FYI - Film Your Issue

About Us

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HeathCliff Rothman
Founder, Film Your Issue
Social Entrepreneur and National Journalist

HeathCliff Rothman is a national journalist and social entrepreneur. He is co-founder of Global Vision for Peace/Artist for the U.N., now a United Nations NGO, which uses media and artists as a powerful vehicle to support peace and the mission and vision of the United Nations. Three years ago he launched FYI, a national youth-oriented "issue film" competition, now in partnership with Yahoo!, USA Today, Starz, Universal Pictures, the United Nations, The Humane Society of the United States, Natural Resources Defense Council, ASCAP, and leading higher education organizations.

The FYI vision is to engage young Americans in contemporary domestic and global issues, and empower them to add their voice to the public dialogue, and become engaged citizens via short films.

As a national journalist and cultural chronicler Mr. Rothman has profiled such legends as pulp fiction author Mickey Spillane and big band leader Artie Shaw for Vanity Fair, and leading American icons Meryl Streep, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Sigourney Weaver, and others for The New York Times, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, GQ, AARP, and other national publications. Mr. Rothman lives in Los Angeles.

Brad Anderson
Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Best Buy

As a vice chairman and chief executive officer of Best Buy, Brad Anderson leads more than 105,000 employees throughout North America with the credo that champions the ongoing development of leaders at all levels within the enterprise in order to germinate new ideas and drive and sustain the company’s growth and success.

A lifelong audiophile, Mr. Anderson joined the company in 1973 as a commissioned salesman at the fledgling Sound of Music, a small chain of stereo stores that was the precursor to Best Buy. Within weeks of joining the company, Mr. Anderson was ready to quit because he had not made a single sale. Then he discovered the power of asking the right questions and truly listening to the customer’s answers. He became a successful sales person and eventually was named store manager.

Brad Anderson was named vice president in 1981, and worked closely with Best Buy founder Dick Schulze on all of the major strategic initiatives that transformed and grew Best Buy, including the move to a non-commissioned store staff and the decision to let customers browse for themselves in warehouse-style stores.

In 1986, Mr. Anderson was promoted to executive vice president and was elected to Best Buy’s Board of Directors. In April 1991, he was promoted to president and chief operating officer. He was named vice chairman in 2001 and in june 2002 assumed the position of chief executive officer. Mr. Anderson is guiding Best Buy thought another transformation- from a product-centric company to one that is talent-powered and customer-driven.

Anderson’s charitable and volunteer efforts are highlighted by his participation on the boards of the American Film Institute, the Best Buy Children’s Foundation, the International Mass Retail Association, Minnesota Public Radio, and National Junior Achievement. He also serves on the Waldorf College Board of Regents.

Kevin Bacon
Actor and Social Entrepreneur

  

Alan Bergman
Lyricist / Board of Directors, Johnny Mercer Foundation Board of Directors, National Film Preservation Board

Marilyn Bergman
Lyricist / President and Chairman of the Board, ASCAP, Chairman, National Sound Recording Preservation Board

Alan and Marilyn Bergman are a lyric-writing team who have won three Academy Awards, two Grammys, one Ace Award and three Emmy Awards. In 1995, Marilyn and Alan were recipients of Honorary Doctorates from the Berklee College of Music, and also received the National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1980, they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in June of 1997 received the organization’s Johnny Mercer Award. Among many other accolades, Alan and Marilyn have been nominated for sixteen Academy Awards, and in 1983, they became the first songwriters ever to be nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Song out of the five nominated songs.

In 1985, Marilyn became the first woman to be elected to the Board of Directors of ASCAP, and in February of 1994, after serving five terms, she was elected President and Chairman of the Board of ASCAP. In September of 1996, she received France’s highest cultural honor, Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters Medal. Alan and Marilyn both serve on the Executive Committee of the Music Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Some of Alan and Marilyn’s credits include: "The Windmills of Your Mind," "The Way We Were," "You Don’t Bring Me Flowers," "Yellow Bird," "Nice n’ Easy," "How Do You Keep The Music Playing?," "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?," the score to the film Yentl,"The Summer Knows," and "Where Do You Start?" Their long list of television credits includes the theme songs for Maude, Good Times, Alice, and Brooklyn Bridge.

Alan has just recorded a CD on which he sings from their songbook.

Alan and Marilyn were born in the same hospital, and were raised in the same area of New York City. They met in Los Angeles while working independently with the same composer.

Wolf Blitzer
Anchor, CNN, The Situation Room and Late Edition

Wolf Blitzer is the anchor of The Situation Room, CNN’s weekday political news program that combines traditional reporting methods with the newest innovative online resources. The Situation Room makes the entire process of newsgathering more transparent and placing the latest news and information at the viewers’ fingertips. Blitzer also anchors Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, the only Sunday talk show seen in more than 200 countries and territories.

Blitzer has won numerous awards, including the 2004 Journalist Pillar of Justice Award from the Respect for Law Alliance and the 2003 Daniel Pearl Award from the Chicago Press Veterans Association. He was among the teams awarded a George Foster Peabody award for Hurricane Katrina coverage, an Alfred I. duPont Award for coverage of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia and an Edward R. Murrow Award for CNN’s coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

In November 2002, the American Veteran Awards honored him with the prestigious Ernie Pyle Journalism Award for excellence in military reporting, and, in February 2000, he received the Anti-Defamation League’s Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize. In 1999, Blitzer won the International Platform Association’s Lowell Thomas Broadcast Journalism Award for outstanding contributions to broadcast journalism. Blitzer won an Emmy Award for his 1996 coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing. Blitzer was also a member of CNN’s team that was awarded a Golden ACE award for their 1991 Gulf War reporting. In 1994, American Journalism Review cited him and CNN as the overwhelming choice of readers for the coveted Best in the Business Award for "best network coverage of the Clinton administration."

In 2006, Blitzer traveled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to cover the controversy over Dubai Ports World taking over six U.S. ports. Blitzer was the only American news anchor to cover the story on the ground in Dubai. In 2005, Blitzer traveled to the Middle East to report on the second anniversary of the war in Iraq. During this trip, Blitzer conducted an exclusive interview with Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and spent several days embedded with troops in the region. In 2003, Blitzer traveled to Kuwait City to anchor and report from the Persian Gulf region during the war in Iraq. He provided multiple reports daily throughout the war and conducted several interviews relevant to the news of the day.

Blitzer also anchors other major news events such as CNN’s "America Votes 2004," the network»s coverage of the presidential race. Throughout "America Votes 2004," Blitzer anchored events including the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary, the Democratic and Republican national conventions, election night from NASDAQ in Times Square and the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.

Throughout Election 2000, Blitzer interviewed all of the major party presidential candidates George W. Bush, Al Gore, Ralph Nader, and Pat Buchanan. He anchored Late Edition from the road in New York, New Hampshire and Iowa during the early primaries and debates. He hosted a town meeting with Senate candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton in Buffalo, N.Y., two live two-hour specials at each major party convention this summer and three CNN&TIME Town Meetings in October with undecided voters in battleground states. On Election Night, Blitzer joined the CNN Election 2000 team in Atlanta, reporting on the balance of power in the House and Senate.

Blitzer served as CNN’s senior White House correspondent covering President Bill Clinton from his election in November 1992 until 1999. For more than two decades, Blitzer has reported on a wide range of major breaking stories around the world. He began his career in 1972 with the Reuters News Agency in Tel Aviv. Shortly thereafter, he became a Washington, D.C., correspondent for The Jerusalem Post. After more than 15 years of reporting from the nation’s capital, Blitzer joined CNN in 1990 as the network’s military-affairs correspondent at the Pentagon. During his tenure at the Pentagon, Blitzer was among the team of CNN reporters who won the Golden CableACE from the National Academy of Cable Programming for coverage of the Persian Gulf War.

In August 1991, Blitzer flew to Moscow shortly after the failed coup and spent nearly a month reporting on the Soviet military. He was among the first Western reporters invited into KGB headquarters in Moscow for a rare inside look into the Soviet intelligence apparatus. He returned to Moscow in December 1991 to cover the collapse of the Soviet Union and the transition from Mikhail Gorbachev to Boris Yeltsin.

From the beginning of his career, Blitzer has covered many key events that have shaped the international political landscape. In 1982, Blitzer was in Beirut during the withdrawal of PLO and Syrian forces. Blitzer covered the first Israeli–Egyptian peace conference in Egypt in 1977, and, in 1979, he traveled with then-President Jimmy Carter on visits to Egypt and Israel for the final round of negotiations that resulted in the signing of the Israel–Egypt peace treaty. He was onsite in 1973 when West German Chancellor Willy Brandt visited Israel, the first visit by a German chancellor since the Holocaust.

