Talan Team

Dale Sykora

Creative Executive, Talan Creator

Dale spent a 28 year career in the Navy as a submarine nuclear-qualified officer. His tours included command of USS DALLAS (SSN-700), Commodore of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Military Legislative Assistant to Senator John Warner (R) of Virginia, Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board member, Submarine Deputy of the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey, and instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk. Following his Navy career, Dale last worked as a defense contractor supporting Naval Sea Systems Command’s Naval Systems Engineering & Logistics Directorate for Serco North America, along with other work, including serving as an unmanned systems expert.

Dale began writing short stories in elementary school and has been writing ever since. His favorite television shows as a kid were Star Trek and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, thus it was natural that he would find himself commanding a submarine someday. It was only a matter of time until he combined his passion for submarines and writing.

Offspring of a career Air Force pilot and a farmer’s daughter, he was raised with an emphasis on national service and country horse sense. Dale's background brought a unique blend of experiences to bear on the project. His nuclear training, as well as his Electrical Engineering degree from Southern Methodist University and Master's degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval War College, provided the foundations behind the detailed military and Navy organizations portrayed in the script. The men he served with also served as inspiration for the dedication and morals the characters in “Talan: The Journeyman" portray.

For his background in movies and television, Dale, in cooperation with his co-writer and Production Executive Brian Williams, wrote the screenplay “CIFTED: Hammeris Storm,” a Navy Seal action-adventure. While they had Matthew McConaughey, Halle Berry, and Gary Oldman interested in the heroes and the villain of the movie, they shelved the project when Tony Scott jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in LA two weeks before Dale was to assist him on the Drug Sub movie Tony was in pre-Production on at the time. They were supposed to develop “CIFTED: Hammeris Storm" with Tony after the Drug Sub movie, but they recognized the movie just wasn’t God’s Will at the time and transitioned back to working on Talan.

As for his background in fantasy, Dale read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as a freshman in high school, and that experience inspired him to write The Star Path Saga, a 550 page novel upon which the movie and series are based. Aside from the novel, he generated a copying machine paper box full of background, history, and Prophecy that underlie the entire project.

Kevin Jackson

Executive Producer

"What you learn about America is people are a lot less interested in race than they are in character.”   – Kevin Jackson, author, political commentator, and talk radio host.

I am the Founder and Executive Director for The Kevin Jackson Network, formerly The Black Sphere, LLC. My company is essentially a marketing group focused on dynamic action in a political arena fraught with inaction. We consider ourselves non-partisan in cultivating political messaging. And we are the best at it.

My team is comprised of some of the most talented political minds, who understand the nuance of politics, and who bring media expertise and message-crafting to social media and media, including radio, TV, and the stage.

Pound for pound, we bring the most clever messaging to candidates and organizations, and we are second-to-none in creating simple yet poignant messaging and concepts.

Kevin is excited about partnering with Spreely.com to bring movies and series to a streaming service already hosting podcasts, music videos, documentaries, and other visual content. And he is even more excited at the prospect of “Talan: The Journeyman” being a centerpiece project when the new entertainment arm of the site goes live.

Jackson, father of four sons, is a  political commentator, author, and talk radio host.

He is a former management consultant whose clients have included some of the world’s largest companies. His interaction with prominent business leaders, as well as his own leadership experiences, have provided Jackson a real-world perspective to understanding American political and social issues, and led him to speak candidly about race and politics in America.

Jackson believes that empowerment comes when you know who you are and what you stand for. He has been a talk radio host on Salem Communications out of Tampa, FL, and a frequent guest on other national talk radio programs. He is the author of  Amazon bestsellers, The BIG Black Lie, Sexy Brilliance and Other Political Lies, and his latest book, Race Pimping: The Multi-Trillion Dollar Business of Liberalism. Jackson was also a regular Fox News contributor, and has appeared on The Glenn Beck Show, The O’Reilly Factor, MSNBC News, and other programs.

Jackson was a syndicated writer for TakiMag.com.  He also contributed to Breitbart’s Big Government, Human Events and American Thinker. His work has been featured in Townhall.com, and other national political journals and websites.

Along with being a Fellow at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, Jackson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Southern Methodist University.  He owned his own manufacturer’s representative agency in Texas and served as the Vice President of Sales for a Dallas-based technology firm. Jackson has been part of the executive management team for various IT systems integration firms, notables being Hitachi Consulting and CSC Consulting. He has also provided management consulting services to some of the world’s largest corporations.

Jackson’ path was not a typical one. Due to the death of his mother at age five, he was adopted and raised by his grandparents. Jackson says, “I was just a poor kid, who was fortunate enough to have been exposed to what the world has to offer in a most unique way. I witnessed life through black and white, and through poverty and wealth. I have always held an optimistic outlook, and my grandparents instilled in me a “no-excuses mentality,” as well as a strong work ethic.

