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For sponsor/exhibitor information, please contact Tinzar Sherman:

Tinzar
Phone: 323-822-0936 tinzar@digitalmediawire.com

PRESS

To request a press pass, please send credentials and contact information to ellen@digitalmediawire.com 
 

ABOUT US

Digital Media Wire, Inc. launched in early 2000 with a simple yet compelling proposition to provide busy executives with a daily briefing of the most important news stories about the business of digital entertainment and media. Over the years, we have become a standard in publishing and events. We currently own and produce 6 annual conferences and publish 7 newsletters, including formation:
www.dmwmedia.com

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TESTIMONIALS

“DMW conferences are great opportunities to meet new companies and hear about new opportunities. I recommend them highly.”
Jonathan Potter, Executive Director, Digital Media Association

“I just wanted to say thanks for a great event. If you ever need us again, please let me know. Congrats on everything.”
Leah Arnold, Communications Manager, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)

“It was a wonderful event.”
Sarah B. Deutsch, Vice President & Associate General Counsel, Verizon Communications

I enjoyed it and hope to be working with you in the future.”
Elliot Maxwell, Special Advisor for the Digital Economy, U.S. Secretary of Commerce (1998-2001)

Very good conference - diverse participants, meaty discussion.”
Tolman Geffs, Managing Director, Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc.

“I was thoroughly impressed with Digital Media Wire and the logistical expertise you and your team displayed in executing a successful event. I believe the forum was very informative and afforded everyone in attendance the opportunity to express new ideas about the future of entertainment. I look forward to working with you and your company in the future, and please do not hesitate to call me if I can be of assistance to you.”
Michael Gravley, Governor’s Film & Entertainment Industry Liaison, The State of Georgia

“A rare chance for competitors to gather in one place and collaborate on what's working and what’s not."
NY1 News

“It was a pleasure speaking at your show. Please keep QUALCOMM in mind for future events.”
Mike Yuen, Senior Director, Games, QUALCOMM

“Fantastic event...”
Matt J. Railo, Partner, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP

TIM SARNOFF, President, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Tim Sarnoff is President of Sony Pictures Imageworks, an Academy Award�-winning visual effects and computer animation company dedicated to the art of digital production and character creation. Mr. Sarnoff joined Imageworks in 1997, five years after its inception.  As president, Mr. Sarnoff is responsible for the direction and management of the facility, which has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscars� for its work on "Spider-Man 2" and the CG-animated short film "The ChubbChubbs!," as well as nominations for "Spider-Man," "Hollow Man," "Stuart Little" and "Starship Troopers." Other notable credits for Imageworks include "Bewitched," "The Aviator," "The Polar Express," "Big Fish," "Bad Boys II," "Stuart Little 2," "Cast Away," and "Contact." Imageworks, which has grown from 600 to nearly 1000 employees over the past year, is currently in production on "Zathura," "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," "Superman Returns," "Monster House," "Ghost Rider," "Spider-Man 3," and the first two full-length CG-animated features from Sony Pictures Animation, "Open Season" and "Surf's Up." Prior to his affiliation with Imageworks, Mr. Sarnoff was Senior Vice President of Warner Digital Studios, which was established as a division of Warner Bros. in 1995. Mr. Sarnoff originally joined Warner Bros. in 1989 to set up Steven Spielberg's animated series "Tiny Toon Adventures." During Mr. Sarnoff's tenure, Warner Bros. Animation grew from four employees to more than 300 employees, became a separate business unit of Warner Bros. and completed numerous animated television series, including "Tasmania," "Batman," "Animaniacs" and "Superman." Mr. Sarnoff began his career as Program Director for the NBC affiliate KMIR in Palm Springs, and then moved to the NBC network in Los Angeles as a production unit manager. In 1987, he joined Paramount Television as Manager of Production Accounting, and then became Director of Domestic Television Programming. Mr. Sarnoff is a graduate of Stanford University, where he received his undergraduate degrees in 1981.

Kevin Mayer EVP, Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Technology Group, The Walt Disney Company
Mayer was appointed executive vice president of the new Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Technology Group in June 2005. Mayer leads the smaller, tightly-focused group as it targets emerging businesses new to Disney's existing portfolio, manages cross-divisional issues and opportunities, and evaluates new technology and business models. The group is responsible for aiding in the evaluation and execution of potential acquisition transactions as well. Mayer rejoined Disney from L.E.K. Consulting LLC, where he was a partner and head of the Global Media and Entertainment practice. In that position his responsibilities included global oversight of all media-related due diligence efforts for mergers and acquisitions, development of business strategies for new technology ventures such as portable music devices, online music services, video on demand and broadband ISP services, and the creation of comprehensive anti-piracy strategies for motion picture studios and trade associations.

Steven Starr, Founder & CEO, Revver
Steven has 30 years of experience in media and creator empowerment. Recent product launches include Indy.tv, a free recommendation engine for independent musicians; and Dijjer.org, an open source zero-bandwidth http technology for independent creators. He is also Ian Clarke's long-time partner on the Freenet Project. Previously, he managed KPFK-FM, the largest community radio signal in the U.S. and co-founded the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. He’s held executive-level positions with a variety of Internet and entertainment-related companies over the years - including co-founder and chair of Intel-backed Uprizer, Inc.; founding CEO of user-generated AntEye.com; co-creator/producer of MTV’s ‘The State’; writer/director of the award-winning Indy feature ‘Joey Breaker’; and head of the New York Motion Picture Department for the William Morris Agency, representing Ang Lee, Tim Robbins, Larry David, and the Bob Marley Estate among others.