Blitzer also has interviewed some of recent history’s most notable figures including both President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Blitzer has also interviewed former Presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. National newsmakers including Cabinet officials, members of Congress and social leaders are regular guests on his programs. Blitzer has interviewed international figures including former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former South African President Nelson Mandela, former Israeli prime ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, French President Jacques Chirac, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder¾from locations around the world.

Blitzer is the author of two books, Between Washington and Jerusalem: A Reporter’s Notebook (Oxford University Press, 1985) and Territory of Lies (Harper and Row, 1989). The latter was cited by The New York Times Book Review as one of the most notable books of 1989. He also has written articles for numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times.

Blitzer earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a master of arts degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. Blitzer also has honorary degrees from State University of New York at Buffalo; King’s College in Wilkes–Barre, Pa.; Gannon University in Erie, Pa.; Quinnipiac College in New Haven, Conn; St. Louis University, in St. Louis, Mo.; Western New England College in Springfield, Mass, D’Youville College in Buffalo, N.Y, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., and Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Ellen Burstyn
Actor

Ellen Burstyn’s illustrious career encompasses film, stage, and television. In 1975, she became only the third woman in history to win both the Tony Award and the Academy Award in the same year, for her work in Bernard Slade’s Same Time, Next Year on Broadway and in Martin Scorsese’s "Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore," for which she also received a Golden Globe nomination and a British Academy Award for Best Actress. Ellen has been nominated for an Academy Award five other times, for the films: "The Last Picture Show" (1972), "The Exorcist" (1974), "Same Time, Next Year" (1979), "Resurrection" (1981), and "Requiem for a Dream" (2001).

Ellen will be seen on the big screen in Darren Aronofsky’s new film "The Fountain" co-starring with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Warner Bros. will release the film on November 22nd. This past fall, she appeared in Neil LaBute’s remake of "The Wicker Man" with Nicholas Cage, which will be out on DVD this December. Ellen’s memoirs, Lessons in Becoming Myself, is now available in bookstores nationwide and online by Riverhead Press. An abridged audio version of the book, voiced by Ellen, is also available.

Ellen’s many theatre credits include the 1982 Broadway production of 84 Charing Cross Road. In addition, she starred with Burgess Meredith off-Broadway in Park Your Car in Harvard Yard. She appeared on Broadway in the acclaimed one-woman play, Shirley Valentine, and subsequently stared in Shimada in 1992 and Sacrilege in 1995. In the mid-90’s, she starred in two regional productions by Horton Foote, The Trip to Bountiful and Death of Papa. She also starred in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night at Houston’s Alley Theatre and at HartfordStage in Connecticut.

Ellen Burstyn has worked with some of film's most visionary directors, from Martin Scorsese to Darren Aronofsky – and has appeared in such films as "Alex in Wonderland" (1970), "The King of Marvin Gardens" (1972), "Harry and Tonto" (1974), "Providence" (1976), "Dream of Passion" (1978), "Silence of the North" (1980), "Twice in a Lifetime" (1986), "Dying Young" (1990), "The Cemetery Club" (1993), "Roommates" (1995), "HowTo Make An American Quilt" (1995), "The Babysitter’s Club" (1995), "The Spitfire Grill" (1996), "Playing By Heart" (1998), "The Yards" (1998), "Walking Across Egypt" (1999), and "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" (2002).

On television, Ellen received an Emmy nomination for her title role in "The People vs. Jean Harris" (1981). She received a second nomination for her starring role in "Pack of Lies," a 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame television production. In 2001, Ellen co-starred on the CBS series "That’s Life," followed by Mitch Albom’s television film version of "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," (2004) and in NBC’s series "The Book of Daniel" (2006).

Ellen Burstyn was the first woman to be elected President of Actor’s Equity Association (1982-85), and served as the Artistic Director of the Actors Studio for six years, where she studied with the late Lee Strasberg. She continues to be active there as co-president with Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel. In 2000, Ellen received the Career Achievement Award from the Boston Film Festival. She was given the Career Achievement Award from the prestigious National Board of Review in early 2001, and was most recently honored with the Career Achievement in Acting Award from the 2006 Hamptons Film Festival.

Born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, Michigan, Ellen spent her early years as a model and actress, appearing regularly on the "The Jackie Gleason Show," "The Doctors," "Ben Casey" and "Iron Horse."

Academically, Ellen holds three honorary doctorates, one in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts, a Doctor of Humane Letters from Dowling College, and a doctorate from The New School for Social Research. Ellen also teaches in The Actors Studio M.F.A. program at its new home at Pace University in New York City and lectures throughout the country on a wide range of topics.

Bruce Chizen
CEO Adobe Systems

Chief Executive Officer Bruce Chizen’s customer-focused vision has transformed Adobe into one of the world’s largest and most diversified software companies in terms of revenue, global reach and breadth of products. Since his promotion to CEO in 2000, Chizen has more than doubled Adobe’s revenue and turned a company known mainly for its popular design products into one of the most significant forces in the software industry today.

Under Chizen’s leadership, Adobe recently acquired Macromedia, Inc. in a transaction valued at approximately $3.4 billion. The acquisition brings together some of the industry’s strongest software brands and most ubiquitous technologies, and accelerates Adobe’s strategy to provide a powerful software platform that scales from mobile devices to enterprise servers. With this platform, Adobe has access to more desktops and end users than any other technology vendor.

In addition to growing Adobe’s leadership in design and publishing software, Chizen has led the company’s expansion into new markets, from enterprises and knowledge workers to high-end consumers. During Chizen’s tenure, Adobe has consistently ranked near the top of Fortune Magazine’s annual report on the "100 Best Companies to Work For."

Prior to becoming CEO in December 2000, Chizen was executive vice president of worldwide products and marketing. At Adobe since 1994, he was previously vice president and general manager of both the professional graphics division and Adobe’s consumer division.

From 1980 to 1983, he worked in Mattel Electronics’ merchandising group, helping grow it to a $500 million business. In 1983, Chizen joined Microsoft Corporation as the company’s eastern region sales director. In 1987, he joined Claris Corporation as a founding senior manager and later held positions as vice president of sales and of worldwide marketing before becoming vice president and general manager of Claris Clear Choice.

Chizen holds a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College, City University of New York. He serves on the boards of Synopsys, Inc. and the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose.

Robert B. Clasen
Chairman and CEO of Starz, LLC

Robert B. Clasen is chairman and chief executive officer of Starz LLC. Clasen is responsible for all business, strategic, personnel, legal and financial matters and for generating growth and new business opportunities for Starz Entertainment, Starz Media and Overture Films.

Clasen joined Starz Entertainment in September, 2003, as president of sales and marketing. He was promoted to president and chief operating officer in June, 2004, and to president/CEO in November, 2004. As CEO he succeeded John J. Sie, the company’s founder, who announced his retirement in June, 2004.

Clasen has held key positions in the media industry since he first went to work for Continental Cablevision (now part of Comcast Corp.) in 1974. He served as president of Comcast Cable from 1984–1989 and as president of Comcast International Holdings from 1989–1991 and again from 1993–1997. Prior to joining Starz Entertainment he had served as CEO of Comstream Corp., a provider of commercial satellite equipment and ICTV, a developer of interactive technology for the cable industry.

Clasen has been nationally recognized for his outstanding leadership from a variety of organizations and publications including Industry Week, Women in Cable and Telecommunications (WICT), Channels and Irish America. He was selected by Cable Television Business as Executive of the Year in 1988 and as Convergence Pioneer by Cable World in 2000. He was inducted into the Cable Pioneers in 2001. Clasen has served as a member of the National Academy of Cable Programming Board of Governors and director of the Cable Television Advertising Bureau (CAB) and the Cable Television Marketing Association (CTAM).

Television Week magazine selected him as one of the "12 to Watch" in the television industry for 2005.

Clasen graduated from Bowling Green State University in Ohio with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology.

He lives with his wife, Liane, and their youngest son, Michael, in Denver.

