Jerry Thompson

Jerry Thompson was born and raised in Las Vegas Well he was born in Boulder City but never lived there Hes not sure why his parents had him there Maybe they had a coupon or something He had a full scholarship studying biochemistry at UNLV for three years While there he drew a biweekly comic strip called Primal Squat for the university newspaper He wrote and illustrated hundreds of comic strips eventually selfpublishing a collection of his works He sold several dozen copies Mostly to family Hes got a couple boxes left in his garage if you want one While in college he got a job drawing caricatures full time in some of the biggest hotels on the strip It was around this time that he realized he could actually enjoy his life and switched majors from biochemistry to film production He ended up earning his BA in film but he can still explain to you what a halogen is He wont be able to make it interesting though so maybe avoid him if you see him at a party Years later he also graduated from Animation Mentor a three year character animation program He continues to draw caricatures professionally at events After graduating he founded Light Forge Studios in 2004 Since then Jerry has been working full time as a director cinematographer writer and visual effects artist He has worked on a variety of projects including independent films shorts TV shows commercials and corporate work Jerry and his brother Mike have cowritten and directed many feature films and shorts together Their first full length film Thor at the Bus Stop had successful screenings at several prestigious film festivals including Cinevegas where it sold out a four hundred seat theater twice and the Austin Film Festival where it received a special Jury Mention for Independent Filmmaking It enjoyed a limited theatrical release and dvd and digital distribution Their second feature film Popovich and the Voice of the Fabled American West starring circus legend Gregory Popovich also enjoyed success at film festivals winning the Audience Choice award at the 2014 Dances with Films film festival selling out at the Las Vegas Film Festival and winning an Audience Choice award at the Austin International Film Festival It also enjoyed a limited theatrical release and dvd and digital distribution Light Forge Studios has won the Las Vegas 48 Hour Film competition a record four times and won the UNLV 48 hour film competition the first two years it was held Their ten 48 hour films have won over 40 awards including 6 best film wins For his artistic and professional achievements the UNLV College of Fine Arts selected Jerry as their 2009 Alumnus of the Year The College of Sciences never selected him for anything Theyre probably unimpressed with his rudimentary understanding of halogens