Jason Kohn, Director, Manda Bala (Send a Bullet), Winner of 2007 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize
Jason Kohn is a first-time director from New York. At twenty-three he left Errol Morris’s office to make the feature documentary Manda Bala (Send a Bullet), a film about kidnapping and corruption in Brazil. He has received both the Sundance Documentary Fund grant and a Mortimer-Hayes Fellowship.  Although seemingly a New York Jew, Jason is actually of South American decent and a proud supporter of evolutionary sciences. Jason’s life is dedicated to the appreciation and production of cinema and fighting the prevailing cultural powers of god, greed and corruption.

Anne Thompson, Deputy Editor, Variety.com
Prior to joining Variety in March 2007, Anne was the deputy film editor of The Hollywood Reporter, where she wrote the weekly film industry column "Risky Business," which is globally syndicated by Reuters. She also contributes to Premiere, Wired, Filmmaker, New York Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The London Observer. From 1996 to 2002, she headed Premiere's Los Angeles bureau as West Coast Editor. Before joining Premiere, she tracked behind-the-scenes Hollywood as a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly and as West Coast Editor at Film Comment Magazine. From 1985 to 1993, she wrote the first iteration of "Risky Business" for L.A. Weekly and The Los Angeles Times Syndicate. A graduate of the Department of Cinema Studies at New York University, Thompson teaches the fall semester of Sneak Previews at UCLA Extension.

LISA SCHWARTZ, SVP, Sales & Business Development, IFC Entertainment As senior vice president of sales and business development of IFC Entertainment, Lisa Schwartz will serve as the senior distribution strategist for the division and is responsible for creating, identifying and securing revenue-generating opportunities. Ms. Schwartz is creating a new infrastructure within IFC Entertainment to fully develop and maximize the business model for IFC In Theaters, the on-demand component of IFC Entertainment’s date and date distribution initiative. This new day date distribution model is an industry first, distributing films theatrically and simultaneously on-demand. It has met with great success due to the strong demand for multi-platform content. Ms. Schwartz will oversee distribution for IFC Entertainment’s operations across all platforms, including pay TV, broadcast, home video, and fast growing new platforms such as video-on-demand (VOD), subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), foreign sales, and portable devices. In addition, she will serve as point person on all of the day-to-day activities across IFC Entertainment businesses. Ms. Schwartz brings more than 20 years experience in sales and marketing to IFC Entertainment. Most recently, she served as senior vice president, national accounts and advanced services for Rainbow Network Sales, the national distribution division of IFC Entertainment’s parent company Rainbow Media Holdings LLC. There, Ms. Schwartz played a significant role in pioneering the introduction of IFC In Theaters and developing key strategies that maximized IFC Entertainment’s relationship with filmmakers and MSOs. She also managed the Comcast corporate account for Rainbow Media’s AMC, WE tv, and IFC and was responsible for distribution and contract negotiations for all distributors for several of Rainbow Media’s VOD services, including Mag Rack, sportskool, and WE On Demand. Previously, Ms. Schwartz held various key affiliate distribution positions within the Company. Ms. Schwartz earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and communications from Cabrini College and is currently enrolled in a Master of Arts program in communications at LaSalle University. She is also an alumna of CTAM University, the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing’s executive management program at Harvard Business School. Ms. Schwartz is a member of CTAM and Women In Cable Telecommunications (WICT). She is also active in WICT’s Philadelphia Chapter Mentor Program.

Cory Tyler, Actor and Co-Creator of www.canwedothat.net
In “Can We Do That?“, the trio of Ski-ter, Cory and Charles own a production company that film edgy, extreme and hilarious tv commercials that have viewers scratching their heads asking “Can They Do That?” In real life, ironically, the three enjoy successful acting careers in commercials, television, and film making people ask “Where have I seen them before?”  Well ponder no further, cuz here’s the scoop: Ski-ter, known as the “Commercial King” in Hollywood has appeared in over 50 tv ads in the last 5 years including such brands as “IBM”, “Verizon”, “T.G.I. Friday’s” to name a few. Best known for his roles on Fox’s “Beverly Hills, 90210″ and The Cosby Show Spin-off “A Different World”, Cory Tyler has been acting since the age of 5. He can currently be seen on episodes of ABC’s “In Justice” and “Ghost Whisperer” starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. Charles Carpenter has been acting for 15 years and makes a living entertaining us with his comedic wit in such commercials as “Gateway Computers” “Mercury Motors” and “Taco Bell”. Currently, “Double C” as he is often called in “Can We Do That?”, can be seen on episodes of “Bones” on Fox and the soap opera, “Passions”.  And now the collective talents of these three actors can be seen on the hit original comedy, “Can We Do That?“.

Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, Netflix
Ted Sarandos has served as Netflix chief content officer since 2000. With more than 20 years of experience in home entertainment, Ted leads the content acquisition efforts for the company and is recognized in the industry as an innovator in film acquisition and distribution. Ted oversees strategic content acquisition for Netflix and manages the company's relationships with studios, networks, film makers and producers. Since 2000, the Netflix library has increased tremendously, from 2,000 in 1999 to 70,000 in 2007. As Netflix has grown to over 6 million subscribers this year, Ted has established Netflix as a successful film distributor within the entertainment industry. Ted has also spearheaded the company's original content initiative, Red Envelope Entertainment, creating a national platform for films and entertainment programming through unique partnerships with filmmakers, networks and studios, including IFC, HBO, ThinkFilm and Sundance Channel. These unique deals enable Netflix to provide the broadest variety of films for consumers as well as offer an alternate distribution method for smaller and independent films that might not otherwise be seen. Ted ensures that the more than 70,000 titles in the Netflix DVD library satisfy the more than 6 million Netflix subscribers who rent about 1.4 million DVDs per day. From 1983 to 1988, Ted began his home video career managing a metropolitan retail chain. He then moved to video distributor ETD, where he served as Western regional director of sales and operations. Until March 2000, Ted was vice president of product and merchandising for Video City, where he negotiated the industry's first DVD revenue sharing agreement and reduced the cost of content from all studios. Ted is a former chapter president and board member for the Video Software Dealers Association. He also serves on the Film Advisory Board for Tribeca Film Festival, the retail advisory board for the Digital Entertainment Group, FIND Advisory Board and MediaRights.org, as well as a serving as a trustee for International Documentary Association. Ted was also most recently included in Variety's Global 50, a list of the 50 most influential people in independent film distribution. An avid consumer of popular culture, Ted keeps abreast of the entertainment industry by reading the dailies and trades cover-to-cover, attending the latest and greatest events in Hollywood and traveling and skiing in his coveted downtime. He lives in Los Angeles with his two kids. Ted owns an HD TV and uses Netflix to catch up on films he hasn't seen in person.

