OUR CORE TEAM

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  JEREMY RAILTON - PRESIDENT

  As a child growing up in rural Zimbabwe crafting puppets out of clay and sketching the native birds and animals, Jeremy Railton couldn’t have imagined that one day he would be creating the world’s largest animatronic creatures in the form of a pair of 90-ft dancing cranes — the star performers in a themed attraction that took flight in the winter of 2010 at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.

  As a legendary entertainment designer, Railton has made a career out of creating many of the “biggest” and “firsts” — all in the pursuit of WOW; the moment when the audience experiences a sense of astonishment and wonder. Railton’s Crane Dance is the latest feather in the cap of this visionary designer. Educated in fine art , Railton has brought his formidable design talents and limitless imagination to some of the most significant artists, events and productions over the last three decades. With four Emmy Awards, four TEA Awards (Themed Entertainment Assoc.) and numerous other industry accolades, Railton undoubtedly has the most diverse resume in the entertainment design business.

  His career spans legitimate theater, dance, film, TV award shows, live concerts for pop icons, spectacles of Olympian proportions, themed attractions, and unforgettable retail entertainment and architectural projects. Railton began his career in British film production while still a student and was quickly “discovered” and brought to Los Angeles for a production at the prestigious Mark Taper Forum. Railton made history with this production, creating the first giant screen projection backdrop ever seen on the stage.

  Following his early stage successes, he moved into film and television — once again leaving his mark. On the big screen, he won acclaim as a production designer for recreating post-World War II Los Angeles in The Two Jakes, the sequel to Chinatown starring Jack Nicholson.   He brought the world of Pee-wee Herman to life on television in Pee-wee’s Playhouse, winning his first Emmy for art direction.  He went on to snare additional Emmys for art direction of the 57th Annual Academy Awards and set and costume design for the children’s series Zoobilee Zoo.  Among his hundreds of TV credits are landmark specials including the concerts for 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and the inaugural ball for President Clinton.

  In the realm of popular music, Railton’s credits in live staging, television, concert specials and music videos include projects for Barbara Streisand, Phil Collins, Cher, Michael Jackson, Neil Diamond, Diana Ross, Julio Iglesias,  MTV Music Awards, and the Experience Music Project Opening Concert.

  For the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2002 Winter Olympics, Railton created the first-ever staged performances  and received an Emmy and the Art Director’s Guild Award.

  Visitors delight in his unique blend of artistry and cutting-edge technology at major retail, amusement, resort and casino venues such as the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Panasonic Pavilion at Universal Studios, the GM Showroom Theatre at Epcot Center and Lake of Dreams at Resort World Sentosa. A pioneer in digital culture, Railton designed the two largest video screens in the world, the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas and the Sky Screen at The Place in Beijing.  With the Fremont Street Experience, which towers 90 feet above the ground and spans the length of five footballs fields, Railton created a novel entertainment experience capturing the oversized glitz and glamour of Vegas. “I’ve had the great fortune to embrace all genres of entertainment design, but whatever the project, what I’m really doing is crafting a story that I hope will engage people on an emotional level” said Railton.

  Looking forward, Railton has his sights on creating an attraction involving live animals.  He remarks that he’s never seen an animal attraction that has made him happy.  He’s eager to dive into this challenge tapping into his early childhood experiences in Africa and all the design wizardry he’s mastered over his remarkable career.

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  DAVID KELLY - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

  David Kelly possesses the rare combination of artistic talent coupled with a good head for business. As the company’s Executive Producer, with more than 25 years of experience as a designer and art director, Kelly blends the boundless creativity of  EDC with the pragmatic sensibilities of delivering the company’s wonderful attractions and shows on time and on budget.

  In addition to managing business affairs for the company, Kelly continues to design and work with lead designer Jeremy Railton on projects for audiences across the country and around the world.

  “While I have a strong foundation in the creative side of the business, I also have a keen understanding of how to plan, estimate and contract projects to deliver exceptional value and exceed client expectations”,  said Kelly.  “I derive great satisfaction getting the most for the client’s budget and assembling the right team of artists, production managers, technicians and fabricators for each project.”

