The Independent Producer at The New School

Mark your calendars! Here's info on our latest free panel at the New School in Manhattan, co-sponsored by the Department of Media Studies and Film.

Tribeca Film Institute at The New School: Independent Producing: What Is It, Who Does It?, March 26, 2012 7:00 p.m.

We hear about "independent producers" of small and large features and shorts, but what do producers actually do? Is it all about raising money? How much do producers have control over script choices? Casting? Distribution? This panel of seasoned producers will address these and other questions about what they actually do and will give some unexpected information about parts of the job which don’t appear in the job description.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Media Studies and Film.

Location: Wollman Hall, 65 W. 11th Street, 5th Floor

Admission: Free; no tickets or reservations required; seating is first-come first-served

Here's some tips for producers making their first feature.

Speakers:

Anne Hubbell (Moderator) has 20 years of film industry experience in the corporate and not-for-profit arenas. As a Sales and Marketing Director at Eastman Kodak, she has worked closely with hundreds of independent filmmakers, production personnel, and studio executives. Anne’s experience also includes feature and television producing, film festival programming, and consultation with several media organizations. She currently serves on the boards of the New York Production Alliance and New York Women in Film and Television, and is a member of the Producers Guild of America.

Lisa Cortes is a versatile producer with deep roots in both the film and music industries. She has worked with actors such as Helen Mirren, Halle Berry, Cuba Gooding Jr.,Mo’Nique, Kevin Bacon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Paula Patton and Gabourey Sidibe and is known for producing film with difficult and provocative themes. As Senior Vice-President of Production at Lee Daniels Entertainment, she developed and produced numerous award-winning films including the Academy Award-winning Precious, The Woodsman, Shadowboxer and Tennessee. Prior to her film career, Lisa Cortes worked with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin to launch the iconic Def Jam brand, was VP of Artist and Repertoire at Mercury Records and President of Loose Cannon Records. Cortes launched her own production company, Cortes Film in 2010 and in addition serves on the Board of Directors of The Independent Television Service (ITVS), Yaddo and the Trajal Harrell Dance Company.

Amy Hobby has a 17-year track record producing award-winning films including eight Sundance Premieres (two Grand Jury prize winners), and 13 Spirit Award nominations with distribution via top companies in the field such as Sony Pictures Classics, Lion’s Gate, Miramax, IFC and Magnolia. She has four films in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and has worked with luminaries such as Steven Soderbergh, David Lynch and Tim Burton.

Mynette Louie produced Marshall Lewy’s California Solo (Sundance 2012), Tze Chun’s Children of Invention, co-produced Andrew Bujalski’s Mutual Appreciation and was the consulting producer of Olivia Silver’s Arcadia. She is currently in post-production, pre-production, and development on several narrative projects. She is on the Program Advisory Committee of the IFP and Selection Advisory Committee for the Sundance Labs. Mynette previously worked at the Hawaii Film Office, where she authored the state’s production tax credit.

[Photo: From the upcoming Gayby, directed by Jonathan Lisecki and produced by Amy Hobby and Anne Hubbell]