David Wertheimer, Executive Director, The Entertainment Technology Center @ USC
David Wertheimer oversees the Entertainment Technology Center @ USC, a consortium funded by the Hollywood studios and related technology companies. The ETC's mission is to provide a place where the entertainment industry can work together to explore technologies that create new business opportunities. The ETC is best known for the Digital Cinema Lab, which helped spur the digital cinema revolution, but the ETC has expanded its focus to explore new technologies which the industry can use to deliver digital content to consumers wherever, whenever on whatever device. David was formerly the president of the digital entertainment division of Paramount Pictures; and was founder and CEO of WireBreak Entertainment -- a digital content distribution and television production company. Before that, he held technology and business management positions at Oracle and NeXT.

Alfred J. Amoroso, President/CEO, Director of the Board, Macrovision Corporation: Amoroso brings to Macrovision extensive leadership experience in the information technology, communications and insurance arenas with executive roles spanning from advisor to general manager to partner to president and chief executive officer. Before joining Macrovision, Amoroso was an advisor to Warburg Pincus in the Information Technology and Communications practice. Amoroso has served as president, chief executive officer and vice chairman of Meta Group and president and chief executive officer at CrossWorlds Software. Prior to CrossWorlds, Amoroso was general manager of IBM Global Services Asia Pacific. He held various other executive positions at IBM including general manager of the worldwide insurance business unit, general manager of the North American insurance business unit and president of the insurance consulting practice. Before joining IBM, Amoroso held various positions at Price Waterhouse, now PricewaterhouseCoopers, including lead technology partner and partner in charge of the worldwide insurance consulting practice. Amoroso is on the Board of Directors of Foundry Networks, Cyclone Commerce and Syndera Corporation. Amoroso holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering and M.S. in Operations Research from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

BRENDA SPOONEMORE, President and CEO, Atomic Moguls
Brenda Spoonemore is the President and CEO of Atomic Moguls, a Seattle-based startup building the next generation of online fantasy gaming with a focus on entertainment games. The company’s initial product launch, FantasyMoguls.com, launched in beta in October 2006 as the first full-fledged fantasy league for movies. Game players are “movie moguls” who draft movies and then are scored on the real world performance of those movies. Atomic Moguls plans launches in several additional entertainment verticals in 2007 as the first viral, mass market games for entertainment consumers. Previously, Spoonemore was Senior Vice President of Interactive Services for the NBA, with responsibility for the league’s profitable interactive P&L, including global digital operations, licensing and strategy. As the NBA’s senior interactive executive, Spoonemore supervised the integration, development and production of more than 60 award-winning web sites for the NBA and WNBA. In addition to the web properties, Spoonemore successfully launched a full suite of digital initiatives including NBA TV Broadband, fantasy game operations and licensing, integration with broadcast partners and the NBA Unwired mobile platform. Spoonemore had primary responsibility for defining new media strategy for NBAE and was a part of the NBA executive team which negotiated digital rights with network partners ABC/ESPN and Turner as well as deals with leading global Internet services, media and technology companies including Yahoo!, AOL, Google, Apple and EA. Spoonemore’s efforts have been honored by Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal in 2002 as she was recognized as one of the best and brightest sports executives in the country under the age of 40 in the magazine’s “Forty Under 40” list, and by Multichannel News’ “Woman to Watch” in 2003 as one of the industry’s up and coming executives. Spoonemore holds a B.A. in English from Pomona College in California and a Master’s degree in English from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

David Cook, COO, CinemaNow
Mr. Cook is responsible for all of CinemaNow's daily business operations including product development, program management, encoding, merchandising and customer service. In addition, he plays an integral roll in setting business strategies and managing key partner relationships. Mr. Cook brings more than 10 years of experience in the development and deployment of digital content management and distribution systems. Mr. Cook comes to CinemaNow from Loudeye where he was responsible for building and implementing their digital supply chain as their Vice President of Media Services. Prior to Loudeye, he served as Vice President of Business Development and Marketing for Addition Systems (formerly MonStar Broadcast Systems), where he lead the company into the advertising based content distribution market through the development of patented technologies and their associated business models. Mr. Cook originally hails from New Zealand.

Stephen Nickerson, SVP, Market Management, Warner Home Video: As the SVP of Market Management for Warner Home Video (WHV), Steve is responsible for worldwide sales and marketing activities. Since joining WHV in 2000 as the Managing Director for WHV’s operations in Australia and New Zealand, Steve has also served in the role of Senior Vice President of U.S. Sales. Prior to joining WHV, Steve spent 16 years in the consumer electronics industry. Most of this time was spent with Toshiba in sales and marketing positions, where he was an integral part of the initial launch and success of DVD hardware sales in the U.S. Additionally, he developed and implemented the business plan which enabled Toshiba to become the market leader in Projection Television in the 90’s. Steve is active in several industry associations: From 1997 - 1999, he served as Chairman for Consumer Electronic Association’s (CEA) Video Division and is a current member of the CEA Executive Board. Steve previously served as president of the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) and is also one of its founding board members.

