2:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Track I - GP7:
Greenlighting Games: As Budgets and Grosses Expand: From Rights Holders and Title Development to Games Publishers and Hollywood Studios to Brand Extension and Ancillary Rights
In this session, we bring together a group of experts in the games industry who are at the front lines of greenlighting games. While the games industry may out gross the film industry in total revenue, the secrets behind the process of games production are hardly the topic of general conversation in the corridors of Hollywood. Understanding the "secret sauce" of the games industry is the question at hand. What are the elements behind deal-making in the games industry? As game budgets grow and all the creative elements and rights holders in the entertainment process from actors, directors, studios and composers to games developers and games distributors take their place at the table, the process of greenlighting a project become more and more complex. We are pleased to bring together such a distinguished group of experts to give us insight into this process.
Joshua B. Grode, Partner, Liner Yankelevitz Sunshine & Regenstreif
Richard Leibowitz, President, Union Entertainment
Louis Castle, Vice President, Electronic Arts Los Angeles
Don L. Daglow, President and CEO, Stormfront Studios
Kurt Buecheler, President & CEO, The b EQUAL Company
Dan Kelly, Sr. Vice President, THQ
Russell G. Weiss, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Moderator
Joshua B. Grode, Partner, Liner Yankelevitz Sunshine & Regenstreif: Joshua B. Grode is a partner and co- head of the firm's Corporate Department and is spearheading its growing Technology and IP Practice. Mr. Grode's corporate practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions for public and private companies, securities matters, equity and debt financings, and day-to-day corporate governance and operational matters. His intellectual property practice is concentrated in the areas of licensing and intellectual property protection and exploitation. Having worked outside the law firm environment in an operational role, Mr. Grode brings a unique perspective to his practice of law infusing sound legal counsel with real world business experience. Previously, Mr. Grode was Senior Vice-President and group manager of Siegel & Gale, a communication, business and brand consultancy division of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. Mr. Grode received his B.A. from U.C.L.A in 1988 and his J.D. from Loyola University in 1991 where he was a member of the Scott Moot Court Honors Board. He is a member of the Los Angeles and California Bar Associations (Corporate and Intellectual Property Law Sections). He was a Keynote Panelist at the 2001 CTIA Convention, and a Guest Lecturer at the UCLA Anderson School of Business. His publications include: m-Business February 2001 "From Marketing to Adoption - The Viability of Wireless Data Applications" and Digitrends - "The Future of the Wireless Web."
Kurt Buecheler, President & CEO, The b EQUAL Company.: Kurt brings over 20 years of technology management experience and digital media expertise to The b EQUAL Company, along with relationships with numerous consumer content providers. He served as Senior Director of the Windows Media division for 7 years at Microsoft, where he built and managed their largest worldwide Business Development Group (closing 300-700 deals each year) and led a global effort to bring audio and video to the PC. Kurt was a founding team member and VP of Sales and Business Development at eShop Incorporated (an online shopping platform), which was acquired by Microsoft. In addition, he managed U.S. and European sales of tablet PC operating systems for GO Corporation. Kurt also assisted in launching the original PC at IBM, and he held a management position at Xerox.
Don L. Daglow has served as president and CEO of Stormfront Studios sinc
e founding the company in 1988. Stormfront's most recent best-seller is "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" for PS2 and Xbox from EA Games, based on the film from New Line Cinema. Don's work has earned recognition in publications ranging from Computer Gaming World to Inc., Upside, The Red Herring and the San Francisco Business Times. Electronic Games called him "one of the best-known and respected producers in the history of the field." Prior to founding Stormfront, Don served as director of Intellivision game development for Mattel, as a producer at Electronic Arts, and as head of the Entertainment and Education division at Broderbund. He developed the first-ever computer baseball game in 1971 (now recorded in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown), the first mainframe computer role-playing game (1976), the first sim game (Intellivision Utopia, 1982) and the first original play-by-email game (Quantum Space for AOL, 1989). Don co-designed Computer Game Hall of Fame title Earl Weaver Baseball (1987) and the first massively multiplayer online graphic adventure, Neverwinter Nights for AOL (1990). He holds a BA in Creative Writing from Pomona College and a M.Ed. from Claremont Graduate University.Richard Leibowitz, President, Union Entertainment: Rich Leibowitz partnered with Sean O’Keefe to form Union Entertainment in January 2003 to produce films and video games, as well as to manage a select group of top video game companies. Rich began his entertainment career as an attorney for Paramount Pictures’ Domestic Television department, became Rysher Entertainment’s Vice President of International Business and Legal Affairs and brought his entertainment deal-making experience to the video game industry in 1999. Since then, Rich has helped put dozens of games and several motion pictures in production.
