Los Angeles, CA, February 2, 2022– Cut Throat City producer William Clevinger, multi-hyphenate Sidney Elle Brocious, actor Jonny Weston (Chasing Mavericks, Project Almanac), Jeremy Jordan Jones, Chairman & CEO of Amalgam, the blockchain-focused fintech and cybersecurity firm, alongside Jerry Easter and Trena Cook-Easter—the parents of high school basketball prodigy Jerry Easter II—are joining forces to launch “The Big Picture.”

The Big Picture is a collective that will produce cutting edge film and TV projects while also creating first look opportunities and mentorship for young athletes throughout their careers. The company’s mission statement is: “A collective of artists, this is bigger than us, this is family: we are legacy producers.”

The collective will assist athletes with representation in professional sports, Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), and a united focused vision creating opportunities in entertainment throughout their sports careers. The Big Picture will function with supportive family environment for them to succeed and excel in life with proper mental health support from the beginning.

This concept of nurturing and working with high character young athletes alongside their families to afford them a unique situation where all of the relationships consisting of a group of culturally diverse individuals spread throughout multiple industries will be utilized to develop long- term connections and ventures in the arts. It will consist of: mentorship from a field made up of: iconic sports figures to be announced; acting, writing, producing, directing; and music to encompass all of the creative endeavors.

Clevinger said, “We want to give the next generation opportunities to break down doors and barriers with support behind them and a unified vision to excel at their sports ambitions, desires, and dreams, before they ever step into any setting  and have a legacy prepared for themselves years in advance.”

“We will give these unique talents the opportunities to control their own futures and sustain mental health in a family multi-cultural environment,” Clevinger continues. In order to tap into the dreams, voices, and cultural beliefs that few other environments can offer. In my career I’ve always felt this was bigger than myself, and for me [it] has always been about loyalty to those who helped pave a way.”

Brocious originally wanted to be in the entertainment industry because she fell in love with Robot Chicken and wanted to be able to buy Adult Swim in the second grade. She said, “I thought that if I could make money from my imagination, then I could absolutely do whatever in life I wanted. The human experience is rich in every facet of its vital force. I’m surrounded by brilliant individuals that I call family; I wouldn’t be anywhere without them. They have taught me it is all right to ask for help and when to walk away, something that has taken me years to learn. Since I was young, I knew I could help people better understand mental wellness. To be able to pull yourself up takes an immense strength and I applaud everyone that attempts to do so at any point in their life. Mental health is not taken nearly as seriously as it should be, especially when you’re young. Any person should be able to get the help they need, yet those tools remain scarce for young people entering the industry. I know humanity is worth a lot more than that.” 

Clevinger added, “Sid worked with me uncredited on Cut Throat City as my creative producer for four years, and she helped me tremendously in getting the film to the screen. I realized quickly what she could do in helping to educate, heal, and shape people’s minds through art. She was instrumental in helping me understand what mental health was all about, and how I needed to take care of my mind to achieve what I could become. I had never done that my entire life and it’s easy for things to get dark when you don’t understand what’s behind it.”

Weston says, “Nobody ever gets a cakewalk—on or off set—which is why we are putting so much emphasis on awareness and availability of real mental and emotional health resources. Offering someone support during a highly charged, vulnerable period in their lives can make or break their ability to function in a professional manner, and has a long-term effect on their personal life. Our model at The Big Picture is built on real research and backed by a team of doctors and experts in their approach to implementing strong and shame-free psychitechture in modern creative and business environments. Timing, I believe is everything. The Big Picture vision has given me insight into what the industry can be, and how I can contribute to its positive growth, without hesitation.”

The blueprint starting the vision is Jerry Easter II, the 6 foot-5 freshman basketball prodigy from Emmanuel Christian School in Toledo, Ohio, where he is a 3.9 GPA student and has been ranked as the #1 9th grader in the country, holding Power-5 offers from UCLA, Ohio State, and Michigan State before he ever played one high school game. He’s currently holding a season average of 25 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, & 5 steals per game while leading his team to a 10-2 record to date.

Jerry II’s parents Jerry and Trena along with Filmmaker J.A. Frost (Chase), who introduced The Easter family to the collective; partnered with the group in co-founding The Big Picture for the vision of their son’s future. 