Larry Gerbrandt, SVP & GM, Nielsen Analytics
Larry Gerbrandt is general manager and SVP of Nielsen Analytics, a new division of VNU’s Media Measurement & Information group, headquartered in Los Angeles. Larry is responsible for developing leading edge research, analyses and valuation services to companies in the media and entertainment space. In addition to original research on emerging technologies, Nielsen Analytics conducts primary consumer-level research and synthesizes top level research from the many VNU divisions, including Nielsen Entertainment, Nielsen Media Research, Claritas, SRDS and Scarborough. His focus is on the convergence of content delivery and consumer media technology and the underlying economic models in the television, motion picture, cable, satellite, music, home video, video game and mobile entertainment.
Prior to joining Nielsen, Larry served in various analytical, editorial and management roles during his twenty year tenure at Kagan World Media, most recently as Chief Operating Officer and also led the media & entertainment practice at AlixPartners LLC. Larry graduated from Regis University with a BA in business administration. He has authored numerous newsletters and special reports, and is a regular speaker at industry conferences including CTAM, NATPE, NCTA, BCFM, CES, NAB, MIP and MIPCOM. Larry has been quoted in publications as diverse as The Financial Times, Investors Business Daily, Advertising Age, Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times.

Philip Schuman, CEO & Co-Founder, HighView Media
HighView Media is a media advisory and management firm that provides specialized strategy and implementation services to the media telecommunications, television and broadband industries. Prior to forming HighView Media, Mr. Schuman was Co-President of Universal Studios Television Distribution where he was responsible for the successful management of the global theatrical and television product distribution organization for Universal Studios, Inc. Mr. Schuman started at Universal as Vice President of Business Affairs in 1995. Previously, Mr. Schuman was Senior Transactions Counsel, at a division of General Electric. He began his career obtaining extensive, relevant experience specializing in mergers and acquisitions and securities at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling in New York.

Scott Kirsner, Editor, CinemaTech / Contributing Writer, Variety: Scott writes for Variety from San Francisco, and has been a contributing writer for Fast Company and Wired since 1997. He edits the blog CinemaTech (https://cinematech.blogspot.com), which focuses on the ways that new technologies are changing the entertainment industry, and is the author of The Future of Web Video: New Opportunities for Producers, Entrepreneurs, Media Companies and Advertisers, published in November 2006. Scott writes the monthly "Entertainment 2.0" column for the Boston Globe, which runs on Sundays, and his writing has also appeared in the New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Salon, the San Jose Mercury News, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Newsweek, among other publications. Scott is a frequent moderator and event host, and is also one of the founders of the annual Nantucket Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation (www.nantucketconference.com), and Future Forward: The New England Technology Summit (www.futureforward.com). He is a graduate of Boston University’s College of Communications and the New World School of the Arts, in Miami. He can be reached at skirsner@sbcglobal.net.

Andrew Wallenstein, Digital Media Editor, Hollywood Reporter: Andrew is Digital Media & TV Features Editor at The Hollywood Reporter in Los Angeles. He is also co-host of TV Guide Channel's weekly series Square Off and TV critic for the National Public Radio program Day to Day. He has been a commentator on television-related matters on CNN, CNBC, ESPN, E! and MTV and has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

Brian Kalinowski, COO, Lycos
Brian is responsible for developing and implementing Lycos’s business and operations strategies. With more than 20 years experience in strategic planning, operations and P&L management, and merger & acquisition strategy, Brian brings an innovative corporate vision to his management and direction of Lycos's diverse suite of products and services. Under Brian's direction, Lycos has launched premiere products over the past six months including Lycos Phone, and the newly enhanced Lycos Mail and Lycos Video Search services.  During his tenure with Lycos from 1997 through 2000, Brian served as General Manager of the Lycos Entertainment group and Director of the Multimedia Services team, managing the strategic planning and development of first-to-market products including Lycos MP3 Search, Lycos Multimedia Search, Lycos Radio and Lycos TV. Under Brian's direction, Lycos continues to roll-out innovative video platforms and services.

Adrian Sexton, EVP of Digital, Participant Productions
Adrian Sexton is Executive Vice President in charge of Digital at Participant Productions. Reporting to CEO Jim Berk, Sexton oversees Participant’s expansion into global media, the production of new programs and digital distribution. Sexton will also lead new digital initiative partnerships and strategic acquisitions.  Prior, Adrian was a founding member of TAG Strategic. Before that, Adrian was the Vice President of Digital Media at Lionsgate Entertainment (NYSE & TSX: LGF). As Executive Director of Business Development for Lionsgate, Sexton spearheaded the studio's interaction with strategic technology partners in digital content marketing, advertising, strategy and distribution. He directly advised top management on digital strategy and identified multiple-platform distribution, marketing and online sales opportunities for Lionsgate's 5000+ title film library in such high-growth markets as web, mobile, digital cinema, anti-piracy/peer-to-peer and IPTV. Since joining Lionsgate in 2000, the market capitalization has risen from $60 million to $1.2 billion dollars. Sexton oversaw the day-to-day production, operations, programming, media planning and business development for all of Lionsgate's online and mobile properties including such titles as American Psycho, Academy Award winner Monster's Ball, Fahrenheit 9/11, the interactive Clio-awarded Saw and Saw II, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Quentin Tarantino's Hostel, Madea's Family Reunion, and 2005 "Best Picture" Academy Award winner Crash. Sexton negotiated a film licensing deal for a BMW-sponsored Digital Cinema program, subsidizing traditional media buys for theatrical releases in partnership with exhibitors. He conceived and developed a 6-minute digital cinema pre-show advertising spot for exhibitors and sales teams, subsidizing pre-show content with organic external advertiser programming. He managed innovative incentive deals with etailers, such as Amazon and Best Buy, to deliver premiere content to increase online ticket and DVD pre-orders and buys. He executed a Nokia Live Action Licensing and Marketing Mobile deal for 100 titles, promoting catalog titles to 300 million Nokia handset users in 44 countries. Prior to the advent of HD DVDs, Sexton produced a Microsoft multi-movie DVD, a new second-tier distribution revenue medium, packaging new content with catalog titles to maximize the library's value. Last, working closely in corporate development with Lionsgate's CEO and Vice Chairman, Sexton facilitated a $350 million credit facility with JP Morgan, involving the acquisition of Artisan Entertainment. Sexton's technical and business leadership have gained him widespread recognition as a thought leader in digital content advertising, distribution and marketing. He has presented at several media conferences, and gave the studio keynote at the 2006 Intel Viiv announcement in Tokyo. Additionally, he has lectured at USC's Digital Arts School and Pepperdine's Graziadio School of Business & Management; has been quoted in the Los Angeles Times (alongside directors Bryan Singer, Peter Jackson, Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. marketing president Dawn Taubin) and Variety; and has advised McKinsey & Co, Boston Consulting Group, Forrester and Gerson Lehrman. He is also an advisory board member on the Interactive TV (ITV) Standards committee. Prior to Lionsgate, he was a director at Mediapact Capital, a media management and investment capital company, which led a $33 million preferred equity position in Lionsgate with strategic partners including Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures, Capital Research and Fidelity Investments. Before Mediapact, he worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment, HBO Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Saban Entertainment in their corporate and creative departments. Sexton graduated with a dual B.A. in Government and English from Cornell University and received his Masters in Film from the University of Southern California as a Phi Kappa Phi fellow.

