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Anthony Mark Happel is a freelance writer and filmmaker based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Hollywood, California. He was raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin and is a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Philosophy and Psychology. He was the co-founder of the Myles Horton Organization and the People's Justice Alliance at the University of Tennessee, and he was the features editor of the weekly student newspaper. (His co-editorial staff changed the name from The University Echo to the Student Echo, but it was eventually changed back.) He has won several poetry awards, including an Editor's Choice Award from Poetry.com and an honorable mention in a poetry contest at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. His work as a music and film writer, and a politcal journalist, has appeared in the Chattanooga News-Free Press newspaper, Shredding Paper magazine, Modern Fix magazine, Impose magazine, Skratch magazine, Enigma, MKE and Vital Source web 'zine. He was also a founding partner in Readymen Productions, a full-scale music production company based in Signal Mountain, Tennessee. It was in operation from 1991 until 1995. They prmoted dozens of shows featuring bands such as Sebadoh, Afghan Whigs, Unrest, My Dad Is Dead, Poster Children, Tar, Rein Sanction and Needle. In the summer of 1992 the Readymen produced the first annual Chattanooga New Music Expo, held at the National Guard Armory. Although the festival included soon-to-be infamous bands like Royal Trux and Smog the Readymen lost their shirts that day and that was the last Chattanooga New Music Expo. In 1999 Happel founded Black Orchid Productions. Happel was one of the first buyers at Amoeba Music in Hollywood in 2001. He later worked in film and television in Los Angeles for a while. His film company shot it's first documentary project, Watts:Burning Inside, which Happel wrote and directed, about the uprisings in Watts and the rest of South Central Los Angeles, in 2004. Due to unforeseen circumstances the project went into turnaround, and as of early 2007 they were still in post-production with hopes of having the film out early summer 2007. Happel is also the co-writer of a feature film entitled In The Diamond Lane with actor Dan Quinn. Quinn is producing and directing the project based on their script. Rumor has it that Gary Busey may be involved. Happel is also at work with a friend on another feature script which should be making the rounds summer 2007.
