Sean Covel is an American

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

best known for being a producer of ''

Napoleon Dynamite ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt and Sean Covel, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the titular character, a nerdy high- ...

''.

Early life

Covel grew up in

Edgemont, South Dakota Edgemont is a city in Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 725 at the 2020 census. The city lies on the far southern edge of the Black Hills in southwestern South Dakota. Edgemont is a crew change point for BNSF f ...

and attended college at the University of Nebraska, Kearney, majoring in Broadcast Management with a minor in acting. Covel then took a position as a headhunter in San Francisco, and eventually opened his own firm before ultimately turning his attention back to film making. Covel received a Master of Fine Arts from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

School of Cinematic Arts, Peter Stark Producing Program where he occasionally lectures.Notable Alumni
''USC School of Cinematic Arts''. Accessed December 9, 2021. See section on Producers.

Career

After college, Covel began work on the film ''

Think Tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...

''. In 2003 he joined the team writing and producing ''Napoleon Dynamite'', which won critical acclaim. For his and Chris Wyatt's work on the film, they were nominated for the producer award at the

20th Independent Spirit Awards The 20th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent filmmaking for 2004, were announced on February 26, 2005. It was hosted by Samuel L. Jackson. Nominees and winners Special awards John Cassavetes Award ''Mean Creek'' ...

. Covel's other producing credits include ''12 Dogs of Christmas'', ''

Beneath Beneath may refer to: * ''Beneath'' (2007 film), directed by Dagen Merrill * ''Beneath'' (2013 film), a thriller film by Larry Fessenden *''Beneath'', a 2013 film directed by Ben Ketai Ben Ketai is an American film director, writer, and produ ...

'','' Carter & June'' and ''

Cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

''. In 2019, Covel gave a

TED TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

talk entitled “The mind is a computer. The question is how,” on the mental framework of problem-solving.

Philanthropy

In 2015, he founded a children's charity, 12 Days of Pizza, which works annually with Pizza Ranch to help low-income elementary school children eat over school holiday periods. It started with 144 meals being provided to 12 families. Within a three-year period, the program grew to provide over 12,000 meals to over 1000 food-insecure families with elementary school aged children. The program continues to expand each year. The program is also available for people affected due to coronavirus. In 2019, Covel partnered with illustrator Rebecca Swift to launch a 64-book series for kids, in which the title character is called Porter the Hoarder. The first book, Porter the Hoarder and the Ransacked Room, was a bestseller in 2019. The Porter the Hoarder series is now part of a charitable program with The United Way called Black Hills Reads. The partnership saw over 2000 books given to elementary school children in the Black Hills area in January 2019. Following the success of this initiative, the S.D. Statewide Family Engagement Center (SDSFEC) became involved with the series, using the books as a vehicle for promoting more active engagement from children and their parents in literature and literacy. As part of the partnership, over 10,000 more students received books. The partnership will run for four more years.

Personal life

Covel was married to actress

Alexa Vega Alexa Ellesse PenaVega (née Vega; born August 27, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Carmen Cortez in the '' Spy Kids'' film series and Julie Corky in the 2004 film ''Sleepover''. In 2009, she starred as th ...

from 2010 to 2012.

Filmography

* ''

'' (2004) - Producer * ''The 12 Dogs of Christmas'' (2005) - Producer * ''Think Tank'' (2006) - Producer * ''Beneath'' (2007) - Producer * ''Broken Hill'' (2009) - Executive Producer * ''Cafe'' (2011) - Producer * ''Napoleon Dynamite'' (TV Series -2012) - Producer * ''Concrete Blondes'' (2013) - Producer * ''Driving Blind'' (Documentary - 2014) - Executive Producer * ''Carter & June'' (2017) - Producer * ''Tater Tot & Patton'' (2017) - Executive Producer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Covel, Sean Living people American film producers USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni University of Nebraska at Kearney alumni Place of birth missing (living people) People from Newcastle, Wyoming People from Fall River County, South Dakota People from Lead, South Dakota Year of birth missing (living people)