Last night at 27th Dances With Films festival at the world famous and historic TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, was the epic World Movie Premiere and true story of “The Man Who Saved the Internet with a Sunflower” with the key people who changed our history, with the internet- WWW = World Wide Web, personal computers= PC, and communications:
It was an honor to meet these people in person last night. This show will bring you in-depth interviews with them at a special private VIP Reception at the TCL Theatre Lobby Bar area prior to World Movie Premiere of “The Man Who Saved the Internet with a Sunflower.” This movie is the world premiere event of this Oscar-qualifying film festival.
Our Entertainment Today news team, and TV Producer: Steve Taylor interviewed the Director and Global filmmaker of this great movie: Ori Yardeni and his wife: Irit Yardeni who is the musical director, and designed the soundtrack. “We’re honored to be selected by such a prestigious festival as Dances With Films,” comments Yardeni. “We look forward to having our world premiere in Hollywood at the iconic TCL Chinese Theaters.” This interview shows how Ori brought this historical and fascinating story to the world with this movie! “It’s an unbelievable story, about a formula for personal success that can be replicated by any entrepreneur, in any field. The fact that the audience chose our movie as the favorite feature film at the festival proves that when you tell a real good story without cinematic effects and tricks, on a topic that concerns each of the viewers, the audience will connect with it,” comments Yardeni. He adds, “This is a film that does not come only to entertain, but to give each of the viewers a gift of life, a real and applicable tool for real and imperfect people.”
Then we interviewed the real life subject of this movie Rob Ryan and his wife Terry. Rob was the co-founder and former CEO of Ascend Communications, which was ultimately acquired by Lucent Technologies. Rob’s breakthrough technologies and equipment made it cheaper, easier and faster for internet providers to serve their clients, and dramatically expand their reach and customer base. In this fascinating exclusive interview that we had with Rob, we really learned a lot about how he changed the world with the internet, and with better, faster and more reliable communications!
This movie is a true story biopic film by director Ori Yardeni, that recounts the dramatic story of Rob Ryan, the ultimate entrepreneur, who saved the Internet from collapsing in the 1990s, transformed the lives of all of us in every field, and today is trying to save the Internet from itself. (The film was filmed entirely in Serbia and features an all UK cast led by Martin Delaney as Rob Ryan.) This is the Untold Story of Visionary American Entrepreneur Rob Ryan.
Finally, at the VIP Reception we had the honor to interview former APPLE senior executive- CFO: Joseph A. Graziano. His wife Betty Graziano was also there. Joseph A. Graziano (born c. 1943) is a financial executive who served as the CFO of Apple Computer from 1981 to 1985 and 1989 to 1995. He also served on Apple’s Board of Directors, and as Executive Vice President. In August 1995, Graziano became a director of Pixar, another venture led by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The studio was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in January 2006.
Josef had some fascinating stories on how the internet started, and has kept going till today, and his look towards the future and AI. He told us about the years when he worked together with the original founders of the company that improved the computer and changed the world, communications, and computers forever with their own equipment and groundbreaking technologies: Apple- Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. He told us about his life now, his Winery that he runs, and how at 81 years old he can still be a pilot and fly his own plane! Josef had a big part in the history of the internet and communications, and to this day is still friends with Rob Ryan, and supports this movie. 
In the VIP Reception before the movie- in the above photo left to right: the real life man himself who saved the Internet: Robert Ryan and his wife Terry, Entertainment Today TV Producer: Steve Taylor, former Apple CFO Executive: Joseph Graziano– who worked together with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Director Ori Yardeni, and his wife Irit, and Ariana Farina the Senior Producer of the Dances With Films Festival. The Founder of E! Entertainment: Larry Namer, and South Carolina Congressman JA Moore, were both off to the side. The photo below is of our news team, left to Right: Matt, Katy and Steve, standing by the movie poster for this movie. RICHARD was off to the side having a drink with Larry. We will be there tomorrow for the Closing Night Gala of this amazing film festival! 
The first in a planned trilogy, the captivating dramedy explores the future of technology and humanity, delving into the untold story of Ryan, an innovative engineer and mentor whose Sunflower Code, a decision-making formula and tool to discover one’s true vocation, revolutionized the Internet and continues to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs.
“Our film is very timely and we believe will be of interest to film-goers,” adds Yardeni. “In an age where technology is evolving faster than ever, stories of true innovation and resilience are more crucial than ever, The Man Who Saved the Internet with a Sunflower is not just a film; it’s a testament to the spirit of perseverance, the power of visionary thinking, and the triumph of the human spirit.”
A brilliant mathematician with a tumultuous job history in Silicon Valley including winning Intel engineer of the year award for the standardization of the early Ethernet. After resigning from Intel he founded the world largest innovative videoconferencing venture. Despite its roaring success, investors demanded a fresh product. In response, Ryan birthed the Sunflower Code, and he and his team rallied to rescue the Internet during its downturn in the 1990s. After making the company public, Ryan faced termination, yet the business fetched a staggering 24 billion dollars. Undeterred, Ryan harnessed the Sunflower Code to spawn three powerhouse companies, clinching the prestigious Silicon Valley Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Today, he is a mentor to young entrepreneurs and is dedicated to combating online challenges, including bullying, fake news and AI threats.
The feature, filmed in Serbia during the pandemic, stars British actor Martin Delaney (Zero Dark Thirty, Flags Of Our Fathers, Beowulf and Grendel, Now You See Me 2) in the role of Rob Ryan, with Leo Hatton as Ryan’s wife Terry (H&M by Wes Anderson): 
as well as Troy Hewitt (Rye Lane), Michael Curran-Dorsano (Django, The Last Ship), and Sophie Hopkins (Dr. Who’s spin-off Class from BBC).
Global media entrepreneur and creator Ori Yardeni co-directed the film and co-wrote its screenplay. Not only a filmmaker or entrepreneur, Yardeni is known as the ‘storyteller,’ who weaves fantastical worlds and impactful narratives with cutting-edge technology. Yardeni is most recognized for his innovative work in the field of immersive cinema, including making 700 different 3D, 4D, 6D movies, Interactive Cinema and Imageless Cinema. He has received several awards for his films and has registered 45 innovations in the field of media and technology. Yardeni has also created License to Dream, a collaboration with Ryan, to equip teenagers with the tools and mindset to become successful entrepreneurs and social leaders.
Emil Ben Shimon, most known for his work on the TV series ZIGI, HaTachana, Katmandu starring Gal Gadot, and Wild Horses for Israel’s HOT Cable Broadcasting, and his feature film The Women’s Balcony (Toronto Festival), co-directed the film. Einat Glazer-Zarhin edited the film, and the screenplay is written by Oren Safdie, Izhar Har-Lev and Yardeni. Kobi-Hoffman of Jiminy Creative is executive producer.
Rob Ryan is an American businessman and entrepreneur, best known as a co-founder and former CEO of Ascend Communications, which was ultimately acquired by Lucent Technologies. Ryan has authored two books with his lessons about startup companies. Raised in the Bronx, New York, Ryan received a scholarship to attend Cornell University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969. He married his Cornell classmate, Terry Wehe Ryan the same year.
Ryan began his career as a systems analyst with Burroughs Corporation He then worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory a federally-funded research facility. Ryan subsequently worked at Digital Equipment Corporation and Intel where he worked on Ethernet protocols including the “blue book” which would form the basis for IEEE 802.3 His final job before founding his first company was a stint at Ungermann-Bass, another pioneer in computer networking. In 1983, Ryan founded Softcom, Inc. to make Ethernet cards. When the company faced cash flow problems, Ryan sold Softcom to Hayes Microcomputer Products in 1984 and worked there as head of their West Coast division until 1988.
