Monday, October 20th

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

ThinkTank I: Admiralty Room

Packaging, Funding and Distributing: From Reality TV & Specials to Web Series and Indie Film Making

Jon Hotchkiss, Emmy-nominated producer

Uri Fleming , partner, Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo, LLP

Craig Ross Jr., Director (NCIS, Bones, Blue Hill Ave)

Evette Vargas, CEO, Writer, Director, Producer, Multiplatform Content Creator, Digital-Reign Productions

Mariana Danilovic, Managing Director, Hollywood Portfolio, Moderator

 to be serve prison time for "obscene art," the man who has spent the most time behind bars for violating US obscenity laws and the last man to be convicted of obscenity violations. Jon also writes regularly for This vs That's blog (blog.thisvsthatshow.com), is routinely featured on the home page of The Huffington Post and was recently featured on NBC News with Brian Williams, in Emmy magazine, on CNN and on The Young Turks. You can read more and find contact information @ about.me/jonhotchkiss.

Uri Fleming , partner, Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo, LLP: Uri Fleming represents authors, actors, writers, directors, producers, production companies, studios and other entities in a wide variety of matters related to all facets in the development, production and distribution of motion pictures, television programs, new-media productions and other creative content.Mr. Fleming has worked on and closed some of the past decade’s biggest deals, such as the sale of DreamWorks SKG to Paramount Pictures and the subsequent sale of the DreamWorks library to Dune/Soros. Recently, led by Ken Kleinberg, and in tandem with literary agent Neil Blair, he represented J. K. Rowling in the comprehensive expansion of Ms. Rowling’s deal with Warner Bros. and, led by Bob Lange, Mr. Fleming represented Leslie Greif in ITV’s $30 million acquisition of Greif’s ThinkFactory Media, Inc. and continues to represent ThinkFactory Media, most recently in connection with a new, eight hour mini-series epic event “Texas Rising” featuring Bill Paxton, Brendan Fraser and Ray Liotta, among the 100+ speaking parts. He also represents Intuitive Entertainment, Authentic Entertainment and 2C Media and other producers and companies in connection with a wide variety of scripted and unscripted television and online projects. He represented Chernin Entertainment in connection with the production of the groundbreaking social media program “Summer Break,” and has represented executives at Mark Burnett Productions/One Three Television and Discovery Communications. In addition, Mr. Fleming represents CDC International in connection with a multi-picture licensing deal with Disney for distribution of motion pictures in Latin America, and Content & Co. in the development and production of original branded content, such as “Clean Break” and “4 to 9ers,” across multiple platforms. Mr. Fleming was named a 2013 “Up Next” Dealmaker by Variety, and in 2011 was named a “Rising Star” by Southern California Super Lawyers.

CRAIG ROSS JR., Director/Writer-Producer: NCIS, BONES, COLD CASE, and PRISON BREAK--these are just a few of the prime time television shows helmed by filmmaker Craig Ross Jr., a Boston, MA native and graduate from NYU's Tish School of the Arts. Craig is an award-winning director/writer known for such noir crime thrillers as BLUE HILL AVENUE (Lionsgate), THE MANNSFIELD 12 (BET), RIDE OR DIE (Sony) and MOTIVES (Sony). Craig's latest project, THE AFFAIR is a provocative indie drama shot on the iPhone 5 using only natural light. Craig is on the frontier of digital technology and plans to create the first feature film shot on a smartphone device solely using existing light that is capable of being projected onto a movie theater screen without loss of quality.

