Paul Alvarado-Dykstra
co-founder / principal

Producer Paul Alvarado-Dykstra was mentored by award-winning filmmakers Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Blade II) and Tim McCanlies (Secondhand Lions, The Iron Giant), Emmy-nominated producer Scott Carter (Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, Real Time with Bill Maher, Politically Incorrect), and Oscar-nominated documentarian Frances Reid (Long Night's Journey Into Day). He is also co-creator of Fantastic Fest (the international sci-fi/horror/fantasy/animation film festival), and creator/publisher of the acclaimed media, technology and design blog robogeek.com.

Currently, he serves as vice president of strategic development for Villa Muse, the innovative $2.5 billion, 1,000+ acre mixed-use, master-planned development scheduled to break ground in 2008. Located east of Austin in the heart of Central Texas, it will be anchored by the 200-acre Villa Muse Studios campus, providing comprehensive production and post-production facilities for film, television, commercials, videogames, animation, and music, including the largest soundstage in the country and recording studios to rival the best in the world. [Texas Real Estate Business cover story / Hollywood Reporter cover story]

In addition, he is currently co-executive producing filmmaker Jen White's feature directorial debut Between Floors, and associate producing Tim McCanlies' The Two Bobs with producer Anne Walker-McBay (Infamous, A Scanner Darkly). Recently, he also wrote, directed and produced a pilot for a weekly entertainment news/feature series he developed about anime and anime fan culture, and has multiple feature film and television projects in development. (Then again, who doesn't?) Other recent projects include producing live concert DVDs for country artists Angela Peterson and Tommy Shane Steiner, as well as the assorted music video (e.g. "My Crazy Life" for Spencer Gibb's band 54 Seconds) and short film (e.g. Mr. Rodell Goes Swimming for director Jen White). In 2005 he made his directorial debut with the short film Termination, which was presented at the SXSW Film Festival as a work-in-progress and won Best Texas Short.

Previously, he assisted and did creative development on multiple projects for filmmakers Guillermo del Toro and Tim McCanlies, managed the former's Austin office, and produced the regional premieres for Hellboy (Sony/Revolution, 2004) and Secondhand Lions (New Line, 2003). In 2004 he also chaired the Texas premiere engagement of the renowned Unseen Cinema series for the University of Texas at Austin's Harry Ransom Center, and from 2003-2004 oversaw the revamp/relaunch of the Austin Film Society's quarterly P.o.V., serving as Editor-at-Large.

In 2001 he was supervising producer on the groundbreaking Ain't It Cool News pilot for Comedy Central and executive producer Scott Carter, and was writer-producer and co-creator of The Ain't It Cool News Update for XM Satellite Radio. He also co-founded Ain't It Cool, Inc., with Harry Knowles and served as both COO and contributing editor.

He has repeatedly been a panelist for the SXSW and Austin Film Festivals, and a guest of KUT 90.5 FM's Eklektikos. He is also a former vice president of Austin's acclaimed Hyde Park Theatre (where he hired current artistic director Ken Webster), and a former board member of the Austin chapter of the American Advertising Federation. For three years he was marketing and PR director for Austin's historic Paramount Theatre (one of the largest arts organizations in Central Texas), and has also been a marketing/PR consultant for Austin Lyric Opera, Tapestry Dance Co., and Texas Early Music Project. While earning his B.S. in journalism at Texas A&M University he founded the student-run Texas Film Festival (securing Spike Lee as its inaugural guest of honor), helped found KEOS 89.1 FM Public Radio, hosted and produced his own radio show, and got his start in filmmaking by assisting Frances Reid on her documentary Skin Deep about campus race relations.

In his spare time, he serves on the advisory board of the Austin School of Film and Media Arts Center, does a variety of consulting (via perchance), bowls intermittently, and consumes vast quantities of chocolate soy milk.

With Glen Oliver he heads Montgolfier Heavy Industries, an Austin-based production company.