A Month of Pride - LGBTQIA+ Stories in Hollywood

A graduate from the American Film Institute with an MFA Screenwriting, producer John Hilary Shepherd recently launched his own company, Flying Rhino (Image Comics’ UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY). Previously, John ran development for Academy Award-nominated producer Brian Oliver at New Republic Pictures (1917) and Cross Creek Pictures (BLACK SWAN, HACKSAW RIDGE). He has also worked in development for Spelling Films (IN & OUT) and Polygram, as well as a story analyst for the William Morris Agency. Upcoming projects include HORRORSTOR—an adaptation of bestselling author Grady Hendrix's novel about a haunted big-box furniture store, and Guy Douall’s DUSTED—a small-town thriller with a supernatural twist in the vein of Stephen King. John is also a WGA Award-nominated writer for his work on the Showtime television series NURSE JACKIE.

A graduate of the University of Michigan, Lee Stobby has quickly made a name for himself championing strong independent voices and quality cinema. He is a literary manager, producer, and principal of Lee Stobby Entertainment. Before starting his own business in 2014, Stobby worked at Misher Films, Double Feature Films, Industry Entertainment, Innovative Artists, and Caliber Media; the lattermost is where he began representing literary clients in 2011 and produced 2 films. Stobby’s clients include Isaac Adamson whose script BUBBLES, a biopic of Michael Jackson’s chimpanzee, was named #1 on the 2015 Black List and Stobby will produce as a film with Dan Harmon (ANOMALISA) as a stop motion animation feature, Fritz Böhm (writer/director of upcoming WILDLING starring Bel Powley, Liv Tyler and Brad Dourif which Stobby also produced), Rodney Ascher (ROOM 237, THE NIGHTMARE), and Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy (THE TRIBE). His more recent produced films include SISTER AIMEE, HOW TO BE ALONE, and PEOPLING.

Michael is an LGBTQ+ writer who has four Emmy nominations for his work on Adult Swim’s critically-acclaimed, animated comedy ROBOT CHICKEN. Most recently, he finished working as a Co-Producer on The CW's queer sci-fi, action series TOM SWIFT. Before that, he wrote on Netflix’s super hero dramedy series RAISING DION as well as on the Hulu animated comedy CROSSING SWORDS. On the development side, Michael previously developed with Red Hour and Full Fathom Five on his dark comedy, UNRAVELING: A Sadistic Musical. Before writing full time, Michael was the Director of Development for Krysten Ritter’s production company Silent Machine Entertainment. And outside of the industry, Michael has worked as a crisis counselor at The Trevor Project – a suicide lifeline for LGBTQ youth.

Devon Byers is a Talent & Literary Manager/ Producer at Heroes & Villains Entertainment, one of the industry’s leading talent and literary management and production companies.

At HVE, Devon’s clients sold projects to major studios and platforms including Sony, FX, Warner Bros., Netflix, Discovery, and Tubi. His clients also secured writing and directing positions on film and television shows such as ABBOTT ELEMENTARY, The CW’s CHARMED reboot, A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW, TWISTED HOUSE SITTER, and THE WINCHESTERS. In addition, he represented comic book writers and novelists who have written for publishers including Marvel, DC, IDW, and Legendary.

Prior to HVE, Devon co-founded First Friday Entertainment, a boutique management company focused on representing diverse and underrepresented voices. The company was acquired by HVE in 2022. Earlier in his career, he served as a Development Executive at Ideate Media, where he oversaw literary IP adaptations across live-action and animation, managing scripted development for projects including the BBC America adaptation of Douglas Adams’ DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY starring Elijah Wood.

A former member of the Television Academy, he holds an MFA in Producing from the American Film Institute (AFI). Founded in November 2007, Heroes and Villains Entertainment is a management and production company representing writers and directors and specializing in the creation of content for the five pillars on entertainment: Film, Television, Video Games, Comic Books, and the Internet.

Clients include SEVERANCE Creator/ Executive Producer Dan Erickson, BLACK CAKE Creator/ Executive Producer Marissa Jo Cerar, THE BOYS Executive Producer David Reed, and THE HUNTING PARTY Creator/ Executive Producer JJ Bailey.

Known for championing talent, Bobby Hoppey has over a decade of experience in film and television development. Bobby’s executive experience includes indie finance shops Complementary Colors, Valparaiso Pictures, and Echo Lake Entertainment where he oversaw their respective in-house project slates.

His past producorial credits include Neon's PIG starring Nicolas Cage (streaming on Hulu), and the LGBTQ rom-com STRAIGHT UP - both Independent Spirit Award nominees. His latest film, the subversive coming-of-age comedy GRIFFIN IN SUMMER, is expected to be released later this year and recently won the U.S. Narrative Competition Prize at the 2024 Tribeca Festival.

Bobby currently has a number of feature projects in development through his new production shingle, Coveside Films. He holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Corporate Communications from Elon University.