Professor Ufland has just announced the confirmed guest list for this semester’s Success in Media Class. While prior classes have included the best people in the entertainment business, the confirmed list for this coming semester is particularly outstanding. It will include CEOs and Presidents of such companies as Sony, Tristar, UTA, Fox Television, Mosaic, 3Arts, MGM, and more. There are a few spots left so sign up as soon as possible (FTV 332-01/632-01).

Jeremy Zimmer | Sept. 4
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founding Partner, United Talent Agency

Jeremy Zimmer is Chief Executive Officer and a founding partner of premier global talent and literary agency United Talent Agency, where he also sits on the firm’s six-member board of directors. Zimmer oversees more than 130 agents and over 350 employees in Beverly Hills and New York who collectively represent many of the world’s most widely-known, award-winning artists working in all current and emerging areas of entertainment, including motion pictures, television, digital media, video games, music, books and touring. The agency is also globally recognized in the areas of film and television packaging, film finance, corporate consulting, branding, licensing, endorsements and the representation of production talent.

Steve Mosko | Sept. 11
President, Sony Pictures Television

As President, Sony Pictures Television (SPT), Steve Mosko oversees all television operations for Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) worldwide. An SPE executive for more than two decades, Mosko leads the largest independent television studio, a company that ranks as a leader in the production and distribution of programming around the world, encompassing an extraordinary span of genres, time periods and television venues. Additionally, Mosko directs the studio’s international networks with 124 channel feeds available in more than 159 countries, reaching more than 840 million households worldwide; Crackle.com, SPE’s premium video website; and the studio’s interests in: 3net, the first 24/7 fully programmed 3D television network; FEARnet, the number one horror/thriller website and VOD service; GSN, cable’s game show network; and ITN Networks, Inc., a national media sales company. He oversees SPT’s 18 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies in 14 countries outside the U.S. and the studio’s offices in 33 countries. Matt, Mr. Mosko’s son, graduated from Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in 2014 with a nomination for excellence in Producing in the graduate program.

Fred Specktor | Sept. 18
Senior Agent, Creative Artists Agency

Fred Specktor is one of the top Motion Picture agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a leading entertainment and sports agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Nashville, and Beijing. A 35-year veteran of CAA, Fred is based in the company’s Los Angeles office. Fred represents many of the entertainment industry’s most renowned actors, actresses, and directors. He represents or has represented artists including Bille August, Dan Aykroyd, Steven Bochco, Beau Bridges, Pierce Brosnan, Bryan Brown, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Robert De Niro, Danny DeVito, Kirk Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Taylor Hackford, Gene Hackman, Stephen Hopkins, Bob Hoskins, Jeremy Irons, Jack Lemmon, Helen Mirren, Gregory Peck, Joe Pesci, Jean Reno, Geoffrey Rush, and William Shatner. While representing DeVito and De Niro, Fred formed their production companies, Jersey Films and Tribeca Films, respectively, and brokered their initial studio deals. In addition, he represents Pat Riley, who is the President of the Miami Heat, the 2006, 2012, and 2013 NBA champions.

Sanford Panitch | Sept. 25
President, Fox International Productions

Sanford Panitch is President of Fox International Productions, a division of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation that oversees international acquisitions and all local language film production worldwide. The six year old Fox division has produced and distributed more than 60 local language films in 11 countries, which have grossed more than $750M in box office. Before founding the division in 2008, Mr. Panitch held positions as Executive Vice-President at 20th Century Fox, and was President of Film Entertainment for New Regency Enterprises, one of the last remaining independently financed film studios in Hollywood. During his tenures he has supervised the highest grossing film in New Regency’s history, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and while at 20th Century Fox was the Production Executive on the 2nd highest grossing film of all-time, Titanic. He also has been a Visiting Adjunct Professor at Tulane University in New Orleans and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the School of Liberal Arts at Tulane. Mr. Panitch serves on the Board of the Student Voice Project, the Board of Santa Monica Civic Association, and the Board of Trustees for Wildwood school.

Jonathan Glickman | Oct. 2
President, MGM Motion Picture Group

Jonathan Glickman is the President of the Motion Picture Group for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM). He joined the company in February 2011. Prior to joining MGM, Glickman served as the president of Spyglass Entertainment. At Spyglass, along with Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, he produced the sleeper hit “The Vow,” starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, which grossed over $125 million in domestic box office. Glickman also produced such films as “Four Christmases,” “27 Dresses,” “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” “The Pacifier,” “The Count of Monte Cristo,” and “Shanghai Noon.”

David Madden | Oct. 9
President, Fox Television Studios

David Madden has been the President of Fox Television Studios, Inc. since August 2010. Formerly Executive Vice President at FtvS, Mr. Madden has overseen Creative Development and Production at the studio, and has been responsible for an array of successful series, including the USA hits Burn Notice and White Collar, A&E’s The Glades, Saving Grace for TNT and the long-running, Emmy-winning The Shield for FX. He also oversees the new series The Good Guys for FOX, The Gates for ABC, Persons Unknown for NBC, Lights Outs for FX, as well as FX’s pilot (a co-production with FX Productions) Outlaw Country, and the recently announced The Killing for AMC.

