Robert Clark | Executive Producer
Bob is a long time friend of Scott and Ted, both of whom he met back in high school in St. Louis. The seed of "Movie Mogul in the making" was probably planted when he was given a role in one of Scott and Ted's earliest student films. He played a police detective who died in a gloriously bloody shoot out with a dashing but coldly efficient hitman, played by Ted Smith. Being Executive Producer on Guardian of the Realm is Bob's long overdue revenge on Ted.

Bob spent a number of years working in the computer industry before deciding to change fields. Knowing of Scott's desire to shoot a low budget independent feature using modern digital technology, interested Bob, and he offered to provide financing. Further discussions with Ted, who had a movie idea he wanted to develop, led to a partnership between these three old friends. Pirate Pictures was born, and Guardian of the Realm quickly went into pre-production.


Scott M. Baker | Producer
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri (begining to see a pattern here?), Scott's earliest fond memories are of watching Star Trek from his mother's lap at the age of five. This led to a fascination with science fiction. The "Heston era" sci-fi thrillers of the sixties, and the writings of Asimov, Bradbury, and Heinlein fueled that passion, but it was two films that came out in 1977, Star Wars and Close Encounters, that made him want to make movies. Scott learned of the power a film could have, when after watching the credits of Close Encounters end with the words "Watch The Skies", he observed everyone looking up at the stars as they exited the theater.

Scott's professional background has been almost exclusively in the entertainment business, with over 15 years of management experience in the music/video industry. More recently he worked as a freelance videographer in the St. Louis Area, running his own video production company, HotWired Productions, before closing shop to partner in a new production company with close friend's Ted Smith and Bob Clark. He is currently a Partner and the CEO of Pirate Pictures, and Producer of the company's first feature, Guardian Of The Realm.

Scott currently splits a lot of his time between L.A. and his home in St. Louis, where he lives with his very understanding wife Lynne, and his two children, Caitlin and Richard.


Ted Smith | Director/Writer
A Sci-Fi geek at birth, Ted Smith grew up with a passion for monsters, and special effects. After seeing Star Wars at age 14, Smith knew that he wanted to work in making movie magic. After college Ted moved to Los Angeles in 1989 from his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri and spent 15 years building miniatures, props, costumes for movies and television.

Smith, who has garnered the name "Evil Ted", has done special effects for such films as BATMAN RETURNS, THE FITH ELEMENT, CONTACT, TITANTIC, SPY KIDS, A.I., and such television shows as XENA; WARRIOR PRINCESS.

Being his directorial debut, Ted's goal for Guardian of the Realm is that his mother could say "My son wrote and directed that!!!"

Deborah Velarde | Co-Producer
Deborah Velarde is that very rare individual in the L.A. film industry - a filmmaker who is actually from L.A.! Deborah got her first taste of Hollywood at age 9 when she was cast in a local Los Angeles afternoon kid's show, ANGIE'S GARAGE, an experience she never forgot.

Deborah never forgot about her love for production, so in 1990 she said good-bye to a career in marketing and took a full-time chance on Hollywood, beginning as a script supervisor and quickly working her way up to production coordinating and managing. She began producing shorts, commercials and features in 1994, and in 1997 became a production executive at multi media giant Viacom, where she counted NBC's ED , HBO's OZ , VH -1's HYSTERIA: THE DEF LEPPARD STORY, and STRANGE FREQUENCY as just some of the projects under her charge.


Wyatt Weed | 1st A.D./Writer
Some of Wyatt Weed's earliest memories are of the movies. He vividly remembers seeing 2001: A SPACE ODESSEY at age 4 and shortly thereafter turning his parents' living room floor into a moon base. Although his parents indulged him in drawing, sculpture, and photography classes, it was the release of Star Wars that inspired Weed to pick up a Super 8 mm film camera. Soon after, an obsession was born.

Moving from his hometown of Springfield, Illinois to St. Louis in 1980, Weed attended film school while dabbling in acting and cable television's "public access" opportunities. After a string of short film and video projects, Weed landed his first film job in 1986 on the St. Louis portion of the Taylor Hackford - directed HAIL, HAIL, ROCK AND ROLL.

Longing for bigger and better opportunities, Weed took the trek west to Los Angeles in 1988 and soon found himself working as a Jack of all Trades in a variety of television shows and feature films, including FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, STAR TREK: VOYAGER, LORD OF ILLUSIONS, JAY-JAY THE JET PLANE, MUPPETS FROM SPACE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2, and RED PLANET.

Weed met fellow filmmakers Ted Smith and Tom Seymour at "Archon", St. Louis' local science fiction convention, and has remained close friends and frequent co-workers with both of them.


Carrie Holt | Line Producer
Addicted to horror movies since childhood, Carrie Holt is founder of Holt Productions, an experimental film, video and theater company in Chicago. Her stage productions include Debt, Just Say Blow Me and The Architect and The Emperor of Assyria. Video productions include Leah Ryan's Short Order and ImageBomb99 . Carrie's films include Dzine in Africa, Chierologic Tragedy, Land of False Clocks, Eye of Cruelty, Slave, and the short If You Step on a Crack.

The founder, former editor and publisher of The Chicago Flame, a Chicago college newspaper, Carrie since 1996 has been collaborating on video and multimedia projects that have premiered in Nairobi, Kenya; Cornwall, England; Trondhime, Norway; Paris, Berlin and Chicago.

She produced the full-length feature film, 2wks, 1yr -- a selection of the 2002 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.


Tom Seymour | Special FX Coordinator
A self-professed geek, Tom Seymour met "Evil Ted" at "Archon", a St. Louis Sci-Fi convention in 1982. The duo have been partners-in-crime ever since, with a long history of adventures and mischief. Tom was the last of several St. Louis ex-patriots to migrate to L.A. in 1992.

Seymour has served in many capacities in the film industry since 1987. Tom has been a Special Effects Pyrotechnician for the last seven years. His work has been seen on such films as: DANTE'S PEAK , ARMAGEDDON, TITANIC, GODZILLA, FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON and most recently Pam Anderson's T.V. show V.I.P. and Wonderland, starring Val Kilmer. Guardian of the Realm is Seymour's most audacious project to date.

Being a son of a Fireman, Tom finds humor in the irony that he gets paid to commit felonies and acts of vandalism. but what do you expect from someone born on Friday the 13th.

Mark Bautista | Key Make-Up
Mark graduated from the esteemed JOE BLASCO SCHOOL OF MAKE-UP and would later join their staff, teaching courses in every aspect of make-up, from basic beauty to advanced prosthetic creation and application. His 10+ years of experience has enabled him to tackle every kind of film project imaginable, from high profile features, such as, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, to smaller, independent films, such as the critically acclaimed DAHMER.

Mark's attitude is always, "no project to big, no budget to small."


T.J. Lewis | Production Manager
T.J. has led an interesting life. He has studied martial arts, ballet, and psychology. He has been a bartender, professional dancer, welder, special effects tech, six foot tall chicken, and Prince Charming. With this sort of background, Production Manager (who may be called on to calm down a panicky actor, or figure out exactly why sparks are shooting out of the wall socket and how to make it stop) is right up his alley.

T.J. is yet another of the St. Louis cartel, though he came to L.A. kicking and screaming after everyone he knew emigrated. .

T.J. still does'nt know what he wants to be when he grows up, but look for him to run for public office or build a better mousetrap soon.