The Producers
Over 150 years of combined movie and television experience have been assembled on this team to create The Confessions of Al McGuire
Jim Meier - Executive Producer / Investor
Marquette BS ’84 Jim is a retired finance executive with experience in cross-functional financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis and reporting, profitability analysis, and cost management and control. He worked as an auditor at Ernst & Young before holding various finance roles at Philip Morris, Miller Brewing Company, and MillerCoors, where he retired as Vice President of Commercial Finance in 2018. Jim serves on the Boards or Finance Committees of several organizations, including the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, the Wisconsin Club, the Racine St. Catherine’s High School Foundation, and the Marketing Accountability Standards Board. Jim is a member of Marquette’s President’s Advisory Council and is also a limited partner in the MUKC Fund I venture capital fund. In 2017, he was the recipient of the Service to Marquette Award from the National Alumni Association.
Charles Ries - Executive Producer
Charles P. Ries is Executive Producer of The Confessions of Al McGuire. Over his 50-year career in fund development (27 years at Marquette University) he is credited with raising over $170 million for a variety of philanthropic, social impact, business, arts, and equity driven endeavors. Ries and Michael Angeli are co-creators of a screen play that is in pre-production called
Can Boys Fly: https://cbfreader.site/ Can Boys Fly is based on a novel by Charles P. Ries titled: The Fathers We Find: https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780692481387
Ries is also an award-winning poet: https://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/Mss/CPR/ He is both the lyricist and voice for the art band: Spotify – Charles P. Ries & the Minktronics & https://shepherdexpress.com/music/local-music/minktronics-present-poetry-music-love-death-and-mink/ & https://shepherdexpress.com/music/local-music/minktronics-return-with-new-music-and-streaming-series/
Jeffrey Kurz - Producer
Jeffrey Kurz is a producer, writer, educator, and former film studio executive. During his eight-year tenure at Miramax Films, he was involved in Neil Jordan’s Academy Award-winning The Crying Game, Wes Craven’s Scream, Alex Proyas’s The Crow, Guillermo del Toro’s Mimic, Chris Eyre’s Smoke Signals, and John Carpenter’s Halloween series. Recently produced feature films include: The Vivian Maier Mystery for the BBC, and Deep Woods, written and directed by Steve Laughlin and released by 1091 Pictures. Kurz also teaches professional practice courses in screenwriting and film producing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts, and taught an entertainment industry course at Marquette University (2017-22). He has lectured on entertainment industry practices at Northwestern University, the Writers Institute, the Chicago Writers Institute, and the Wisconsin Screenwriters’ Symposium, and is a board member of Milwaukee Film and a Steering Committee member of Action! Wisconsin.
Jamie Dyckes - Producer / Investor
Marquette BA ’92 Jamie is a former Asst AD of Marketing for the Marquette Athletic department and was the Executive Producer of the Marquette Basketball local television broadcasts which Coach McGuire served as a color analyst in the late 1990’s. He worked for several major league sports franchises including the Los Angeles Angels and the Anaheim Ducks, and spent the last 25 years at DIRECTV marketing sports and entertainment services as Vice President of Sports & Revenue Marketing. He has an extensive marketing background working with HBO, Starz, Showtime, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney, Sony, Warner Brothers as well as all four major U.S. sports leagues. Multiple award winner for marketing campaigns on Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Shark Week and NFL Sunday Ticket. He was responsible for securing contractual talent for many DIRECTV television commercials including Peyton and Eli Manning, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Andrew Luck, Christian McCaffrey. Two time SAMY award winner.
Eric Schnaubel - Consulting Producer / Investor
Marquette Comms ’93 With three decades of advertising, branding and digital marketing experience, Eric’s body of work includes innovative projects such as BMW Films, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge as well as the use of Meta’s platforms across industries. Multiple executive leadership positions at Fortune 100 private and publicly held companies. On the board of Free Spirit Media, partnering with young digital creators from the West and South sides of Chicago, to develop and amplify their unique and critical voices through storytelling and media arts. He’s grateful to be applying all he learned to making Al McGuire a household name.
Daniel Kattman - Associate Producer / Legal
Marquette BA ’95, JD ’00 Daniel Kattman, associate producer and legal advisor, is a seasoned entertainment attorney with over 20 years of expertise in the motion picture, television, music and book publishing industries. He works with filmmakers to secure financing for independent films, documentaries, and secure name talent in domestic and foreign distribution. He has represented NY Times best-selling authors, internationally recognized celebrity chefs, actors, world-class art museums, independent film distributors, international sales agents, video game developers, record labels, music publishers and artists. Dan has also been actively involved as a producer on feature films, television programs and documentaries. This unique experience enables Dan to understand the goals and challenges of his entertainment clients and gives him a thorough understanding of both the legal and business aspects of this complex industry.
Bill Johnson, S.J. - Consulting Producer
Fr. Bill Johnson, Vice President for Strategic Growth, is native to Milwaukee. He graduated from Marquette University High School in 1971. After graduation, Fr. Bill attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, followed by the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, and Harvard Graduate School of Education. He was a co-founder of Nativity Jesuit Middle School. Bill was on the founding leadership team of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Twin Cities, which later led to his involvement in starting the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Milwaukee. Before returning to Milwaukee, Fr. Bill spent three years in the Dominican Republic as the pastoral director of Creighton University’s Institute of Latin American Concern.