Monday, October 20th

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Track II: Poolside Tent I

Valuing and Financing Entertainment Content: Movies, Television and Online Video, From VC & Equity to Crowdfunding

Mike LaSalle, Partner, Shamrock Capital Advisors

Seth Shapiro, Governor, Interactive Media, The Television Academy

René Bourdages, CEO, Elevado Media, Inc.

Nasser Batley, Senior Director of Corporate Development and M&A, Groupon

Seth M Willenson, President. Seth Willenson, Inc.

(Tentative) Myles Nestel - Partner and co-founder, Synchronicity Entertainment, a division of The Solution Entertainment Group

Larry Gerbrandt, Managing Director, Janas Group & principal, Media Valuation Partners, Moderator

the Annenberg Innovation Lab Research Council, the TV Academy’s Digital Committee, the Producer Guild’s New Media Council and the Advisory Boards of Aficionado Media, Mobile Excellence Awards, PICNIC Festival Amsterdam and  OVP Venture Partners. A frequent keynote speaker around the world, he is a Magna cum Laude graduate of New York University and was Adelbert Alumni Scholar at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

René Bourdages, CEO, ELEVADO MEDIA, Inc., Film & Television Consulting: Rene Bourdages is a veteran entertainment executive with more than 30 years of senior level operating experience. Mr. Bourdages held many high level executive positions in Canada before relocating to Los Angeles and focusing his managerial skills on entertainment media consulting. Prior to founding Elevado Media, he was President of CBC merchandising from 2004 through 2011. He has also held Executive Vice President positions at Quebecor/Groupe TVA and Astral Media Movie Premium TV channels with direct responsibility for up to 1,200 employees and gross revenues of nearly $200 million. Previously, Mr. Bourdages served as Director of the Harold Greenberg Fund, which finances the development and production of Canadian feature films. He holds a Certificate in Business and Management of Entertainment from UCLA. He is a Chartered Board Director, Laval University Governance Program and was selected as one of Canada's Top 40 under 40. Mr. Bourdages is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the American Film Institute, the Executive Committee of the Canada California Business Council and the Economic Club of Canada.

Mike LaSalle, Partner, Shamrock Capital Advisors: He currently serves as a director of the GiantCreative/Strategy, Mojiva, INgrooves, and Harlem Globetrotters International. Previously, Mike served on the boards of Media Storm and Modern Luxury Media. Prior to joining Shamrock, Mike was an Associate and Analyst at Putnam Lovell Securities focusing on mergers and acquisitions in the financial services industry. Mike graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and earned an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management as a Venture Fellow.

Seth Willenson - President, Seth Willenson, Inc.:  Seth Willenson has over 40 years of experience in the, entertainment business starting in 1970 as one of New Line Cinema's first, employees. Seth Willenson's other Executive positions included : Corporate VP of, Programming and Business Affairs for RCA; where he was a key participant, in the creation of the RCA Columbia joint venture, cable channel, investments, and the selection, creation, and clearance of content to be, released in home video where no previous model existed, Senior VP of, Programming United Satellite Communications first DBS service financed, by General Instrument and Prudential, Vice President of Acquisitions and, Special Projects Paramount Television group, and Senior VP of, Telecommunications and Strategic Planning for New Line Cinema.   For the past 20 years, he has been head of his own consulting firm, working with over 100 clients including: Scholastic, Columbia-Tri Star,, Disney Channel, Blockbuster Entertainment, Saul zaentz, Working title,, and Warner Brothers among others. He has been active in valuation of, entertainment properties including: the Credit Lyonnais CDR Library, the, Last Emperor, Yellow Submarine, Easy Rider and Gordy the Pig.  He has represented or produced over 100 features utilizing value in new, channels of distribution. Seth Willenson graduated from Cornell University in 1968 with a B.S. in, Economics, and attended the Annenberg School of Communications at The, University of Pennsylvania.

Larry Gerbrandt, Managing Director, Janas Group & principal, Media Valuation Partners, Moderator; Mr. Iser specializes in the areas of intellectual property, entertainment, commercial, real estate and employment litigation.  He handles complex, high-profile matters around the country for clients including Mattel, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, eBay, Univision, ICM Partners, Roland Corporation, and iconic musical artists including Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills & Nash and David Byrne.  Mr. Iser is the Managing Partner of KWIKA. In the area of intellectual property, Mr. Iser counsels clients and litigates on their behalf concerning copyrights and trademarks; patents; unfair competition; the right of publicity; defamation; clearances and fair-use analyses for films, manuscripts, and products; and contracts involving the licensing of intellectual property rights.   He counsels and litigates on behalf of Mattel, Inc. in a variety of matters, currently including a copyright lawsuit concerning the creation of the Masters of the Universe® brand, trademark opposition proceedings concerning certain Hot Wheels® cars, intellectual property clearances for the Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, American Girl®, Monster High® and Ever After High® brands; a variety of licensing issues across Mattel’s brands, and the defense of a lawsuit in which the plaintiff, a designer of board games, alleges that Mattel breached a license agreement for the distribution of the board game Outburst!  He counsel and litigates on behalf of SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment on a number of intellectual property issues, currently including the defense of a trademark infringement lawsuit concerning SeaWorld’s Aquatica water parks.  Mr. Iser serves as United States copyright counsel for Roland Corporation, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electronic musical instruments.  On behalf of Roland, Mr. Iser leads a KWIKA team handling a number of matters throughout the country, currently including the defense of a patent infringement action pending in the District of Connecticut. Mr. Iser has earned a national reputation for his representation of musical artists whose songs have been used without permission by national political candidates.  He is well known for his work in the music business, representing clients including The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills and Nash, David Byrne, The Ira Gershwin Music Trust, The Doors, Axl Rose, The Rick James Estate, The Janis Joplin Estate, The M.C. Hammer Bankruptcy Estate, The Wiggles, Intocable, Branford Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, Yahoo!, eBay/StubHub, Univision Music, Spectrasonics, Maverick Records, Fat Possum Records and ICM Partners. In the areas of motion pictures and television, Mr. Iser has advised and litigated cases on behalf of actors, directors, producers, distributors, personal managers, talent agents, television networks and motion picture studios.  Mr. Iser routinely advises his clients on matters concerning copyright, fair-use, clearances, right of publicity and defamation. He has served for the past 25 years as outside litigation counsel for real estate developer The Watt Companies.  On behalf of Watt and other real estate clients, he has advised and litigated disputes involving breach of contract, fraud, specific performance, brokers’ commissions, landlord-tenant, construction defects and partnership disputes. Lastly, Mr. Iser regularly represents clients in commercial and employment matters involving breach of contract, wrongful termination and sexual harassment, products liability, insurance coverage, bad faith and subrogation, franchising, securities fraud, partnership disputes and dissolution, and commercial torts.  His clients have included manufacturers, importers, lending institutions, law firms, accounting firms, oil and gas companies, airlines and numerous entrepreneurially oriented companies.