Cut to Black: Sean Linal, Assistant Editor

February 24, 2021 2021, Committee News, CTB2021, Cut to Black, Membership Outreach, MPEG Diversity, Web Exclusives
For each day in the month of February, the Committee will be highlighting African-American members, both past and present, and their accomplishments. We look forward to showing the contributions and influences African-Americans have had on the industry.
Name: Sean Linal

What’s your job? Assistant Editor

List the credits you’re most proud of. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “Queen Sugar,” “Teen Wolf,” “Timeless,” “The Bachelor”

What are you working on right now? “All Rise, Season 2 (CBS All-Access)

Who and what are your influences and/or mentors? George Lucas. David Lynch. Spike Lee. The Neptunes. Babyface.

What books are you reading, shows are you watching and/or movies you’re excited about?
Books:  L.A. Reid’s “Sing To Me” and “Thrawn.” Television: “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “The Mandalorian,” “Transformers: War for Cybertron,” “Narcos: Mexico,” “Cobra Kai,” “Penny Dreadful,” and “90 Day Fiance.” Movies: “The Many Saints of Newark,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “The Godfather Coda,” and “Tenet.”
What would be your superhero name? Plushard

What are your black history month memories and any cultural or historical impacts on your life? In 2019, I visited Washington, D.C. and saw a block commemorating the enslaved Africans who helped build the U.S. Capitol. I also visited all 8 floors of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It left me in tears.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?  “You’re damned if you do. You’re damned if you don’t.” (Bart Simpson) In other words, just get out there and live!

If you could time travel, when would you go and why? I’d go back to 1994 and enroll in a community college that offered film school courses vs going to (and graduating from) a private film school right before the economy tanked.

What’s a little known fact about you? What are your hidden (or not so hidden) talents? I love mayonnaise. I rarely eat hot sauce and only on selected dishes. I’m a great Salsa dancer and Karoake singer. I have tattoos of a Sith Hologram (back of my neck) and the Auto-bot Matrix of Leadership inside of Optimus Prime (across my chest, of course).

What would be your dream project to work on? Any Star Wars, GI Joe, Transformers TV show or film project. Or a Metallica project, because my future wife loves them.