Mark Grove Stunt Performer

Mark Grove Directs
"Dragon and the Hawk"

Trygve Lode & Mark Grove, founders of Asgard Entertainment

CONTINUING GROWTH

Beyond his move into the Directors chair, Mark also became involved in the distribution process in 2003 at the prestigious American Film Market (AFM) and has been involved every year since. Using the knowledge acquired from the distribution aspect of the industry, Mark also became involved in producing. In 2004, he served as Executive Producer on the film " Backslash" (www.backslashthemovie.com) , which was released internationally in 2007. In 2005, he co-produced " The Sensei" (www.thesenseimovie.com) , which has received great praise throughout the industry and premiered at a Directors Guild of America (DGA) screening. In 2005, he directed the action/horror film " The Shadow Walkers" (www.theshadowwalkers.com) , which was released by Lions Gate in 2007.

Mark Grove with Lars Lundgren

In the late 80's when he decided to enter the film business, he used his martial arts skills as a foundation from which to build. He met and became the apprentice of veteran stuntman Lars Lundgren. Lars began using Mark as his assistant in teaching up and coming stuntmen all aspects of the industry. Once again, Mark was in a teaching position. After many years of adventure, Mr. Lundgren told Mark he was leaving the United States to return home to his native Sweden. It was then that Mark decided to continue training up and coming stuntmen in the same fashion in which he had learned. Beyond teaching martial arts and stunts, Mark has also taught various aspects of filmmaking at The Art Institute of Colorado , the Colorado Film School , and through the Screen Actors Guild Conservatory .

  A NEW PARTNER

Jon Firestone has been a filmmaker in Colorado for over 10 years. A computer specialist, he focused his attention on Compositing and 3D animation. His interest in this field was solidified when he was working on the set of "Starship Troopers" where he met Phil Tippitt, who began his career at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) before moving on to found his own company. Phil had been very innovative with stop motion animation, and co-developed a process known as Go-Motion for the film "Dragonslayer". Understanding that stop motion was being replaced by CGI (computer generated imagery) effects, Phil adapted to the industry and made the technological transition with his work on "Jurassic Park". This transition led him to his place on Starship Troopers where he created a team of over 100 animators, model makers, and CGI specialists to accommodate the large scale battle sequences for the film. Although their encounter was brief, Phil's Journey left a lasting impression on Jon that pushed him to become the best possible CGI artist he could be.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Jon's dedication to filmmaking paid off. He was highly sought after for not only his animation skills, but his innovations with lighting, scene composition and cinematography. Jon focused a great deal of his time working with MAYA animation software, which is the standard for film, television, and game development projects. His intuitive problem solving skills made him extremely gifted at creating workflows, which led to him being hired to create the MAYA animation program for the Colorado Film School in the late 90's. Becoming a teacher at the film school exposed Jon to the creative energy of dozens of film students. He enjoyed being a part of the group imagination that brought projects from simple ideas to complex realizations. He assisted dozens of productions in various capacities and became a solid resource to aspiring filmmakers.

FIRESTONE STUDIOS

Beyond his teaching endeavors, Jon and his twin brother Heath, opened Firestone Studios. One of the first Colorado companies to embrace HD technology, the two brothers focused on Commercial jobs with the goal of creating feature films. The company flourished on a commercial level, but the desire to move into feature films seemed to remain a bit beyond reach. Jon decided that he would leave the company to continue his pursuit of feature production.

CINEMATOGRAPHER / VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR

Jon moved into cinematography, shooting the film "Stained Glass Windows" in 2005. This is where he got to know Mark Grove, who was working on the film as both actor and stunt coordinator. The two had met briefly on other projects, but this was the first one in which they worked side by side.

After this film, Mark was moving on the work on "The Shadow Walkers." He asked Jon to work on the project as a second unit cinematographer and visual effects supervisor. Jon accepted and became a pivotal player in the overall success of the project.

A MEETING OF THE MINDS

Mark and Jon realized they made a good team. Physical prowess and technological knowhow. Powerful stunts and special effects combined with amazing cinematography and visual effects. Jon Firestone officially joined ASGARD ENTERTAINMENT in March 2008. Since then, they have built the company into a full service production house complete with a RED camera package, lighting equipment, editing bays, sound stage, recording booth, animation suites, production offices, training facility, and much more.