Wednesday, October 17, 2018

2:30 PM – 3:30 PM - Immersive Hollywood: VR – AR - MR

Session II: Herscher Hall, Guerin A, Live Webcast from this Room

Future of Film - Transitioning - a New and Challenging Environment Amidst the Burgeoning Streamers, New Tech and AR

Future of Film: Global disruption, rewards & challenges - formats, streamers, eSports & new tech: The past year has seen dramatic changes in the global film industry with 2017 experiencing a 3 year low in North America’s box office.  Yet performance in 2018 at this writing is up nearly 8% over 2017, with analysts predicting a record or near record year. China, a solid number 2 in the global box office race, is on track to eclipse the North America totals in the next couple of years.  Their dominance has changed the way studios determine which stories they are going to produce, eyeing China as a lucrative market. During the past few years the major streamers, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and YouTube have disrupted the industry, spending aggressively to produce new and compelling content for their growing, cord cutting and mainstream audience. They have impacted the entire studio ecosystem of movies and TV as the studios attempt to rise to meet the new competition head on with their own direct to consumer offerings. The industry is also experiencing significant M&A activity with telephone & broadband behemoth AT&T acquiring Time Warner, parent of Warner Bros. for $85 billion. Disney is in the process of acquiring the movie and TV assets of 21st Century Fox, parent of 20th Century Fox, as they build an online service intended to compete aggressively with Netflix. Other mergers are likely to be announced in the coming months, all of which will leave their imprint on the evolving industry. What will the future bring?  What will the overall landscape look like in 3 years? 5? 10?  How will

new technologies affect production and exhibition?  How will the studios’ challenge to the streamers evolve? Who will succeed and who will not? What does it mean to the consumer who wants great entertainment at a low price on demand?  What is being done to attract the younger audience to the cinema? Our distinguished group of analysts and executives will discuss, debate and even challenge some of the basic premises that are important as we look to the future of film in an informative and engaging panel.

Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst, comScore

Heather Blair, VP Entertainment, Extended Cinema

Chris Fenton, Media Strategist and Dealmaker; Former President of DMG Entertainment

Robert Lenihan, president US programming, AMC Theatres

John Rubey, CEO, Rubey Entertainment LLC.

Ted Schillowitz, Futurist, Paramount Pictures

Marty Shindler, CEO, The Shindler Perspective, Moderator

 

Chris Fenton recently completed a 17-year tenure as the President of DMG Entertainment Motion Picture Group & General Manager of DMG North America, orchestrating, internationally, the creative and business activities of DMG - a multi-billion-dollar global media company headquartered in Beijing and publicly traded on the Shenzhen Exchange. Specifically, Fenton supervised the development, financing, production, marketing, and distribution of DMG's globally-focused entertainment content. In addition, he managed DMG's vast library of intellectual property as well as directed the M&A and strategic investment usage of DMG's capital resources. DMG grew from a 35-employee private company worth $100 million to an 800-employee company worth $5 Billion during Fenton’s incumbency. Fenton also produced or supervised twenty films ranging from big budget franchises -- IRON MAN 3, POINT BREAK, and 47 RONIN, to more niche-oriented films -- LOOPER, WAITING, BLOCKERS and CHAPPAQUIDDICK -- grossing $2 Billion in worldwide box-office. He is an active member of the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts and Science. He has been featured as an international media expert and dealmaker in major publications including Wall Street Journal, Politico, Fast Company, Business Week, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline Hollywood as well as on television outlets such as Bloomber, CNBC, BNN and VOA. Fenton’s speaking engagements include keynotes or lectures at the business schools of Stanford, USC, Cornell, Wharton, and UCLA as well as presentations for the US Congress, United Nations, Steamboat Institute, The Grill, and United States Naval Academy Leadership Conference.

