the two jackasses who started this thing…
Josh Apter, Writer/Director/Editor - Josh Apter is an award-winning writer, director, and editor who has worked in all areas of filmmaking. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he attended NYU’s Graduate Film Program where his film, “The 53rd Calypso,” was honored with the Martin Scorsese Award for achievement in directing. The film, which stars Edward Norton, received numerous awards for directing, editing and cinematography at film festivals across the country.
In 2002, Josh founded Manhattan Edit Workshop. MEWShop is an Apple, Avid, Adobe, Autodesk, Assimilate and Blackmagic Authorized Training Center that offers a variety of classes in the art and technique of film editing & Production. With clients ranging from Rainbow Media, HBO, NBC and CNN, Manhattan Edit Workshop has become the premier training destination for the highest-level content creators and media professionals.
In 2012, Josh developed and founded The Padcaster®, a rugged case that transforms the iPad into a mobile production studio. With an aluminum frame and flexible insert, on-the-go filmmakers can add all the accessories they need, mount The Padcaster to a tripod or monopod, then shoot, edit and upload high-quality footage directly from the iPad. The line has since grown to include a Padcaster for the iPad Air, iPad Mini and iPad Pro 9.7.
Josh’s past experience includes dozens of credits on shorts and feature films. In his directorial debut on the film “Kaaterskill Falls,” Josh was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards: the John Cassavetes Award and Best Debut Performance. “Kaaterskill Falls” was also awarded the Critic's Jury Prize at the IFP/West Los Angeles film Festival. Josh is currently completing his next feature as writer/director: an urban romance titled “Delivery Method.”
As a film editor, Josh has worked on over ten feature films including “The Holy Land” (winner Slamdance FF/Cavu Pictures Distributor) and “Barbecue is a Noun” (Audience Award for best Documentary at the Rome International Film Festival and the River Run Film Festival).
Josh’s work as a writer has earned him awards such as the IFP North Film fund, a $25,000 development grant (for “Ice-Nine,” co-written with Peter Olsen), as well as attention from Academy Award-winning Producer Marty Richards (“Chicago,” “Fort Apache: The Bronx”) who hired Josh to pen an original treatment based on a Nazi counterfeiting scheme in WWII. Josh’s original screenplay, a family comedy titled, “The Dukes of Tannersville” was optioned by Academy Award-winning producer Tamara Tiehel and is currently in development.
Gary Lee Mahmoud, Writer/Actor/Editor - You’ve probably seen Gary playing intelligent, authoritative characters with a hint of smugness and sarcasm on New York dramas like Blue Bloods, New Amsterdam, FBI: Most Wanted, The Sinner, Jessica Jones, and Law & Order. His characters can often be obnoxious without ever quite crossing the line into full-on villains. It’s the gift/curse of looking and sounding like he knows what he’s talking about.
Although frequently seen in dramas, Gary is a clown at heart often playing the high-status idiot or quick-witted jerk with appearances on TV comedies including: The Last O.G., Search Party, Friends from College, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and in online sketches for The Onion, Above Average, The Dad, College Humor, and Major League Baseball. In addition to writing and performing with his PIT house sketch team and getting selected to perform sketch comedy in NBC’s annual diversity showcase, Gary, along with Josh, has co-written and co-produced the comedy shorts seen here.
Before pursuing a career in entertainment, Gary spent six years working in Congress…not too different.
Gary’s not sure why he wrote all of this in the third person…and continues to do so.