival.

Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo has been translated into Hebrew, Russian and Polish, and has been seen by approximately eight million people worldwide. It has been broadcast twice on Israeli network television, and screens regularly at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC and at the Warsaw Zoo in Poland.

In 2009, Gary worked as second unit director for Hollywood icon Ted V. Mikels, in his latest horror movie Astro Zombies M3: Cloned.

 Gary's official filmography is available on IMDb -- The Internet Movie Data Base.

                      Anthony Reece

                                        Narrator

Anthony Reece is the narrator of the Holocaust documentary Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo.In recent years,  Anthony has produced, directed, or personally voiced hundreds of broadcast and e-learning projects.

As director of Voicetoons, Anthony has also produced and cast animations in more than 20 countries. Along with numerous radio, tv and commercial credits, past animation collaborations include his work on Jasper: The Story of a Mule, animated by Bill Melendez of Peanuts fame, dozens of studio pilots such as the new Carter and Son, along with ShipAntics from Boulder Media, (producers of Fosters Home to Imaginary Friends).

Anthony and Voicetoons have also directed and cast voices for gaming titles including Creature Conflict, Bingwood, Frontline Dawn and more.

You can read more about our narrator Anthony Reece at his personal web site located at

                                   Damon Easley

                      Cinematographer/Set Photography

Damon is an accomplished photographer and videographer.

His feature film work includes Hunt For The Devil released by Spookhunters Productions and Astro Zombies M3:Cloned for  Blue Heron's second unit shoot for TVM Studios.

 Dave Karner behind the camera, as legendary actor Johnny Duncan signs autographs for the fans. 

                      David Karner

                     Cinematographer

Dave is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Motion Picture Production.

Before coming to Florida, he was the production manager for a major foundation in Santa Monica, California.

Dave is extremely talented behind the camera, as well as with all facets of post-production.

In addition, he owns his own  professional web designing company -- Thunder Mesa Designs

                                                 Joe Martino

                                    Story Development Consultant

Born in Miami, Florida and raised in Daytona Beach, Joe Martino grew up surrounded by the unparalleled talents of his father --  actor/singer/writer John Martino, star of the 1972 blockbuster movie The Godfather.

It was during this time that Joe developed a love for film and entertainment.  He took his first step in front of the camera, appearing in Coming Attractions where he worked with Michael Winslow of Police Academy fame.  Joe also had an appearance in the critically acclaimed Confessions of a Thug, in which his father starred. 

In May 2010, Joe graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in economics.  He is a talented artist and graphic designer. Today, Joe assists his father in his writing efforts, and aspires to have his own collection of screenplays as time goes on.

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