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Tuesday, September 26
2:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Session A:
Film, Music, & TV Creators Evaluate their Transition to the Net
One of the most striking developments in the Net culture is the emergence of well known entertainment industry executives and creative talent in Net ventures. That fact that established players are risking their time, their capital and their name on Net properties says a lot about the future of the entertainment industry. Making the transition from the known into the unknown however, must surely be an interesting, not to mention trying, enterprise. In this session, we bring together a fascinating and diverse group of entertainment industry players who have placed their bets in the Net media culture.
Carole Bayer Sager, founder, Tonos, Grammy®-Winner (Thats What Friends Are For) & Academy Award (Seven Time Nominee)
Neil Braun, President, Media, Vast Video (former President, NBC Entertainment)
Scott Ross, CEO, Digital Domain
Jeff Pollack, Co-Chairman, CEO, Thirsty.Com co-founder of Handprint Entertainment, Director/Producer "Above the Rim" Creator, Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Mark Dippé, Director, Pandemonium, Special Effects for "The Abyss", "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" and "Jurassic Park"
David Grant, President, Fox Television Studios
Robert Lazarus, CEO, Flixer, Moderator
Carole Bayer Sager, founder, Tonos: Carole Bayer Sager's songbook spans 25 years and some of the most popular and successful songs. From the Grammy®-winning "That's What Friends Are For," the Oscar-winning "Arthur's Theme", and the Oscar-nominated "The Prayer," to "Don't Cry Out Loud" and "On My Own", Carole's lyrics have become part of the American vocabulary, and her songs have become standards. Honors for her work include an Academy Award (7 nominations), a Tony Award (2 nominations), an induction into the Songwriter's Hall Of Fame, and this year's Lifetime Achievement Award from the Whitney Houston Foundation. "That's What Friends Are For,"-- co-written with Burt Bacharach, her former writing partner/husband,-- was the No. 1 song of 1986 and won the Grammy® Award for Song Of The Year. They donated their publishing monies to the American Foundation for AIDS Research; the song has continued to heighten awareness of this critical disease as well as raise over two million dollars for research and care. That same year, "On My Own" was not only a Grammy ® nominated song, but also simultaneously No. 1 on three different Billboard charts (there had never been a time when two songwriter-producers topped two lists with two different No. 1 songs in the same year). Ten years later, in 1996, "On My Own" topped the country charts when Reba McEntire -- with Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride and Linda Davis -- re-recorded it and received a Grammy® nomination for best Country Collaboration With Vocals. Carole's songs have been recorded by artists including Barbra Streisand, The Doobie Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Roberta Flack, Peabo Bryson, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Rogers, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, Carly Simon, Cher, Leo Sayer, Dionne Warwick, Phil Collins, Diana Krall; and even Carole herself. Her first album, "Carole Bayer Sager" went platinum in England, Germany, Japan, and Australia, fueled by the No. 1 international single, "You're Moving Out Today." Two more albums followed, plus another hit single, "Stronger Than Before," from the Bacharach-produced album "Sometimes Late At Night." "Come In From The Rain," "Don't Cry Out Loud," "When I Need You," "Midnight Blue," "It's My Turn," "Everything Old Is New Again," "You and Me We Wanted It All" "Groovy Kind Of Love" and "Heartlight" (inspired by the film "ET") are just a few classic Sager songs. Carole lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Chairman and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers and former Warner Bros. Chairman Robert Daly; and her 14-year-old son Cristopher Bacharach.
Neil Braun, President, Media, Vast Video: With a wealth of management experience in the businesses of broadcast, cable, and moviemaking, Neil Braun serves our team as president, media. As such, Mr. Braun oversees the day-to-day operations of the company to assure company goals and industry demands are met. Prior to joining VastVideo, Mr.Braun served as president and chief executive officer of iCast Corporation,a CMGi company. Mr. Braun is a former president of NBC television and corporate officer of the General Electric Company. He has also served as chairman and chief executive officer of Viacom Entertainment and president and chief executive officer of Imagine Film Entertainment. Mr. Braun was the senior vice president of film programming and executive vice president of home video at Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO). While at HBO, Mr. Braun also headed the film financing and home-video activities and was part of the negotiating team for the licensing of pay television. Mr. Braun holds a JD from the University of Chicago and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Dr. Anne Flick, have two children and live in New York City.
