An Integrated Management Program for

Middle Managers from KOCCA

Offered by the Center for Asian Business

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California

October 21, 2002  December 14, 2002

Program Objectives:

The objectives of this training program for middle managers are:

- To experience the way of doing business in the entertainment industry in the U.S. focusing on animation, games, music, and character business

- To integrate the participants industry experiences into a rational framework through the lecture series.

- To hear first hand experiences from industry experts/professional

- To have opportunities for making contacts or developing networks with animation, games and music industries for future business development.

Lecture Series (One day or more on each subject):

Week 1:  October 21-October 25

A. Overview of the entertainment industry in the U.S.:  The relationship among and between industries; major players in animation, digital video & games, and the music industry; international platforms: Bob Dowling, Tom Klein

Speakers will examine the media conglomerates as well as independents in all media in the US with an emphasis on the vertical integration and cross-platform strategies of the conglomerates and the way in which independent companies achieve success despite the difficult competitive environment.

1. Bob Dowling: Publisher and Editor-in-chief, The Hollywood Reporter

Hollywood: Present (including the relationship among industries) & Future

2. Rick Bolton: Founder & CEO of Fresh Machine

The effect of new technology & platform in entertainment business

3. Mobile Entertainment & Gaming Exposition (October 23 & 24)

The MEG Expo conference at Hollywood, California, focuses on the growing mobile gaming sector, film, video and music entertainment for handheld devices

4. Patrick Choi: President of Unity Media

Week 2:  October 28-November 1

A. Pre-production: Developing and evaluating an entertainment business plan:  Internal & external development resources; product selection & development (2 days)

1.  Robert Aft: Media consultant

B. Developing animation project for feature films and TV program (2 days)

1. Chris Meledandri: President of Fox Animation (Invited)

2. Company visit:  Warner Brothers (pending response)

Week 3:  November 4-November 8

A. Developing projects for Games and games (2 days)

B. Management issues in animation, and the games & online industry (2 days)

1. Tom Klein: Director of Animation, Knowledge Adventure/Vivendi-Universal Games

2. Company visit: Blizzard & Knowledge Adventure/Vivandi-Universal Games

Week 4:  November 11-November 15

A. Merchandise development for animation and games

1. To be announced

2. Company visit: Rhythm & Hues

B. Strategic marketing: Part 1 (2 days)

1. Rick Bolton:  Founder & CEO of Fresh Machine

Week 5:  November 18-November 22

A. Strategic Marketing: Part 2: Growth Global strategies & developing global vision (2 days)

1.  Rick Bolton: Founder & CEO of Fresh Machine

2.  Company visit: Sony

B. Understanding the music business (2 days)

1. Mark Volman & Larry Welk:

Week 6:  November 25-November 27

(November 28 & 29, Official school holidays for Thanksgiving)

Promotion, distribution and exhibition include domestic and international platforms

1.  Robert Aft: Media consultant

Week 7:  December 2-December 6

A. The effects of the internet on entertainment business, marketing and sales (1.5 days)

1. Bruce Eisen:  EVP of CinemaNow

2. Company visit: CINEMANOW & Lions Gate

B. Business & international legal elements in entertainment and business: Copyright, commercial Licensing and Merchandising of entertainment intellectual properties (3 days)

1.   David Greenspan: Consultant for Videogames, sports, & Character licensing

Week 8: December 9-December 13

The interactive entertainment industry:  Strategic Acquisitions and Alliances (3 days)

1. Jim Talbott:  Entertainment Attorney

2. Meeting with entertainment industry practitioners

3. Wrap-up session: Evaluation, Certificate awards and luncheon

Faculty Bios (Partial List)

Rob Aft

Rob Aft is a Los Angeles-based media consultant for a variety of U.S. and international clients in the areas of film and television finance and distribution.  Mr. Aft has worked as head of international sales and distribution for independent producers including The Kushner-Locke Company; Mark Damons MDP Worldwide and Behaviour Worldwide; and Troma, Inc. under the tutelage of Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz.  He has also served as Vice President of International at Trimak Pictures.  Mr. Aft is a long time board member of AFMA the independent film distribution trade organization, where he is member of the American Film Export Association as well as chairing the Buyer Accreditation Committee.  He holds the MBA degree from Thunderbird, The American Graduate School for international Management, and is a frequent guest speaker at the USC and UCLA film schools as well as a participant on numerous industry panels.  He has also taught Promotion and Distribution in the MBA program at Loyola Marymount University.