Walter Cronkite
News Anchor/Journalist/Author

Walter Cronkite is the former CBS Evening New anchorman, whose commentary defined issues and events in America for almost two decades. Mr. Cronkite, whom a major poll once named the "most trusted figure" in American public life, often saw every nuance in his nightly newscasts scrutinized by politicians, intellectuals, and fellow journalists for clues to the thinking of mainstream America. In contrast, Mr. Cronkite viewed himself as a working journalist, epitomized by his title of "managing editor" of the CBS Evening News. His credo, adopted from his days as a wire service reporter, was to get the story "fast, accurate, and unbiased." His trademark exit line was "and that’s the way it is."

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Mr. Cronkite began his career as a news writer and editor for Scripps-Howard and United Press. He was a war correspondent for United Press, and after the war, reopened news bureaus for UP in Amsterdam and Brussels. Mr. Cronkite was the chief correspondent covering the Nuremberg Trials and also served as bureau manager in Moscow. In 1950, he joined CBS as a television correspondent.

Mr. Cronkite has received a Peabody Award, the William White Award for Journalistic Merit, an Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the George Polk Journalism Award, and a Gold Medal from the International Radio and Television Society. He is a long time member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

His 1996 autobiography, A Reporter’s Life, was a bestseller. An avid sailor, Mr. Cronkite wrote the text for South by Southeast, a record of his impressions sailing the waterways from Chesapeake Bay to Key West. A sequel, North by Northeast, was also published.

John Cusack
Actor and Producer

With an impressive body of work spanning the course of two decades, John Cusack has evolved into one of Hollywood's most accomplished, and respected actors of his generation. He has garnered both critical acclaim as well as prestigious accolades for his dramatic as well as comedic roles.

This summer Cusack will be seen starring in two major motion pictures–"Martian Child" for New Line Cinema and "1408" for Dimension Films. In the romantic comedy "Martian Child," Cusack stars opposite Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt and Joan Cusack as a writer who, crushed by the death of his fiance, adopts a six year old boy who is convinced he is from Mars. The film is directed by Menno Meyjes and written by Seth Bass and Jonathan Tolins. In The Weinstein company's "1408," Cusack stars as Mike Enslin, a supernatural phenomena specialist who sets out to prove that a haunted New York hotel is just urban legend. As research for his novel, Enslin stays in the notorious room 1408 only to discover the hard way that these myths and coincidences are in fact anything but. The film is directed by Mikael Hafstrom and the story has been adapted by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski from the Stephen King novel of the same title.

Later this year, Cusack will be seen in the independent feature "Grace Is Gone," which he recently starred in and produced under his New Crime Productions banner with Plum Pictures. "Grace Is Gone" premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and was recognized with an "Audience Award." The film was bought by The Weinstein Company for distribution and will be released later this year. Cusack plays Stanley Phillips, a young father who takes his two daughters on an impulsive road trip upon learning that his wife, Grace, has been killed in service in Iraq. The film is written and directed by James C. Strouse.

Cusack will also voice the title character of Igor in Exodus Film Group’s CG–animated feature comedy. The Weinstein Company will distribute the film, which is being directed by Tony Leondis. "Igor" will be released on October 24, 2008.

Cusack most recently finished production on "Brand Hauser: Stuff Happens" with Joan Cusack, Marissa Tomei, Hilary Duff and Sir Ben Kingsley, which he also produced under New Crime Productions. The film was shot in Sofia, Bulgaria and is directed by Joshua Seftel. Cusack wrote the screenplay with Jeremy Pikser and Mark Leyner. In the film, Cusack plays the role of a hit man hired to kill the CEO of major corporation. Set in the future in the desert town of Turagistan, Cusack finds himself torn between obligation and love.

In 2005, Cusack starred opposite Billy Bob Thornton in the dark comedy, "The Ice Harvest." Based on a Scott Phillips novel, Harold Ramis-directed the film for Focus Features. The previous year in "Runaway Jury," he stared opposite Hollywood legends Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. The film was based on John Grisham’s best selling novel of the same title and was directed by Gary Fleder. In 2003, Cusack joined Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina and Ray Liotta in the thriller "Identity," directed by James Mangold for Columbia Pictures. In the controversial film, "Max," directed by Menno Meyjes and released by Lions Gate in December 2002, Cusack portrayed Max Rothman, an elegant, sophisticated former cavalry officer who returns to his native Munich to set up an art gallery, when he meets another aspiring artist, a young Adolf Hitler (played by Noah Taylor). The film, which Cusack also produced, garnered strong reactions at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival and has been debated extensively throughout the country because of its controversial subject matter.

In 2001, Cusack was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for his role in the feature version of Nick Hornby's English novel, "High Fidelity," for Touchstone Pictures. In addition to starring in the film, Cusack also co–produced and co–wrote the script with Steve Pink and D.V. DeVincentis. The film also stars Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Joan Cusack.

In 1999, Cusack starred in the dark comedy "Being John Malkovich" for USA Films. Cusack's performance earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination in the category of Best Actor. That year, Cusack also co-starred in "Cradle Will Rock," an ensemble drama written and directed by Tim Robbins, portraying Nelson Rockefeller opposite an ensemble cast that included Emily Watson, Cary Elwes, Angus McFadden, Susan Sarandon, Hank Azaria, John Turturro, Ruben Blades and Vanessa Redgrave. He also starred with Billy Bob Thornton, Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett in Mike Newell’s comedy "Pushing Tin." In the same year, he starred in HBO's "The Jack Bull," a traditional Western written by his father Dick Cusack. John served as executive producer on this film along with Steve Pink and D.V. DeVincentis under New Crime Productions.

In 1997, Cusack starred opposite Joan Cusack, Dan Aykroyd and Minnie Driver in Buena Vista Pictures, "Grosse Pointe Blank." Cusack received rave reviews for the comedy that he also produced and co–wrote about a hit man who goes through a spiritual crisis during his high school reunion. This was the first project New Crime developed and produced under their banner.

Also in 1997, Cusack starred with Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi in Buena Vista’s blockbuster, "Con Air" from director Simon West. Later that year he starred with Kevin Spacey in the Warner Bros. feature, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" directed by Clint Eastwood. Based on John Berendt’s nonfiction bestseller of the same name, Cusack portrayed John Kelso, the movie version of the author/narrator. Additionally, Cusack lent his voice to FOX's full–length animated feature, "Anastasia," opposite the voices of Meg Ryan as Anastasia, Christopher Lloyd as Rasputin and Kelsey Grammer as Vladimir.

In 1995, Cusack starred opposite Al Pacino in Castle Rock’s political thriller, "City Hall," directed by Harold Becker for Columbia Pictures. In 1994, he re–teamed with Woody Allen, who cast him in the 1991 film "Shadows and Fog," to portray playwright David Shayne in the acclaimed "Bullets Over Broadway" for Miramax. The ensemble cast included Chazz Palminteri, Jennifer Tilly, Dianne Wiest and Tracey Ullman. Some of his other feature film credits include "The Road to Wellville," "True Colors," "Broadcast News," "Stand By Me" and "Better Off Dead." Cusack also starred in several romantic comedies, including Miramax’s "Serendipity," directed by Peter Chelsom and co–starring Kate Beckinsale; as well as starring with Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta–Jones and Billy Crystal in "America’s Sweethearts" for Sony Pictures. Cusack first gained the attention of audiences by starring in a number of 1980’s film classics such as "The Sure Thing," "Say Anything," and "Sixteen Candles." Following these roles, Cusack successfully shed his teen–heartbeat image by demonstrating his ability to expand his film repertoire by starring in a wide range of dramas, thrillers and comedies including "The Grifters," "Eight Men Out," "Adaptation," "Being John Malkovich," "High Fidelity," and "Grosse Pointe Blank."

Cusack divides his time between Los Angeles and Chicago.

Tom Ford
Designer

Tom Ford was born in Austin, Texas, but spent most of his childhood in Santa Fe, New Mexico. During his teens, Ford moved to New York and enrolled at New York University, initially attending courses in art history. He later redirected his studies to concentrate on architecture at Parsons School of Design in New York and Paris, concluding his training at Parsons in New York.

In 1990, Tom Ford moved to Milan to join Gucci as the company's Womenswear Designer. In 1992, he became Design Director and in 1994 he was appointed Creative Director of Gucci. He was responsible for the design of all product lines, from clothing to perfumes, and for the Group's corporate image, advertising campaigns and store design.

In January 2000, following the acquisition of Yves Saint Laurent and YSL Beaute by the Gucci Group, Tom Ford assumed the position of Creative Director of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche and YSL Beaute. In addition to his then existing duties at Gucci, Ford worked with all creative teams at YSL to define the overall image and positioning of the YSL brand including all product categories and communication activities. Ford also served as Creative Director of Gucci Group. In July 2002 he was made Vice Chairman of the Management Board of Gucci Group.

