These showbiz lawyers win for their clients in court and guide them through industry disruptions.
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Carlos Williams, Josh Sussman
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Exec VP, Business Affairs & Operations, 20th Television, Freeform & Oynx Collective
Exec VP, Business Affairs & Operations, ABC Signature
Disney Television Studios
Together, Williams and Sussman run business affairs for Disney Television Studios, comprising 20th Television and ABC Signature, managing dealmaking and negotiations for development and production of pilots, series and limited series, as well as talent. In recent months, Williams has executed deals to bring the Oscar-winning documentary “Summer of Soul” and the series “How I Met Your Father” to Hulu and the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series to Disney Plus, as well as an overall deal with Ryan Coogler. Sussman has handled the Season 19 renewal for ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” (including a new deal with star Ellen Pompeo) and overall deals for Kerry Washington, Yara Shahidi (“Grown-ish”) and creator/showrunners Krista Vernoff, Tony McNamara and Matt Lopez.
Biz affairs basics: “A big part is making sure that we’re working cohesively as a company and have our oars in the water at the same time and are helping creators execute their vision and make the biggest hits,” says Williams.
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Stephen Zager, Alison Lima, Michael Porter, Sandhya Sistla
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VP, Associate General Counsel, Corporate Legal
VP, Business & Legal Affairs, Kids & Family
VP, Corporate Development
Manager, Corporate Development) (team)
Netflix
In 2021, this in-house counsel team facilitated Netflix’s acquisition of the Roald Dahl Story Co., an enormous win for the streamer as it plans to expand the existing deal across several formats. Overall, the existing pact has $1 billion in production spending attached to it. Going forward, Netflix intends to create a universe that includes immersive experiences, games, animated as well as live-action films and TV, live theater, consumer products and more. The current accord covers animated TV shows and includes a series based on “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The beloved stories of Dahl include more than 80 children’s and adult tales that have been translated into more than 60 languages and have sold more than 300 copies worldwide.
Strategic dealmaking: “I think a lot of people in the industry realized that animation was insulated in a way from the pandemic, and that led to an increase in the number of projects being pitched, and an increase in competition for talent and projects from other studios,” Lima says. “My team has had to stay nimble and continue to innovate in dealmaking to land the right projects for Netflix in this competitive environment; there is so much more to it than who can write the biggest check.”
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Nary Kim
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Partner
Kendall Brill & Kelly
Kim’s recent successes include the conclusion of a $55 million arbitration for CAA in which Kim and KBK partners Richard B. Kendall and Philip M. Kelly were co-counsel. The case involved a lawsuit brought by film producer and financier Worldview Entertainment. Along with Kelly, Kim is also co-lead counsel for Paramount Pictures subsidiary Paramount Licensing in a $20 million-plus breach of contract case brought against a former licensing partner in connection with the development of Paramount hotels and a theme park outside of London. Additionally, Kim and Kelly rep Universal Studios in a breach of contract action pending in L.A. Superior Court against streamer KC Global. Kim is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley School of Law.
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Kia Kuretski
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Director, Corporate Entertainment & Finance
Netflix
Kuretski served on the team that closed the deal for the Roald Dahl Story Company, Netflix’s largest acquisition to date, bringing the Roald Dahl Story Company and the Dahl library of titles to the streamer. The Dahl library includes over 80 children’s and adult stories that have been translated into 63 languages and have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide (including characters like Matilda, the BFG, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Willy Wonka). She was also involved on Netflix’s acquisition of Night School Studios (its first gaming acquisition), and of Scan- line VFX, a global VFX company with offices in Vancouver, Montreal, Los Angeles, London, Munich, Stuttgart and Seoul.
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Joshua Lastine
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Founder, Managing Partner
Lastine Impressions
The former Lionsgate and Viacom- CBS attorney launched his firm in 2021. His negotiations have included: the option of a script for Aaron Seelman to After January Prods.; the podcast deal “Sexual Politics” for Caroline Giuliani; a writer-director deal for Kali Bailey on the “The Futurist”; a series for Gabe Gibbs to Nickelodeon; a production service agreement for Catchlight Studios and MRC for the “The Blackening”; Dedee Pfeiffer on ABC series “Big Sky”; a life rights sale for Delcina Stevenson and Gaumont; a production service agreement for clients Launch Codes and Brat TV for Facebook’s “The Glow Up”; and production legal on crypto documentary “Highest of Stakes” by Muse Storytelling.