Rick Bolton

A top-ranked businessman and innovator, Rick Bolton has extensive experience solving the design and strategy issues introduced by emerging technologies.  His experience spans the full range of the digital services industry.  He is presently the founder and CEO of Fresh Machine, a next-generation digital design company.  Fresh Machines clients include Toyota Motor Sales, DreamWorks Records, Harvard University, Bay State Community Services, and the British Film Office.  Prior to Fresh Machine, Rick served as the Director of Broadband and Future TV for Razorfish in Los Angeles.  He also had career defining experiences at Disney Online and EarthLink Networks.  He started his career in academia, teaching art, design, media and theory at MITs Media Lab, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and other universities.

Bruce Eisen

Mr. Eisen joined Trimark Pictures in 1991 as the head of Trimark's Legal/Business Affairs department where he was instrumental in negotiating film acquisition, music, financing and distribution agreements. Mr. Eisen became a Vice President in 1994 and handled Trimark's production legal work. In that capacity Mr. Eisen negotiated actor, director, producer and other talent agreements and negotiated with all of the Hollywood labor guilds. He has significant experience in all aspects of the movie industry including producing and writing several films. In 1999, Mr. Eisen was promoted to Senior Vice President and was placed in charge of all of Trimark's Internet related activities including spearheading Trimark's Internet based theatrical motion picture marketing campaigns. Later that year Mr. Eisen left Trimark Pictures to join CinemaNow as Executive Vice President. Mr. Eisen graduated from Clark University with a degree in Philosophy and subsequently received his law degree from the University of Southern California Law Center.

Tom Klein

Director of Animation, Knowledge Adventure/Vivendi-Universal Games & instructor of LMU School of Film & Television

David Greenspan

David Greenspan is currently a consultant involved with videogame, sports and character licensing. He previously served as VP of Business Affairs at Midway Games where he was primarily responsible for negotiating deals with sports, music and character driven licensors. Prior to working at Midway, Mr. Greenspan worked as the Director of Business and Legal Affairs at 989 Studios, a developer and publisher of PlayStation and PC games for Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. His responsibilities included negotiating and drafting development agreements and sports licensing agreements as well as overseeing all legal issues in the development and marketing of SISA games and related intellectual property issues.  Previously, Mr. Greenspan was the Director of Legal Affairs for Trimark Interactive, a developer and publisher of PC games, and the Director of Legal and Business Affairs for Troma, Inc., an independent motion picture production and distribution company

During his 15 years in the entertainment business, Mr. Greenspan has worked on over 60 videogame and movie projects. In addition, Mr. Greenspan has taught entertainment law at the University of West Los Angeles and courses on business, legal and marketing issues in the videogame industry at UCLA Extension. He also has written law articles on the entertainment and sports industries.

Jim Talbott

Attorney, technologist and author Jim Talbott is an expert in entertainment, technology and new media law.  His expertise spans the entire spectrum of intellectual property and technology matters, throughout the digital and traditional media worlds.  He is also a practicing television and computer engineer, with decades of experience in the field.  This unique combination of legal, technical and practical talents let him to explore the media convergence□ territory early on, and to write extensively on its legal implications.

As partner in Talbott & Talbott for over 15 years, Jims practice has served clients in entertainment and high technology, focusing on the transactional drafting of all forms of technology, software, talent, feature film financing and related matters.  The firm specialized in intellectual property services, including licensing, copyright, trade secrets, and patent law, as well as employment and general business agreements.  Mr. Talbott also teaches entertainment and intellectual property law at Loyola University in Los Angeles.

As a television and computer hardware and software engineer, Jim has provided engineering design and services for ABC Television, ABC News and RCA Broadcast and Government Systems, in addition to numerous AM, FM, and cable television stations throughout the United States.

As a writer, Mr. Talbott is an author, editor, and frequent lecturer on digital media-related legal issues.  He has authored and co-authored several legal books, including the popular New Media:  Intellectual Property, Entertainment, and Technology Law published by Clark Boardman.  His articles have also appeared in the American Bar Associations Entertainment and Sports Lawyer and The European Intellectual Property Review  among others.  Topics include:  Intellectual Property Law, Entertainment & Technology, Copyrights, Unfair Competition, Regulation of the Internet, and Software Taxation.  He is invited to speak worldwide, and has made presentations at the Cannes Film Festival, MIP-TV, American Bar Association Forum on Entertainment and Sports Law, Screen Actors Guild and the Banff New Media Festival.

He is currently working on a new series of books, The Legal Interface Guides, along with leaders in the Internet, digital media and entertainment industries.