12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
Track I - GP5:
Games & Hollywood: From Feature & TV Crossover Development to Merchandising and Brand Extension
In today’s global entertainment environment, the successful extension of a franchise is not only part and parcel of the business plan, it is also welcomed and embraced by the consumer. The power, quality and popularity of the various entertainment mediums, make it possible for a game to enable a successful movie franchise, just as a successful ‘70s TV show can be recast as a worldwide movie blockbuster. This of course can start the cycle all over again, generating the next generation of game, DVD, toys, CD, t-shirts, live events and so on. Unique to this phenomenon today however, is the need to protect the brand as it is extended into each category. Competition and consumer sophistication today demand a level of creativity in the games, movies and TV shows produced, something that brand extension itself can not overcome.
Larry Shapiro, creator & co-head, Video Game Department, Creative Artists Agency
Charles Hirschhorn, founder & CEO, G4 TechTV
Cody Alexander, William Morris Consulting, a division of the William Morris Agency
Brad Foxhoven, President, Tiger Hill Entertainment
Jay Cohen, Vice President of Publishing, Ubisoft
Jason Hall, Senior Vice President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Matt Ringel, President, Games Media Properties, Moderator
Charles Hirschhorn, President & Chief Executive Officer, G4 TechTV: A veteran
Hollywood television and motion picture executive, Charles Hirschhorn is the president and CEO of G4techTV - the first and only 24/7 television network all about games, gadgets, gear and gigabytes. The channel, formed by the spring 2004 merger of G4 and TechTV, reaches more than 44 million cable and satellite homes. Prior to creating G4, Hirschhorn spent 10 years at The Walt Disney Company in various management roles in both the motion pictures and television divisions. He began at Disney as VP of Production for Hollywood Pictures, and then moved on to become Executive VP. Hirschhorn next took on the role of President for Disney Telefilms and was subsequently promoted to President of Walt Disney Television and Television Animation. Concurrently, he served as EVP of Production for the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. During his tenure at Disney, Hirschhorn was responsible for the development and production of theatrical motion pictures, including "The Joy Luck Club," "Quiz Show" and "The Santa Clause." For the TV and TV animation group, he oversaw Disney Telefilms, including all live-action films airing on "The Wonderful World of Disney" — which he re-launched on ABC in 1997 — as well as all animated series and specials for Disney Video Premieres and Movietoons. Before joining Disney, Hirschhorn was VP of Development for Fox Broadcasting, where he managed the network’s primetime programming and developed the Emmy® Award-winning series "In Living Color." He was also Associate Producer on the film "Bull Durham" and Executive Producer on "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." In addition to his duties at G4techTV, Hirschhorn is the founding partner of Fountain Productions, an independent production company which produces theatrical motion pictures, TV movies and direct-to-video films. Credits include the critically-acclaimed TV movie "The Miracle Worker," and "Ladies and the Champ" for "The Wonderful World of Disney" and the film "Inspector Gadget II" for Buena Vista Home Video. Hirschhorn earned a BA from Harvard College and served as an Arts Management Fellow for the National Endowment for the Arts. He serves on the Board of The Harvard College Office of the Arts and The National Multiple Sclerosis Society.Larry Shapiro created and Co-Heads the Video Game Department of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a literary and talent agency based in Beverly Hills, CA. At CAA, Shapiro is in charge of all game initiatives focusing on integrating the Video Game industry with the Motion Picture and Television industries in order to create the next generation of cross platform franchises. Recently, Shapiro has been responsible for setting up movies for such game franchises as Half Life, Return To Castle Wolfenstein, Doom and Dead To Rights which will star Nic Cage. Shapiro recently sold a TV show to FOX by teaming up Game Designer Will Wright and TV Producer John Collier. Before joining CAA, Shapiro worked as Vice President and General Manager of Stromlo Entertainment, a computer games company in Melbourne, Australia that was an affiliate label to Electronic Arts Australia. At Stromlo, Shapiro set up all production procedures and managed two development teams that were producing PC action games for EA. Prior to, he worked as Executive Producer of New Media at Palomar Pictures, where he was credited with establishing their new media division and was responsible for its business and development. While at Palomar, Shapiro worked with Electronic Arts helping them bring Hollywood production values to some of their top franchises including Road Rash 3D, Soviet Strike and Nuclear Strike. Those titles all went platinum. A graduate of Tisch School of the Arts, Shapiro went on to produce over 100 music videos and commercials for Propaganda Films. In television, Larry was a producer on the hit Nickelodeon series "Salute Your Shorts." In 95, Shapiro teamed up with Record Producer turned Director Don Was and received an Emmy nomination for producing the film "Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times" which was also named one of the top ten programs of 1995 by Time Magazine. The team also received a Grammy nomination for the short film "Forever’s a Long Time," produced as part of a music film series for Executive Producer Francis Ford Coppola. Some of Shapiro’s clients include Will Wright, Lorne Lanning, and Id Software.