In April 2004, Ford resigned from his post at Gucci Group following a buyout by Pinault Printemps Redoute.

During Ford's 10 years as Creative Director at Gucci and Gucci Group, sales increased from 230 million dollars in 1994 to almost 3 billion dollars in 2003, making Gucci one of the largest and most profitable luxury brands in the world.

In April 2005, exactly one year after his dramatic departure from Gucci Group in 2004 Ford announced the creation of the TOM FORD brand. Ford announced his partnership with Marcolin Group, a global leader in the eyewear industry to produce and distribute optical frames and sunglasses under the TOM FORD brand. That same day Ford announced an alliance with Estee Lauder to create the TOM FORD BEAUTY brand. The collaboration is a two phase, multi year deal. Phase one of this collaboration launched in November 2005 with the highly successful Tom Ford Estee Lauder collection. In phase two, Tom Ford and Estee Lauder will create and market a stand alone fragrance and beauty collection under the TOM FORD BEAUTY label that launched in November 2006 with a signature fragrance called Tom Ford Black Orchid. In February 2006, Tom Ford announced a licensing agreement with Ermenegildo Zegna Group for the production and world wide distribution of luxury men's ready to wear and made to measure clothing, footwear and accessories under the TOM FORD label. Slated for April 2007, his first directly operated retail store will open in New York at 845 Madison Avenue to coincide with the debut of the signature TOM FORD menswear and accessory collection.

Ford currently lives in London, Santa Fe and Los Angeles where he has a film production company called Fade To Black. He is in the process of developing several film projects.

Tom Ford's success in the fashion industry has been recognized by a number of awards including: four awards from the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) (1996), (2001), (2002), (2004) five VH-1/ Vogue Fashion Awards (1995), (1996), (1999), (2002); two awards from the Fashion Editor's Club of Japan (FEC) (2000), the Style Icon Award in the 1999 Elle Style Awards (UK); the British GQ International Man of the Year Award (2000); the Superstar Award at the Fashion Group International's Night of Stars (USA, 2000); Best Fashion Designer, TIME Magazine (2001); GQ Designer of the year (USA, 2001); the Fashion Design Achievement Award at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum's National Design Awards (2003). In March 2004, Tom Ford was honored for his contributions to the worlds of fashion and film with the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style award and in 2005 he receives the Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Dan Harris
Anchor World News Sunday, ABC News

Dan Harris was named anchor of "World News Sunday" in November 2006. In addition to that role, he is a New York-based correspondent for ABC News’ broadcasts and platforms, including "World News with Charles Gibson," "Good Morning America," "Nightline," ABC News Digital and ABC News Radio.

Harris joined ABC News in March 2000. He has covered many of the biggest stories in recent years. He has reported from such diverse datelines as: Ground Zero, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Korea, Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. He has also spent many months in Iraq — both before and after the US-led invasion.

Domestically, Harris covered the presidential campaigns of Howard Dean and John Kerry. He also reported on the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the cultural and political impact of Christian Conservatives.

Prior to joining ABC News, Harris was an anchor at New England Cable News (NECN), the largest regional cable news network in the country, from 1997 to 2000. Before that he was an anchor and political reporter at WCSH, an NBC affiliate in Portland, Maine, for two years. He began his broadcasting career as a reporter for WLBZ, the NBC affiliate in Bangor, Maine.

Harris has been honored several times for his journalistic contributions. His accolades include an Associated Press Award for political coverage, a regional Emmy for feature stories and a duPont Award for in-depth coverage.

A graduate of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, Harris was raised in Newton, Mass., a suburb of Boston. He currently lives in New York City.

Reed Hastings
CEO and Founder of Netflix

Reed Hastings founded Netflix in 1997 and launched the subscription service in 1999. Netflix grew to one million subscribers in less than four years, and surpassed five million subscribers in June 2006. The company expects to achieve 20 million subscribers in 2010–2012.

In 2005 Netflix was twice independently ranked number one in customer satisfaction across all of ecommerce, by ForeSee Results. Netflix won the same distinction again in June 2006. In the fall of 2005, Netflix was the winner of Fast Company’s national Customers First Award, with Reed appearing on the cover of the October issue.

Also in 2005, Time magazine added Reed to its "Time 100" list of the one hundred most influential global citizens. Newsweek wrote that "Netflix revolutionized the way we watch movies." In 2006, ForeSee Results again named Netflix number one in customer satisfaction.

Earlier in his career, Reed founded Pure Software, which he built it into one of the world’s 50 largest public software companies. After a successful public offering and a number of acquisitions, Pure was acquired by Rational Software in 1997.

Reed is an active educational philanthropist and board member of many non-profits. In addition, he was President of the California State Board of Education from 2000 to 2004. He has led successful statewide political campaigns for more charter public schools and easier passage of local school bonds.

Reed received a BA from Bowdoin College in 1983 and an MSCS degree from Stanford University in 1988. He holds several patents.

Between Bowdoin and Stanford, Reed served in the U.S. Peace Corps as a high school math teacher in Swaziland.

Peter Jackson
Director and Prodcuer

   

Nicholas D. Kristof
Columnist, The New York Times

Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times since November 2001, writes op-ed columns that appear each Sunday and Tuesday. Previously, he was associate managing editor of The Times, responsible for Sunday editions.

Born on April 27, 1959, Mr. Kristof grew up on a cherry farm near Yamhill, Oregon, and raised sheep for his Future Farmers of America project. He graduated from Harvard College in three years, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1981, and then won first class honors in his study of law at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. He later studied Arabic in Cairo and Chinese in Taipei. After working in France, he caught the travel bug and began backpacking around Africa and Asia, writing articles to cover his expenses. Mr. Kristof has lived on four continents, reported on six, and traveled to well over 100 countries. He has had unpleasant experiences with malaria, mobs, war and an African airplane crash.

Mr. Kristof joined The New York Times in October 1984, initially covering economics. After that, he served as a business correspondent based in Los Angeles, Hong Kong bureau chief, Beijing bureau chief and Tokyo bureau chief. In 2000, he covered the presidential campaign and in particular Governor Bush, and he is the author of the chapter on Mr. Bush in the reference book "The Presidents."

In 1990 Mr. Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, also a Times journalist, won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of China’s Tiananmen Square democracy movement. They were the first married couple to win a Pulitzer for journalism. Mr. Kristof has won other prizes including the George Polk Award, the Overseas Press Club award, the Michael Kelly Award, and the Online News Association Award.

Mr. Kristof and Ms. WuDunn are authors of "China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power" and "Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia." Mr. Kristof and Ms. WuDunn are the parents of Gregory, Geoffrey and Caroline. Mr. Kristof enjoys running, backpacking, and having his Chinese and Japanese corrected by his children.

David Linde
Co–chairman, Universal Pictures

David Linde has served as Co-Chairman of Universal Pictures since March, 2006, when he and Chairman Marc Shmuger assumed their current roles. During the ensuing months, the duo has defined a global creative and business perspective for the Studio, supported by significant organizational changes and strategic business alliances. From their positions as heads of the greenlight committee to their oversight of digital initiatives in film, home video, television distribution and wireless platforms, they are defining Universal Pictures’ position at the forefront of the motion picture industry.

Linde’s role specifically encompasses the expansion of Universal Pictures’ profile in the international film world, where he has built strong creative and business relationships during an extensive and well-respected career.

Recent accomplishments include overseeing (with Shmuger) the startup of Universal Pictures International and Universal Pictures International Entertainment, the Studio’s own international marketing and distribution arms for film and home video. On January 1, 2007, UPI and UPIE officially opened their doors, following the breakup of United International Pictures, a joint venture that previously distributed movies and video overseas for Universal, Paramount and MGM.

Linde has also been a key member of the team that recently signed a seven-year agreement to continue the Studio’s valued relationship with Working Title Films, its largest supplier of motion pictures not based in the United States.

Prior to assuming his current post, Linde had served as Co-President of Focus Features (with James Schamus) since the company was formed in May 2002. At Focus, the specialty film unit of Universal Pictures, Linde oversaw a diverse and critically-acclaimed slate including Roman Polanski’s The Pianist, Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, Fernando Mereilles’ The Constant Gardener, and Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. During Linde’s tenure, the company garnered 53 Academy Award nominations and 11 Academy Awards.