Rodger Smith, Associate Director, Center for Media Design / Director, Institute for Digital Entertainment and Art (IDEA)
Dr. Rodger Smith is the Associate Director at the Center for Media Design (CMD) and the Director of the Institute for Digital Entertainment and Education (IDEE). Rodger works with high definition cinema, live theatre, and interactive media. IDEE looks to develop innovative and immersive curriculums and to partner with outside industry to create content for a variety of traditional and mobile platforms. For the past two years Rodger has been the Executive Producer for two student films winning the Student Academy Award for Alternate Film sponsored by the Academy for Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Recently, his work has resulted in a number of projects aimed at new wave digital publishing and the creation of a number of high definition cinema pieces (in particular, in the fall of 2006 he created a number of trailers to be delivered to cell phones and is guiding the Digital Entertainment Option Pilot located in downtown Muncie, IN).


Ian Schafer, CEO & Founder, Deep Focus
Ian has consistently redefined the way entertainment properties are marketed online. As former VP of New Media at Miramax/Dimension Films, Ian was behind their most popular online campaigns including Bridget Jones's Diary and Spy Kids. Prior to joining Miramax Films, Ian was responsible for much of The Walt Disney Company’s online media planning, buying, and creative direction at interactive agency i-traffic. In 2002, Ian founded Deep Focus to bring a holistic suite of digital marketing and promotional solutions to the entertainment industry. Deep Focus' current clients include: HBO, Court TV, Comedy Central, MTV, The Weinstein Company, Twentieth Century Fox, New Line Cinema, Picturehouse, Fox Searchlight, Miramax Films, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Records, Nike, Bacardi, and many others. Under Schafer’s guidance, Deep Focus has executed numerous award-winning campaigns. Its campaign for HBO’s Entourage, “Interview with Ari” was recently named Best Use of Video for 2006 by Adweek Magazine. Deep Focus’ HBO/Sopranos “The Sopranos: Crime. Organized.” campaign has garnered the agency a number of awards including: the Gold Award in the Super-Rich Media category at the MIXX Awards in September and first place at Promo Magazine’s PRO Awards in October for Best Use of Interactive Media or Electronic Direct Marketing. It was also nominated for an Emmy� in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for the Non-Synchronous Enhancement of Original Television Content. Ian has been featured as an expert in online marketing and social media by The New York Times, USA Today, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, AdWeek, Advertising Age, Media Magazine, BBC and CNN and is also a regular columnist for ClickZ Network on Rich and Streaming Media. Ian is a graduate of The George Washington University and currently resides in New York City.

Daniel Hawes, President & Executive Producer, March Entertainment: March Entertainment is an award-winning creator of digital entertainment content for TV, Internet and wireless platforms. What does this mean? Well, it means that we make movies, TV shows, web/wireless webisodes and games. What makes us different? We produce the entire life-cycle of content from creating, developing, writing, voice directing and animating to doing final audio/video post production. From here we deliver to our TV broadcast customers or our web/wireless based audience. Since our inception in 1996 as a high-end web content provider, we have based our business model on one simple philosophy: "Content is King". As networks, technology and platforms become commodities, the only truly sustainable advantage will be a company's ability to create and deliver content. It was with that mindset that we created Chilly Beach - one of the first web-based cartoons in North America to make the leap from web to TV. Chilly Beach has become CBC's number one youth series and remains a favorite on the web. Our strength lies in our ability to blend technology with good old fashioned creativity to visualize and produce content that is deliverable through different media. This allows our audience to interact with our stories and games whether they are watching TV, surfing the web, on their cell phone or even watching a show on their video iPODTM. We are positioned to take advantage of the new trends in e-business, including Video on Demand, DVD compilations and portal development. We have a host of new projects in production and development including a number of new web series set to launch on our web/wireless comedy portal www.ilaugh.com.