Alan Horn | Oct. 16
Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios

As Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, Alan F. Horn oversees worldwide operations for The Walt Disney Studios including production, distribution, and marketing for live-action and animated films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, as well as marketing and distribution for DreamWorks Studios films released under the Touchstone Pictures banner. He also oversees Disney’s music and theatrical groups. A prominent figure in the film and television industry for four decades, Horn has overseen creative executive teams responsible for some of the world’s most successful entertainment properties including the Harry Potter film franchise and the hit television series Seinfeld. Prior to joining The Walt Disney Studios in 2012, Horn served as President and COO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, leading the studio’s theatrical and home entertainment operations, including the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Theatrical Ventures and Warner Home Video. During Horn’s tenure from 1999 to 2011, Warner Bros. was the top-performing studio at the global box office seven times and released numerous critically acclaimed films and box office hits including the eight-film Harry Potter series, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Happy Feet, Sherlock Holmes, The Departed, Million Dollar Baby, the second and third Matrix films and the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy. He is an executive producer on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. In 1987, Horn co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, where as Chairman and CEO he oversaw a diverse collection of popular, acclaimed film and TV properties including A Few Good Men, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, In the Line of Fire, and Seinfeld, the most successful show in television history. Horn previously served as President and COO of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and as Chairman and CEO of Embassy Communications

Tom Rothman | Oct. 23
Chairman of Tristar Pictures, Sony Entertainment Inc.

Tom Rothman was recently named Chairman of Tristar Pictures, a joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment to make movies and television distributed worldwide by Sony under a revived Tristar Pictures banner. Previously, he served as Chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment from 2000-2012. He left FFE January 1, 2013, following the most profitable decade in the company’s history and after its split from parent News Corporation and reorganization into 21st Century Fox. Some of the films produced over Rothman’s tenure include: Lincoln, Life of Pi, Descendants, Cast Away, Master and Commander, Black Swan, Walk the Line, Juno, The Devil Wears Prada, The X-Men series, the Ice Age series, Rio, and several others. Under Rothman’s leadership, Fox produced Modern Family, Glee, and Homeland.

Bryan Besser | Oct. 30
Founding Partner, Verve Talent and Literary Agency

Agent Bryan Besser founded Verve with co-partners Adam Levine, Bill Weinstein and Amy Retzinger, who joined the agency later became the fourth partner. In January 2010 they left WME to open their own boutique agency. Now, Verve represents clients who are involved in high-profile movies and TV series, including “Jurassic Park 4″ (helmer Colin Trevorrow) and “Star Wars VII” (writer Michael Arndt), and CBS’ summer series “Under the Dome” (exec producer Brian Vaughan). The agency has more top 10 scripts on Hollywood’s most recent Black List than any of its rivals. Since its beginning nearly 4 years ago, Verve continues to grow each year.

Erwin Stoff | Nov. 6
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founding Partner, 3 Arts Entertainment

Erwin Stoff has executive produced and produced numerous motion pictures including The Matrix and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me – which collectively grossed $766 million worldwide. Stoff brings an unparalleled expertise in film production to 3 Arts Entertainment where he is a founding principal. His diverse, three-decade background as a theatrical director, producer and personal manager has been a catalyst in the growth of 3 Arts as a hybrid management and production entity. Stoff has been able to consistently match clients with projects, guiding the success of each. During his tenure at 3 Arts, he has produced or executive produced such features as Mac’s Mr. 3000, the drama Hardball, Sweet November, The Devil’s Advocate, The Replacements, Feeling Minnesota, Picture Perfect and Chain Reaction, among others.
Some of his clients include Francis Lawrence, Keanu Reeves, Michael Green, Hank Steinberg, Tim Kring, Justin Haythe, Richard Lagravenese, and Phil Rosenthal. However, his producing projects have really become his clients as of late. He has produced EDGE OF TOMORROW, UNBROKEN, the currently-shooting ADAM JONES for the Weinstein Company, among many others.

Doug Belgrad | Nov. 13
President of Columbia Pictures, Sony Entertainment Inc.

Doug Belgrad has just been appointed the President of Motion Picture Group at Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. since July 2014. Mr. Belgrad served as President of Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. from March 2008 to July 2014. Since ascending to the top of the production division, Mr. Belgrad has overseen such hits as Spider-Man 2, 50 First Dates, The Grudge, Secret Window, Closer, S.W.A.T., Identity, and Something’s Gotta Give, among others. He began his career at Kidder, Peabody as a securities analyst, specializing in media and entertainment companies. He joined Sony Pictures in 1989 as a management associate, in an executive training program where he worked primarily in strategic planning and business development.