Louis Castle, Vice President, Electronic Arts Los Angeles: As a Vice P
resident and a senior studio leader at EALA, Louis Castle is responsible for assisting the studio’s management team in developing EALA’s business strategies, as well as helping EALA’s creative teams realize their product vision. Castle was co-founder of Westwood Studios, which became a part of EALA in January 2003. EALA creates product for some of the most successful and best-known intellectual properties within Electronic Arts’ formidable portfolio including the original product lines of Medal of Honor and Command & Conquer and licensed properties Lord of the Rings and James Bond. Prior to EALA, Castle was the General Manager of Westwood Studios from 2000-2003 and served in creative, business and financial roles while growing Westwood from two employees in 1985 to over 250 in two locations in 2002. In his creative roles, Castle has contributed as executive producer, creative director, technical director, programmer and artist to over 100 games created by Westwood over the past 18 years. His business positions include serving as the COO and finance officer for Westwood Studios between 1992 and 2000, a period in which the company negotiated 4 multinational acquisitions. Castle is passionate about the products and the people who create them. His role as Vice President at EALA allows him to leverage his considerable interactive entertainment experience to add value across the spectrum of EALA’s creative and business developments.Dan Kelly, Senior Vice President of Business Development, THQ Inc.: As the Senior Vice President of Business Development for THQ Inc., a leading publisher in the video game and entertainment software industry, Dan is responsible for identifying and acquiring new properties for THQ to publish. Recent games announced or published as a result of THQ’s business development efforts include Full Spectrum Warrior, Big Mutha Truckers, Destroy All Humans!, Warhammer 40,0000: Dawn of War and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost. Before joining THQ, Dan was an executive with The Walt Disney Company, where his responsibilities included business development and strategy for Disney's Consumer Products Division. As part of his tenure with Disney, he guided global strategy for Disney's book and magazine businesses, played a leading role in the turnaround of Disney Interactive, and negotiated the relationship with Square Enix to create Kingdom Hearts. Dan also served as President of Marketing and Distribution for the television production company Cartoon Pizza, a spin-off from The Walt Disney Company. Dan earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Economics from Vanderbilt University and a Masters degree in Business Administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Russell Weiss is a partner in the Los Angeles and Century City offices of Morrison & Foerster LLP and a Co-Head of its Technology and Entertainment practice and Head of the firmwide Video Game practice. Mr. Weiss specializes in transactional matters and counseling in the fields of entertainment, technology, media and intellectual property with a particular focus on the convergence of entertainment and technology. Mr. Weiss has represented video game, motion picture, television, cable, music, video game and multimedia companies in structuring, negotiating and drafting a broad range of agreements involving the financing, acquisition, development, production, marketing, promotion, distribution, publishing, sale and other exploitation of video games, motion pictures, television and Internet programming, and music. Mr. Weiss also has represented a wide array of technology companies in structuring, negotiating and drafting agreements involving the research, development, licensing, manufacturing, marketing, distribution, sale and other exploitation of technology. He regularly counsels clients on intellectual property and commercial law matters, including, without limitation: piracy; privacy; fair use; the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; digital rights management; advertising; contests, sweepstakes and gaming; right of publicity; and unfair competition. In addition, Mr. Weiss has experience litigating cases involving intellectual property and commercial law issues in federal and state courts. Mr. Weiss has spoken on many panels concerning issues faced by the entertainment, music, video game and technology industries and has been widely quoted in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, CNET News and other publications. Prior to his joining Morrison & Foerster in 1999, Mr. Weiss served as Counsel both in the Motion Picture Division of Columbia Pictures as well as in the Business and Legal Affairs Department of Disney Interactive, Inc. Mr. Weiss received his J.D. in 1994 from Loyola Law School where he was a Staff Writer for the Loyola Law Review. He received his B.A. in 1990 from the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr. Weiss is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association where he serves on the Board of Governors and on the Executive Committee of the Intellectual Property, Internet and New Technologies Section. Mr. Weiss is a member of the California bar.