Ken Rutkowski, Founder, Media Entertainment Technology Alliance
Ken Rutkowski is one of most broadly-informed and connected people in the media, entertainment and technology (MET) market. A true industry insider, Ken’s relationships span senior managers of leading technology companies to studio executives; from small software companies innovating the next generation of MET products/services to IT outsourcers and consultants. Part pundit, part matchmaker, part strategist - Ken helps start-ups to multi-national corporations understand the trends shaping their industries and connect with the people that matter. As pundit, Ken’s daily Internet and radio talk show, World Tech Round-Up, is a must-listen-to source of inside information for over 186,000 Internet listeners in over 40 countries - regularly scooping the major media and giving perspective to emerging trends, developments and industry maneuvers. His Daily Tech Clicks newsletter and IQ Report are distributed 5 days/week to the technology, entertainment and business elite. As matchmaker, Ken opens doors for clients across the media, entertainment and digital technology landscape. In 2000, he founded METal, a networking group of 100+ MET industry influencers that meet for breakfast and information sharing each Saturday in Los Angeles. Additionally, he co-hosts MET Salon, one of Los Angeles’ premier invitation-only networking events. As strategist, Ken helps clients utilize emerging technology developments to create new business models, identify revenue opportunities and out-maneuver competitors. Combining his deep understanding of MET convergence with an insider’s perspective of the problems facing the industry today, Ken crafts breakthrough strategies that leverage innovations in the digital economy. On an international level, Ken works with countries such as Finland, Australia and Holland - helping them fortify their technology outreach story and strategy. In his public role, Ken is a founding member of the Streaming Media Executive Committee and is on the board of several media, entertainment and technology companies. He is a much-sought-after speaker/moderator at conferences around the world. He regularly appears as a guest correspondent for Fox 11 KTTV and Fox’s Good Day LA - talking about everything from new tech gadgets to important websites.

Ned Sherman, CEO & Publisher, Digital Media Wire, Inc.
Ned Sherman is CEO and Publisher of Digital Media Wire, Inc., where he works at the center of the rapidly growing digital media industry. Under his leadership, Digital Media Wire has grown from a small newsletter publisher into a well-respected B-to-B brand that owns and produces six annual conferences - Digital Music Forum East and West, Future of Television Forum, Digital Media Conference, Future of Film Conference, LA Games Conference and The Millennials - and provides daily news, information and community to tens of thousands of executives and professionals at entertainment, media and technology companies throughout the world. As digital media community-builder, Ned has established partnerships with the leading B-to-B media companies and educational institutions, including VNU Business Media, Billboard Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Reed Business Information, Multichannel News, Business 2.0, Business Week, CableFax/CableWorld, VIBE/SPIN, MidemNet, NYU's Stern School of Business, USC's Center for Telecom Management and UCLA's Anderson School of Management, and hundreds of the leading digital media companies, including Microsoft, Real Networks, Sony Corporation of America, AOL Time Warner, Napster, Yahoo! and many more. An expert on legal issues and business methods, Ned provides value to his clients and partners by offering timely news and research, producing executive forum on cutting-edge topics, and leveraging his extensive network of media assets and strategic relationships across games, music, film, television and mobile industries. Ned's background is in law. Before joining Digital Media Wire, Ned spent 7+ years as a corporate and entertainment attorney practicing at several of the leading law firms in the world with an international client base across industries including technology, Internet, media and entertainment. As a founding member of the iLaw Group in the Entertainment Department at Loeb & Loeb LLP in Century City, he handled complex licensing transactions and financings for media and entertainment clients including Universal Studios and MGM and launched dozens of Internet and new media start-ups. He has counseled company founders from initiation of a business plan to seed, angel, venture capital and later-stage private financings and managed all legal aspects of Internet clients from corporate organization, stockholder relationships, board compositions and dynamics, stock option plans, capital raising and security regulatory matters, Internet law issues, trademark, copyright, content and technology licensing, advertising and privacy issues. From 1997 to 1999, he practiced in the Los Angeles office of Mayer, Brown & Platt where his practice centered on representation of U.S. and foreign banks in complex lending transactions. From 1995 to 1997, he was a foreign lawyer at Nishimura & Partners in Tokyo, Japan, where his practice involved international mergers and acquisitions and the formation of technology and entertainment joint venture companies. He also served as President of the Roppongi Bar Association in Tokyo. In 2000, he was an Adjunct Lecturer of Law at Tulane University Law School where he taught an entertainment law seminar. Ned is a graduate of Brown University (AB, with honors, 1990) and the University of Texas School of Law (JD, 1994) where he was Chief Articles & Notes Editor of the Texas International Law Journal. Ned is a frequent speaker at media and entertainment industry events, including MidemNet (moderator at 2004 and 2005 conferences), Digital Music Forum (host and moderator, 2001-2005), Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards (co-chair and host, 2004) and the O2 Digital Media Awards (judge 2004), and has been quoted in publications including American Lawyer, The Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and Crain's Mermigas on Media, and interviewed on National Public Radio (NPR), NY1 Evening News and nationally syndicated radio shows, Inside Digital Media, WebTalk and Online Tonight with David Lawrence. He sits on the Board of Directors of Wild Way, a non-profit dedicated to cultivating environmental awareness and developing educational programs for inner-city and “at risk” kids and has traveled extensively from Europe to Asia to South America to Northern Africa. Ned is married and lives with his wife and son in Hollywood Hills, California.

Jamiah Adams is the Outreach Director of Brave New Theaters. She will be spreading the word to filmmakers about the Brave New Theaters alternative distribution model. Additionally her work with the Brave New Foundation will involve working with nonprofit groups. Coming from the production world, Jamiah most recently produced original web content for Innertube, the new CBS web programming outlet. In 2002, Jamiah secured permission from the OFAC section of the U.S. Treasury Department to travel to Cuba and began production on an independently produced and grassroots funded documentary entitled, "Mujeres de Hip-Hop Cubana" (Women of Cuban Hip-Hop) which is currently in post-production.

Christine Gambito is the creator of www.happyslip.com for which she writes, acts and edits short form videos. Her website, powered by Revver.com, is experiencing exponential growth as the word spreads through YouTube, MySpace and iTunes. Since posting her first video on YouTube five months ago, her videos have reached over 5 million viewers. The HappySlip channel in those five months has gained over 23,000 subscribers giving her the #14 place of Most Subscribed Channel of All Time on YouTube. The videos comprise a variety show which gives ample warning that viewers may be subject to slipping into happiness.

