Producing Faculty and Staff

DENISE MANN, Associate Professor and Head of the graduate MFA Producers Program in the UCLA Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media, teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on contemporary entertainment industry practices as well as film and television history and theory. Her book, "Hollywood Independents – The Postwar Talent Takeover (University of Minnesota Press, 2008)," has been receiving positive reviews (Variety, Boston Globe, DGA Quarterly). Mann co-edited Private Screenings: Television & the Female Consumer (University of Minnesota Press, 1992) and has published articles on television and consumer culture in a number of journals and book-length collections. Mann is frequently invited to deliver industry talks at international film festivals and conferences such as the Tokyo International Film Festival and Shanghai International Film Festival, and at major universities in Asia and Europe, such as the Beijing Broadcasting Institute, Shanghai University, and Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne.

EYAL ALONY, Program Director, is a graduate of both the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting and the UCLA MFA Screenwriting Program. He completed his undergraduate studies in theater arts at UC Santa Cruz. Eyal is the receipient of the Zaki Gordon Award for Excellence in Screenwriting, the Harmony Gold Award for Excellence in Screenwriting, and the Milton Sperling Award for Excellence in Screenwriting. While a student at UCLA, Eyal placed in the UCLA screenwriting competition twice, both as an honorable mention and as a winner. In addition, Eyal's screenplay RETURN was a semi-finalist in the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Competition. Eyal co-wrote and co-produced the upcoming film SILK, co-written and directed by Catherine Dent and starring Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo.

JASON BLUM (Film Financing) is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, a multi-media production company that has pioneered a new model of studio filmmaking, producing high-quality micro-budget films for wide release. Since its launch in 2000, Blumhouse has produced more than 30 feature films including some of the most profitable movies of all time. Last year, Blumhouse produced highly-profitable movies like James WanÕs INSIDIOUS which had a budget of $1.5m and grossed close to $100m worldwide, and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3, which had a budget of $5m and grossed over $200m worldwide. Premiering later this year is SINISTER, directed and co-written by Scott Derrickson and starring Ethan Hawke for Lionsgate/Summit, as well as PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 for Paramount Pictures.

BOB BIBB and LEW GOLDSTEIN (TV Marketing) were most recently co-chiefs of marketing at Lifetime TV. They are the first U.S. marketing executives to have launched and built two broadcast networks: Fox and The WB. In 1986, they became the first creative marketing heads of the Fox Television Network. In 1994, they were recruited to help develop The WB Television Network, where they were promoted to Co-Presidents of Marketing in 2001. At The WB, they guided the launch of such iconic series as BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, DAWSONÕS CREEK, FELICITY, GILMORE GIRLS, and SMALLVILLE. Bibb and Goldstein have been honored many times over the years, including being named Advertising AgeÕs ÒEntertainment Marketers of the YearÓ and Brand WeekÕs ÒMarketers of the Year.Ó

PETER BRODERICK (Alternative Distribution)is President of Paradigm Consulting, which helps filmmakers and media companies develop strategies to maximize distribution, audiences, and revenues. In addition to advising on sales and marketing, Paradigm Consulting specializes in state-of-the-art distribution techniquesÑincluding innovative theatrical service deals, hybrid video strategies (mixing retail and direct sales online), and new approaches to global distribution. Broderick was President of Next Wave Films, which supplied finishing funds and other vital support to filmmakers from the US and abroad. He helped launch the careers of such exceptionally talented directors as Christopher Nolan, Joe Carnahan, and Amir Bar-Lev. In January 1999, Broderick established Next Wave FilmsÕ Agenda 2000, the worldÕs first initiative devoted to financing digital features. A key player in the growth of the ultra-low budget feature movement, Broderick became one of the most influential advocates of digital moviemaking. Now focused on the revolution in film distribution, Broderick gives keynotes and presentations internationally, most recently in Amsterdam, Sydney, Toronto, Cannes, Guadalajara, Berlin, London, and Rio de Janeiro.

