The Team
Ethan Lazar / CEO & Partner
Ethan Lazar is the CEO of Morning Moon Productions. Lazar’s experience spans creative development, production, film financing, and distribution. Lazar started his career at Management 360, and then worked in foreign sales and packaging at Exclusive Media and Annapurna Pictures before segueing into producing. He has produced and/or arranged financing for over twenty feature films, working with independent financiers, institutional lenders, streaming companies, and studios on these projects. His credits include Percy Vs Goliath starring Christopher Walken, Zach Braff, and Christina Ricci, The Prodigy (MGM/Orion), Shimmer Lake (Netflix), and The Witch (A24), which won the Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and two Independent Spirit Awards. Most recently, Lazar produced the film Wildflower, which premiered at TIFF 2022 and was then released theatrically and on Hulu starring Kiernan Shipka, Jean Smart, Jacki Weaver, Alexandra Daddario, Charlie Plummer, Dash Mihok, Samantha Hyde, Reid Scott, and Brad Garrett
Additionally, Lazar serves on the Advisory Board for Ghetto Film School in Los Angeles and the Bronx, a nonprofit organizations focused on providing film education resources to high school students.
Learn more about Lazar’s credits here
Billie Lourd / Partner & Producer
Billie Lourd was born and raised in Los Angeles. She is the daughter of actress and writer Carrie Fisher. Lourd began her acting career with the role of Lieutenant Connix in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She then starred in two seasons of Ryan Murphy’s horror-comedy series Scream Queens on Fox. In 2017, Lourd joined the cast of the anthology series American Horror Story, starring in four consecutive seasons. She also gained critical acclaim for her role as Gigi in Olivia Wilde’s comedy Booksmart. She reprised her role as Lieutenant Connix in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Most recently, Lourd co-starred in the George Clooney and Julia Roberts romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise. Lourd was also a producer on the feature film Wildflower, financed by Limelight and eOne, and starring Kiernan Shipka, Jean Smart, and Alexandra Daddario.
Kyle Owens / Founder & Co-President
Kyle Owens is a founder and executive producer of Morning Moon Productions. Owens previously worked with renowned reality television producer Eli Frankel. Together, they developed, packaged, and cast several reality show concepts. In 2019, Owens founded Morning Moon Productions with Austen Rydell. Owens and Rydell oversee all operations, including development and production for television, film, and music. He is involved in the screenwriting, casting, editing, and financing of all projects. Owens served as a producer on the feature film Wildflower, which had its theatrical release in March 2023 and is now available on Hulu.
Austen Rydell / Founder & Co-President
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Rydell grew up in a family of actors and directors. In 2012, he graduated from NYU’s Stella Adler Conservatory with a BFA in Theatre. In addition to working as an actor and professional acting coach, Rydell has also worked in event production, and served as the chief operating officer of CrowdFood, a technology-driven event production company partnered with the country’s leading music festivals. Rydell became the co-creative director of Grand Central Market and Santee Passage in Downtown Los Angeles, and founded his own events, including the Downtown LA Donut Festival and Fairfax Outpost. Rydell was a producer on the feature film Wildflower, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Jordan Blumetti / Director of Literary Acquisitions
Jordan Blumetti is a writer and editor with over a decade of experience in journalism, publishing, and film production. He has worked as a magazine and book editor, an international news correspondent, and has written and produced award-winning narrative short films, and several commercial projects. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, Oxford American, Lapham’s Quarterly, The Sunday Times, and Vice, among many other publications.
First and foremost, Dan Lotti is a creative—a singer, award-winning songwriter, and distiller of melodies. After two decades of international touring in his roots-rock band Dangermuffin, Lotti began working in music composition for film, where he leads a talented team of creatives into the fold of new musical visions. Most recently, Lotti worked as music coordinator and wrote multiple original songs for the feature film Wildflower. He also served as a music supervisor and musical contributor to Wildflower, the documentary.
Dan Lotti / Partner & Head of Music
Mike Sivilli / Partner & Director of Music Production
Mike Sivilli is an award-winning guitarist with twenty-five years of touring and session experience, most notably as co-founder of the roots-rock band Dangermuffin. For over a decade, he has engineered, produced, mixed, and mastered Americana, rock, pop, R&B, and country albums. Sivilli also wrote and recorded music for the feature film Wildflower, worked as a composer for the short film Bein’ Green, and served as music supervisor for Wildflower, the documentary.
Howard Dlugasch / Writer & Music Producer
Howard Dlugasch is a multi-instrumentalist composer, producer, music supervisor, and singer-songwriter, with over thirty years of experience. In addition to his original songwriting and music production work on the award-winning documentary film American Native, Dlugasch worked on the feature film Wildflower, the short film Bein’ Green, and served as a music supervisor on the documentary version of Wildflower.
Valentina Albano/Executive Assistant
Valentina Albano is a junior producer in the Los Angeles area. Albano attended CSUN, where she enhanced her skills through production courses for film, television, broadcasting, music concerts, and radio. After graduating, she worked as a production coordinator for digital media and talent companies, including Funny or Die, OBB Media, Nickelodeon, Caffeine TV, and YouTube. She joined Morning Moon Productions after serving as the production secretary for Wildflower.