He also oversaw the company’s Rogue Pictures label, formed in March 2004. Rogue is devoted to producing and distributing high-quality suspense, action, thriller, and urban entertainment with mainstream appeal and franchise potential.

Prior to the formation of Focus, Linde was Co-President of Good Machine, Inc. and President of subsidiary Good Machine International (GMI). The latter was formed once he joined the parent company as a partner in January 1997. In its short history, GMI handled the international distribution of such critical and commercial successes as Ang Lee’s multi-Academy Award-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Alfonso Cuaron’s Academy Award-nominated Y Tu Mama Tambien; Joel and Ethan Coen’s The Man Who Wasn’t There; and Todd Field’s award-winning In the Bedroom, as well as selectively representing films on behalf of MGM, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures, among others.

During his tenure at Good Machine, Linde also executive produced such notable films as Todd Solondz’ Happiness; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Y Tu Mama Tambien, and several award-winning nonfiction features.

Before holding his post at Good Machine, Linde spent six years at Miramax Films. He joined the company in 1991 as Vice President of Acquisitions, bringing in such celebrated independent features as John Sayles’ Passion Fish, Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine, Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures, and Woody Allen’s Bullets over Broadway. Next, as Senior Vice President and, later, Executive Vice President and head of sales, Linde was the founding executive of Miramax International. The company’s successful run of films during that time included such box–office hits as Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite, Wes Craven’s Scream, and Anthony Minghella’s multi-Academy Award-winning The English Patient.

Prior to his years at Miramax, Linde directed the sales of over 300 independently produced film, documentary, and television titles as Vice President at Fox/Lorber; and supervised sales of select international theatrical rights at Paramount Pictures.

Robert L. Lynch
President and CEO, Americans for the Arts

Robert L. Lynch is the president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, the national organization dedicated to making the arts more accessible to every American. He was executive director of the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies for 12 years, and managed the successful merger of that organization with the American Council for the Arts to for Americans for the Arts in 1996. In 2005, he oversaw the merger of the national Arts and Business Council into Americans for the Arts and created the Americans for the Arts Action Fund.

In his 30th year of work for the arts industry Mr. Lynch is motivated by his personal mission to empower communities and leaders to advance arts and arts appreciation into society. Under his leadership the services and membership of Americans for the Arts has grown by 4000% over the last 20 years. He has personally reached audiences in the 49 states and eight countries ranging from Native American tribal gatherings to the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe and the President of the United States. Mr. Lynch currently serves on the board of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund.

Mr. Lynch earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He plays the piano, mandolin, and guitar and lives in Washington, D.C.

Chris McGurk
CEO of Overture Films

Chris McGurk’s career spans over 24 years with increasingly responsible executive positions at Overture Films, MGM, Universal, Disney, Pepsico and Price Waterhouse.

Mr. McGurk is Chief Executive Officer of Overture Films, a new film studio with offices in Los Angeles and New York City. Overture Films is a engaged in the production, acquisition and worldwide theatrical distribution of live action film content. Mr. McGurk is responsible for all operations of Overture, with an overall objective to greenlight, produce, market and release 8–12 features per year across a broad array of film genres. The Company is a start–up founded in late 2006 and will eventually employ approximately 60 staff members. Overture is a wholly–owned subsidiary of Starz, LLC, a division of Liberty Media, a multinational media and entertainment company with a market capitalization at approximately $26 billion. Prior to assuming his current role as CEO of Overture Films, Mr. McGurk served as Senior Advisor, New Ventures for Starz Media, and IDT Entertainment from March 2006–November 2006.

Mr. McGurk was Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. from May 1999 until April 2005, acting as the Company’s lead operating executive until MGM was sold for approximately $5 billion to a consortium of investors that included Sony Corporation. He had responsibility for all corporate functions and operating divisions of the Company, including all financial, legal and human resources functions, the studio’s film and television production and distribution units, and the global home entertainment, consumer products merchandising, music, networks, and interactive groups. During his tenure at MGM, he directed the investment of over $2.5 billion in film and television production and over $5 billion in library sales in MGM’s global Home Entertainment and Television distribution businesses.

Following Mr. McGurk’s arrival at MGM, he completely reorganized and reinvigorated the management team, which then regained control and maximized the value of MGM’s library assets, transformed the Company’s United Artists label into a specialty film unit, revamped MGM’s film and television production strategies, negotiated strategic international alliances with Twentieth Century Fox and NBC, and entered into major co-production agreements with Miramax Films and Universal Pictures. During his tenure, he managed MGM’s film library of over 4,000 titles, the largest modern film library in Hollywood, and MGM’s television library of over 10,000 hours of programming. He had responsibility for over 1,600 employees around the globe. During Mr. McGurk’s tenure at the Company, MGM’s stock appreciated more than 5 times the level of the Dow Jones index and more than 9 times the level of all 6 of MGM’s key industry competitors.

Under his guidance, the Company had six consecutive profitable film slates with several No. 1 box-office successes, including Hannibal, Legally Blonde, The World Is Not Enough, the Barbershop franchise, and Die Another Day, the most successful Bond release ever, as well as the Academy Award winners No Man’s Land and Bowling for Columbine. Additionally, Mr. McGurk directed the development of Hotel Rwanda and Capote, which were nominated for eight Academy Awards. Also under his direction, MGM Television implemented a completely revamped production strategy and generated significant profit growth by solidifying "Stargate’s" position as the most successful science fiction franchise on television today and launching several successful new shows including the critically acclaimed "Dead Like Me." In Home Entertainment, MGM became the industry leader in library sales, marketing and distribution, receiving more customer retail service awards than any other major studio, implementing innovative interactive and retail initiatives and more than doubling library market share and cash flow in 3 years. In the MGM Networks business, using a variety of innovative joint venture arrangements, the Company expanded its business dramatically during Mr. McGurk’s tenure, creating MGM channels that now reach over 120 territories worldwide. All of these efforts significantly increased the Company’s overall performance and shareholder value while restoring and enhancing MGM’s status as a dominant global consumer entertainment brand.

Mr. McGurk came to MGM from Universal Pictures, a $2 billion division of Seagrams, where he served as President and Chief Operating Officer. In that capacity, he was responsible for all operating and planning activities for the Motion Picture Group, as well as all international operations, worldwide home entertainment, exhibition (UCI and Loew’s Cineplex), October Films, and Polygram Filmed Entertainment. He was largely responsible for developing the plans and organization that turned around Universal Pictures and positioned the Company as an industry leader for the last 6 years.

Prior to his tenure at Universal, Mr. McGurk spent eight years with The Walt Disney Studios, a $4 billion business segment, including two years as President of the Company’s Motion Picture Group. As President he oversaw all business and operating activities, as well as international theatrical distribution, film acquisitions, Miramax Films, Hollywood Records, and Disney live theatrical productions. He was heavily involved with both the original Miramax acquisition and ramp up, the Pixar agreement and the development of Disney’s film and television animation business and worldwide distribution capabilities. During his tenure at Disney, revenues and profits for his segment more than quintupled. Before Disney, Mr. McGurk worked for six years in several key finance, sales, marketing and planning posts at Pepsico Inc., before advancing to Chief Financial Officer of Pepsi Cola East. He also worked at Price Waterhouse & Co. in Hartford, Connecticut for two years.

Mr. McGurk currently serves on the Board of Directors and heads up the Audit Committee for DIC Entertainment, an integrated children’s entertainment content company. He also served on the Board of Directors and headed up the Audit Committee for Pricegrabber.com LLC, a privately held e-commerce company, until it was sold in late 2005 to Experian Interactive for approximately $500 million. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for Divx, a publicly held new media technology and content company and is also on the Board of BRE Properties, Inc., a publicly held real estate investment trust. He also serves on the Board of Advisors of The Syracuse University Management School, served 3 years on the Board of Directors of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and has been a guest lecturer at the Annenberg School of Communications, the School of Cinema and Television, and the Graduate Business School at the University of Southern California. He also delivered the Convocation Address at the 2004 graduation ceremony for the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

In addition to his business responsibilities, Mr. McGurk is involved in numerous charitable and industry-related organizations. These include serving on the Board of the Motion Picture Television Fund (MPTF), the Board for Before & After Productions, LLC; the Foundation of Motion Picture Pioneers Board of Directors; and the American Cinematheque Board of Directors.