Ryan departed Hayes Micro along with four talented engineers and with his wife Terry. With $3 million in venture capital funding, they founded Aria Communication Inc. in 1989, with Ryan as CEO, to make ISDN equipment. The name was changed to Ascend Communications the next year, as the company transitioned to focus on equipment for Internet providers. By 1994, profits reached $8.7 million on sales of $39.3 million, and a few years later the company was sold for $24 billion. 
On closing night at the awards ceremonies the Audience Choice Awards was given to Ori Yarden (above photo) and Emil Ben Shimon’s “The Man Who Saved the Internet With a Sunflower” for Best Narrative Feature. This movie is the Untold Story of Visionary American Entrepreneur Rob Ryan who Takes Home Competition Features Audience Award at Dances With Films 2024! Below is a photo of L – R: E! Founder: Larry Namer with Terry and Rob Ryan: 
The World Wide Web is an information system that enables content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond IT specialists and hobbyists. In simple terms, the World Wide Web is just one common area for information exchange, facilitated by global computer networks — or the Internet. You connect to this Internet to access the Web, but the Internet is just the connection between countless, separate servers, computers, and devices. The name Wi-Fi was partly chosen because it sounds similar to Hi-Fi, which consumers take to mean high fidelity or high quality. Interbrand hoped consumers would find the name catchy, and that they would assume this wireless protocol has high fidelity because of its name.
Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer Inc.) is an American computer and consumer electronics company famous for creating the iPhone, iPad and Macintosh computers. Apple Computer, Inc. was founded on April 1, 1976, by college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who brought to the new company a vision of changing the way people viewed computers, and to produce and market Steve Wozniak’s Apple I personal computer. The company was incorporated by Wozniak and Steve Jobs in 1977. Its second computer, the Apple II, became a best seller as one of the first mass-produced microcomputers.
The iPhone is a line of smartphones produced by Apple that use Apple’s own iOS mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007. Since then, Apple has annually released new iPhone models and iOS updates. As of November 1, 2018, more than 2.2 billion iPhones had been sold!
Our News Team of Entertainment Today TV Producer: Steve Taylor, TV Show Host: Margie Rey, & News Reporter: Matt Segal at The Opening Night of the Dances With Films Festival in Hollywood, at The World Famous Chinese Theatre: 
Among DWF: LA’s lineup of 232 films, including 38 narrative features, 17 documentary features, 25 television and streaming pilots, and 152 short films (101 narrative and 20 documentaries, 13 KIdz section, 18 Downbeat/Music), are an impressive number of films (117!) making world, international, North American, or U.S. premieres. That number includes 24 narrative features, 10 documentary features, 69 narrative shorts, 22 documentary shorts (including Downbeat), and 15 pilots which will have world premiere screenings at Dances With Films.
The Dances With Films Festival is a Star-Studded 11 days, with Both A-List stars, and several recognizable faces and names that include: “Norita” that is Executive produced by Jane Fonda, Russell Goldman’s Burn Out, which is executive produced by Jamie Lee Curtis and stars Tommie Earl Jenkins, Eli Vidis Newman’s Concrete, which stars four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris, Kestrin Pantera’s Dr. No Means No, which stars comedy duo The Sklar Brothers, and Breeda Wool (The Walking Dead), Mike Harris’ Mecánica, which stars Haley Joel Osment, Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers), and Olivia Sandoval(Fargo), and Danny Farber’s Thoughts and Prayers, which is executive produced by Amy Poehler, “Tim Travers & The Time Travelers Paradox” Stars: Samuel Dunning, Felicia Day, Danny Trejo, and Keith David, Mindy Cohn the Co-Star on “The Facts of Life,” and finally: the World Premiere of “Max Dagan” which stars: Rob Morrow, Zachary Gordon, Michael Madsen, Rob Brownstein, Lindsey Dresbach, Lisa Roumain, and Comedians and Actors Jeff Ross and Jay Mohr!
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