Jimmy Miller | Nov. 20
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founding Partner, Mosaic

Jimmy Miller is the owner of Mosaic (management/production company), and manages some of the most sought-after talent in show business today. Jimmy manages some of the most sought-after talent in show business including actors Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, and Sacha Baron Cohen; writer/directors Judd Apatow (HBO’s Girls, This is 40, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, and cult classic Freaks and Geeks) and Adam McKay (the Anchorman franchise, The Other Guys, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers); and producer/director Jay Roach (The Campaign, Meet the Fockers, Meet the Parents, and the Austin Powers franchise). Miller’s film producing credits include Elf, Kicking & Screaming, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and the recent Will Ferrell comedy Semi-Pro. For television, Miller produced the Canadian comedy Reelmadness (which starred Ferrell, Ana Gasteyer, and Colin Quinn), the hit CBS drama The Guardian, the Fox comedy Happy Hour, and the NBC sitcom Twenty Good Years. Clients include: Will Ferrell, Judd Apatow, Vanessa Bayer, Leo Benvenuti, Pam Brady, Lizzy Caplan, Rick Cleveland, Etan Cohan, Whitney Cummings, Clark Duke, Lee Eisenberg, Jessi Klein, Tea Leoni, Demetri Martin, Adam McKay, Olivia Milch, Steve Pink, Andrew Rannells, Jay Reiss, Jay Roach, Steve Rudnick, Amy Schumer, Brad Silberling, Jonathan and Robbie Stamp, Gene Stupnitsky, Josh Topolsky and Robert Wuhl.

Dolores Robinson | Dec. 4
Producer & Board of Directors member, Motion Picture & Television Fund

Singled out by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the top dealmakers in Hollywood, Dolores Robinson has truly become one of the industry’s most influential and successful managers. In one capacity or another, she has been directly involved in building the careers of some of Hollywood’s biggest motion picture and television stars. Robinson is sharply attuned with leading her clients on the way to stardom and has accomplished this in the most professional style. She was a long-time member of the Board of Directors for the ACLU, and was an original advisory board member for the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee. Robinson is now on the Board of Directors for the Motion Picture & Television Fund, and has been very politically active over the years supporting candidates throughout the country.

Nicole Clemens | Dec. 11
Senior Vice-President of Series Development, FX Networks

Nicole Clemens is Senior Vice President of Series Development at FX, where she oversees development of new shows for the network as it continues to expand its slate of original programming. Previously, Clemens was head of the motion picture literary department of ICM Partners, a talent and literary agency representing clients in the fields of motion picture, television, publishing, music, theater, branded entertainment and digital media. ICM Partners, a privately held corporation, is one of the predominant agencies in the United States and Europe, with its principal offices in Los Angeles, New York and London. After founding the agencys life rights department almost 16 years ago and later serving as a book-to-film/television agent, Clemens transitioned into the motion picture literary department, where she presided over an impressive list of clients. Clemens client roster included writers and directors such as Harald Zwart (The Karate Kid), Neil LaBute (Death at a Funeral), Jason Winer (Modern Family, 1600 Penn), Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy), Angela Robinson (True Blood), Jennifer Celotta (The Office), Academy Award winners Ronald Harwood (The Pianist) and Ron Bass (Rain Man), Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons (Megamind) and Melisa Wallack (Snow White). She also represented actors such as Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Gad. Prior to her tenure at ICM Partners, Clemens ran Rod Holcomb Productions at NBC and was a television executive at Spelling Television.

Michael Lynton | Dec. 18
Chairman and CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment

Michael Lynton is CEO of Sony Entertainment. He oversees Sony’s global entertainment businesses, including Sony Music Entertainment, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Lynton is also Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment and manages the studio’s overall global operations, which include motion picture, television and digital content production and distribution, home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, and the development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. Under the leadership of Lynton and Co-Chairman Amy Pascal, Sony Pictures’ Motion Pictures Group has enjoyed a remarkable run in the past several years, releasing such hits as Best Picture nominee The Social Network, as well as The Karate Kid, Grown-Ups, Smurfs, Michael Jackson’s This Is It and many others. Sony Pictures is one of only two studios to generate more than $1 billion in domestic box office sales for over a decade. Last year, the studio’s successful slate of films generated more than $3 billion in worldwide box office revenues. In 2012, the studio led the industry in market share and set new studio records for box office revenue with $1.768 billion domestically and $4.440 billion worldwide, with nine films opening at #1 at the U.S. box office, including The Amazing Spider-Man™, Men in Black™ 3, and Skyfall™, the biggest-grossing James Bond film of all time. Prior to joining Sony Pictures, Lynton worked for Time Warner and served as CEO of AOL Europe, President of AOL International and President of Time Warner International. From 1996 to 2000, Lynton served as Chairman and CEO of Pearson plc’s Penguin Group, where he oversaw the acquisition of Putnam, Inc. and extended the Penguin brand to music and the Internet. Lynton joined The Walt Disney Company in 1987 and started Disney Publishing, serving as its President. From 1992 to 1996, he served as President of Disney’s Hollywood Pictures.