Additionally, he is a member of The Executive Branch Committee of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. In 2000, Mr. McGurk, and his wife Jamie, were honored by the H.E.L.P. Group, receiving its Spirit of Hope Award. Additionally, he was bestowed with the 2003 Vision Awards’ "Leader of Vision" honor and received Syracuse University’s 2003 Southern California Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Mr. McGurk received a Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, from the Syracuse University School of Management and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Craig A. Moon
President and Publisher of USA TODAY

Craig A. Moon has been president and publisher of USA TODAY since May 2003. His responsibilities include USA TODAY, the nation’s top–selling newspaper; USATODAY.com, an award–winning news and information Web site; USA TODAY LIVE, the television arm of USA TODAY; USA WEEKEND, a leading national newspaper magazine; and USA TODAY Sports Weekly, a weekly magazine for baseball and football enthusiasts.

Also reporting to Moon are a number of other Gannett Co., Inc. operations. They are: PointRoll, Inc., a leading provider of rich media marketing services and technologies; Army Times Publishing Co.; Gannett Offset; and the Detroit Newspaper Partnership L.P. The Partnership is the joint operating agency for the Detroit Free Press, which is operated by Gannett, and The Detroit News, operated by MediaNews Group.

Previously, Moon was executive vice president of Gannett’s Newspaper Division. His responsibilities included operations in the field (Atlantic, East and New Jersey Newspaper Groups) and at corporate (Advertising, Circulation, Customer Programs, Market Development, Research). He served chair of the Metro Council.

Prior to that, he was president and publisher of The Tennessean at Nashville and was also president of the Gannett Piedmont Newspaper Group with responsibilities for seven daily newspapers and seven weeklies and two shoppers in Middle Tennessee.

Moon grew up in western New York State, and served in the U.S. Army, attended St. Petersburg College and the University of South Florida, majoring in criminal justice. He began his newspaper career in the circulation department of the St. Petersburg (FL) Times. He held positions in circulation and advertising at various newspapers including the Tampa (FL) Times, Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, Yakima (WA) Herald Republic and Modesto (CA) Bee.

He joined Gannett in 1985 as vice president/advertising of The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Cincinnati Post. In 1988, he became president and publisher of The News–Press at Ft. Myers, Fla. A year later, he assumed a similar role at the Arkansas Gazette at Little Rock. He joined The Tennessean as president in May 1991. He later assumed the role of publisher. He served as a vice president in the South Newspaper Group before becoming president of the Piedmont Group in 1999.

Moon was Gannett’s Manager of the Year in 1995, Publisher of the Year in 1992, and Advertising Executive of the Year in 1987. He is an eight–time recipient of Gannett’s President’s Ring Award.

Mandy Moore
Singer and Actor

Mandy Moore, the 22 year old singer and actress, grew up in Florida and came to fame as a teenager in 2000, after the release of her debut album "So Real", followed by "Mandy Moore" and "Coverage." She hosted an MTV talk show in 2000, and expanded into feature films with "A Walk to Remember" in 2002, followed by "American Dreamz" and "Saved!"

This year, Ms. Moore is scheduled to appear in several films, including "Because I Said So," playing the daughter of Academy Award–winning actress Diane Keaton. Her new album is "Wild Hope."

Stephen Nemeth

President of Rhino Films

Stephen Nemeth formed and heads up Rhino Films, the independent film company that originated as a division of iconoclast record label Rhino Records. He has served as Producer on five films and Executive Producer on nine others. In addition to running Rhino Films, he is currently in the process of helping form Amnesty International Media (AIM), an offshoot of the non-profit human rights organization.

For Rhino, Nemeth produced Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Universal Pictures), Why Do Fools Fall in Love (Warner Bros.), Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th (Lion's Gate), and the just-completed What We Do Is Secret , about the life of The Germs' front man and the birth of LA's punk rock scene in the late '70s. Additionally, he served as Executive Producer on Ivans xtc (Artistic License) and the feature doc Pick Up The Mic, a look at the burgeoning subculture of gay and lesbians in the hip hop scene which premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival.

Previously Nemeth executive produced Rhino's first film, the comedic spoof Plump Fiction. He also produced Bad Manners, and served as Executive Producer on Denise Calls Up (Sony Classics), Digging to China, Chow Bella, Mona Must Die, Cadillac Ranch, and as Co-Producer on the skateboarding documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys (winner of the 2001 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary; Sony Classics). In television, Nemeth served as an Executive Producer on a TV development deal for a remake of The Monkees with producer Simon Fuller (American Idol), and currently has several other comedy, drama, and reality TV series in development.

Currently, Nemeth is Producing t.a.T.u., which will be shooting in Moscow this winter, and several documentaries, including Project Street, an exploration of the urban skateboarding world, with acclaimed video music director Block (Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill) directing; Tuner Nation, a look at the real world of the fast and the furious; Water, a look at the world's water supply and the privatization of our most basic resource; Beisbol, an exploration of the rise of Latin Baseball; Fields of Fuel, a personal look at "alternative energy" through the eyes of biodiesel pioneer Josh Tickell, and documentaries on George Plimpton, Budd Schulberg, and iconoclast artist Robert Williams.

Under the Rhinomation banner, Nemeth will be producing animated feature Slushy, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, an animated version of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and an animated Mother Jones movie, with the magazine. Rhinomation projects will be produced in partnership with Ralph Guggenheim (Producer, Toy Story and Pixar co-founder).

Nemeth also serves as a Consultant for Mobile Media, a Norwegian cell phone content provider, and Admetech, a non-profit prostate cancer research foundation at the Harvard Medical School.

Nemeth was named one of the "Top Ten Most Prolific Producers in Hollywood" by The Hollywood Reporter in its Independent Producers & Distributors Issue, and one of the "Ten Coolest People in Hollywood" by an online survey of 500 agents, managers, journalists, and lawyers. He serves on the boards of the Hollywood Film Festival and the Woodstock Film Festival. He has spoken at numerous film seminars, classes, panels, etc., and has been a judge at many film festivals and screenwriting competitions. He holds two US patents, produces Public Service Announcements for Rock The Vote, and serves as an advisory board member for Rock The Vote, the Prints and Drawing Department of the LA County Museum, Children's United Nations, the Wildlife Ecostation, Wheels For Humanity, Shine On Sierra Leone, and Amnesty International's Artists for Amnesty.

Prior to forming Rhino Films, Nemeth worked as an independent producer and as a motion picture agent at the William Morris Agency. He is a California native, attended Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles, and is a graduate of UCLA's psychology department.

Sheila Nevins
President, HBO Documentary and Films

Sheila Nevins is president, HBO Documentary Films for Home Box Office, responsible for overseeing the development and production of all documentaries and family programming for HBO and Cinemax and their multiplex channels. She was named to this position in February 2004, promoted from executive vice president, original programming; a title she had held since 1999.

During her tenure, HBO’s critically acclaimed documentary and family programs have won numerous awards. As an executive producer or producer, she has received seventeen Prime Time Emmy® Awards, twenty-four News and Documentary Emmys® and twenty-five George Foster Peabody Awards. She has supervised and assigned projects to filmmakers that have gone on to win seventeen Academy Awards® including: The Moon and The Son: An Imagined Conversation (2006), Born Into Brothels (2005), Chernobyl Heart (2004), Murder on a Sunday Morning (2002), King Gimp (2000), he Personals: Improvisations on Roman in the Golden Years (1999), One Survivor Remembers (1996), I am a Promise (1994), Educating Peter (1993), You Don’t Have To Die (1989) and Down and Out in America (1987). The series "Cinemax Reel Life" has featured a number of award-winning documentaries including "Big Mama" which won the 2001 Academy Award® for best short subject and "Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien" which won in 1997.

Nevins has been honored with several career achievement awards, with the most recent being a 2005 Emmy® Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the art of the documentary, the first time the National Television Academy has awarded Lifetime Achievement recognition to a documentarian. In 2003, Women in Film presented Nevins with a Lucy Award for her outstanding achievements in advancing documentary filmmaking. In 2002, the National Board of Review presented her with the Humanitarian Award for her contribution to the advancement of social reforms and the promotion of human welfare through film. In 2001, she was awarded the Tribute to the Human Spirit Award by the Wellness Community of West Los Angeles for her contribution to the education and inspiration of cancer patients and their families. In 2000, Nevins was honored with the Doubletake Documentary Film Festival’s first Industry Award and was inducted into Broadcasting & Cable’s Hall of Fame and NATAS’ Silver Circle. In 1999 she was presented with a Personal Peabody in recognitions of her work and ongoing commitment to excellence, and in 1998 she garnered the IDA Career Achievement Award and the New York Women in Film & Television Muse Award for Outstanding Vision & Achievement. For the past three consecutive years, she was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 50 Women in Hollywood.