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Christopher R. Namba
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Associate
Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang
Namba helped negotiate several of the firm’s deals in the past year, including “Lovecraft Country” and “Underground” creator Misha Green’s and Jurnee Smollett’s new film for HBO Max. Namba also worked on Smollett’s deal for Netflix’s “Spiderhead” (also starring Chris Hemsworth), an adaptation of a George Saunders short story that unfolds in the near future and follows two convicts in a facility run by a doctor who experiments on inmates with powerful drugs that alter emotions. Namba also worked on Lupita Nyong’o’s deal for Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” directed by Ryan Coogler; and the deal for writer-director John Lee Hancock on “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” a film adaptation of the Stephen King short story that Blumhouse and Ryan Murphy Prods. are making for Netflix.
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Jordan Roberts
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Partner, Corporate
Fenwick & West
Highlights of Roberts’ recent work at Fenwick — a firm at the intersection of Silicon Valley and the entertainment biz — include advising studio Mythical Games in its $150 million Series C financing, a round led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from D1 Capital, RedBird Capital and the Raine Group. He also worked with Russell Westbrook Enterprises, the investment company founded by nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook in connection with numerous endorsement and investment deals; and advised men’s outdoor apparel e-commerce brand Chubbies in its acquisition by Solo Brands.
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Daniel I. Spencer
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Associate
Fox Rothschild
New York-based Spencer worked with TV host Bill Nye to negotiate writing, producing and on-camera services deals with NBC Universal regarding the Seth MacFarlane-produced Peacock series “The End Is Nye.” He also helped Paul Newman’s estate negotiate a publishing agreement with Alfred A. Knopf that will result in a posthumous memoir, based on never-before-published interviews with the legendary actor; and worked with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on a deal with Marvel Studios to direct multiple episodes of the Disney Plus series “Ms. Marvel.”
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Dorian Slater Thomas
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Counsel
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz
Thomas advised Epic Games, publisher of “Fortnite,” on development of several projects. He helped Meta’s Horizon Worlds with its Metaverse initiatives and advised on the structure of the company’s Oculus Launch Pad Program, which provides emerging developers with business education and financial assistance. And he provided legal services to ad agency Weiden & Kennedy’s work for the Ford Motor Company — including drafting and negotiating voiceover, talent, director and production agreements with such talent as Don Cheadle and Gabrielle Union.
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Kelly Vallon
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Attorney
Ziffren Brittenham
Within Ziffren’s music group, Vallon has worked with major players such as Beyoncé for her song “Be Alive” for “King Richard,” and Pharrell Williams for his partnership with Chanel and the launch of the OTHERtone Podcast Network. She negotiated deals for Jennifer Hudson, including partnerships with Olay and Mastercard, as well as the soundtrack deal for “Respect.” Additionally, she worked with South Korean entertainment company HYBE for multiple deals, including BTS’ So-Fi Stadium concert broadcast.
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Jeff Watkins
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Associate
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
Watkins handled multiple first-look and overall deals for Amazon Studios as well as the behemoth’s sports projects, including a pact with tennis superstar Serena Williams for a docuseries; a deal with with French soccer phenom Paul Pogba; and Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson and his wife, pop superstar Ciara. He also oversaw Sheppard Mullin’s production legal work for Amazon Studios, working on both television and film projects. Among other activities, he acted as lead U.S. production counsel for Amazon’s series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” repping the studio as U.S. production counsel in connection with agreements for actors, directors, department heads, writers, producers and production companies.
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Alexa Whiteside
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Senior Associate
Ramo Law
Whiteside serves as general counsel for a number of entertainment and media companies, including Kevin Hart’s production and distribution arms Laugh Out Loud! and Hartbeat Prods. Some of her other work includes serving as production and clearance counsel on such feature films as 2022 Sundance selections “Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul” and “Something in the Dirt”; “Voir,” the Net- flix docuseries and David Fincher’s ode to cinema; the upcoming NASCAR docuseries “Race: Bubba Wallace”; and upcoming feature films including Hello Sunshine’s “Something From Tiffany’s” for Amazon and Tom Hanks’ upcoming “A Man Called Otto.”