Westbone Productions presents: The MegaMiXer 2026

WestBone Productions Presents

June 12-14, 2026 · Hennepin Arts Event Center & Dudley Riggs · Minneapolis, MN

Now in its 5th year, the MegaMiXer is the Midwest's premier creative economy conference, three days where film, entertainment, sports, music, fashion, and business collide and careers are built.

This is the room where the Midwest's most ambitious creative professionals find each other, and find out what's possible when talent meets opportunity in our own backyard.

The Official Schedule announced!

5:30 PM - Gold Carpet & Social Media Row

The opening of MegaMiXer 2026. Step onto the Gold Carpet for the official kickoff, photos, press, social moments, and the first chance to be in the room. Hosted by Joseph 'Juice' Sutton.

8:00 PM - Fashion Forward -A Vandalism Designs Showcase

Minneapolis fashion designer Troe Williams opens MegaMiXer 2026 with a runway showcase at the intersection of fashion, film, and culture. Forty years of Vandalism Designs. Sixty-five thousand garments. Nine thousand models trained. Tonight, the runway is set.

9:00 PM - NandoSTL - Live Performance

Recording artist NandoSTL closes Friday night. Signed to T-Pain's Nappy Boy Entertainment, Nando brings the energy of his debut album Y.O.T.A. (Year of the Ape) — featuring Nelly, T-Pain, and Young Cash — to the MegaMiXer stage. The Gold Carpet weekend kicks off with the music.

11:30 AM - Check-In Opens

Doors open. Coffee. Connection. Last-minute schedule updates. Hosted by Joseph 'Juice' Sutton.

12:30 PM - Welcome & Opening Remarks

Leonard Searcy welcomes MegaMiXer 2026 attendees to the room.

12:50 PM - Spotlight: Justin Dickson - Something New: Career Transitions in Film & TV Production

Justin Dickson is the Chief Lighting Director | the gaffer on Paul Thomas Anderson's last two films, Licorice Pizza (2021) and One Battle After Another (2025). He's a member of Anderson's core camera crew known as "The Five-Headed Monster."

His path into elite American filmmaking didn't start where most people assume. This spotlight is about the route you don't see in film school brochures - and how creative careers actually get built.

2:45 PM - Production Designer Panel: Architects of Vision

Four production designers shaping contemporary American film and television. One conversation about the craft of building worlds for stories.

• Wynn Thomas | 2025 Honorary Academy Award recipient. Spike Lee's longtime production designer. Eleven collaborations including Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing, Inside Man, Da 5 Bloods. Also designed A Beautiful Mind, Hidden Figures, King Richard.
• Toni Barton | Production Designer of Netflix's street-level Marvel universe (Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, The Defenders). Eighteen years teaching at NYU Tisch. Her work is installed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• Warren Alan Young | Production Designer of Harriet (2019) and both seasons of FX's Fargo. Influenced by Gordon Parks — placing him directly in the lineage of this year's Radical Love theme.
• Ina Mayhew | Production Designer of Respect, Origin (Ava DuVernay), Queen Sugar, and HBO Max's The Great Lillian Hall. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voting member.

5:00 PM | Sports Panel: Legacy Leadership & Life After the Game

For many athletes, the sport isn't what they do, it's who they are. The team becomes family. The schedule becomes identity. And then one day, the game stops.

This panel brings together four men who've lived that moment. in different ways, at different stages, and who've each had to answer the same question: Who am I now?

• Leon Searcy | Former NFL offensive tackle (Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars). President & CEO of Real Men Block. Author, 4th Down and Damn.
• Dr. Leo Lewis III | Former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver. PhD in Kinesiology, University of Minnesota. Founder, Lewis Sports Foundation. 2023 Saint Paul King Boreas.
• Slink Proper | Professional boxer (9-3, 4 KOs). Recently fought on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford Netflix undercard. Hip-hop artist. Founder, Proper Promotions.

7:00 PM - Brian Netto | Solo Spotlight

Brian Netto is a Woodbury, Minnesota native who co-directed Netflix's Don't Move (2024), the #1 movie on Netflix in the United States during its opening weekend, and the most-watched film on the platform in over 60 countries. Produced by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man).

He's coming home for a solo spotlight on the craft of building tension, the path from independent filmmaking to streaming distribution, and what it took to land at the top of the global streaming charts.

12:45 PM - Spotlight: Michael Schultz - A Lifetime in Pictures

Michael Schultz directed Cooley High in 1975. Car Wash in 1976. Krush Groove in 1985. The Last Dragon in 1985. He directed Al Pacino's Broadway debut. He launched the screen careers of Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, and Blair Underwood. Six decades. More than 100 films and series.

This spotlight also commemorates the 50th anniversary of Car Wash, which opened in October 1976.

Moderator: Van Hayden

2:20 PM - Minnesota Film Production Panel

The Minnesota film community on the state of production in the region, incentives, opportunities, and what it takes to get a project made here.

Featuring Shari Marshik, Riki McManus, and Mandy Turpin. Moderator: Craig Rice.

4:30 PM - Brenda Gilbert - Fireside Chat: Peaks & Perils: Founding Your Production Company

Brenda Gilbert co-founded BRON Studios in 2010 and ran it for 13 years. Films she produced and executive produced earned 38 Academy Award nominations and 6 wins, including Joker, Judas and the Black Messiah, Licorice Pizza, and Fences. In 2026, she added one more credit: executive producer of The Ebony Canal, narrated by Viola Davis, winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Short Form Documentary.

This fireside is a conversation about founding production companies, what it takes, what it costs, and what comes after.

THE WEEKEND

🌟 Gold Carpet: Friday June 12, 6 PM · Celebrity arrivals · Live hosts · Press photography · Dress the part

🎤 Panels & Masterclasses: Saturday & Sunday · Real conversations with people who've built careers in film, sports, music, fashion, and business

🎬 Film Screenings & Conversations: Independent film · Community dialogue

💼 Networking: The connections you came for

Complimentary food and Drinks

OUR PARTNERS

Blue Cross Blue Shield · Penumbra Theatre (Founding Partner) · Hennepin Arts · New Justice Project · Minnesota Humanities Center · Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs · City of Lakes Productions · GreenLit

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Hennepin Arts, 800 La Salle Avenue, Minneapolis, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

Get App