LISA CALLIF (Legal Issues for Independent Film) named by Variety as one of The Best and The Brightest (2011), is an entertainment attorney whose primary focus is on representing independent filmmakers in all aspects of their moviemaking, including development, production and distribution. As part of her practice, Lisa does a significant amount of clearance work for documentaries, including rendering fair use opinion letters, which permit her clients to use limited amounts of unlicensed material in their films under the fair use doctrine as codified in US Copyright Law. Lisa has rendered legal services on such films as Invisible War (Grand Jury Prize, Best Documentary, Sundance 2012), Inside Job (Academy Award¨ winner 2011), Insidious (from the producers of Paranormal Activity), How to Die In Oregon (Grand Jury Prize, Best Documentary, Sundance 2011), IÕm Still Here (starring Joaquin Phoenix), Teenage Paparazzo (starring Adrian Grenier), Waiting for Superman, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (Academy Award¨ nominee 2010), Bigger, Stronger, Faster Ð The Side Effects of Being America and This Film Is Not Yet Rated.

JON CASSAR (Television Production) participated in seven seasons as the Director/Executive Producer of FoxÕs Emmy and Golden Globe-winning drama 24. In this capacity, he directed 10 episodes each season while helping to oversee other production-oriented elements of all the showÕs 24 episodes. Jon also directed the 24 Television movie Redemption that was shot in South Africa and was nominated for 6 Emmy awards. Before working on 24, Mr. Cassar directed the television pilots and several season episodes of the popular La Femme Nikita, Mutant X, Sheena: Queen of the Jungle and Queen of Swords. Other directing credits include episodes of popular TV shows such as Fringe, Criminal Minds, Human Target, Profiler, Due South, Dead Zone, Forever Knight, Street Time and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.

MICHAEL DONALDSON (Clearance and Copyright, Negotiating) is an attorney and past President of The International Documentary Association (IDA) and General Counsel to Film Independent and Writers Guild of America/West Foundation. He co-wrote "The American Bar Association's Legal Guide to Independent Filmmaking" with his partner Lisa Callif. He also wrote "Clearance & Copyright" (which is in its third edition and is used as a textbook in over 50 colleges and universities), "Fearless Negotiating" published by McGraw Hill, as well as "Negotiating for Dummies." His practice is focused on independent film with an emphasis on clearance issues.

DAVID EILENBERG (Alternative Television Programming) David Eilenberg is Head of Development & Current Program at Mark Burnett Productions. His credits include the television shows THE VOICE, SHARK TANK, THE APPRENTICE, ASK OPRAH'S ALL-STARS, SARAH PALIN'S ALASKA, ROCK 'N ROLL FANTASY CAMP, HGTV DESIGN STAR, ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER?, and WEAKEST LINK.

MIKE FARAH (Producing for the Web) is the President of Production for Funny or Die, overseeing the creative day-to-day operations for the premiere comedy site, along with Funny or Die's television and feature projects. With Funny or Die for nearly three years, Farah has produced the award-winning video "Prop 8: The Musical", the Ron Howard directed "Presidential Reunion", and Marion Cotillard's "Forehead Tittaes", among many others. Under Farah's leadership, Funny or Die's creative team produces over 25 original videos a month. He is also one of the executive producers of ÒFunny Or DieÕs Billy on the Street,Ó airing on Fuse. Farah also produced the feature film ANSWER THIS!, starring Chris Gorham, Arielle Kebbel and Chris Parnell, written and directed by his brother, Chris Farah. ANSWER THIS! was acquired by Wrekin Hill. In November 2010, The Hollywood Reporter named Farah one of the top 35 Hollywood executives under 35.

RICHARD FAY (Domestic Theatrical Distribution) is the President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution for Lionsgate Distribution. Working closely with the exhibitors and filmmakers, Fay develops, oversees and executes the distribution strategy for the Lionsgate domestic film slate. Fay has over 40 years experience in the film industry most recently as President of Summit Entertainment (2007-2012) and before that heading his own firm, Fay Enterprises, which consulted for a number of enterprises including Deluxe Labs, several motion pictures, and in-theatre marketing companies including Movie Me and Timeplay. Prior to starting his own firm in 2005, Fay was the President of AMC Film Marketing for 10 years where he was responsible for film buying and in-theatre marketing. During his tenure at AMC, Fay was also responsible for negotiating all the film settlements with distributors and initiating aggregate film deals as AMC grew into a circuit of Megaplexes.

ALLEN FISCHER (Representation) is a partner at Principato-Young Entertainment, one of the leading management companies in the business. After starting his career in the mailroom at CAA and working his way up through the assistant ranks, he transitioned into the growing field of management about 10 years ago. Allen’s clients are some of the top writers and directors in the business. Screenwriter clients include Jeremy Garelick (THE BREAK-UP, THE HANGOVER), Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz (FRINGE, THOR, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS), and Eric Kripke (SUPERNATURAL). Director clients include F. Gary Gray (THE ITALIAN JOB), Sylvain White (STOMP THE YARD), Danny Leiner (HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE), UCLA alum Dan Attias (HOUSE, HUNG, ENTOURAGE, LOST), Tim Hill (HOP), and Jon M. Chu (JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER). Allen also represents actor/comedian/writer Ed Helms, who starred in THE HANGOVER movies and is a cast member of THE OFFICE. Allen is attached to produce numerous features at every major studio and is responsible for selling many scripts and pitches every year.

ADAM FOGELSON (Feature Film Marketing) was named Chairman of Universal Pictures in October 2009. He oversees worldwide operations for the motion picture group, including its global theatrical, home entertainment, partnerships & licensing, finance, human resources and communications divisions. Fogelson has been with Universal since 1998, beginning as Vice President of Creative Advertising and rising to President of Marketing and Distribution before his promotion to Chairman. 2012 marks the year of FogelsonÕs first full slate of films, which already includes an impressive array of worldwide box office hits, such as Dr. SeussÕ THE LORAX, AMERICAN REUNION, SAFE HOUSE, and CONTRABAND. Earlier successes under his leadership include BRIDESMAIDS, FAST FIVE, and DESPICABLE ME.

RANDY GREENBERG (International Theatrical Distribution) is a creative entertainment marketing and publicity executive. Over the past 15+ years, Greenberg has been involved in the greenlight, marketing and distribution of 200+ films, and his campaigns have produced over $5 billion in theatrical revenues alone. Greenberg runs The Greenberg Group, a boutique entertainment marketing/distribution and business strategy consultancy, which also advises clients on project financing strategy, publicity, media and promotions strategy, production and content acquisition, plus business affairs including negotiating rights, financing, talent, production and domestic and international sales agent contracts/agreements.

DEBORAH NADOOLMAN LANDIS (Design), costume designer and historian, received an M.F.A. in Costume Design (1975) from UCLA and a PhD in the History of Design from the Royal College of Art, London. Her costume design collaboration with filmmaker John Landis ranges from the horror/comedy BURKE & HARE (2010) to the classic ANIMAL HOUSE (1978) to COMING TO AMERICA (1988) (for which she was nominated for an Academy Award) and the groundbreaking music video Michael JacksonÕs Thriller (1983). Landis has worked with directors as diverse as Steven Spielberg [including the iconic Indiana Jones for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)], Louis Malle, and Costa Gavras.

Andrew Lazar (Case Study: Producing a Feature Film) formed the Warner Bros. Studios based production company Mad Chance with a mandate to focus on smart, intriguing material in every genre and budget-range, debuting with Touchstone's Shakespeare-influenced teen comedy 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles. Among the studio projects that Mad Chance currently has in preproduction are: LORE, based on the graphic novel of the same name, set up at Warner Bros. with Dwayne Johnson attached to star; AMERICAN SNIPER, based on the NY Times best-seller about the most lethal sniper in US military history, set up at Warner Bros with Bradley Cooper attached to star; and MORTDECAI, a comedy to be directed by David Koepp, set up at Warner Bros as a vehicle for Johnny Depp.

JEFFREY LIEBER (TV Development) serves as executive producer of the USA Network original series NECESSARY ROUGHNESS, which returned for its 2nd season on Wednesday, June 6. Born and raised in Evanston, Ill., Lieber started out his professional career as an actor and a playwright in Chicago's storied theater scene, where he performed at such companies as The Steppenwolf Theater, The Organic Theater and the Victory Gardens Theater. In 1995 Lieber moved to Los Angeles, where he started writing scripts for various movie studios, including the 2002 release TUCK EVERLASTING (starring Alexis Bledel, William Hurt, and Sissy Spacek). Lieber added television pilots to his repertoire in 2003, which led him to become one of the co-creators of the series LOST in 2004, and the creator of CBS' MIAMI MEDICAL in 2010.

CAMILLIA MONET (Starting a Production Company) is an award Ð winning producer of film & television in Los Angeles. She has produced over 10 short films shown all over the world (three of which have won Best Short Film Awards) and several which have been sold & aired for IFC, HBO & Sitv; such as THE WINGED MAN starring Ana Ortiz (UGLY BETTY), written by Oscar-nominated Jose Rivera (THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES). Camillia's feature horror thriller DARK DESERT HIGHWAY was exhibited in this yearsÕ Cannes Film Festival in a co- production with Angel & Bear Productions from Thailand. She is producing the feature CELESTINA, re-teaming with screenwriter, Jose Rivera. Currently in development, it is being executive produced by Walter Salles (CITY OF GOD) and will star Bill Pullman & Alfred Molina. Camillia's latest feature, a romantic comedy called LOVE OR WHATEVER starring Kate Flannery ( NBCÕs THE OFFICE), has been selected as this yearÕs Feature film at the highly acclaimed GLBQ festival, Frameline36. Camillia has had several television shows optioned and is currently writing an epic drama with novelist & Emmy Award winner Jennifer Niven.

MAGGIE MURPHY (The Television Executive) is the Co-Head of Shaftesbury U.S., the companyÕs newly launched division located in Los Angeles and focused on development for the U.S., Canadian and International markets. Shaftesbury US has a dozen projects currently in development with projects set up at the major networks here as well as in Canada and London. With more than 20 years experience in television development and production, Maggie most recently served as Senior Vice President of Development for Cookie Jar Entertainment where she executive produced the award winning TV show DEBRA!. Prior to that, she served as President of Kiefer SutherlandÕs Eastside Entertainment, part of 20th Century Fox, where she oversaw development of comedy and drama for television, film and digital media, and brokered deals for property acquisition and Emmy award-winning writer Michael Caleo (THE SOPRANOS) and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lucinda Franks, among others.

LAURA NIX (Documentary Filmmaking) is a director/producer of the documentary THE LIGHT IN HER EYES, which had its world premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, and will be broadcast nationally as part of the 25th anniversary season of POV on PBS. She recently co-wrote CALIFORNIA STATE OF MIND: THE LEGACY OF PAT BROWN. Her non-fiction work has been shown on HBO and the History Channel, in addition to international DVD distribution. She is the writer/director of the narrative feature THE POLITICS OF FUR, which played in over 70 film festivals internationally, and won numerous awards including the Grand Jury Prize at Outfest. She produced the festival hit THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD about the Ògonzo political activistÓ duo, and is currently producing their next film, THE YES MEN ARE REVOLTING.

ALISSA PHILLIPS/FERNLEY PHILLIPS (Feature Film Development)
ALISSA PHILLIPS is a producer with Sony based Michael De Luca Productions, whose credits include THE SOCIAL NETWORK, as well as the GHOSTRIDER franchise, 21, FRIGHT NIGHT and THE SITTER. De Luca Prods. is currently in production on CAPTAIN PHILLIPS for Sony, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Paul Greengrass. Alissa was a producer on the Oscar nominated film MONEYBALL directed by Bennett Miller and starring Brad Pitt, and the upcoming film BUTTER starring Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde and Hugh Jackman, to be released in Fall 2012. She also just completed producing the television pilot LA NOIR for TNT, written and directed by Frank Darabont (WALKING DEAD, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION). Prior to De Luca, Alissa was a producer with Gil Netter and worked on films including FEVER PITCH and FLICKA. FERNLEY PHILLIPS is a professional screenwriter whose entry to the industry was via his spec sale THE NUMBER 23 which was made into a movie starring Jim Carrey and directed by Joel Schumacher. Since then he was worked for Warner Bros, Paramount and most recently Fox, Universal and Dimension. He is currently developing a TV series with Stan Lee.

BILLY RAY (Story/Pitching) wrote/directed SHATTERED GLASS (starring Hayden Christensen and Chloe Sevigny), and wrote/directed BREACH (starring Ryan Phillippe, Chris Cooper, and Laura Linney). In addition, Billy co-wrote the feature adaptation of the hit book THE HUNGER GAMES. He also wrote the upcoming film CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (starring Tom Hanks and directed by Paul Greengrass), and is currently writing SINATRA for Universal Pictures and director Martin Scorsese.

NANCY RICHARDSON (Post-Production) . is a graduate of U.C.Berkeley and received her MFA from UCLAÕs graduate film department. She is currently editing WARM BODIES for director Jonathan Levine (50-50). Her previous credits include THE VOW, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, AMERICAN VIOLET, STEP UP, THE LAST SONG, and TWILIGHT, which was her third film with director Catherine Hardwicke. Her other collaborations with Hardwicke were LORDS OF DOGTOWN and Hardwicke's directorial debut THIRTEEN.

MYRL SCHREIBMAN (Creative Producing/Feature Film Preparation) has been a Professor in The School of Theater, Film and Television for the past two decades and teaches in both the Producing Program and the Directing Program. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America, as well as the Producers Guild of America and has an extensive background as a producer and director for the screen, large and small, and the broadway and regional stages. He is the author of two highly successful books, THE INDIE PRODUCERS HANDBOOK which has gone into a new edition for Random House E-Books, and has been translated into Chinese and published by Tsingua University Press, and THE FILM DIRECTORS PREPARES, which has been translated into Italian and was released in June 2012.

ANGELA SOSTRE (The Production Budget) graduated with an MFA from the UCLA Directing Program in 2004. Her passion for producing led her to helm twenty graduate level productions, including CHAOS THEORY, for which she won a Student Emmy. Angela works as a freelance Producer/Line Producer, producing commercials (MONSTER, UCLA/NCAA, AQUAFINA, CISCO, SVEDKA VODKA, SPECIALIZED), music videos (A.R. RAHMAN, THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH, NICK CARTER), PSAÕs (Planned Parenthood), as well as several feature films (JOURNEY FROM THE FALL, BLIND AMBITION, CHASING TCHAIKOVSKY, BASEMENT JACK, DEADLINE, FINISHING THE GAME: THE SEARCH FOR THE NEW BRUCE LEE, DISPATCH, SPORK, GROOMING GISELLE, AUDREY, the 2009 Slamdance award winning Best Narrative film, A QUIET LITTLE MARRIAGE, and the Netflix Find Your Voice Competition winner, ALMOST KINGS.

SHEILA HANAHAN TAYLOR (Career Strategizing for Producers) is a partner and producer at Practical Pictures, where she has a wide range of feature and television projects set up at major studios, including the comedy THE PET, to be directed by Jared Hess (NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, NACHO LIBRE), and the family comedy HOURS OF FUN, both for Walt Disney Studios, as well as the thriller THE SEMINAR for CBS Films. In Spring 2012, Practical PicturesÕ fourth installment of the AMERICAN PIE franchise, AMERICAN REUNION, was released on over 5000 screens worldwide by Universal Studios. Recently, Sheila Executive Produced the 3D summer tentpole movie, FINAL DESTINATION 5 for New Line Cinema/Warner Brothers Studios, which to date has grossed $160 million in worldwide box office.