Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM Guerin A, in Herscher Hall, Live Webcast

The Hollywood Masterclass: TV, Film and Video - Packaging - Producing - Bundling - Distributing in a Cross-Platform World

Julie Lawrence, Creative Executive, Playtone (Tom Hanks Production Co.)

Lezlie Wills, Creative Executive, Get Lifted Film Co. (John Legend’s Production Company)

Jessica Pavão, Director, Development, Television, 3Pas Studios (Eugenio Derbez’s Production Company)

Don Handfield, CEO/President, Motor

Lidia Porto, Actor, co-star, GET SHORTY (Series on Epix)

Moderator, Catherine Clinch, TV Writer, TV veteran, Hunter, Jake & The Fat Man, Knight Rider, Love Boat, Hart to Hart

Don Handfield, CEO/President, Motor: Don is a filmmaker, screenwriter, producer and novelist. He is the co-creator of History Channel's drama series Knightfall, premiering winter 2018. Handfield produced The Founder starring Michael Keaton and Kill The Messenger starring two-time academy award nominated actor Jeremy Renner. Handfield wrote and directed the Saturn Award winning film Touchback that starred Kurt Russell and Christine Lahti. Handfield also wrote the novel, which was a top seller on Amazon and received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly.  He has co-written three comic series, including The Rift, published in 2017 and the upcoming series The Source and The Mall.

The Rift was recently optioned for television with a pilot shooting in Summer/Fall 2018. His short film My Name Is starring French Stewart won best short at several film festivals including the top prize at the Atlanta Film Festival, qualifying it for entry into the Academy Awards. He was named one of the top new faces of independent film by Filmmaker Magazine in 2005 and has written screenplays for Warner Brothers, DreamWorks, Paramount and Lionsgate, among others.

Jessica Pavão, Director, Development, Television, 3Pas Studios: With over a decade of entertainment and production experience, Jessica currently heads series development for Eugenio Derbez and Ben Odell’s 3Pas Studios (How to Be a Latin Lover), where she has set up projects at Hulu, ABC and NBC through 3Pas’ Universal Television deal. Prior to working in television, Jessica was as an event producer in Boston for three years, overseeing large-scale productions from concept design through live execution. With her shift to television, she got her start at 25/7 Productions (The Biggest Loser) working on unscripted series. From there she planted firmly in scripted development, with stints at The CW, Fox and Full Fathom Five (American Gothic) before landing at 3Pas in 2015. Jessica is from Boston and has a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Lidia Porto was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, raised in Texas, and has travelled a lot. She majored in French and also studied Spanish and International Affairs at Trinity University in San Antonio and in Strasbourg, France with an internship at the Council of Europe. She started training as an actor after getting her B.A. and currently plays Mob Boss “Amara de Escalones” on the hit Epix Original Series “Get Shorty.” Her overnight success only took 34 years and included every type of acting gig possible, including Blue  Walrus and Mock Trial defendant, as well as various other industry jobs.  For years, she was a staple of the Houston performing arts community, accumulating credits in TV and film as well as commercial, voiceover and educational projects for a wide gamut of clients. She directed plays, wrote for herself and others and briefly studied playwriting with the late Edward Albee.  In 2012, at age 50, she started acting full-time with the role of “Maria” in “Scary Movie 5” followed by recurring roles on shows such as “Shameless”, “Jane the Virgin”, “American Housewife”, and “Major Crimes.” She’s had small, comedic roles in films like “Rocketman,” “Idiocracy,” “Extract," “Horrible Bosses 2",  and “Dope”, and larger dramatic roles in indie films like “Running Wild”,  “Pray for Rain” and Lifetime’s “Girl Missing.”  Her work in the short film, “Doris” garnered her a Best Actress award at the Festival de Cine Social in Toledo, Spain and a nomination from the Official Latino Short Film Festival in New York City.  She has enjoyed living and working in Los Angeles since 2013 and especially exploring the emerging Digital entertainment landscape.  She played the criminal family matriarch Antonia in Machinima Prime's online series, "Chop Shop” and has worked on shows for Netflix and Amazon as well.  Inspired by other Creatives, Lidia spends a lot of her free time writing and is working on various personal projects including comedic short stories, a bit of stand-up, a web series based on her time raising her son and a film inspired by her parents incredibly short courtship and impressively long marriage.

Lezlie Wills, Creative Executive, Get Lifted Film Co.: A Los Angeles native, Lezlie began her entertainment career as a production assistant for TNT’s medical drama, “Hawthorne.” She went on to work as an assistant for Will and Jada Smith’s company, Overbrook Entertainment, where she worked on productions for KARATE KID, MEN IN BLACK 3 and AFTER EARTH. While at Overbrook, Lezlie also worked closely with the Smiths’ family foundation and facilitated many of their philanthropic endeavors. In 2011, Lezlie joined Good Universe (formerly known as Mandate Pictures) as the assistant to CEO and co-Founder, Nathan Kahane. While at Mandate, Lezlie worked on productions for YOUNG ADULT, EVIL DEAD, LAST VEGAS, OLD BOY, THIS IS THE END, NEIGHBORS, and POLTERGEIST. With a growing fascination for television development, Lezlie left Good Universe to join Viacom in New York where she worked on Comedy Central series, “Key & Peele,” “Inside Amy Schumer,” “Broad City,” “The Daily Show,” “The Colbert Report,” and “The Nightly Show.” After a couple New York winters, Lezlie relocated back to Los Angeles to work as a features and scripted development executive for John Legend’s production company, Get Lifted Fim Co., where she has the opportunity to develop compelling stories with universal representation. Lezlie is a graduate of Spelman College where she received her bachelor’s in English.

Catherine Clinch’s produced writing credits include: HUNTER, JAKE & THE FATMAN, KNIGHT RIDER, LOVE BOAT, HART TO HART, FOUL PLAY, TRUE CONFESSIONS and, most recently, RESCUE BOTS. She has served for nearly two decades as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, teaching advanced video production, screenwriting, convergence media and communication theory at California State University Dominguez Hills. She was Associate Publisher of Creative Screenwriting Magazine and was a key organizer of the first five years of Screenwriting Expo. She currently writes for Cultural Weekly and Studio System News and blogs for The Huffington Post. Catherine serves as a media strategy and content advisor for companies through her consultancy Clinch Digital Media. Catherine has also been awarded two US Patents for inventing a new form of mobile entertainment. Catherine is currently writing and developing a project with new IP for Stan Lee’s POW Entertainment.