  Trained in fine arts, Kelly earned degrees from The Cleveland Institute of Art, The Carnegie Mellon University, and Kent State University.  He also taught drawing and painting at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

  His fine-art talents found the ideal outlet in design and art direction for nearly 100 television, films and live shows.  Kelly’s career has included art director credits for artists such as Diana Ross, Barry Manilow, Julio Iglesias, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. Prime time TV series and specials include The Miss Universe Pageant, The Miss Teen USA Pageant, The John Larroquette Show, Night Court, and The Martin Short Show as well as feature films including the John Schlesinger-directed thriller Pacific Heights.  He is best known for his production design for the MTV Movie Award’s  comedy vignettes for ten consecutive years.

  Kelly’s involvement with theater extends beyond his productions for EDC.  As owner and director of the San Clemente Dance and Performing Art Center, he is helping to train and develop the next generation of performers.

   

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  RICHARD WECHSLER - DIRECTOR OF PROJECTS

  Richard Wechsler, the Academy Award-nominated producer of the classic Five Easy Pieces, is Entertainment Design Corporation’s Director of Project Development, resident wordsmith, master storyteller and producer.

  Wechsler draws from a tremendous depth of knowledge and experience in the world of entertainment — from classic Greek drama and slight-of-hand magic to feature films.  “Regardless of how cutting-edge or state-of-the-art the attraction, whatever the country we created it for, our work begins with an idea and then the words”,  Wechsler said. “It culminates with an astonishing experience that transports audiences to places they never imagined.”

  Before seeing the French film,  A Man Condemned  To Death Escapes, Wechsler had his sights set on becoming a college professor in Classical Studies.  But while at Harvard graduate school, he saw the Robert Bresson film and had the proverbial life-altering moment.  Riding on that wave of inspiration, he wrote, directed and edited a short film that won him a Fulbright Scholarship to film study at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, Italy.

  Returning to the U.S., Wechsler got his on-the-job education working for Sheldon Leonard, the producer of classic television series such as The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Andy Griffith Show. Wechsler went on to serve as associate producer of Leonard’s I Spy,  the groundbreaking series starring Robert Culp and Bill Cosby.  His many television credits as a Production Executive also include Norman Lear’s miniseries, Palmerstown.

  Working in film and television, Wechsler has gained notoriety as a writer and has lectured on screenwriting and narrative at the North Carolina School of the Arts, University of California in Santa Barbara and the American Film Institute.

  In 2000, Wechsler parlayed a life-long passion for close-up magic into his own production company, Astonishment Technology, with the goal of merging magic and illusion with creative storytelling.   In collaboration with his future EDC partner, Jeremy Railton, he won an international competition to provide concept designs and master planning for a magic-themed park and cultural complex in San Sebastian, Spain.

  From that fruitful collaboration, Wechsler formally teamed with Railton to produce and write for the live shows, events and attractions that EDC creates for audiences around the world.

  Today if you ask Wechsler what he does for a living, he’s likely to smile and say he’s a magician who uses words instead of a wand to create illusions on an epic scale.

   

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  JOHN RUST - CREATIVE DIRECTOR

  John Rust joins the EDC team as Creative Director, having supervised media production for our attractions at Resorts World Sentosa.

  John  has served the creative film community and Theme Park Industry for over 25 years primarily as Creative Director, Show Director, and as a Filmmaker/Media Producer for a variety of themed attractions.   John’s diverse and extensive background includes creative development and design contributions from concept through development, into production, installation and up to opening day, for both domestic and foreign based projects.  His work in themed location-based entertainment also includes multiple projects in retail, dining, entertainment venues and master planning.

  As a Creative Director,  projects include concept development for Paramount Movie Park Korea (Incheon, South Korea), Paramount Promenade (Jeju Island, South Korea), Paramount Adventure Island (Dubai, UAE), and a variety of Paramount Grand Hotel and Paramount Intellectual Property Licensing product concepts and brand developments.

  As a Show Director, John has directed attractions for Paramount Parks, Paramount Recreation Group, Universal Studios, and Landmark Entertainment Group, and Sanrio.  As a Media Producer, he produced hours of audio and video media for themed attractions, theme park background music, special events, live shows, broadcast television, trade shows, and corporate events.  As a Filmmaker John’s writing/directing/producing broadcast television credits include feature length documentaries for Turner Classic Movies.  As a Writer John has written numerous concept treatments and attraction scripts for Universal Creative, Paramount Parks, Paramount Recreation, Mattel Toys, Disney, and Landmark Entertainment.   He has written scripts for theme park attractions,  live shows, corporate promotions, screenplays, and stage plays.

   

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