Nancy Fares is the Business Manager for DLP Cinema� Products and DLP� Catalog groups.  DLP� is the fastest growing digital projection technologies enabling high quality projection in conference rooms, large entertainment halls, homes and movie theaters world wide.   DLP� technology is known for its outstanding image quality and product reliability.  Nancy has product line responsibilities, Profit and Loss (P&L), product marketing and overall strategy for the DLP Cinema� Products group and DLP� Catalog.  DLP Cinema� is enabling the transition of movie theaters from film to Digital projection and is now largely deployed in theaters world wide. Prior to this role, Nancy was the Director of Quality for DLP� Products.  As a member of the DLP� leadership team, Nancy’s primary responsibility was to establishing quality foundation and policies for DLP� in support of short term and long term business goals. Nancy’s prior assignments at TI included business manager for home routers in the Broadband business unit, marketing management for several product lines, worldwide applications and systems’ engineering management and analog design. Nancy was born in Cairo Egypt and migrated to the Dallas TX in 1986.  She joined the University of Texas in Dallas, where she completed her studies and received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.  Nancy also holds a Masters of Science in Telecommunication from Southern Methodist University at Dallas and an Executive MBA from the University of Texas in Austin. Nancy is a graduate of the Leadership Texas class 2004.   She now lives in Plano, Texas with her husband and two children.

In 2006, a group of writers, directors, and producers formed a nimble and proactive company with a vision for the future of internet entertainment.  Big Fantastic, LLC is the collaboration of these artists, who are dedicated to telling stories in the digital space.  Extensive experience, combined with a hands-on style of filmmaking, generates network-caliber content with the kind of immediacy web audiences crave.  A multi-faceted production model with a horizontal approach to storytelling enables Big Fantastic to explore broader stories over multiple platforms, creating an unparalleled depth of experience that envelops viewers in the drama.  Their flagship web series, “Sam Has 7 Friends”, is widely considered a pioneering effort in the realm of video podcasting.  Big Fantastic has found a new way to deliver drama: in daily, ninety-second episodes that hook the audience, and keep them coming back for more. 

David Straus, Co-Founder and CEO, Withoutabox, Inc. - David Straus brings an entrepreneur’s ingenuity, an idealist’s passion and an innovator’s vision to his position as Chief Executive Officer of Withoutabox, Inc., the market leading network for independent filmmakers that he created with his partner Joe Neulight in 1999.  Withoutabox launched at the height of the late 20th century tech boom, inspired by the two founders’ frustrations as independent filmmakers trying to navigate through the costly, cumbersome film festival submission process. The partners, who first started working together when they were graduate students at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, devised the International Film Submission System,  which enables independent filmmakers to submit their work to as many or as few festivals as they choose simply by filling in an online application.  While other companies sputtered when the technology bubble burst, Withoutabox thrived. It serves a crucial need for an ever growing population of filmmakers, and an expanding number of festivals as well. It’s also helping drive the democratization of the movie business, one that is changing the rules of distribution, marketing and exhibition.  For Mr. Straus, these high ambitions were part of the plan all along. He cites as a source of inspiration Hollywood pioneer Carl Laemmle, although the two men pursued polar opposite courses. While Laemmle was credited by many for spearheading the first true motion picture studio because consolidation was the only way to make films profitably, Withoutabox is a leader in the effort to dramatically decentralize filmmaking, putting the power and control back in the hands of individual filmmakers.  After completing his undergraduate degree at Claremont College’s Pitzer campus, Mr. Straus chose to pursue a career in the motion picture business while on a Fulbright Scholarship to Hungary. That grew out of his efforts to help Jewish Refuseniks leave the Soviet Union.  Seeing the restrictions young people endured in Budapest at the time, he resolved to give up on his plans for law school and instead followed his passion to make movies.  After hooking up with Mr. Neulight at UCLA, the two quickly developed a lucrative side business of buying post-production equipment cheaply and then renting it to their fellow filmmaking graduate students. It funded their graduate school tuition, as well as their own student projects, and planted an entrepreneurial seed that would soon sprout as Withoutabox.  Working as producers, directors and writers, Mr. Straus and Mr. Neulight made a number of short films that played widely and successfully on the international film festival circuit. Mr. Straus was also a producer on “Amy’s Orgasm,” a feature that secured domestic distribution and was voted the audience prize at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.  This experience as filmmakers meant the two men traveled to festivals as disperse as Telluride in the mountains of Utah and India for the Bombay Film Festival, they learned first hand how difficult and inefficient it was for independent filmmakers to gain visibility - as well as compensation - for their work.  While enduring the frustrations of trying to market one of their films at a festival in New York in 1999, they set out to create a service that addressed the needs of independent filmmakers, and festivals. Mr. Neulight, who possesses a knack for technology, conceived of the International Film Submission System, and Mr. Straus spearheaded the idea of creating a company that would serve the needs of filmmakers at festivals, and beyond. Starting with just a handful of filmmakers as members and a few festivals as customers, Withoutabox has now grown to nearly 100,000 film rights holders, and close to 600 festivals that depend on the company to bring them top filmmakers and superior films. It has the largest database of independent films and film rights in the world, and Mr. Straus has become a sought-after expert on maximizing value of independent films.  In the last year, the company has expanded its offerings to include services that enable independent filmmakers to market their films themselves, self-distribute their work and even sell DVDs, all outside the major studio system. With the new Audience By Withoutabox, the company has become a player in the growing social networking phenomenon that the Internet enables.  Mr. Straus and his colleagues at Withoutabox are continuing to add functions that underscore his commitment to democratize the filmmaking process. He has made it a mission to knock down walls that limit opportunities for artists, which is one reason he chose Withoutabox as the name of the company. For this Los Angeles native, the process of freeing filmmakers has just begun.

