Faculty

The MPI Faculty & Staff is comprised of working industry professionals who know the practices and tools of the trades. They bring their experiences and skills into the class to teach MPI students how to succeed. MPI is a school designed by Filmmakers, for Filmmakers.

 

Award-winning filmmaker and MPI founder Douglas Schulze brings nearly two decades of real-world experience to the institute. Mr. Schulze holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Cinematic Arts from Eastern Michigan University. His first 35mm feature film Hellmaster aired on HBO and Cinemax.

 

More recently, Thinkfilm, the elite art house distributor of the Academy Award-winning Spellbound and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Schulze's feature Dark Heaven now available nationally in all Blockbuster stores.

 

Doug Schulze’s tenure in the film industry has included collaborations with a wide variety of Hollywood professionals including Academy Award-winning special effects artist Chris Walas (The Fly, Gremlins) and screen veteran actor John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Enter the Dragon).

His most recent directorial effort is a feature-length, suspense-horror entitled The Rain starring Dee Wallace (E.T. the Extraterrestrial, Cujo, The Howling) and David Carradine.

 

Kurt Mayry produced the 1992 feature film Hellmaster, starring John Saxon, which aired nationally on HBO/Cinemax. His subsequent producing effort Dark Heaven was released in July of 2004.

 

His extensive business background has built MPI into a premiere filmmaking program. He has further incorporated his film industry knowledge and experience into the classroom where he instructs students on how to organize and manage their films.

 

Mayry's extensive film background spans from working on such notable films as Beverly Hills Cop to working as a camera tech for one of the largest Panavision Equipment houses in the Midwest. Kurt holds a Bachelors degree in business from the University of Michigan.

 

Kurt recently produced and co-wrote the horror thriller The Rain, and is currently the Director of Education at MPI.

 

Kathryn McDermott has worked in feature film production for more than 27 years. From 1995 to 2005 Kathryn held the position of Vice President of Production at Columbia Pictures. McDermott's credits include, Charlies Angels 1 & 2, Memoirs of a Geisha, Fun with Dick & Jane, Closer, Hitch, & Spiderman 1 & 2, just to name a few.

 

Prior to that, McDermott worked as Production Manager on Striking Distance (starring Bruce Willis), Assistant Producer on Last of the Mohicans, A League of Their Own, Only the Lonely, Career Opportunities; and was an Associate producer on First Knight (starring Richard Gere and Sean Connery) and My Life (starring Nicole Kidman and Michael Keaton).

Kathryn McDermott is currently a Career Placement Advisor at MPI, and teaches Production Management 1 and 2.

 

Robert Skates brings nearly 20 years of production experience as both a Cameraman and Cinematographer. His cinematography credits include Cain's Children, Dark Heaven and numerous local music videos and commercials. Rob has also been a camera assistant on a number of independent features including the films Narc (starring Jason Patrick) and Time Quest (starring Bruce Campbell). Robert has also worked as a camera tech for Stratton Camera. Skates is a Union Cinematographer and holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree from Wayne State University.

 

 

Joshua Bowren brings over fifteen years of editing experience to the institute. Bowren also works at WXYZ Channel 7 as an AVID editor, and at Media Network of Waterford as Executive Director Over Production. Josh has cut more than a thousand projects, ranging from PSA's to independent feature films. His advanced training and knowledge of AVID, Vegas, Final Cut, and DVD authoring systems has had a tremendous influence in shaping the MPI editing curriculum.

 

 

 

Joel brings 26 years of audio experience to MPI, having worked both in the Detroit and Los Angeles production markets. During his professional career, Joel has worked for industry giants Clear Channel Communications and Infinity Broadcasting. His professional audio experience has spanned the gap from Detroit to LA for such companies as Harmony Park Creative Group, RMS Productions, WJR, Hollywood Recording, and Zacuto Audio in Los Angeles.

 

At MPI, Joel brings students a wealth of knowledge and practical training in production audio recording and post audio mixing. Joel is a 1980 graduate of Michigan State University with a B.A. in Telecommunications.

 

 

Richard is an award-winning writer and editor with over 20 years experience teaching and mentoring beginning writers and filmmakers. His screen­plays have been read, optioned, or developed by Orion, Roger Corman, Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros, DreamWorks, ABC Family and other companies. Others works have been finalists in national contests and his short films have won industry and film festival awards. Rothrock serves as a script reader for such popular contests as Project Greenlight and the Bluecat Screenplay Competition.

 

He has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Film from Oakland University, a Master of Arts from Bowling Green State University, and is a graduate of the Graham School of Editing at the University of Chicago.

Associate Instructors, Teaching Assistants, and Staff