Jeffery Allen Williams (born September 27, 1960) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

animator, writer, producer, actor, musician, and director. Williams founded

Parallax Studio Parallax Studio is an American animation studio based in Nixa, Missouri, created by J. Allen Williams. The company is most known for the production of the science fiction computer game '' Darkstar: The Interactive Movie'', which starred the orig ...

Nixa, Missouri Nixa is a city in Christian County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 23,257. It is a principal city, and the second largest city in the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The ar ...

, and presently continues in the capacity of its

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. Williams is best known for creating the independent science fiction interactive computer game '' Darkstar: The Interactive Movie'' (2010). He has also directed and produced two feature films: the fantasy thriller ''Everything'', completed in 2017, and the science fiction film ''To Meet the Faces You Meet'', currently in pre-production.

Early life

Williams was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, at the military hospital on

Keesler Air Force Base Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city along the Gulf Coast in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler Jr., a Mississippi nati ...

. He was raised in the Springfield, Missouri, area, but later moved to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, where he studied illustration, animation, and filmmaking at the Kansas City Art Institute. He began using the stage name "Carmen Wilder" and formed the progressive rock band ''Wilder'' in 1986 with the musicians Bill Bruce, Jimmy Pitts, Brent Frazier, and James Lee Dillard – all of whom would later participate in creating the ''Darkstar'' soundtrack.

Career

''Darkstar: The Interactive Movie''

Williams is most known for having written, animated, and directed the independent computer game '' Darkstar: The Interactive Movie''. In an interview with

Tom Chick Tom W. Chick (born August 14, 1966) is an American actor and independent journalist. His most prominent TV roles were as Oscar's boyfriend Gil in the U.S. version of ''The Office'', and the hard-hitting reporter Gordon in ''The West Wing''. Ear ...

at Fidget.com, Williams described his role in the production: ''Darkstar'' featured numerous live actors, including Clive Robertson and the original cast of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''. The project also featured original animations by the artist Richard Corben and was one of the final projects featuring the actor Peter Graves, who narrated the game. Williams also designed various costumes and props for the live action sequences and is one of the three credited composers of the soundtrack, alongside Jimmy Pitts and Bill Bruce.

''Everything''

In 2013, Williams and Parallax Studio began production on the independent film ''Everything'', written and directed by Williams. The film was completed in 2022.

''MEAD''

In 2020, Williams and Parallax Studio announced production on the independent film ''

MEAD Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...

'' (originally titled ''To Meet the Faces You Meet''), based on the underground comic ''Fever Dreams'' written by

Jan Strnad Jan Steven Strnad (sometimes credited as J. Knight) is an American writer of comic books, horror, and science fiction. He is known for his many collaborations with artist Richard Corben, as well as his work in the ''Star Wars'' expanded universe ...

and illustrated by Richard Corben, featuring the voice of Patton Oswalt. On July 20, 2020, it was announced that the actors Patrick Warburton and Samuel Hunt had joined the cast. In September 2020, it was announced that Robert Picardo had also joined the cast. Principal photography began in late September and ended in early October 2021. ''MEAD'' was premiered at the

2022 Cannes Film Festival The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival is an upcoming film festival scheduled to take place from 17 to 28 May 2022. The festival will see a tribute to actor Tom Cruise, whose film '' Top Gun: Maverick'' is due to premiere at the festival. The off ...

on May 22, 2022, and will be released for

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

in North America on August 9, 2022.

Personal life

Williams lives in

. He has a son, Chance, and a daughter, Maggie. Maggie Williams provided voice talent in ''Darkstar'' for the quirky robot MAGS (Motorized Automated Girl for Simon), a character that she also created.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Official Parallax Studio website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, J. Allen 1960 births Living people American animators American animated film directors American animated film producers American film directors People from Biloxi, Mississippi Artists from Mississippi Video game producers Video game writers American video game designers People from Nixa, Missouri