Co-hosted by Cornell in Hollywood and Harvardwood, this panel welcomes entertainment executives for a discussion about the new paradigm that’s blurring the lines that once separated gaming from film and television.
Moderator:
Alex Krivicich is the founder of Super Bit Machine, a game development studio located in Los Angeles that is revolutionizing spectator-friendly, competitive gaming for tablets and smartphones. He is a former partner and co-founder of Buffalo Studios, which he helped create and develop into the category leading social mobile casino studio. Krivicich previously served as art and design lead for EA Mobile and as an essential part of EA Social, the Electronic Arts social game initiative.
Panelists:
Jon Goldman is Managing Partner for Skybound, the IP holder of THE WALKING DEAD and other top IPs. Jon is also a Venture Partner at Greycroft, focused on video games, VR/AR and eSports. Previously, Jon served as board member and CEO for two portfolio companies at Jerusalem Venture Partners in video games and online video. Jon was a founder, Chairman and CEO of Foundation 9 Entertainment, the largest independent video game developer in the world at the time with 11 studios and 1000 employees and sold the company in 2006. Foundation 9’s studios created hundreds of video games based on top tier global brands such as STAR WARS, THE MATRIX, THE SIMPSONS and LORD OF THE RINGS.
Ann Hand serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Super League Gaming. Super League’s mission is to give gamers an entirely new way to enjoy the games they love. The Santa Monica-based company cut its teeth producing hyper-competitive Minecraft events nationwide, an event series that continues to grow.
Larry Kasanoff, Chairman/CEO of Threshold Entertainment Group, is the producer of all MORTAL KOMBAT media. He is executive producer of the box-office smash film, TRUE LIES starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by James Cameron. Previously, as president and co-founder of Lightstorm Entertainment, Larry supervised production, marketing, publicity and merchandising for TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY. As a producer or studio head, Larry has made over 200 feature films, including DIRTY DANCING and Academy-Award -Winning Best Picture PLATOON. He has raised well over a billion dollars in the film business. Larry is currently working on a film adaption of “Tetris,” one of the best-selling video games of all time.
Rick Phillips is the Executive Vice President of Fox Digital Entertainment. In this role, he is responsible for licensing the studio’s film and television properties for mobile games. During his tenure, FDE has released “The Simpsons: Tapped Out,” “Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff,” “Futurama: Game of Drones,” “Angry Birds: Rio,” “Ice Age Village” and a broad range of other games. Prior to his current post, Rick served as Senior Vice President of Mobile; in this role he was responsible for both Fox’s mobile gaming activities and for licensing Fox’s film and television libraries to mobile video services. He has served as a senior executive at leading media and technology companies, including Microsoft Corporation, Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. and MGM Worldwide Television.
Josh Yguado is Co-Founder, President and COO of Jam City (formerly SGN Games), where he has overseen the company’s exponential growth into one of the largest mobile game developers in the world. Successful titles in the Jam City portfolio include “Marvel Avengers Academy,” “Family Guy: Quest for Stuff” and “Cookie Jam” (awarded Facebook Game of the Year). Before launching Jam City, Josh was Vice President at Fox Entertainment, where he worked on the acquisition of MySpace, the creation of Hulu and the launch of several new television networks.
Doors open at 7:30pm. Event starts at 8pm.
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Proceeds benefit the Foundation’s library and archive and other outreach programs.