Ted Hong Vice President, Marketing, Fandango, Inc.
Hong leads Fandango's marketing and public relations initiatives. He brings nearly 15 years of business experience in marketing, strategy and general management from small start ups to $200MM global brands. He joined Fandango in 2003 as director of marketing, overseeing brand strategy, marketing planning and execution, co-marketing, offline and online advertising, market research and new business evaluation. He was instrumental in launching the nationally-recognized Fandango Bag Puppet advertising campaign. Prior to Fandango, he was a head of marketing for the .TV Corporation, a web identity services provider acquired by Verisign Inc. in 2003. At .TV Hong led marketing efforts for the international and wholesale divisions of the company. Hong also spent several years at Nestle USA in brand management for the Chocolate and Confections division on the Butterfinger brand and the Halloween and Valentine's Day seasonal businesses. He also has experience in management consulting for Gemini Consulting, non-profit management for the California Alumni Association and professional sports for the Golden State Warriors. Hong received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA in Political Economy from UC Berkeley.

Scott Zakarin is an online programming pioneer, having created the first episodic Internet serial in 1995, "The Spot." He partnered with Brandon Tartikoff in AOL's original production studio in the late 1990s called Entertainment Asylum. Zakarin was one of the producers of the award-winning "Comic Book: The Movie" and he and Cesternino were producers, with Camuso as executive producer, on the reality series "Kill Reality" for E! Entertainment Television. That series resulted in the feature-length DVD movie "The Scorned," released to retailers in 2006 by Anchor Bay Entertainment. Zakarin directed and co-wrote the 2006 Internet webisodic phenomenon "Soup of the Day." Echo Bridge Home Entertainment released a 2 disc DVD set of Soup of the Day in February 2007. "Technology allows mass audiences to enjoy a new form of programming in multiple formats," Zakarin says. "Tens of thousands of MySpace members and other web users were interacting and influencing "Soup of The Day" characters on their computer or iPod." In late 2006 the team created and launched the NoHoGirls franchise for LiveVideo.com. The franchise revolves around groups of roommates from the various neighborhoods of Los Angeles. The NoHoGirls series gets several hundred thousand viewers each day in total for the four groups currently launched. The current Iron Sink Media programming slate can be viewed here. In January 2007 Iron Sink Media partnered with actor William Shatner to produce ShatnerVision, a daily video with William and his daughter, Lisabeth on various topics of interest to his fanbase. ShatnerVision videos can be found on https://www.ShatnerVision.com.

Carlos Montalvo joined Jaman after a 10 year tenure at Apple where he served as VP and GM of the Interactive Media and QuickTime Group. Carlos was also part of the successful IPO of Virage Inc. (an internet video search pioneer) where he served as Chief Marketing Officer. Carlos began his career in Silicon Valley with the Xerox Corporation, where he was a member of the UNICODE and J-STAR product teams. Prior to Xerox he held several positions in the public sector including the National Science Foundation and a Presidential Appointment at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Brent Weinstein is the Head of the Digital Media Dept. at United Talent Agency, a leading talent and literary agency based in Beverly Hills, CA. Weinstein bridges the gap between agency clients and various forms of new media including games, broadband, and mobile. Weinstein, along with a team of dedicated digital media agents, identifies and evaluates opportunities for the agency's actors, writers, directors, producers, and recording artists, in addition to numerous business-to-business and consumer-oriented technology and corporate clients. Prior to joining UTA in 2001, Weinstein practiced corporate law in Los Angeles and Irvine, California. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California where he earned a Bachelors degree in Business Administration, and also the University of San Diego School of Law.

Jill Gwen is the CFO and Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations for Fox Searchlight Pictures.   She has been with Searchlight since its inception 12 years ago, and oversees all financial and operational aspects of the company, including production, story development, acquisitions, term deals, marketing, distribution, academy campaigns, exhibitor relations and organizational restructurings.  She has worked on films including Little Miss Sunshine, Last King of Scotland, Notes On A Scandal, Thank You for Smoking, Sideways, Napoleon Dynamite, Boys Don't Cry, Garden State, Bend It Like Beckham, One Hour Photo, and goes as far back as The Full Monty. Jill also oversaw the formation of Fox Atomic, the new genre division targeted to reach the 17-21 year old audience.  Prior to Searchlight, she was with 20th Century Fox's International Theatrical division, and she began her entertainment career at Walt Disney Studios where she did International Financial Planning. Jill was also the Key Note Speaker at the Global Film Financing Conference in Cannes in 2003. She has a B.S. degree from U.S.C. in Finance & Business Economics, and earned her M.B.A. in Marketing Management from Loyola Marymount University while working full time at Walt Disney.

Keith Fleer is a multi-faceted entertainment lawyer who represents writers, actors, directors, producers, authors and rights holders with respect to the negotiation and documentation of motion picture and television development, production financing, production and distribution and book publishing. He also counsels independent motion picture, television and new media companies on strategic planning, financing and day-to-day legal needs. Prior to joining Loeb & Loeb, Mr. Fleer was executive vice president of Melvin Simon Productions, a major independent producer of theatrical motion pictures, as well as vice president of business affairs for Warner Bros.

Kent Nichols is a storyteller, technology geek, and goofball. In 2000 Kent dedicated his life to comedy. He spent every waking moment studying filmmaking and the craft of improvisation and he learned how to make funny movies with only his friends, an iMac, and a MiniDV camera. In 2003 his film "Baggage" won the International 48 Hour Film Project and Scott Billups called him the future of the Entertainment industry in his book "Digital Moviemaking". In 2005, Kent along with writing partner Douglas Sarine, created the Internet sensation AskANinja.com, which has been viewed over 30 million times.

 

 

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