David L. Hunt is a feature film director, writer and editor, and the CEO of 2521 Entertainment. A Computer Systems Engineering major at the University of Arkansas, Hunt began a successful advertising business with a partner which served primarily Walmart vendors.

After creating the award-winning short film “Jeremiah’s Song”, he secured the rights to a popular Internet media property and raised financing for his first feature film, “Living Dark: The Story of Ted the Caver”. Living Dark won awards at film festivals all over the world and sold to New Films International for release in 2016. Hunt next co-wrote, directed and edited “Greater”, starring Neal McDonough (“Band of Brothers”) and Nick Searcy (“Justified”). Greater was released on over 350 screens nationwide. Walmart called the home video release of Greater “a one-in-a-thousand best-seller.”

Under the banner of his new company, 2521 Entertainment, Hunt next began writing the remake of the Fred Zinneman / Gary Cooper classic “High Noon”, which Hunt will also direct, along with four other projects from a film fund he has established, including remakes of “The Set-Up” — the classic boxing film directed by Robert Wise — and “Magic”, the William Goldman-penned and Richard Attenborough-directed thriller starring Anthony Hopkins.

Hunt lives in Arkansas with his wife and three children.

Christopher Hammond is the President of HE Releasing, a division of Hammond Entertainment, LLC. HE Releasing provides North American distribution services for filmed entertainment product. Its main focus is theatrical distribution and primarily in a business to business capacity.

HE Releasing successfully distributes on average four to six films per year. The release level varies anywhere from 2-screen, NY/LA Academy qualifiers to 600+ screens. With regard to genre, HE Releasing has successfully released most genres ranging from faith and family; Native Peoples; Spanish language; and sci-fi; to sports and family comedy. The company is proud to have released both Academy Award and Alma Award nominated features. 2016’s release of the sports based drama “Greater” on 400 screens was the year’s highest grossing, non-studio faith based film.

Based in Hollywood, the company mixes longstanding relationships with new, outside-the-box methods to identify and exploit the necessary markets to achieve success. Mr. Hammond is a 25-year entertainment industry veteran, a former Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group executive; an internationally recognized authority on film distribution and finance; a film producer (“Shade”), a television series creator/exec producer (truTV’s “The Takedown”) and a DVD series exec producer (“The Merv Griffin Show”).

Tyler Zacharia is an established entertainment and investment executive and consultant, and head of business operations for 2521 Entertainment. He specializes in media and film finance and production, M&A, new market entry, and business operations. He currently heads business operations for multiple finance and production companies. Tyler has produced more than 15 films, most notably Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” and “The Irishman”, as well as “The Starling” which spent a week as Netflix’s #1 film. He most recently completed “Providence” starring Lily James, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jim Gaffigan. With an eye toward business strategy and the bottomline, he has overseen every aspect of production from rights acquisitions, profit forecast modeling, financial structuring/engineering, packaging, union negotiations, budget and production, tax credits, sales, delivery, distribution and collections. He also has experience in television, overseeing series set-ups at Universal, Skydance, and A&E.

Prior to this, Tyler lived for 8 years in Beijing, China, serving as Vice President of Schulze Global Investments, a global emerging markets private equity firm that was successfully bought by Cerberus Capital. During his time there he led or participated in over 20 direct equity investments in 6 countries across 4 continents. He helped expand the business and build teams in Ethiopia, Brazil, Mongolia and North Korea. Tyler received his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He also received a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and lives with his wife and four children in the Los Angeles area.

Shannon Laning is the Branding and Marketing Director for 2521 Entertainment, joining in the Fall of 2022. Known for her creativity and collaborative spirit, she ensures that internal messaging aligns seamlessly with 2521’s forward facing brand. Drawing on her experience as a successful business owner of since 2010, Shannon leverages her entrepreneurial background to craft compelling strategies that elevate brand identity and market presence. Her approach integrates both big-picture vision and attention to detail, ensuring that every campaign is authentic, cohesive, and resonates with the target audience.

Shannon graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Texas Tech University. Following her studies, she pursued her culinary passions at a prestigious French and Italian cooking school, where she honed her skills in both cuisine and baking. After running a highly-regarded catering company for several years, Shannon decided to move on from the culinary world. With a lifelong love for design and creativity, she transitioned into the design industry, establishing a flourishing company that eventually led her to 2521. Shannon currently resides in West Texas with her husband, two daughters, and their two playful dogs.

__________

A sample of the film productions in which our principals have been involved:

• My Best Friend’s Wedding • Air Force One • As Good As it Gets • Greater • Shade • Living Dark: The Story of Ted the Caver • Alone Yet Not Alone • The Grizzlies • Men in Black •