Our Class of 2015 have returned from the second module of this year’s Inside Pictures programme – an intensive week of training in LA. During the week participants met with speakers at companies including Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Netflix, UTA and Universal, and learnt the ins and outs of the Hollywood studio system. The week’s activities included a drinks reception at the British Residence, where participants had the opportunity to meet some of LA’s highest level professionals.
Over the course of the week top industry speakers including Steve Golin (Anonymous Content), Paul Brooks (Gold Circle), and screenwriter Will Davies, gave personal and candid sessions offering participants insight into the inner workings of Hollywood.
We were also delighted to welcome a number of new speakers, presenting for the first time at Inside Pictures. These included Craig Emanuel, Partner at Loeb and Loeb LLP. Emanuel represented Lion, a project pitched by 2013 alumni Katherine Bridle at her IP graduation presentation, which subsequently went on to be made and distributed by The Weinstein Company. Emanuel’s practice includes representation of high-level writers, directors, actors, producers and production companies in all aspects of motion picture and television transactions, both at the studio and independent levels. He is also involved in the negotiation of strategic distribution relationships with the major studios including licensing of digital media content, and has experience in the structuring and sale of international co-productions. Emanuel gave honest, genuine and hard-hitting insights in to the hidden world of negotiation in Hollywood, a world that participants will be further trained for in their Negotiations session with David Solomon in the programme’s third module.
Prior to co-founding the IP-building Feldspar Ventures, John Attanasio and Luisa Huang have developed and executed global product strategies and brand campaigns for some of the largest franchise properties in history including Harry Potter, The Dark Knight, The Hobbit, Shrek, Toy Story, Cars, Monsters Inc., Nemo, Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Disney Princess, Disney Fairies, Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. With Feldspar Ventures, Attanasio and Huang combine their experience and grounding of studio business with the enthusiasm and future focussed attitude of a start up. They welcomed the IP group to their new premises located in the hip up-and-coming Arts District of Downtown LA, to talk about building a franchise and monetising IP.
Louise Chater, EVP Strategic Marketing & Research at Sony, provided a fresh and insightful glimpse into colossal work done by the research divisions of the studios. She represented a different side of the business from most of the speakers on the module, shedding light on the decision-making process that takes place at every stage of a studio film’s life cycle. The content of the session had resonance for all participants, who were charmed by her refreshing passion, enthusiasm and candour.
Many thanks to all the speakers who gave their time so generously last week. A full list of Inside Pictures 2015 speakers can be found here.
