Robert J. Dowling - During his 15-year tenure as Editor-in-Chief
and Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter, the entertainment industry's
premier daily trade publication, Robert J. Dowling has emerged as one of the
leading authorities and spokesmen on entertainment issues and trends worldwide,
including the 2001 terrorist attacks and their effects on the industry.
Mr. Dowling has created and executed a successful business plan to position
The Hollywood Reporter as the definitive authority on the fast-changing
entertainment industry landscape of the 21st century. He has proven adept at
identifying emerging growth areas early, guiding the paper to unparalleled
coverage of labor, convergence, new media, international and Hollywood-Washington
political issues in addition to its core reporting on the movie, television,
cable and video businesses.
He launched The Hollywood Reporter's Web site in 1996, the industry's
first real-time, online delivery of entertainment news, pioneered the first
regular entertainment coverage devoted to the convergence of traditional
entertainment and new media, and started THR-East, an electronically
distributed daily edition designed to bring East Coast readers breaking news
stories hours before the competition.
Mr. Dowling is Chairman of the Digital Coast Roundtable and sits on the boards
of the Hollywood Radio & Television Society (HRTS) and Los Angeles Sports and
Entertainment Commission. He is a frequent guest speaker at universities on
the major trends in the markets he covers. In 2000 Mr. Dowling was invited
to Washington D.C. to brief members of the White House Cabinet on the
entertainment industry for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He has
taught a course at UCLA and lectured at USC and Loyola Marymount.
Frank Estrada is the Executive Director of Technical Services at
Paramount Pictures. Coming from a diverse, twenty year background consisting
of both video, radio and film production, Frank is currently enjoying his
fifteenth year at Paramount Pictures.
As Executive Director of Technical Services, Frank oversees 5 departments
providing Production Sound, Video and Technical Operations for an eclectic mix
of Television and Feature Films. Active productions include the Situation
comedies such as One on One and Girlfriends. Completed productions
include Frasier, Becker and Dharma & Greg. Drama series
include Charmed, Jag and Star Trek: Enterprise. Feature
Films in production/post production include Lemony Snicket: A Series of
Unfortunate Events, Coach Carter, Team America and The
Longest Yard. In addition Paramount Technical Services is a first rate
provider of audio-visual equipment for special event and corporate activities
in and around the Southern California area.
Michael Farrow's background as a professional musician, playing
trumpet in symphony orchestras has been central to his approach to recording.
While attending Indiana University as a music major, he developed the skills
of score reading and transposition. At age 19, he became Associate Principal
Trumpet with the Dallas Symphony. In the late 60's, Michael was appointed
Principal Trumpet with the Indianapolis Symphony where he also appeared as a
featured soloist during his 7 year tenure. In 1972, he co-founded the first
16 track studio in Indiana and helped develop a thriving jingle industry in
Indianapolis.
His recording career includes mixing the music for "The Alamo," "The
Ladykillers," "The Girl Next Door," "The Butterfly Effect," "Rob Roy,"
"Fargo," "Three Kings," "The Corruptor," "The General's Daughter," "Being
John Malkovitch," "Knights Tale," "Blair Witch 2," "Doc Hollywood," "Big
Lebowski," "The Chamber," "Conspiracy Theory," "Fear," "Get Carter," "Gods
and Monsters," "In Too Deep," "Hush," "The Spanish Prisoner," "Mambo Kings,"
"The Tigger Movie," "Little Mermaid II," "Turbulence," "Q & A," "The Jackal,"
"Mystery Alaska," "Operation Condor," "What Planet Are You From?" "The Deep
End," "The Untouchables," and "The Rookie" as well as Academy Award winning
soundtracks for "Beauty and the Beast," and "Aladdin."
Michael is the recipient of 3M Lyra Awards, Cinema Audio Society Award for
Outstanding Achievement as well as numerous gold and platinum records.
Jane Kagon is the Director, Department of Entertainment Studies and
Performing Arts, UCLA Extension, the largest and most highly acclaimed
professional continuing education and training program for all sectors of
the entertainment industry. Considered to be the gold standard for the
certification of entertainment based training programs, The Department of
Entertainment Studies serves as a central hub in a synergistic world-wide
network of entertainment/education institutions.
In her capacity as Director
of the Department, Jane is responsible for coordinating B-to-B custom
programs on site and around the globe, as well as overseeing the
implementation of over 500 courses a year for approximately 10,000
enrollees.
Prior to coming to UCLA, Jane was a long term production and
development executive, working for four years as a Vice President of
Production for Michael Douglas at Fox Studios among other Hollywood Majors,
as well as being an independent producer and writer for interactive media,
game projects and television animation series. Jane began her career as an
entertainment attorney representing screenwriters, producers, film composers
and actors.
Peter Marx is the Chief Technology Officer for Vivendi Universal
Games. Peter has held the position of Vice President, Digital Media
Management for Vivendi-Universal (Paris, France and Los Angeles, California)
with a previous position as Vice President, Emerging Technologies for Universal
Studios.
Prior to that he was at Electronic Arts (San Francisco, California) where he
worked on their online efforts, EA Sports branded games, and on a variety of
technology projects.
As a third-party game developer, he produced a variety of games for Propaganda
Films, Digital Domain, Disney, EA, Sony, Bandai, IBM, and Capcom. An engineer
by trade, he has licensed software to 3M, Apple, and other companies in the
area of diagnostic imaging (medicine) and in color printing. As a consultant,
his clients have included IBM, Apple Computer, UCLA School of Medicine,
Bellcore, Sony, and JP Morgan.
Peter also teachers a course in digital media for USC School of Cinema.
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