2007 Scollies Keynote Presenter

Katie Hooten

Sierra College will welcome Katie Hooten as Keynote presenter at this year’s Scollies Animation and Video Festival. Katie Associate Produced “Hoodwinked” (2005), an animated retelling of the Red Riding Hood story, starring Anne Hathaway and Glenn Close and distributed by The Weinstein Company. This small indie film became an audience favorite, grossing over $100 million at the box office world wide and opening at number one in DVD sales in May 2006.

Katie began fulfilling her “producer role” for her brothers Cory and Todd Edwards in the 4th grade when after years of making weekend super-8 movies in their neighborhood in Ohio, her teacher asked the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” After patiently waiting for her classmates to answer, Katie said, “I’m not sure what I want to do. But my brothers are going to make huge movies someday, and I want to help them do that.”

After finishing a Bachelor of Arts degree from Anderson University majoring in theater, followed by a Master of Arts degree at Ball State University in Community Education with an emphasis in arts programming, Katie took the post as Manager of the Phillippe Performing Arts Center at Indiana Wesleyan University. Katie’s love of film was always at the heart of her interests. So, after gaining some attention for her role of Judy in the Sundance Film Festival (1999) hit “Chillicothe” written and directed by her brother Todd, she and husband Tim moved to Los Angeles so Katie could pursue a career in film. She partnered with Blue Yonder Films as a freelancer on a variety of projects, from commercials to music videos, and worked for various clients including MTV, Newline, and Nickelodeon before joining the production team at Walt Disney Feature Animation Studios. Katie worked on such films as “Atlantis”, “Lilo and Stitch”, “Spirited Away”, and “Treasure Planet.” Her promotion to the Development Department paired her with Disney’s top directors, producers, and executives on special projects.

As a partner and producer with Blue Yonder Films, 2006 found Katie producing the Blick Van Glory comedic music video “The Sophomores” and supporting several projects in development, including a fantasy-adventure feature film for The Weinstein Company called “Digging To China” and a documentary about movie extras entitled “Strictly Background”.

Her husband Tim, a native to northern California, and alumni of Sierra College, joined Blue Yonder Films as President of Operations in October 2006 after a decade of leadership in civic engagement in the non-profit sector. Tim will join Katie for a Q & A during the keynote presentation at the Scollies Festival.

The Scollies: Sierra College Animation and Video Festival will take place on Saturday, April 28, from 1 – 5 PM in the Dietrich Theater on the Rocklin campus. Tickets will be available at the door for $5, or can be purchased before the event through the Sierra College Bookstore.