IIFF Los Angeles Film Financing Townhall in Hollywood (June 2012): Networking & Education for Financiers & Filmmakers
Program Details
The evening’s seven presentations plus panel discussion address key issues relevant to filmmakers, financiers and anyone interested in the economics, business mechanics, and financial dynamics of motion pictures. They are followed by Q&A time. Attendees also have ample opportunity to interact & network with our featured experts and amongst themselves.
- Pitching, in a Nutshell: How to Sell Ideas Effectively
Bob Kosberg (bio), a.k.a. “Mr. Pitch,” one of Hollywood’s best idea men & producers; successfully pitched & sold 75+ projects; currently has 12+ movies in development at various studios; produced numerous feature films & TV movies incl. “Commando” (Arnold Schwarzenegger) & sci-fi classic “12 Monkeys” (Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis), which grossed $200MM & $150M, respectively; consistently attracts top stars such as Adam Sandler (“Wild Pitch” for Revolution Studios), Drew Barrymore (“Surrender Dorothy” for Warner Bros.), Ben Stiller (“The Hardy Men” for Fox) & Katherine Heigl (“Drawn Together” for Fox 2000); Producer & Head of Feature Film Division at Nash Entertainment, based at Sunset-Gower Studios; fmr. Producer at Merv Griffin Entertainment (“My One & Only” starring Renee Zellweger), Constantin Films (“Maybe… Maybe Not”), Universal Pictures (“12 Monkeys”), Paramount (in joint venture with Neufeld/Rehme & Prelude Pictures), New Line (“Man’s Best Friend”), TriStar (in partnership with Roven-Cavallo) & Sony Pictures; fmr. VP at Guber-Peters Entertainment, based at Warner Bros.; wrote 2 books, “How to Sell Your Idea to Hollywood” & “Pitching Hollywood”; considered one of top speakers on lecture circuit … »
- Kicking It Up a Notch: Crowdfunding a $100 Million Animated Feature Film
Tim McGovern, Ph.D. (bio), Academy Award-winning visual effects pioneer; Writer/Director & Chief Creative Officer at Whisper Pictures, developing feature film “Tusk” & other projects; fmr. Creative Director of Digital Renaissance at Digital Domain (NYSE: DDMG); fmr. Founding Member & Sr. VP of Creative & Technical Affairs at Sony Pictures Imageworks, helped grow company to 250+ employees; fmr. Founding Member, Head of Production & VFX Supervisor at MetroLight Studios, worked with directors James Cameron, David Lynch & Paul Verhoeven; fmr. Technical Director & Animator at Cranston/Csuri, Robert Abel & Associates, Digital Productions & Omnibus Computer Graphics; winner of 5 Clios, 1 Hugo & 1 Mobius Award, incl. Clio for groundbreaking Super Bowl TV commercial “Sexy Robot” (1985); won Academy Award as CGI Director on “Total Recall”; Visual Effects Supervisor on “As Good as It Gets,” “Equilibrium,” “Last Action Hero,” “Trapped,” “The Ghost & the Darkness,” “Stigmata,” “Supernova,” “Virtuosity,” “So I Married an Axe Murderer,” “A Sound of Thunder,” “Money Train” & “FeardotCom”; started as Systems Programmer on “TRON”; Board Advisor to University President at Academy of Art in San Francisco; elected Board Director at Visual Effects Society (VES); Member of nearly 18 years at Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences; fmr. Vice Chair at VES Executive Board & Co-Chair at VES Awards Committee … »
- A Simple Tool to Make Your Movie More Attractive to Investors
Christopher Balthasar (bio), attorney, entrepreneur & business broker turned wealth management & strategic financing professional; Financial Advisor at investment management firm Merrill Lynch, works with high net-worth individuals (HNWIs), CEOs & business owners, using strategic financing to meet investment & growth needs; fmr. Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, providing full range of investment services to CEOs/CFOs & HNWIs; fmr. Business Broker at Sunbelt Business Brokers & M&A Advisors, valued, packaged & sold companies; fmr. Co-Founder & VP of Marketing at Nirvana Candle Co., serviced high-end retail chains & luxury resorts; fmr. Marketing Associate & Legal Liason at Wattage Monitor; fmr. Program Coordinator & Grant Writer at EarthSave Int’l; fmr. Attorney at plaintiffs’ firm Girardi & Keese, wrote court medical brief in case later made into “Erin Brokovich” movie; licensed securities broker, member of CA State Bar Association & holder of CA real estate broker license; teaches & competes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, won gold at 2009 Pan Ams & at 2007 & 2010 US Opens; dual citizen of US & Switzerland … »
- Adapt or Fall Behind: The Changing Landscape of Independent Film Distribution
