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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.
more speakers to come...
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