Cody Alexander, William Morris Consulting, a division of the William Morris Agency: As a member of William Morris Consulting, a division of the William Morris Agency, Mr. Alexander assists corporate clients with strategies to adapt and succeed in an evolving media and entertainment landscape. He advises clients such as General Motors, Harrah’s Casinos, The Beverly Hilton Hotel and Texas Instruments, with a focus on the application of entertainment technologies. In addition to representing corporations, Mr. Alexander also oversees videogames for William Morris, representing writers and directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Bryan Singer, Ridley Scott and Randall Wallace. Mr. Alexander joined William Morris in December of 1999. Prior to that, he was in business development for The Image Bank, a subsidiary of Kodak and a consultant for Energy Film Library, a Getty Images company. Mr. Alexander is a graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he earned a Bachelors in Cinema/Television.
Jay Cohen, Vice President of Publishing, Ubisoft: Jay joined Ubisoft in 1
996 as Business Affairs Manager and was quickly promoted to Senior Manager of Business Affairs and Development. After working for Accolade as International Manager in 1998, Jay rejoined the Ubisoft team as Director of Publishing. Jay was promoted to Vice President of Publishing in 2002. Jay is involved in almost every aspect of the sales and marketing for Ubisoft products in the United States, including product acquisitions, licensing, product management, marketing and sales. Jay has an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. When he’s not launching new products, you can find Jay somewhere in the mountains – biking, hiking or skiing down a black diamond trail.Jason Hall, Senior Vice President for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainm
ent, leads WBIE in creating and managing the Studio’s long-term interactive gaming goals and business objectives by leveraging its world-class brands across all current and future platforms. Prior to WBIE, Jason had been C.E.O. and founder of Monolith Productions Inc., which Warner Bros. Entertainment recently acquired. Previously, Jason managed the multimedia department at Edmark Corporation and worked as a lead engineer at Broderbund Software. His career includes stints as a stockbroker, Marine, musician/composer, sound engineer and game developer. Jason understands the game-buying market because he is the demographic - a gamer, a technology buff and a gaming fan. His rare industry experience spans a broad range - from growing a high profile 3D technology licensing business to overseeing complete retail publishing and development efforts.Brad Foxhoven, President, Tiger Hill Entertainment: In the Spring of 2002, capitalizing on his experience in building and managing original creative franchises in the various entertainment industries, partnered with John Woo, the director of such feature films as "Hard Boiled", "Face/Off" and "Mission Impossible 2", and his production partner Terence Chang, to form a new entertainment company called Tiger Hill Entertainment. The new company’s focus would be on creating and producing original franchise content based on John Woo’s concepts and previous Hong Kong movie franchises for the interactive gaming space, with the intention of taking such franchises back into film and television. Beginning his career in the comic book industry, Mr. Foxhoven transformed Top Cow Productions, a small independent comic book publisher at the time, into a successful entertainment company and the third largest publisher in the US. During his tenure as President, he expanded Top Cow’s operations into all aspects of entertainment including trading card and action figure production, various merchandise and overseas licensing programs, and spearheaded strategic deals including a $4 million dollar investment from Eidos Interactive, a leading video game publisher known for its popular title, "Tomb Raider". Most notably, Mr. Foxhoven was instrumental in establishing several of Top Cow’s comic book franchises into film and television projects, particularly the live action television series, "Witchblade", now in its second season on TNT of which Mr. Foxhoven serves as a Producer; and "Fathom" at Twentieth Century Fox and