Back to Business: Hollywood’s Dynamic Landscape

48th Annual Entertainment Symposium

Friday June 21

Keynote Speaker: Donna Langley, Chairman, NBCUniversal Studio Group & Chief Content Officer

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UCLA School of Law is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. By attending all six (6) sessions, you may earn Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit in the amount of up to 5.5 total credits (4.5 hours of general credit and 1 hour of legal ethics credit).

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9:30 to 9:40 AM (PDT)

Welcome & Dean's Remarks

Presenter:

• Dean Michael Waterstone, Dean and Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law

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9:45 to 10:15 AM (PDT)

After the Streaming Wars

Over the past four years, the entertainment industry has been negatively impacted by four significant factors – rising consumer price inflation, deflationary corporate streaming strategies, changing consumer behavior, and significant shifts in advertising spending – which have meaningfully altered profitability among legacy media companies and established the dominance of upstarts in the business.  As a result of this perfect storm, the largest traditional media companies are in the midst of major strategic retrenchments just as their largest newest competitors from Silicon Valley are becoming more aggressive (and more profitable).  Put simply, we are entering the third act of the ‘streaming wars’. In the coming years, we expect further industry consolidation, the exiting of streaming businesses that are unable to compete, a shift in content spending from scripted productions to live sports and a return to third-party content licensing.

Presenter:

• Michael Nathanson, Partner and Senior Research Analyst, MoffettNathanson Research

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10:20 to 11:20 AM (PDT)

Nothing But Net – How Sports and Content Are Scoring

Sports fans are some of the most passionate consumers of audio-visual content, and it’s not just live sports. In an increasingly fractured media environment, scripted and unscripted sports content is hotter than ever. Join our panel of experts as they discuss the unique business and legal considerations of the genre.

Moderators:

• Kendall Johnson, Partner, Latham & Watkins
• Kevin Masuda, Partner, Co-Chair of Media, Entertainment and Technology Practice Group, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Panelists:

• Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon, General Counsel and Co-President of Business Operations, Skydance
• Lisa Joseph Metelus, CAA Board Member and Head of Athlete Brand Strategy & Entertainment, CAA Sports
• Endi Piper, General Counsel, The SpringHill Company

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11:25 AM to 12:25 PM (PDT)

The Brands Rise Again!!

Brand marketing and intellectual property licensing have become increasingly more important in the content quest to rise above the clutter.  This panel will explore the challenging balance between protecting the brand/IP and licensing it for commercial exploitation in both audiovisual content and merchandising. Our experts in the field will discuss topics such as trademark/copyright issues, creative controls, brand integration and promotion, and franchise building.

Moderator:

• Michael Helfant ’83, Of Counsel, Loeb & Loeb LLP

Panelists:

• Jade Alex, Executive Director of Events, Global Publicity, Warner Bros. Pictures
• Eric Baum, SVP Business and Legal Affairs, Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Josh Silverman, Chief Franchise Officer, Mattel

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12:25 to 1:25 PM (PDT)

Lunch & Networking Break

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1:30 to 2:30 PM (PDT)

AI on Screen: Setting the Ethical Standards for Tomorrow's Entertainment
The John H. Mitchell Panel on Ethics and Entertainment

The rapid advancement of AI technology is reshaping the entertainment landscape, raising crucial ethical questions that must be addressed. This panel will discuss the ethical standards required for tomorrow's entertainment, covering topics such as transparency in AI-generated content, the disclosure of materials used in AI training data, and the ethical implications of simulating a person’s likeness or voice without consent. Additionally, we will explore the legal ethics involved, including attorney professional conduct rules as they pertain to AI in media. Engage with us as we set the framework for responsible AI use in the entertainment industry.

Moderator:

• Ilissa Samplin, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Panelists:

• David B. Dreyfus, General Counsel, Directors Guild of America
• Rijul Gupta, CEO & Founder, DeepMedia AI
• Liz Randall, Head of Business Operations, Creative Artists Agency
• Ian Slotin, SVP, Intellectual Property, NBCUniversal

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2:35 to 3:35 PM (PDT)

The Good News About Theatrical Distribution

A panel of experts and industry insiders will look back at 2023 for lessons learned and assess the current state of the theatrical industry, while looking ahead to the prospects for 2024 and beyond for movie theatres and studios. Topics for this panel will include the Barbenheimer phenomenon, the rise in popularity of international cinema, the impact of changing audience tastes, the expansion of event cinema, the importance of musicals and concert films, and the essential nature of independent cinema.

Moderator:

• Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst, Comscore

Panelists:

• Lisa Bunnell, President of Distribution, Focus Features
• Scott Forman, Executive Vice President & General Sales Manager, Warner Bros. Pictures
• Nikkole Denson-Randolph, Senior Vice President, Content Strategy & Inclusive Programming, AMC Theaters

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3:35 to 3:55 PM (PDT)

Networking Break

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4:00 to 5:00 PM (PDT)

Keynote

• Donna Langley, Chairman, NBCUniversal Studio Group & Chief Content Officer
• Ken Ziffren ’65, Partner & Co-Founder, Ziffren Brittenham LLP

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UCLA School of Law is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. By attending all six (6) sessions, you may earn Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit in the amount of up to 5.5 total credits (4.5 hours of general credit and 1 hour of legal ethics credit).

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