Jeff Pollack, Co-Chairman, CEO, Thirsty.Com: It was Jeff Pollack and long time partner Benny Medinas vision of creating an online/offline experience that would capture the essence of youth that fueled their founding of Thirsty.com. As Co-Chairman and CEO, Jeff has the responsibility of developing and executing the overall strategy and vision of the company. He is also the co-founder of Handprint Entertainment, a very successful artist management and production company focused on youth content. Handprint has a prestigious roster of over 150 actors, actresses, directors, writers, and musicians including dozens of the most coveted young names in their respective fields. Bringing more than 10 years as an accomplished writer, director and producer to Thirsty, Pollack has a long history of delivering to youth what they want. It began with the creation of Fresh Prince of Bel Air and the direction of the youth classic Booty Call and lead to the building of Handprint Entertainment and its enormous success focused on the youth market. Pollack will leverage his vast expertise in entertainment and music in the youth market to establish Thirsty as the leading digital infomediary network and lifestyle brand for youth. Pollack is a graduate of USC Film School.
Mark Dippé, Director, Pandemonium: After spending several years becoming an overeducated proto-anarchist, Mark Dippé began a perilously long stint at Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic. His innovative genius played a pivotal role in the creation of the ground-breaking 3D computer animation and other special visual effects for films such as "The Abyss", "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" and "Jurassic Park", each of which earned an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. He went on to direct a variety of commercials, including the Grammy-nominated music video "Dis Is Da Drum" for Herbie Hancock, and the feature film "Spawn". After directing the feature "Spawn", Dippé did not return to ILM as expected. Instead, Dippé started directing commercials through Pandemonium. "I wanted to be part of a smaller group that provided more freedom to take chances and do different things". In the past two years, Dippé has directed ambitious commercials for Honda, Creative Labs, Disney, NTT, Open Site, Briggs & Stratton, and the United States Postal Service. The director now serves as a model for the work Pandemonium seeks. Last summer, high-tech company Creative Labs asked Dippé and Pandemonium to create a pair of special ads to be screened theatrically before the much anticipated "Star Wars - Epidosde I". The result was two larger than life films that created a visceral audio experience for the audiences that could not be achieved outside of a theatre. "We want to work directly with clients to build their brands with special films, be it for television, theatres, or the Internet," says Dippe. "Pandemonium has a group of directors, producers, and artists that share a proven track record of standing apart from the crowd."
Scott Ross is the CEO, President of Digital Domain, Inc., one of the largest full-servi ce digital production studios in Los Angeles. Founded in April, 1993 by Ross, Academy Award-winning director/producer James Cameron, and four-time Academy Award-winning character/creature creator Stan Winston, with initial funding from IBM, and second-wave funding from Atlanta, Georgia-based Cox Enterprises, Digital Domain has established a world-class reputation for innovation and artistry. Digital Domain won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for its contribution to "What Dreams May Come." The company's work on director James Cameron's "Titanic," won the 1997 Academy Award, one of eleven accorded the film. "Titanic" is the highest-grossing film in motion picture history with worldwide theatrical receipts of over 1.8 billion dollars and total revenues in excess of 3 billion dollars. Digital Domain's work has been featured in such projects as "True Lies" (Academy Award Nominee for Best Visual Effects), "Interview with the Vampire," "Apollo 13" (Academy Award Nominee for Best Visual Effects and British Academy Award-winner), "Dante's Peak," "The Fifth Element" (recipient of the 1998 British Academy Award); The Rolling Stones' "Love Is Strong" (1994 Grammy Award-winner); some of advertising's most memorable commercials including the 1994 Cannes Advertising Festival Grand Prix Award-winner Jeep "Snow Covered"; Budweiser "Frogs", "Ants" and "Clydesdales"; and Nike's "Virtual Andre" and "Project Alpha," to name only a few; "Terminator 2-3D," the highest-rated attraction in Universal Studios Florida history; and "Barbie Fashion Designer" a co-venture with Mattel Media, one of the fastest selling titles in CD-ROM history. A native of New York City, Ross began his career in Media Studies at Hofstra University and graduated with a B.S. in Communication Arts in 1974. He returned to Hofstra in June of 1997 when the university awarded him an honorary doctorate degree. From the mid 70's until 1988 Ross served in various positions at One Pass Film and Video, San Francisco's legendary post-production studio. His last position at One Pass was as the company's CEO. In 1988, Ross was recruited by Lucasfilm and became Industrial Light and Magic's General Manager. In 1991, the company reorganized and Ross was named VP of the LucasArts Entertainment Group which was comprised of Skywalker Sound, LucasArts Commercial Productions, LucasArts Attractions, Editdroid/Soundroid and ILM. These five divisions represented the lion's share of LucasArts revenue and had well over 650 employees throughout the world.
