Meet the Fearless
Friends In Film Team
Our tight-knit team is dedicated to helping actors and filmmakers reach their goals in the industry where everything is word-of-mouth. Started as a Film School alternative, Friends In Film created the A-list methods to ignore everything except what gets people in demand and working on paid professional sets.
Our People
Janet Urban
The fearless leader, Janet knows how to break into the industry from the outside because she did it herself with no prior film experience or set knowledge. She refuses to let the universe tell her to back down on any endeavor she sets her heart to. Her top priority is getting fantastic people inside the film industry, on set, doing what they love and having the greatest time.
Joe Hettinger
Joe is Janet’s Mountain Man. He has climbed Mount McKinley, was a kayak instructor and trip leader, and keeps things running smoothly behind-the-scenes at Friends In Film. On top of having a warm and gentle soul, Joe is known as the de facto father figure within the Friends In Film team and community.
Hanlu Cao
Hanlu is Friends In Film’s visual strategist and content manager. She works hard to see the modules are easy-to-consume and new content is regularly updated, and creates graphics, copy, and systems in hopes that they will deconstruct the cryptic nature of the film industry for those not yet working inside. Hanlu is also Friends in Film’s official cat-petter, much to the cats’ chagrin. Her Instagram, filled with her observations and aspirations, is @hanlucao.
Nycole Flynn
Nycole is the Director of Social Media and Happiness at Friends in Film. She’s also who you’ll email with the most before your mentorship with Janet. Nycole is a die hard foodie, shoe lover, and former Music & TV industry Marketing professional and Publicist, who also moonlights as a mom of three beautiful daughters and wife of a charming Digital Strategist. After a 15-year stint in New York City, she brought the East Coast hustle to California’s laid back shores and is loving every minute of it.
Omar Lopez
Omar is a self-proclaimed badass and all-around excellent individual. It is simply known. He spends his time reading, writing, making videos, adventuring, and exploring different spiritual practices. He has a BA in Music Production, plays guitar in a band called Plan Your Escape, and plays bass/sings at his church: City View Worship. Omar also loves making hiphop and rapping. Follow his Instagram @omarthegrateful for links to his music and podcast!
Gregory McDonald
Greg is a writer and video editor, working to make the blog and emails informative, engaging, and digestible. He believes Super Mario Sunshine is indisputably better than Mario64. When not gaming and foregoing sleep, he is working on his Master’s degree in Astrophysics in the hopes to one day get a PhD and figure out what the hell is going on out there.