Nevins joined HBO in l979 and worked for four years as HBO’s director of Documentary Programming. During this period, she supervised the production of more than l50 programs, winning 35 CableAce Awards for programming excellence from the National Cable Television Association as well as the first George Foster Peabody Award presented to a cable program, "She’s Nobody’s Baby," produced with Ms. Magazine. She also served as executive producer for HBO’s "Braingames," which won a l985 George Foster Peabody Award. She was named senior vice president, Original Programming, in 1995.

Before joining HBO, Nevins worked as a producer with Don Hewitt for CBS’ "Who’s Who," as a producer/writer for the Children’s Television Workshop, and as a writer for Time-Life Films. She earlier worked as a field producer for ABC, and as a producer for National Educational Television’s "Great American Dream Machine." Before she was named HBO vice president, she worked for three years as president for Spinning Reels, based in New York City.

Nevins is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, is on the Board of Creative Capital, Full Frame Film Festival at Duke, the Independent Feature Project and The Film Forum. Nevins holds a BA from Barnard College and an MFA from Yale University School of Drama.

Craig Newmarket
President and Founder of Craigslist

Craig is a customer service rep and founder of craigslist. He’s a senior Web–oriented software engineer, with around thirty years of experience (including 17 years at IBM), and has learned a lot about online community and customer service as "customer service rep and founder" for craigslist.org for twelve years. He’s compiled extensive experience evangelizing the 'net, leading and building, including efforts at Bank of America and Charles Schwab.

He’s one of those guys you hear about who grew up wearing a plastic pocket protector, thick black glasses, (taped together), and who expresses his inner nerd via obsessive commitment to customer service to the craigslist community.

In 1995, he started craigslist which serves as a non-commercial community service with classifieds and discussion forums. craigslist focuses on helping people with basic needs, starting with housing and jobs, with a pervasive culture of trust. He brings with him all the glamor of George Costanza.

Craig’s also involved with a number of community efforts, particularly involving mideast peace and new forms of media, involving "participatory journalism" and blogging.

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO, The Humane Society of the United States

Wayne Pacelle is the president and chief executive officer of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Mr. Pacelle took office June 1, 2004 after serving for nearly 10 years as the organization’s chief lobbyist and spokesperson.

Under his leadership, HSUS has focused an increasing amount of energy and resources on farmed animals. In 2004, Pacelle helped engineer a merger of The HSUS and The Fund for Animals, with the combined organization now constituting one of the largest animal protection charities in the world.

Since 1990, Mr. Pacelle has directed more than 15 successful statewide ballot measure campaigns. Those successes include initiatives to ban the use of bait and dogs in hunting bears, cougars, and bobcats in Colorado (Amendment 10 in 1992), Massachusetts (Question One in 1996), Oregon (Measure 18 in 1994), and Washington (Initiative 655 in 1996); to ban the use of cruel traps in California (Proposition 4 in 1998), Colorado (Amendment 14 in 1996), Massachusetts (Question One in 1996), and Washington (Initiative 713 in 2000); to outlaw cockfighting in Arizona (Proposition 201 in 1998), Missouri (Proposition A in 1998), and Oklahoma (State Question 698 in 2002); and to outlaw the use of gestation crates for housing pregnant pigs (Amendment 10 in 2002).

He also led successful campaigns to defeat ballot measures hostile to animal protection in California (Proposition 197 in 1996), Oregon (Measure 34 in 1994), Arizona (Proposition 201 in 2000), and Oklahoma (State Question 698 in 2002). He has overseen the collection of more than 5 million signatures and has helped to raise more than $10 million for the campaigns mentioned above. Pacelle has served on the national advisory board for the Initiative and Referendum Institute, and is a frequent speaker on the initiative and referendum process. He has worked for the passage of countless state laws to protect animals and more than a dozen federal statutes to protect animals, and has also been the architect of a large number of amendments to halt funding for programs to harm animals.

Mr. Pacelle is chairman and founder of Humane USA, the non-partisan political arm of the animal protection movement. Humane USA works to elect humane-minded candidates to political office and has worked on candidate campaigns around the nation. Humane USA was instrumental in 2004 in defeating Rep. Chris John’s effort to win a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana.

Prior to joining The HSUS, Mr. Pacelle served as the executive director of The Fund for Animals. Pacelle also served as associate editor and, later, president of the board for The Animals’ Agenda magazine, and as an instructor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge Training Academy. He also served or currently served on the board of the Foundation for the Advancement of Veterinary Research, The HSUS Wildlife Land Trust, Humane Society International, and a number of other boards.

Mercedes B. Paz
Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

Mercedes Paz is a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001. In this capacity, among other high level assignments, Ms. Paz was Chief of the US Delegation at the First Inter-American Summit of Ministers of Culture and Highest Appropriate Authorities, held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia in 2002 under the auspices of the Organization of American States (OAS). She again was the administration’s representative at a UNESCO sponsored conference on the International Creative Sector, held in Austin, Texas in 2003.

As partner in the executive search firm of Shirley Associates in Los Angeles, Ms. Paz consults and advises high-level decision-makers on issues related to the arts and humanities, government and politics, international relations, leadership development and career management.

Previously, Ms. Paz was Deputy Director for Partnerships and Acting Director of the California Arts Council. She has served as Director of Legislative Affairs of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and Director of Business Activities and Special Projects of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

She is a member of the Advisory Boards of California Lawyers for the Arts and the Young Musicians Foundation; and is an arts advisor to the Mission Language and Vocational School in San Francisco. Ms. Paz is a former trustee of the California Health Professions Education Foundation, Los Rios Community College Foundation and Freedom from Hunger among many others.

Ms.Paz is a native of Bolivia. California has been her home since 1982.

Terry Semel
Chairman and CEO of YAHOO!

Terry S. Semel is the chairman and chief executive officer of Yahoo! Inc, a leading global Internet company. Semel is focused on providing the strategy and vision that will allow Yahoo! to attain its goal to be Internet’s leading global consumer and business services company. A globally-respected media and entertainment executive, Semel was named Yahoo!’s chairman and CEO in May 2001.

Previously, Semel spent 24 years at Warner Bros., most noted for his role as chairman and co-chief executive officer where he and his partner, Robert Daly, helped build Warner Bros. into one of the world’s largest and most creative media and entertainment enterprises. Like Yahoo!, Warner Bros. reaches billions of worldwide consumers through its vast stable of properties. Semel is credited with building Warner Bros. from a single revenue source generating less than $1 billion to nearly $11 billion total revenues from multiple, diverse businesses in 50 countries.

Prior to Warner Bros., Semel was in charge of Walt Disney’s Theatrical Distribution division and previously in charge of CBS’ Theatrical Distribution division. Semel is currently on the Board of Directors of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Television and Radio.

In 2005, Semel was granted the UCLA Medal, which is the highest honor bestowed by the university, and the Yale Legends in Leadership Award.

Semel holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Long Island University and an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Emerson.

Shashi Tharoor
Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information

Shashi Tharoor is Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information and has led the Department of Public Information (DPI) since January 2001. In this capacity, he is in charge of the Organization’s communications strategy, with particular responsibility for ensuring the coherence and effectiveness of the United Nations’ external message.

Prior to joining DPI, Mr. Tharoor served as Director of Communications and Special Projects in the Office of the Secretary-General and as Executive Assistant to the Secretary-General (1997–2001). As Special Assistant to the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations (1989-1996), he assisted two successive heads of United Nations peacekeeping operations in managing the challenges of unprecedented growth and evolution in peacekeeping at the end of the cold war. From 1991 to 1996, he led the team in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations responsible for the United Nations peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia. In 2003, the Secretary-General appointed him United Nations Coordinator for Multilingualism.

Mr. Tharoor is also the author of nine books, as well as numerous articles, op-eds and literary reviews in a wide range of publications. He is also the recipient of several journalism and literary awards, including a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.

In January 1998, Mr. Tharoor was named by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as a "Global Leader of Tomorrow". Mr. Tharoor is an elected Fellow of the New York Institute of the Humanities and a member of the Advisory Board of the Indo-American Arts Council.

Shashi Tharoor is a national of India. He is the father of twin sons.

Antonio Villaraigosa
Mayor, City of Los Angeles

Antonio R. Villaraigosa is the 41st mayor of Los Angeles.

He was elected on May 17, 2005 and sworn in to office on July 1, 2005.

