Title:GEMA Highlights From John Carroll Weekend in LA

During John Carroll Weekend in Los Angeles, GEMA presented a series of panel discussions featuring alumni who discussed their careers in entertainment and shared insight on trends impacting the industry. Panel topics ranged from Media and Social Justice to Navigating New Media to Sports as a Global Industry.

Check out photos of panels from JCW.

Film and Media Studies: The Powerful Relationship Between Media and Social Justice
The media shapes how we see and understand the world. In 2011, Georgetown launched The Film and Media Studies program, dedicated to exploring the relations between media, power and social justice by integrating film and media theory and history with creative practice.

A number of Georgetown alumni have created powerful works that address crucial questions about public health, catastrophe and recovery and criminal justice. Bernie Cook (C’90, G’91), director of Film and Media Studies and associate dean of Georgetown College, moderated a distinguished panel of guests, including filmmakers Breck Eisner (C’92) and Megan Mylan (F’92); Jonathan King, executive vice president of production at Participant Media; and Evan Sterrett (C’15) current Film and Media Studies student, who discussed how media explores injustice and how it can promote a more just world.

Navigating New Media in Entertainment
The emergence of digital technologies over the past decade has had a profound impact on the business practices of traditional entertainment and media companies, and has led to the rise of new, powerful competitors.

Distinguished alumni across diverse fields of media and entertainment joined moderator Mary Ann Halford (C’80), managing director, Telecommunications, Media and Technology Group, FTI Consulting, to discuss the inherent challenges to the traditional media landscape and opportunities created by the new digital frontier.

Distinguished panelists included Zack Van Amburg (C’92), president, U.S. programming and production, Sony Pictures Television; Liam Collins (F’95, L’01), head of YouTube Space LA; Glenn Eisen (B’87), chief marketing officer, Sling TV; Marc DiLorenzo, executive vice president, Strategy and Business Development, Fox Filmed Entertainment; and Amanda Marks (F’86, L’89), global head of digital accounts, Universal Music Group.

Panelists discussed the process of reworking business models to capitalize on new media, explained what they see as the biggest threats and opportunities during these dynamic times, explore the impact of new distribution outlets and elaborated on the growing importance of international markets.

The Hollywood Creative Process, Demystified
Hoyas working in the creative side of entertainment at the highest levels, including writing, directing, producing and acting pulled back the curtain on the creative process to discuss such questions as: What inspires their creativity? What are their creative and economic incentives and obstacles? How did a liberal arts-based Jesuit education prepare each of them for a career in the entertainment industry?

The panel was moderated by accomplished Hollywood producer Amy Baer (C’88), president/owner of Gidden Media and included panelists Justin Falvey (C’90), co-president of Amblin TV (The Americans, Extant); Jami Gertz (Parent ’14, ’17), actress/producer; Ted Humphrey (C’91), executive producer/writer/director, (The Good Wife); Malcolm Lee (C’92), feature film director/writer/producer (The Best Man Holiday); and Jackie Schaffer (F’95), co-creator/executive producer/writer (The League).

Black Images in Contemporary American Film
This panel, composed of dynamic Georgetown alumni working in Hollywood, explored the evolution of the portrayal of Black Americans in contemporary American film.

Discussion topics included positive images vs. stereotypes, black actors’ challenges in acquiring significant movie roles, the impact of typecasting and the contrast between black and white filmmakers’ experiences in the process of filmmaking. The discussion was led by entertainment attorney Gordon Bobb (C’93). Alumni panelists will include Director Malcolm Lee (C’92), Producer Adetoro Makinde (C’92), BET Network Executive C. Eddie Hill (B’92), Actor Chris Williams (C’89) and Actress Latarsha Rose.

The Exploding Popularity of Sports as a Global Industry
With an estimated value of more than $140 billion, the sports industry has become one of the premier global business industries, continuously growing at an impressive rate.

What has led to this explosive growth? Why is the appeal of sports both far-reaching and universal? What will the next five to 10 years look like for the sports industry? A distinguished alumni panel representing key areas of sports, including leagues, teams, venues and media, shared their insights on these questions.

The panel included David B. Hill (Parent’16), senior executive vice president at 21st Century Fox and former chairman and CEO of Fox Sports; John E. Keenan III (L’95), senior vice president and general counsel for AEG; Mark Abbott (F’86), deputy commissioner for Major League Soccer; Molly Solomon (F’90), executive producer and senior vice president, Production and Operations, Golf Channel and former coordinating producer, NBC Olympics; and Claude Ruibal (L’82), former global head of sports content partnerships for Google/YouTube.

The panel was moderated by Joe Leccese (C’82), chairman of the Firm and co-head of the Sports Law Group, Proskauer. The panelists will delve further into the reasons behind the sports industry’s enormous and still-growing worldwide popularity.