Fenton currently serves on the boards of the US-Asia Institute, Wasabi Cloud-Storage Technology, the China-Hollywood Society, and Cornell in Hollywood. He just completed a successful 3-year board term for Valiant Entertainment overseeing its multi-staged acquisition by DMG and the company’s transition from comic book publisher to film & tv studio, culminating in the greenlight of Valiant’s first major motion picture with Sony Pictures – BLOODSHOT -- and its follow-up -- HARBINGER. Fenton, an engineering graduate of Cornell University, spent the first 8 years of his career as a William Morris Agency television & motion picture agent. He lives with his wife and two children in Manhattan Beach, CA.

 

Robert J Lenihan, president US programming, AMC: With 40 years of experience, Lenihan began his career in the industry as a film booker for United Artists Theatres in San Francisco in 1977. Prior to joining AMC in 2009, Lenihan’s previous roles have included senior vice president of film at Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas, senior vice president and head film buyer positions at Mann Theatres, Act III Theatres, Century Theatres and Sundance Cinemas. He also served as executive vice president at Loews Cineplex from 1998 to 2002, supervising film, marketing and real estate. In 2009, Lenihan was appointed President of Programming for AMC Entertainment Inc. (AMC). Lenihan currently oversees AMC’s programming efforts, as well as the company’s Century City office in Los Angeles. In addition, he leads the programming team, which explores new ways of enhancing the company’s leading position in movie marketing and expanded programming flexibility. Lenihan is a graduate of Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.

 

Ted Schilowitz, Futurist, Paramount Pictures: Ted spends his time in a unique role in the motion picture entertainment industry. As the Futurist at Paramount pictures, Ted works with studio leadership and the technology teams at Paramount / Viacom, exploring forms of new and emerging technologies, with an emphasis on Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Prior to joining Paramount, Ted was the Futurist at 20th Century Fox, where he worked on the evolving art, science and technology of advanced interactive visual storytelling. He was part of the creation team for the Martian VR and Wild VR experiences, which premiered at CES and Sundance as groundbreaking projects that pushed the envelope of Virtual Reality storytelling. Ted was an integral part of the product development team at RED Digital Cinema as a founding member and the company’s first employee. The Red One and Epic cameras have made a significant impact on the Motion Picture Industry, with many of the world’s biggest movies now being shot with these ultra high resolution digital movie cameras. Ted is one of the founders and creators of the G-Tech product line of advanced hard drive storage products. As one of the most recognized brands in that industry, they are implemented worldwide at the highest levels on cinema, episodic television, sports and news production. Before being part of the founding teams at RED Digital Cinema and G-Tech, Ted was on the team that developed and launched the Macintosh desktop video division of AJA Video Systems, creating professional video products in tandem with Apple. These products are used on a massive scale worldwide for video production and post at the highest levels, on many of the world’s biggest movies, TV series and sporting events. Ted has presented worldwide at numerous conferences on the advancements in next generation visual experiences for the movie, television and, interactive entertainment industries. He’s been featured in Wired, Variety, NY Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, NBC, CNET, Studio Daily, Videography, Film and Video, DV Magazine, TV Technology, HD Video Pro, Engadget, Gizmodo, Millimeter, American Cinematographer, MacWorld, Post Magazine, Popular Science, and countless other publications discussing his areas of passion and exploration.

 

Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst, comScore: With 25 years of experience in the field, Paul Dergarabedian is the movie industry’s most recognized and widely quoted authority for media-based information and analysis. In his role as Senior Media Analyst for comScore, Paul provides expert analysis on results that come from comScore’s real-time movie and television measurement services. Considered one of the industry’s most accomplished experts, Paul founded Media By Numbers in 2006, which later became a division of Hollywood.com, where he served as President of the box office division until October 2013 when he then joined Rentrak (now comScore).  In addition to weekly credits online and in print, he is regularly featured on television and radio programs.  Paul has also appeared in movie-related documentaries including Being George Clooney, This Film Is Not Yet Rated & The Blockbuster Imperative. Paul holds a Master’s Degree from USC’s Annenberg School of Communications & a Bachelor’s degree from Long Beach State’s Television and Film school.