“Everything we are doing is all about individual minds working together. We have a vision of what we want to build and it will be done together as a family,” said Jerry. “We will also provide mental health support for every single person that is ever a part of that family in working with us, and it will be available for all athletes, crew, and individuals on everything we ever are a part of and produce, “ added Trena.

On the filmed entertainment side, The Big Picture’s vision took inspiration from 1970’s Hollywood companies like BBS Productions and American Zoetrope that made innovative, socially relevant projects while allowing its members the freedom to create projects elsewhere and be involved in other entities and companies while simultaneously remaining able to expand the collective’s support and relationships through new areas.

Denzel Whitaker (Black Panther, Cut Throat City) is on board to serve in a prominent role to bridge the gap between sports and film. “His preemptive mentorship work with Jerry Easter II has already yielded us positive results. He was able to immediately connect with and prepare [Easter II] through the ongoing casting process of auditioning for the upcoming Universal film Shooting Stars. That was his first ever experience going out for a role. Denzel has been amazing with young Jerry” said Brocious. 

Actor/filmmaker Eric Chandler, brother of UFC star Michael Chandler, is also part of the group. He will oversee a mumble core division inspired and modeled after the success of filmmaker Jim Cummings. Producing films on specific budgets financed in house, and creating opportunities for the young athletes to have roles in to develop their crafts, Chandler adds, “I’m an actor who makes his own films. I’m someone who foresaw the industry shift as technology has become more affordable. This shift is now giving filmmakers and actors more opportunities to create the stories they’ve wanted to see for themselves. We are going to utilize all of that with what I am instilling in this collective from my end.”

Larry Franco (Jungle Cruise, Mars Attacks! The Thing), a mentor and advisor to Clevinger through the years, will serve in that same role to him in the collective. Franco has produced blockbusters through several decades while guiding his son Matt Franco to a major-league baseball career. Rounding out the group is filmmaker Jason Gilmore, who grew up in Toledo and was instrumental in bringing the vision together; Cut Throat City screenwriter P.G. Cuschieri; Radical Comics Co-Founder and filmmaker Noli Mollakuqe; Chase Tuten, son of the late legendary Seattle Seahawks and Super Bowl winning punter Rick Tuten; Deonte ‘Dbo’ Henderson, actor and marketing and social media coordinator, and family friend who works closely with the Easters; actor/producer Rich Paul (Cut Throat City); graphic/animation artist and web designer Matthew Buckman; Clevinger’s lawyer Ted Schatt ; longtime marketing executive Harris Masterson;  filmmaker David Paul Schwartz of New York West Productions; actor/writer, Justin Ruff; nephew of legendary hip hop pioneer Guru from Gangstarr; Emmy®-nominated producer Troy DeVolld; legendary professional skateboarder and actor Fabian Alomar; William McClelland, who is overseeing all finance and business development for the collective; and Cecil Cordell, 88-time gold medalist in the US Track & Field Senior Games, back to back decathlon champion, and has “The Running of The Bulls” in Pamplona Spain to his credit, alongside his business partner, Dr. Sidney Clevinger; the duo who helped develop the collective from ground up and arranged funding for the initial launch and first slate of “to be announced” projects. 

Lawyer and producer, Roger Goff, who served as Head of Business Affairs/Executive Producer on Cut Throat City, will serve in that same capacity for the collective.

Clevinger concludes, “I fell in love with film due to life-threatening illness when I was fourteen, and losing my sports dreams. Facing death at a young age instilled in me a work ethic like no other. Every dream I have can be more than that, I can manifest it into reality with belief and support behind me. Now together we have a dream where we want to build a world for these young minds to nurture, protect, and elevate them in order to create generational wealth for life. Over 20 years I have developed tremendous relationships, because I understand and I am in tune with culture and most importantly who people are as individuals. I’ve always said one person can change your life. I only exist in this business because of the support system I curated through years of ups and downs and mental health struggles of my own before achieving success,” Clevinger continues. “I learned from my experiencing in working with RZA how valuable a true collective environment could be with the right people and what it could do. I watched his vision utilizing important relationships with all egos checked to achieve that vision. We are going to shape minds and create art that can elevate these dreams and voices. We will always support the human being first, and with that comes great energy that I feel will transcend time into art. Once you’re art, you’re immortal.” 

Brocious and Clevinger are represented by Brian Jones of Vertical Talent Agency along with Manager/Producer John Schneider of J Schneider Management Group.  

Denzel Whitaker is represented by Matt Luber of Luber Roklin Entertainment and APA.