Evette Vargas, CEO, Writer, Director, Producer, Multiplatform Content Creator, Digital-Reign Productions: With a repertoire spanning television, film, digital, mobile, cross-platform, games, comics, music and more, Evette is by no means a prototype cookie-cutter writer and creator - she is Hollywood's new breed of multimedia talent. Described by the New York Times as an “Artist To Watch,” Evette is an award-winning filmmaker. Evette was born in New York, where she graduated with honors from NYU Tisch School Of The Arts with a degree in filmmaking. Evette's senior thesis film won 15 awards, including the Best of NYU. Evette earned her MFA in Screenwriting and Showrunning from UCLA. Evette co-founded Digital-Reign, an award-winning cross-platform digital media production company. The company's “creativity guru,” Evette oversees the development of original content in the areas of television, film, mobile apps, games, comics, interactive and more. Evette is a mainstream and commercial writer/director of elevated and compelling TV series, films, transmedia and branded entertainment. By day and night, Evette writes in two areas: action and comedy. Evette's writing is unique. It is both commercial and substantive, presenting character-driven, high-concept plots with heart and intelligence. Evette's resume contains notable writing and directing works, such as mobile apps for the blockbuster hit movie Sherlock Holmes 2; trailers, teasers and interactive media for Madonna.com; original content for AFI's TV specials; iPhone and iPad games for Nissan; music videos for Janet Jackson, the Baha Men and Wu-Tang; media for the Grammys; and web games for the Lord Of The Rings film trilogy. Evette's recent success includes showrunning and directing her sci-fi action thriller digital series, DARK PROPHET, starring Henry Rollins (Sons Of Anarchy), David Marciano (Homeland), and rising-star, Chase Fein (Suburgatory). The series premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, won an NBC/UNI production award and was an official selection of the WGA Writer/Director Showcase. The comic book and mobile app game are in the works. Evette's award-winning one-hour crime family pilot, GYPSY KINGDOM, has attracted Academy-Award nominated actor, Danny Aiello. Evette is packaging her award-winning one-hour action pilot, ECHOES. Evette's comedy feature, KINGNAPPED, won a Top 30 spot in The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, and has attracted A-list talent and an Academy Award Winning producer. Evette's action thriller feature, WITHER, was a Sundance Film Festival Screenwriting Lab Finalist. A member of the WGA, The Television Academy and NYU Tisch West Alumni Council, Evette mentors screenwriting, directing and digital media graduates. Evette learned to tell stories at the dinner table, where the imagination ruled. Awards: o DARK PROPHET - Sundance 2014; Winner NBC/UNI Award o KINGNAPPED - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowships Top 30 Script o MADONNA Digital Content - Webby Award & Site Of The Day o BAHA MEN Animated Music Video - Disney.com Best Music Video Winner o WITHER - Sundance Institute Finalist o SIGHT UNSEEN - 25 Writing Awards o RATTLE & ROLL - The Ron Baham Memorial Fellowship In Comedy Award o BLOODLINE - TV Writing Finalist o ECHOES - UCLA Showcase Finalist o THICKER THAN WATER - Winner of 15 Writing & Directing Awards

Mariana Danilovic, CEO, hollywood portfolio:  Ms. Danilovic is the Founder and CEO of hollywood portfolio, an incubator and accelerator that develops and operates entertainment, digital media, and technology companies. Through hollywood portfolio, Ms. Danilovic launched and helped develop several digital media companies, and served as the President, CEO and Director of ultralivetv, serves on the Board of Directors of reframeit (observer), and the Board of Directors of Emerge Digital.   Ms. Danilovic was the EVP Business Development for NTN Buzztime, Inc. (AMEX:NTN) and Head of Business Development, Content Aggregation and Programming for MediaZone, broadband video company owned by NASPERS/MIH media conglomerate. She also founded and directed the Digital Media Incubator at KPMG LLP, which developed about two-dozen digital media companies. The companies Ms. Danilovic helped develop received institutional funding from KPCB, Sequoia Capital, Hummer-Winblad, Constellation Partners, Softbank, North Star Ventures, HP, and Intel.   Ms. Danilovic headed business development for Peter Guber’s Mandalay Entertainment and was on the management team of the venture fund at Sony Pictures Entertainment, investing in media companies worldwide. Ms. Danilovic also worked for Michael Milken’s Knowledge Exchange and at the Twentieth Century Fox International Television Group. She serves on the Board of Directors of C3, the Arts and Media Node of the Millennium Project, served on the Board of Directors of the Producers’ Guild of America, and is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.   She previously served on the Board of Directors of Tim Draper’s Zone Club and was a member of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan's Digital Coast Roundtable. Mariana earned a Masters in Business Administration from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, with a Minor in Biomedical Engineering from University of California, San Diego.