James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, of which Mr. Foxhoven is attached as Executive Producer. He orchestrated several other projects with companies such as Warner Brothers, MGM, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Alliance/Atlantis, Fox Kids, Lion Rock Productions and Miramax/Dimension Films. Looking to expand the boundaries of content creation and production, Mr. Foxhoven broadened his creative scope to the Internet in the early part of 1999, co-founding Eruptor Entertainment and serving as its Chairman & Chief Executive Officer. Eruptor would go on to become a leading wireless and online entertainment and gaming company, creating over twenty-five online shows and fifteen wireless applications including such franchises as "Jonni Nitro", "The Marty Show" and the wireless success, "PortaPets" which was featured in the Wall Street Journal and Wired Magazine. This past year, Brad produced wireless games for Sony with Cingular Wireless based on the "Spider-man" movie, and for iAyala/Globetel in the Philippines based on the "Star Wars" franchise with LucasArts and "Sex in the City" with HBO. He is a regular speaker at conferences including iWireless, PocketPCSummit, Wireless World, Digital Hollywood, ComicCon International and E3. Prior to working in the entertainment industry, Mr. Foxhoven graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Matthew Ringel, President, Games Media Properties: Matthew Ringel is regarded as one of the leading figures in connecting the worlds of video games and brand marketing. As President of Games Media Properties, a venture of the William Morris Agency, Ringel is responsible for the creation of properties, programming and strategies that integrate video game franchises into other mainstream media, entertainment and branding campaigns. Ringel also serves as Executive Producer of GameRiot, a groundbreaking gaming experience going to the Lollapalooza Festival and Best Buy stores. Knows for his pioneering work in branding video games and games-based marketing for Fortune 500 companies, Ringel comes to Games Media Properties from advergaming leader YaYa, where he served as Executive Vice President with principal responsibility for business development, strategy and client services. Credited with coining the term and the concept of "advergaming", Ringel identified games-based marketing strategies and created customized entertainment marketing solutions while working closely with YaYa’s principal accounts, including Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Honda, and Siemens. Prior to joining YaYa, Ringel served as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Digital Solutions for digital services firm <kpe>, providing strategic services to its base of media and entertainment clients, leading strategic partnerships, and evaluating new business opportunities. Ringel worked with television networks, studios, and cable operators, providing them with interactive technology solutions that ranged from Web development to interactive television and beyond. He led the creation of business plans and digital solutions for clients such as the World Wrestling Federation, Carsey-Werner-Mandabach, Essence Communications, Discovery Networks, Microsoft, Cablevision, IFC/Bravo Networks, and MetroChannels. A recognized authority on digital media issues, Ringel has been featured in numerous publications, including Adweek, The Hollywood Reporter, Business 2.0, Internet World, Revolution, Newsday, Digitrends, and many others. He is a frequent speaker on the topics of digital media and interactive marketing at Internet World, Digital Hollywood and Jupiter conferences. Ringel also has an extensive background in television and live entertainment. He previously served as President of CAMI Spectrum, the Television and Events Production subsidiary of Columbia Artists, where he developed and produced numerous entertainment properties. Prior to CAMI Spectrum, Ringel served as a strategy consultant for Monitor Company, where he worked with a variety of Fortune 500 corporations in media and brand management. As a producer, his extensive credits most recently include the Brave New World Theater Festival in New York. Ringel earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale, and a Ph.D. from the University of London, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar.