04 | 03:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Day-end Fireside Chat: Tips and Wisdom from the Frontlines of Indie Producers creating Programming for TV, Cable, Broadband, Mobile.
Veteran producers talk about what it takes to get your work on HBO, AOL, A&E and MTV and create long-lasting relationships.
Moderator: Daniel Laikind, Co-Founder, Stick Figure Productions
David Tenzer, Managing Director of the Peronalities and Lifestyle Division, Generate
Mahyad Tousi, Co-Founder, BoomGen Studios
Gary Delfiner, SVP Digital Distribution, Screen Media Ventures
Jeff Gomez, CEO, Starlight Runner Entertainment

Click here for photos from this panel at the spring summit

Moderator: Daniel Laikind, Co-Founder, Stick Figure Productions

Daniel Laikind is the co-founder of Stick Figure Productions and serves as its President of Development and Production.

In their 12 years under Laikind’s guidance, Stick Figure has become one of the leading producers of non-fiction entertainment garnering 6 Emmy nominations including one win; they have had three films premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and Stick Figure’s reality television slate includes some of the most highly regarded series in the genre, such as, Amish in the City, Family Bonds, and Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane , Repossessed and #1 Single with Lisa Loeb.

Laikind has Developed, Produced or Executive Produced projects for over 30 television networks, including HBO, Bravo, VH1, E!, IFC, Discovery Channel, TLC, AMC, A&E, Showtime, The Sundance Channel, the History Channel, National Geographic and PBS.

Additionally, he developed and Executive Produced the most successful web series of its kind, The Biz, for AOL which was viewed by over 10 million people, a record for an internet show. The Biz gave aspiring execs a chance to own their own record label on the Warner Music Group.

In his role at Stick Figure, he has been involved in all aspects of the industry. He currently oversees their extensive development and production slate.

Additionally, Laikind has been featured by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America, All Things Considered on NPR, and many other television and news outlets. His expertise and understanding of the entertainment landscape and its evolution to new media has made him a go-to source for print and television reporters, as well as a featured speaker on numerous panels and lectures.

He was born and raised in New York City, and received a BA in Communications at Northwestern University’s School of Speech.

David Tenzer, Managing Director of the Peronalities and Lifestyle Division, Generate

David Tenzer is an entertainment lawyer, talent manager and business consultant, with extensive experience in many sectors of the media industry, including branded entertainment, sponsored programming and product integration.

His clients are talented artists and companies in all areas of entertainment, including actors, writers, directors, producers, on-camera personalities, lifestyle experts, film and television distributors and digital content providers.

For 24 years (1982-2006), Mr. Tenzer worked at Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, one of the world’s leading talent agencies. He started at CAA as an executive in Motion Picture Business Affairs, then transferred to the Television Division, where he soon was named the head of Television Business Affairs. After several years, he became a Television Agent, working first in television movies, then covering CAA’s projects at CBS.

Mr. Tenzer co-founded and operated the agency’s International Television Department, Alternative Programming Department, and later its Lifestyles Department. During his tenure at CAA, he also worked with the agency’s New Media, Film Financing and Marketing Departments, handling clients such as eBay, Delta Airlines and Procter & Gamble.

As a Television Agent, Mr. Tenzer was responsible for selling over 40 produced series, movies and specials, with budgets in excess of $800 million. These included scripted prime-time series for broadcast and cable networks, reality shows, documentaries, children’s programming and international co-productions, as well as projects (such as “Home Made Simple” and “Dear Santa”) directly underwritten by advertisers.

As a Business Affairs executive, he negotiated virtually every type of television contract, including license agreements on behalf of content providers, distribution and co-financing arrangements, overall deals with studios, sponsorship and endorsement deals, contingent compensation definitions and agreements with above-the-line talent. He was also responsible for all commission and packaging issues within CAA’s Television Division.

Mr. Tenzer has served on the Board of Directors of the International Documentary Association, the Banff World

Television Festival, NATPE (National Association of Television Program Executives) and the Hollywood Radio and Television Society. He traveled to Beijing and Shanghai with Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan as an entertainment delegate on the city’s Trade Mission to Asia. He was named one of “Twelve to Watch” by Electronic Media in one of its annual cover stories.

Prior to joining CAA, Mr. Tenzer was a contracts attorney with IBM Europe in Paris and Columbia Pictures in Los Angeles. He also worked in private practice with the law firm Rosen, Wachtell & Gilbert, where he specialized in commercial transactions and business litigation.

Mr. Tenzer has an undergraduate degree in Politics from U.C. Santa Cruz, a law degree from U.C. Davis and an M.A. in Urban Studies from Occidental College. He was a Coro Foundation Public Affairs Fellow, and earned a Certificate in Advanced International Legal Studies from McGeorge School of Law.

Mr. Tenzer is a member of the State Bar of California and a licensed real estate broker. He is an experienced public speaker, and has appeared on numerous panels regarding media, entertainment, advertising, branding and technology.  He is a native of Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife and three children. He firmly believes that his beloved Dodgers will win the World Series again at some point in the 21^st Century.

Mahyad Tousi, Co-Founder, BoomGen Studios

Mahyad leads both business and creative strategy for the company, and is the head producer on all of BoomGen Studios’ projects.

An ardent entrepreneur, Mahyad brings over fifteen years of experience spanning multiple industries and projects. His work has been shown theatrically, on television, and in museums and galleries around the world. He has worked in 26-countries, spanning five continents, as a producer and cinematographer, working on a wide range of projects and genre’s: including award winning documentaries, independent narrative features, and as a cinematographer on video installations. His most recent collaboration with the internationally acclaimed artist Mika Rottenberg, Squeeze, is currently on display at the Mary Boone Gallery in NY. Squeeze premiered at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts and will move to Amsterdam’s De Appel museum in 2011.

He produced Looking For Palladin, starring the legendary actor Ben Gazzara, David Moscow and two-time Oscar Nominee Talia Shire. Palladin, slated for theatrical release in 2011, is the first major motion picture shot entirely in Guatemala since 1938. Mahyad had to bring together the Guatemalan federal and local governments, and the business community in support of the project; hired mostly local crew, thus helping kick-start Guatemala’s film industry. Prior to Palladin, Mahyad was a producer and Assistant Director onMarvelous, an ensemble comedy starring Oscar nominees Mike Shannon and Amy Ryan, Ewen Bremner, Martha Plimption, and Annabella Sciora; and was one of four cinematographers on the Oscar shortlisted and Berlinale audience favorite Blindsight, a feature documentary about six blind Tibetan teens that attempt to climb Everest. For a full list of projects please visit IMDB.

Mahyad studied filmmaking at NYU, has been a guest lecturer for the MFA program at CCNY, and regularly appears as a speaker and panelist on social innovation through media, technology and storytelling.

Gary Delfiner, SVP Digital Distribution, Screen Media Ventures  

Gary Delfiner, Senior Vice President, Digital Distribution, Screen Media Ventures, LLC.  Gary’s key responsibility is identifying and developing direct relationships with the major worldwide digital platforms for the purpose of exploiting Screen Media’s library of over 1000 films. In addition, Gary works closely with those platforms to develop promotional and marketing opportunities to focus consumer attention on the company’s assets. Screen Media’s digital distribution division also actively aggregates film content from independent producers and suppliers specifically for digital exploitation.  As a twenty year veteran of the home entertainment business, Gary held several executive positions in the industry. At Spelling Entertainment, Gary was one of the key executives who created the home entertainment division called Worldvison Home Video.  As head of acquisition and marketing, Gary distributed hundreds of films including exploiting Aaron Spelling’s library of programming. At Spelling, Gary helped pioneer distribution of television shows on video. The release of Beverly Hills 90210 and Twin Peaks were among the first ever releases of that genre.  When Spelling Entertainment acquired Republic Pictures, Gary became the head of original film production for Republic. During his tenure, he developed and executive produced 15 films. Gary also developed and managed international co-productions deals.  After leaving Spelling, Gary continued to produce television and movies under his own banner of Gemini Releasing.  Gary was honored with the Parents Choice Award for his Showtime Original film Wildcat Canyon, as well as two Gemini Awards for the kid’s series I Was A Sixth Grade Alien the CBS television film Borrowed Hearts. Wanting to return to his distribution roots, Gary joined Screen Media Ventures in 2008. Gary is a graduate of Temple University with a degree in Film and Television.

Jeff Gomez, CEO, Starlight Runner Entertainment

Jeff Gomez is the world’s leading producer of transmedia entertainment properties. He is an expert at incubating new entertainment franchises, strategic planning and production for cross-platform implementation. As CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, a New York-based digital production company, Jeff transforms intellectual properties into global franchises that successfully leverage an array of media channels and mass audience touchpoints. He also extends niche properties such as toys, animation or videogame titles across multiple platforms, which in turn generate multiple revenue streams for Starlight Runner’s partners and clients. Jeff has worked on such blockbuster universes as Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, Tron Legacy and Fairies, Microsoft's Halo, James Cameron's Avatar, Hasbro’s Transformers, Mattel’s Hot Wheels and Coca-Cola's Happiness Factory. Jeff has also delivered his seminar, Creating Blockbuster Worlds: Developing Highly Successful Transmedia Franchises, to the MIT Futures of Entertainment Conference, Game Developers Conference, Kidscreen Summit, O’Reilly Tools of Change, the New York State Bar Association and the Producers Guild of America. He spoke at the TEDx conference in Geneva, Switzerland in September 2010, and is a consultant on multi-platform implementation of participative narrative to national and international government and non-government organizations. Jeff is a board member of the Producers Guild of America East, and sits on the advisory board of the PGA New Media Council. Jeff and Starlight Runner have recently been featured in Forbes, BusinessWeek, Variety, Publishers Weekly and The Wall Street Journal. http://www.starlightrunner.com

Photos from the spring panel

Digital Hollywood Content Summit VI - Wednesday, March 9, 2011