Craig Sykora

Red River Cinematics CEO, Novel Editor, Script Consultant

Craig served a 22-year career in the U.S. Submarine Force as a nuclear-qualified officer.  His tours included Computer Network Operations Branch Chief and Inspector General Submarine Component of United States Strategic Command, Executive Officer of USS MARYLAND (SSBN 738), Engineer Submarine Squadron Eight, and Lead Instructor Nuclear Command and Control Trident Training Facility.  Following his Navy career, Craig worked as a Computer Network Operations Planner and Subject Matter Expert for a Department of War software planning and dashboarding application.

He has earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Master of Business Administration and Public Administration, and a Master of Science in Justice Administration and Crime Management. Additionally, he completed six Department of Homeland Security Certifications.

His interest in fantasy adventure began with authors J.R.R. Tolkien and Terry Brooks.  This naturally led to reading and editing his brother, Dale’s novel The Star Path Saga and become his editor for the Talan project.

Craig was story editor for The Star Path Saga upon which the Talan Project is based, and he has been script consultant for the movie screenplay and series teleplays. He established the Red River Cinematics LLC in 2022 in preparation to produce “Talan: The Journeyman.”

After establishing roots in Nebraska, Craig volunteered as a recreational baseball coach for 14 years and scoutmaster for 11 years, where he enjoyed teaching youth sports and outdoor survival skills.

Ryan Bellgardt

Producer/Director Ryan Bellgardt is an Oklahoma-based filmmaker, visual effects artist, and the founder and creative force behind Boiling Point Media. As a writer, director, and producer, he is known for genre films like The Jurassic Games, Gremlin, and Army of Frankensteins, while also leading a full-service production company that bridges commercial storytelling and cinematic filmmaking. With a background in visual effects and a passion for sci-fi and creature features, Bellgardt has built a career blending technical artistry with imaginative storytelling, bringing high-concept ideas to life both on screen and through branded content.

Jonathan Koelsch 

Previsualization Director

Jonathan Koelsch (pronounced “Kelsh”) has been illustrating professionally for 20+ years, and winner of 50+ Addy awards, CASE awards and many other industry accolades.

Jonathan’s clients list includes many national and regional advertising agencies, corporations, and institutions. A few include Marvel via Upper Deck Cards and Entertainment, Dreamworks, LEGO, Mattel, Target, AT&T, Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA official illustrated mascot), Sonic, Braum’s, Carl’s Jr., Kraft Foods, The Food Group, Humana, State Governor Brad Henry, Ditch Witch, Ideal Homes, Verizon, the University of Oklahoma (OU), OSU, OCU, and several other childrens book, graphic novel, magazine and book publishers. He has multiple Hollywood animation and films credits for storyboarding, art production, and concept design.

Jonathan storyboards and produces key prop illustrations for Hollywood films produced in Oklahoma, including Rudderless, Gosnell, The Washita Valley, and The Mustard Seed (director Rich Correll). Jonathan worked directly with Hollywood actor and director William H. Macy, storyboarding the feature Rudderless, starring Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Selena Gomez, Felicity Huffman, Lawrence Fishburne and Bill Macy himself. Jonathan also designs and illustrates movie titles/logos and posters.

He focuses his extra time on his favorite charity, AutismOklahoma, where he teaches art, comic book, animation and illustration camps.  He was instrumental in rebranding non-profit, and instrumental in it becoming the largest autism charity in the state within 3 years.

Jonathan’s passion is sequential storytelling, including graphic novels, storyboarding and animation.  He recently illustrated Luther, a large graphic novel about Martin Luther, and has supervised multiple animation projects including Even in Death, a multiple award-winning short film.

Jonathan has also animated Luther the Rock Opera, and worked in conceptualizing, storyboarding, and animating many online and TV commercials and educational spots for his clients – some of these include LEGO, Dreamworks (Trolls), Mattel (Thomas the Train), Nickelodeon (Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles), and other popular brands currently underway. 

His illustrated children’s books include Ditch Witch Jack, for Ditch Witch International, Sooner Born, Sooner Bred for the University of Oklahoma (OU), and Pistol Pete and Me for Oklahoma State University (OSU).  He also has storyboarded many commercials for Target, Carl’s Jr.,  and many others, and created several published graphic novels for music and entertainment companies, including !Hero® the Rock Opera graphic novel, and COTU®, the Auto-B-Good® comic book.

Jonathan credits his amazing friends and wonderful family, wife and daughter for his success and joy in living his dream. And Moony the poodle, a treasured gift and best buddy.