Jeffrey Winter (bio), who worked on marketing & distribution of many 100s of films, specializing in niche, festival, non-theatrical & special-events releases; Co-Executive Director at The Film Collaborative, first full-service non-profit distributor of art house, independent & world cinema; Co-President at New American Vision, leading niche/grassroots marketing firm handling 200+ indie & specialty films per year for clients like Film Society of Lincoln Center, LA Film Festival, AFI Fest, Wolfe Releasing & Roadside Attractions; previously managed US strategic investments, sales & acquisitions for largest Spanish media conglomerate, incl. “The Others” (Nicole Kidman); Oscar winner “The Sea Inside,” “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” “Sex & Lucia” & Sundance premiere “Sky Blue”; fmr. longtime Panel Programmer at Sundance Film Festival’s Digital Center; fmr. Principal at San Francisco-based film/video production company Please Louise Productions, directing & producing commercial video for such clients as Microsoft & Lucasfilm … »
- Social Media Success: Marketing Your Indie to Its Target Audience
Maury Rogow (bio), Founder & President at media marketing company Rip Media Group with 20 years in sales, marketing & business development; expert in social media & video marketing, who produced 100s of hours of branded commercials; Producer & Marketing Officer for comic book legend Bob Layton (“Iron Man”), writer/director John Harrison (“Dune”) & Anne Marie Gillen (“Fried Green Tomatoes”); Exec. Producer of “Bedrooms” (Moon Bloodgood, Julie Benz); New Media Producer at Cabin 14 Productions; Consulting Producer at CIMA Productions; Adviser & Co-Owner at The McKim Group, investment bank focused on emerging growth companies; TV host for E!, Time Warner & Style Network; previously generated $40M+ in sales for Avaya, Lucent, GeoTel, Cisco; among 1st employees at startup GeoTel, sold for $1B+ to Cisco; began software & communications career at AT&T … »
- Do It Your Way: Independently Packaging & Financing Great Movies
Jonas Goodman (bio), accomplished independent producer & development exec; Partner at leading Vancouver & LA-based film/TV production company Front Street Pictures, expertly using Canadian tax incentives to provide highly cost-effective production services; produced “Break Up” (Kiefer Sutherland, Bridget Fonda, Tippi Hedren), “Out of Line” (Jennifer Beals) & Sundance premiere “We Don’t Live Here Anymore” (Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Watts, Laura Dern), which secured distribution with Warner Independent & won Waldo Salt Award; previously worked in development & production at Miramax (with director Michael Radford), Pleskow-Spikings Partnership (“Beyond Rangoon”), Roven-Cavallo Entertainment (now Mosaic Media) & Paramount (with director/producer Alan Pakula); most recently involved in Larry Gross’s adaptation of Chekhov’s “The Seagull” (Amanda Seyfried, Jeremy Irons) & transmedia venture about American pop culture with Oscar winner Alex Gibney (“Enron,” “Gonzo”) … »
- Limited Only by Imagination: The Brilliant Future of Animation & VFX
George Merkert (bio), veteran visual-effects & animation producer with 30+ years experience & numerous movies to his credit, as well as 100+ music videos, commercials & other short films; Founder & CEO at computer-animated family film production company Whisper Pictures; fmr. Executive Producer at Pacific Data Images (PDI) & Sony Pictures Imageworks; fmr. Producer of TV Commercials at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM); fmr. Producer at MetroLight Studios; fmr. Exec. Producer/General Manager at Colossal Pictures; Exec. Producer on Oscar nominee “James & the Giant Peach” (Susan Sarandon); Visual Effects (Exec.) Producer on Academy Award winner “Total Recall” (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Oscar winner “As Good as It Gets” (Jack Nicholson), Oscar nominee “Starship Troopers” (Neil Patrick Harris), “The Craft” (Robin Tunney), “The Legend of Bagger Vance” (Charlize Theron), “The Pelican Brief” (Julia Roberts), “Johnny Mnemonic” (Keanu Reeves), Oscar winner “The Ghost & the Darkness” (Val Kilmer), Oscar nominee “In the Line of Fire” (Clint Eastwood), “Stigmata” (Patricia Arquette), “Supernova” (James Spader), “Wolf” (Michelle Pfeiffer), “Virtuosity” (Denzel Washington), “The Net” (Sandra Bullock), “So I Married an Axe Murderer” (Mike Myers), “A Sound of Thunder” (Ben Kingsley), “Forces of Nature” (Ben Affleck), “Money Train” (Woody Harrelson), “My Life” (Nicole Kidman); Creative Consultant to hit TV series “Breaking Bad” (Assistant Special Agent in Charge George Merkert is named after him); US National Inline Downhill Champion in ’01, ’02 & ’04 … »
Stella Adler Theaters
6773 Hollywood Boulevard
The Adler Theatre – 2nd floor
Los Angeles, CA 90028