Robert Lazarus, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flixer, has over seventeen years of entertainment industry experience in successfully creating and managing both new domestic and international business units as well as building new revenue streams and driving growth. Most recently, Lazarus served as Chief Operating Officer of Paramount-based Mutual Film Company, an independent feature film company uniquely engaged in all aspects of development, production, film finance and international distribution. As COO, Lazarus co-developed and executed the business plans and finance models for the co-financing of six feature films with budgets totaling over $285 million, including A Simple Plan, Primary Colors, and The Jackal. Films produced under Lazarus tenure with Mutual Film include Saving Private Ryan, Hard Rain, and Paulie. Lazarus also staffed and operated Mutual Film International, the international sales, marketing and distribution arm of the company, whose first year revenues were among the top 5 in the industry. Prior to his tenure at Mutual Films, Lazarus held the position of Executive Vice President and General Manager of Turner Broadcasting Systems Turner Pictures Worldwide Distribution, Inc. (TPWD). Here, Lazarus directed operations and planning for all aspects of TPWD including long term strategic planning and tactical functions such as sales, marketing, product acquisitions, business development, customer services, legal and business affairs, management, and financial functions. Among other accomplishments at Turner, including the creation of a strategy to maximize revenues and profits through direct distribution and licensing, Lazarus acquired distribution rights to independently produced feature films. Lazarus also served as President, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Vista Street Entertainment, a producer of independently financed feature films. At Vista Street Lazarus was responsible for worldwide sales and distribution in all media by establishing relationships with leading independent distributors in numerous markets. His efforts were focused on creating content to drive the explosion of the video business and using his foresight to help deliver product appropriate for that market. Lazarus began his entertainment career with the Walt Disney Company at The Disney Channel, where he was Western Regional Affiliate Sales and Marketing Manager for the premium pay cable service. At The Disney Channel he managed all consumer and trade sales and marketing activities for some of the companys top penetrated markets and executed the first consumer price sensitivity tests used to determine optimal pricing strategy to maximize growth and profits. Lazarus holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado.
David Grant is the President of Fox Television Studios ("FtvS"), a division of Fox Entertainment Group. FtvS was created in August of 1997 to create and manage a cooperative of independent, entrepreneurial production labels, including FtvS Productions, its alternative production unit. The FtvS group of companies has already made FtvS a leading supplier of network, primetime, cable original and non-fiction programming. These production companies include: The Greenblatt Janollari Studio: a leading "boutique" producer of U.S. prime time network series. (Producers of "The Hughleys"); Regency Television: (50% partnership with New Regency): also a leading "boutique" producer of U.S. prime time network series. (Producers of "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Roswell"); FtvS Productions: Alternative comedy, drama and reality for cable, network and new media. (Producers of " The X-Show", "The New Movie Show with Chris Gore", "Son of the Beach" and "Sports Geniuses".); FtvS Movies: Original television movies and mini-series (Producers of "Mary & Rhoda" for ABC, "Little Richard" for NBC, "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" for CBS). Fox Foundry: Internet, digital, new media content and businesses Foxstar Productions: high-quality non-fiction programming (Producers of programming for "Biography" on A&E) Natural History New Zealand: one of the worlds leading producers of wildlife and natural history programming. In only 3 years of existence, FtvS has become one of the leading suppliers of prime-time programming to U.S. networks, a cutting edge supplier of new cable programming for FX, Fox Family Channel and Fox Sport Networks, as well as to other major broadcast and cable networks in the U.S. and around the world. Prior to starting FtvS, Mr. Grant was Chief Operating Officer and one of the founders of Tele-TV, which was a programming and new media venture of Bell Atlantic, Nynex, Pacific Bell and Creative Artists Agency. At Tele-TV, Mr. Grant was one of the principal architects of the telephone industrys video strategy and oversaw the creation of its interactive "navigators," cable programming deals and Internet content.
Mr. Grant served as Executive Vice President, Network Business Operations for Fox Broadcasting Company from 1991 through 1995, and played an instrumental role in the networks growth from an upstart into a nightly major network. While at FOX, Mr. Grant was involved in the Networks ground-breaking NFL deal. In addition to overseeing the Networks Business, Legal and Standards departments, Mr. Grant helped create many of the basic planning tools used to manage the Networks program planning process. Mr. Grant previously was Senior Vice President of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., where he played a key role in a number of major deals and start-ups, including the launch of BskyB in the UK, the acquisition of STAR TV in Hong Kong, the Studios "output" deals with HBO and the restructuring of the Studios home video business. Mr. Grant, received his bachelor of arts degree in Political Science from UCLA and his JD degree from UC Davis, where he was Executive Editor of the Law Review. He is a Los Angeles native and resident, and with his wife, Nancy, is raising three young children.
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