Sean McLain's passion for the film industry began in 1988 as an uncredited member of the art department on the Touchstone Pictures feature Disorganized Crime. He then moved to Los Angeles that same year, working in art and graphics for film-related advertising.
In 1991, McLain took on advertising, release, and distribution responsibilities for the FilmQuest Pictures feature "Final Approach," one of the world's first all-digital sound motion pictures. This pioneering effort led to a writing deal with David Hoberman at Touchstone Pictures Company, where he and director/partner Eric Steven Stahl wrote two unproduced studio screenplays, Semi-Pro and Cardiac X-Press.
McLain and Stahl went on to write and produce the independent feature "Safe House" starring Patrick Stewart, Kimberly Williams, and Hector Elizondo. The film was picked up by Viacom during production and became a successful Showtime Original Pictures release and Blockbuster Video top, resulting in a writing contract for a second Showtime Feature project entitled "2000" which remains unproduced.
Prior to this, McLain was in charge of Creative Development for The Where's Waldo Company, where he guided feature film development and other entertainment deals, striking arrangements with Twentieth Century Fox, DIC Entertainment, and CBS Children's Television. He also participated as a key member of the team creating the popular Where's Waldo book series with Little Brown, Candlewick, and Golden Books.
In partnership with his spouse, Lisa McLain, Sean started the entertainment-based art conservatory and publishing company Acme Archives in 1997. The company has since grown into the world's leading entertainment art publishing company with offices in the US, Europe, and China.
Under the sub-brand of Acme Industrial Imagination, several ancillary projects were produced with partners, including NASA, The Former Texas Association, The Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Northrop Grumman Foundation, the Himalayan Rescue Association/Dr. Luanne Freer, and Warner Animation/Peter Ferk.
Acme has acquired licenses for and/or provides services to several top-flight entertainment conglomerates, including The Walt Disney Company, Time Warner, Microsoft, Universal Studios, Lucasfilm, Revolution Studios, DC Comics, and Twentieth Century Fox. This list of clientele includes Acme's work in association with various well-known properties such as "The Simpsons," "Star Wars," Indiana Jones," "Family Guy," "Halo" "Spongebob Squarepants," "Hellboy," "Ice Age," "Alien(s)," "Beauty and the Beast," "Tangled," "Frozen" "The Lion King," "The Mandalorian," and many others.
In 2016, Acme accepted an invitation to build a Disney art gallery at the new Shanghai Disney Theme Park. Keeping a foot lightly planted in the feature film world, McLain also co-wrote the 2008 Warner Home Video release of "I-See-You" starring Beau Bridges, Rosanna Arquette, Doris Roberts, and Hector Elizondo. Most recently, McLain has supervised the creative development of several as-yet-unproduced projects for Acme's parent company Verbata Inc.
Sean McLain holds a BS in Media Arts from Montana State University and is a member of the Writers Guild of America.