Villaraigosa is known for his exceptional skill at building broad bi-partisan coalitions and is considered one of the leading progressive voices in the country. His mayoral platform emphasizes finding solutions to the major issues facing Los Angeles including education, transportation, public safety, economic development and ethics.

Born Antonio Villar on January 23, 1953, in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles, he is the oldest of four children raised by a single mother, Natalia Delgado. Villaraigosa graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School and attended UCLA, where he received a B.A. degree in history. He is a graduate of the People’s College of Law.

At the age of 15, Villaraigosa began his lifelong involvement with the labor movement as a volunteer with the farm workers movement, later he served as a field representative/organizer with the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). He also is a past President of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Federation of Government Employees.

In 1994, Villaraigosa was elected to the California State Assembly; four years later, his colleagues elected him the first Assembly Speaker from Los Angeles in 25 years. While Speaker, Villaraigosa oversaw passage of landmark state legislation including the modernization of public schools, the toughest assault weapons ban in the country, the largest urban neighborhoods parks initiative in
America, and the “Healthy Families” program that provides healthcare for over a half a million California children.

He ran for mayor of Los Angeles in 2001 and narrowly lost the election. He then was appointed a distinguished fellow at UCLA and USC, where he helped write “After Sprawl,” a policy blueprint for addressing the issues facing many urban centers.

In 2003, he won the 14th District Los Angeles City Council Seat. During his tenure on the City Council, he championed many of the issues he is addressing today as Mayor and is widely credited with resolving the MTA transit strike, creating the largest passive park on the Eastside and Los Angeles, and protecting funding for the Arts.

He is married to the former Corina Raigosa, an educator (Villaraigosa is a combination of the surnames) and is the father of four children.

Harvey Weinstein
Co–Chairman, The Weinstein Company

Harvey Weinstein launched The Weinstein Company, a multi-media company, with his brother Bob on October 1st, 2005. Dimension Films, the genre label that began at Miramax, is also included under The Weinstein Company banner.

Since launching on October 1, 2005, The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films have released Derailed, Wolf Creek, Transamerica, The Matador, The Libertine, Mrs. Henderson Presents, Hoodwinked, Doogal, Scary Movie 4, Pulse, Feast, Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker, and Shut Up & Sing.

Weinstein Company presentations that have recently been released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) include Bobby, Lucky Number Slevin, Clerks II, and School for Scoundrels.

Harvey Weinstein founded Miramax Films in 1979 with his brother Bob, naming the company after their parents, Miriam and Max, who introduced them to a love of cinema. They established Miramax on the principal that the company could take European films and films with difficult subject matter and market them in an innovative way. Willing to take risks, the Weinsteins utilized specialized marketing and distribution strategies, individually tailoring each film’s release to suit its particular strengths. Their inventive technique is responsible for many artistic success stories.

Under Harvey and Bob’s leadership, Miramax Films released some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful independent feature films, including sixteen Best Picture nominations over a span of fifteen years: The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Chicago, Gangs of New York, In the Bedroom, Chocolat, The Cider House Rules, Shakespeare In Love, Life Is Beautiful (La Vita É Bella), Good Will Hunting, The English Patient, Il Postino (The Postman), Pulp Fiction, The Piano, The Crying Game, and My Left Foot, as well as a Best Picture nomination for The Hours, which was a co-production. The outstanding quality of Miramax’s films under the Weinsteins leadership was represented in the company’s success in the annual Academy Awards race. Under the Weinsteins, Miramax received 249 Academy Award nominations and won 60 Academy Awards.

Under the Weinsteins tenure, Miramax’s commitment to cinema from around the world was evident in its history of releases. Miramax received 24 Best Foreign Language Film nominations over the a span of 17 years. Some of the nominated films, among other foreign releases, include: The Chorus (France), The Barbarian Invasions (Canada), Hero (China), Amelie (France), Life is Beautiful (Italy), Children of Heaven (Iran), Four Days in September (Brazil), Beyond Silence (Germany), Kolya (Czech Republic), Ridicule (France), The Star Maker (Italy), Farewell My Concubine (China/Hong Kong), The Nasty Girl (Germany), Cinema Paradiso (Italy), Pelle the Conqueror (Denmark/Sweden), Like Water for Chocolate (Mexico), French Twist (France), Red (France), White (Poland), and Blue (Switzerland), among many, many others.

In 2001, Harvey and Bob were made Chevaliers de Arts et des Lettres (Chevaliers of the Order of Arts and Letters) at the French Consulate in New York City. This great honor was bestowed upon them since Miramax Films greatly increasing the presence and popularity of foreign films in the United States.

In 2002, Harvey and Bob were awarded the highest accolade of the British Film Institute (bfi) when they are presented with a bfi Fellowship for their outstanding contribution to cinema.

In 2004, Harvey was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his contribution to the British film industry.

Harvey Weinstein is active in the philanthropic community on issues such as poverty, AIDs, juvenile diabetes, and multiple sclerosis research. He serves on the Board of Robin Hood, New York City’s premiere non-profit organization fighting poverty, and has chaired amfAR’s annual benefit in Cannes, which has raised over $22 million for the American Foundation for AIDS research, for the past 11 years.

Brian Williams
Anchor and Managing Editor, "NBC Nightly News"

Brian Williams became the seventh Anchor and Managing Editor in the distinguished history of the broadcast "NBC Nightly News" on December 2, 2004. Now, more than one year at the helm of "Nightly News," Mr. Williams is the nation’s most-watched news anchor on a broadcast that represents the largest single daily source of news in America.

Mr. Williams was the first and only network evening news anchor to report from the region before Hurricane Katrina hit and was the only network news anchor to report from the Superdome during the storm. He remained in New Orleans to report on the aftermath and destruction of Hurricane Katrina, and continues to travel back and forth to the region to cover the recovery and rebuilding efforts.

On November 7, 2005 — under Mr. Williams’ leadership — "Nightly News" became the first and only network evening newscast offered on the Internet — free of charge, in its entirety, and on demand. The "NBC Nightly News Netcast with Brian Williams" (www.nightly.msnbc.com) is available on the web at 10 pm, ET/7 pm PT. In addition, Mr. Williams is also the first and only network evening news anchor to write a daily blog. On May 31, 2005, Mr. Williams began "The Daily Nightly" (www.dailynightly.msnbc.com) and, as he wrote in his first post, it aims to "create a narrative of the broadcast day and a window into the editorial process" at "NBC Nightly News."

From 1996 to January 2004, Mr. Williams was anchor and managing editor of "The News with Brian Williams," a live, hour-long nightly newscast on MSNBC and then on CNBC. Williams was the anchor and managing editor of the Saturday edition of "NBC Nightly News" for six years before becoming anchor of the weekday edition.

In 1994, Williams was named NBC News Chief White House correspondent. Accompanying President Clinton aboard Air Force One, Williams circled the world several times, covering virtually every foreign and domestic trip by the President until 1996. On perhaps one of the most historic trips of the Clinton presidency, Williams was the only television news correspondent to accompany three U.S. presidents — Clinton, Bush and Carter — to Yitzhak Rabin’s funeral in Israel.

While covering the 2003 war in Iraq, Williams became the first NBC News correspondent to reach Baghdad after the U.S. military invasion of the city. Just days into the war, Williams was traveling on a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter mission when the lead helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. Williams spent three days and two nights in the Iraqi desert south of Najaf, with a mechanized armored tank platoon of the Army’s Third Infantry Division providing protection. During the war, Williams traveled to seven nations throughout the Mideast during his seven-week overseas deployment.

In 2003, Williams moderated the Democratic Presidential Candidates debate in New York. In 2000, he moderated the Republican Presidential Candidates debate in South Carolina.

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, Williams was on the air for days of continuous coverage. USA Today named him Best Anchor of the marathon 2000 Presidential election night coverage. In 1997, his continuous coverage of the death of Princess Diana was watched by millions worldwide on the networks of NBC News, as were his many hours of live coverage following the crash of TWA Flight 800 and the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr.

Before joining NBC News, Williams spent seven years at CBS’s owned-and-operated stations division as anchor and correspondent for WCBS-TV in New York, where he covered the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He began his service at CBS as a correspondent for the NBC-owned WCAU-TV in Philadelphia and was a correspondent at WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C. He started his broadcasting career at KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Williams is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, and has lectured at Columbia University School of Journalism and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. He attended George Washington University and the Catholic University of America, both in Washington, and is the recipient of six honorary Doctorates. He and his wife, Jane Stoddard Williams, have two children.

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