DOWNLOADED focuses on the advent of digital media sharing, including the rise of game-changing company Napster and controversial pioneers Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker. The digital revolution ultimately created a technology paradigm shift and upended the music industry.
Audiences will hear insight from well known music artists and figures within the music industry including: The Beastie Boys’ Mike D, Noel Gallagher, Henry Rollins, former Sony Music Chairman, Don Ienner, former record producer and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and Hilary Rosen, former CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America.
Shawn Fanning is a computer programmer, entrepreneur and investor. In 1998 he developed Napster, which transformed the music industry. Following Napster, Shawn founded or co-founded a number of early-stage technology startups, including Snocap, Rupture, and Path. He recently reunited with Sean Parker to create a new live video company called Airtime, which launched in 2012.
Sean Parker is an entrepreneur with a record of launching genre-defining companies that reinvent ways to spread information online.
In 1999, at the age of 19, Sean co-founded Napster and changed how people think about and share music. Two years later, Sean co-founded Plaxo, pioneering viral engineering technology for updating contact information. Sean served as Plaxo’s president until 2004, when he joined with Mark Zuckerberg to develop the online social network Facebook. Sean was Facebook’s founding president, helping transform that small start-up into an industry giant. In 2007, Sean co-founded Causes, which promotes on-line philanthropy; in 2010, he joined Airtime as a co-founder, reuniting with Napster co-founder Shawn Fanning at a social video company backed by Founders Fund.
Alex began his career as a child actor, with starring roles on Broadway and in feature films, including the immensely popular BILL AND TED franchise and Warner Bros. THE LOST BOYS.
As a director, Alex co-directed and starred in the hit MTV comedy series THE IDIOT BOX, followed by his feature debut FREAKED, released by Twentieth Century Fox. Subsequent feature films include FEVER, a psychological thriller that Alex wrote and directed. Praised by AO Scott in the New York Times as ‘Pure Hitchcockian panic,’ FEVER was an Official Selection at Cannes and other festivals worldwide. For TV, Alex produced and directed two record-breaking, live-action BEN 10 movies for Cartoon Network, garnering an Emmy nomination for best Visual Effects.
Most recently, Alex produced and directed 'Downloaded', a feature documentary about the Digital revolution, for VH1 Rock Docs. Already acclaimed at Film festivals worldwide, 'Downloaded' will be released theatrically and digitally in 2013, and on VH1 in 2014.
Alongside his feature projects, Alex maintains a busy career as a commercial director, screenwriter and actor.