 

Heather Blair, VP Entertainment, Extended Cinema: She studied Marketing and Communications at Tarrant College in Texas. Having moved to California right after college, small acting and modeling gigs (as well as working briefly as Frank Zappa’s secretary) kept her afloat. Deciding it was time for career job, Heather drove to Century City, walked into one of the buildings on Century Park East and systematically called every company listed on the building directory, asking them if they had any job openings. A businessman eyeing her with curiosity asked what she was doing. “Nothing really, she said, I’m sort of an actress and I’m looking for a job”. The bemused spectator questioned, “If you knew what a sales person acted like, do you think you could act like one?” With this became a sales career that has spanned nearly 3 decades. She’s been the Associate Publisher of two vendor directories – Creative Industry Handbook, a California based resource book for the film industry and Themed Entertainment 411, an International resource for theme parks and cultural attractions. Both mostly funded by her advertising sales efforts. She’s held the Director of Sales and Marketing position at publicly traded entertainment company, Valcom Inc and at Atlanta- based gaming company, World Touch Gaming, Inc. She’s been an account manager for Point 360, a publicly traded national broadcast and post facility as well as the Western Territory Channel Manager for Asia Media Products, an international manufacturers’ rep firm servicing post and broadcast industries. Heather created OuiMarket4U, a sales and marketing consulting agency, to support many of her former advertising customers. One such former advertiser and recent OuiMarket4u client, MediaMation, Inc, hired her to grow their attraction’s business- Heather suggested the motion picture cinema market might be interested in adding MX4D motion theaters as a premium offering. She called on the major film studios to procure film titles to be programmed for MX4D. She landed Cinemex with a 15 theater commitment as MediaMation’s first MX4D theater client, and has helped the company with its Global growth since 2010. She is representing several new companies now including WiBox Mobile, an advertising solution designed to deliver targeted ads inside cinemas to customers who have accepted the Free Wifi. She has also partnered with another interactive technology company based in London and is bringing a new division called Extended Cinema to the cinema market place. Her boutique consulting company Heather Blair Consulting is new business designed to give sales training to individuals and companies who need to brush up on sales tequniques and strategies. Other things to know about Heather: She loves a good joke and is known to tell them on regular occasion. She is an equestrian –team roping is her sport. She is fiercly loyal and treasures spending time with family and friends.

 

John Rubey, CEO Rubey Entertainment LLC: John Rubey is an innovative leader in live event capture and distribution;  blending his deep and wide experience in content monetization and distribution including music, global TV, cinema distribution, cross-platform video streaming, event production and new technologies to create immersive connections for fans and brands. Currently as CEO of Rubey Entertainment, he is producing and distributing digital event content to all platforms worldwide, most recently British Summer Time Hyde Park 2018.  Rubey is also currently active in developing new digital content delivery solutions for bars, restaurants and commercial locations. Rubey’s recent tenure as CEO of Fathom Events, the leader in event cinema, saw doubled revenue and paid attendance along with broadened content verticals, new marketing and technology. Earlier as President of AEG Network LIVE, Rubey was responsible for the overall vision, content development, marketing, and execution for live events delivered to U.S. and international, cinema, online and TV networks, YouTube, VEVO, HULU, Yahoo!, MySpace and others.  This also included distribution to festival and artist sites, mobile devices, high-def TV, and digital 3D cinema. More info at www.rubeyentertainment.com.

 

Marty Shindler is CEO of The Shindler Perspective, a husband & wife consulting practice with Big 4 (C of PWC) professional service firm and top 5 (Sloan @ MIT) business school credentials. The firm has worked all along the entertainment and entertainment technology value chain, and as a result, has deep insight into the inner workings of the various industry segments and the many businesses and niches that intersect with the value chain. The practice consults on business, economic, strategic and operational matters in a diverse, but interconnected set of market segments and companies in areas such as development and previs, production, post production, distribution and exhibition for movies, TV and other content across a wide range of platforms, second screens and delivery methods. Mr. Shindler's unique vision and perspective provides clients with a first-hand sense of the direction in which the industry segments are heading and the challenges and rewards that lie ahead. Speaking engagements have included a wide range of industry conferences and events representing the many industry segments where the practice has been involved. Marty Shindler's prior employment includes 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic, Kodak's Cinesite and Coopers & Lybrand (PriceWaterhouseCoopers).