LOS ANGELES, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Variety, the premier source of business entertainment news, and Digital Media Wire, the leading digital entertainment publisher and events company, have announced their partnership for the Future of Film Summit ( www.lafilmconference.com) taking place in Santa Monica on Tuesday, December 8, 2009.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090319/LA86400LOGO)

The inaugural event brings together top executives, creators and professionals from major and independent movie studios, film distributors, talent agencies, law firms, financiers and digital media companies for high-level discussions and debate, intimate meetings and unrivaled networking about the future of the movie business. The event will address issues including: new finance models for the industry, the next wave of mobile film and video entertainment, International markets and the business they drive today, new and emerging opportunities in the home entertainment industry. What does the future hold for the industry? What are the trends to watch in 2010 and beyond? Who will be the winners and losers in the years to come?

"The entertainment industry is experiencing change like never before," said Brian Gott, Publisher of Variety. "Variety has always been at the forefront of the industry's evolution. We are producing this conference in conjunction with Digital Media Wire to address a need in the marketplace for direction on how the film industry needs to evolve in order to tackle the new challenges and opportunities it faces."

"Variety is one of the most respected media companies in the world. Having established Digital Media Wire as a leading events producer and trusted authority among entertainment, media and technology executives, we are thrilled to be working with Variety on this cutting edge event," said Ned Sherman, CEO and publisher, Digital Media Wire.

Confirmed speakers for the event include:

Sandra Aistars, Asst. General Counsel for Intellectual Property, Time
 Warner, Inc.
Ashok Amritraj, Chairman & CEO, Hyde Park Entertainment
Darcy Antonellis, President, Warner Bros. Technical Operations
Jonathan Barzilay, SVP, Programming & Advertising, FLO TV
Bill Block, Founder & Chief Executive, QED International
Jeanette Buerling, President, Magnet Media Group (MMG)
Peter Caranicas, Managing Editor, Features, Variety
Chris Carey, EVP, Worldwide Technical Operations, Paramount Pictures
Claudia Ceniceros, Sr. Dir., Content Strategy & Partnerships, Cisco
 Media Solutions Group
Frank Chindamo, President & Chief Creative Officer, Fun Little Movies
Jay Cohen, Head of Film Financing & Packaging Division, The Gersh
 Agency
David Cohen, Associate Editor, Features, Variety
Shashi Fernanda, CEO, Saffron Digital
Stuart Ford, Founder & CEO, IM Global
Steven Gaydos, Executive Editor, Variety
Sibyl Goldman, VP, Entertainment, Yahoo! Entertainment
Mark Horak, President, Warner Home Video Americas
Bryan LaCour, SVP, Union Bank
Ed Leonard, CTO, DreamWorks Animation
Michael London, Owner, Michael London Productions
Marcy Magiera, Editor-in-Chief, Video Business
Rick Nicita, COO & Co-Chairman, Morgan Creek Productions
Oren Peli, Director & Screenwriter, Paranormal Activity
Rena Ronson, Co-Head, Independent Film Group, United Talent Agency
John Rubey, President, AEG Live
Ken Rutkowski, President & CEO, KenRadio Broadcasting
Ned Sherman, CEO & Publisher, Digital Media Wire
Neil Stiles, President & Publisher, Variety Group
David Straus, CEO & Founder, Withoutabox
Sharon Swart, Sr. Editor, Variety
Daniel Tibbets, EVP & Studio Chief, GoTV Networks
Jared Underwood, SVP & Manager, Comerica Entertainment Group
Paula Wagner, Founder, Chestnut Ridge
Blair Westlake, Corp. VP, Media & Ent. Group, Microsoft Corporation
David White, National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator, Screen
 Actors Guild

Event sponsors and media partners include Cisco, Panasonic, CEA, Social Radius, UCLA Anderson School of Management, Fusicology, Parks Associates, Ultimate Movie Site, PR Newswire, and Terpin Communications.

Please add this information to your listings. For more information, contact Ellen Gildersleeve, Director, Marketing & Events, Digital Media Wire at Email Contact or Linda Buckley Bruno, Publishing Director, Variety and Home Entertainment Group at Email Contact.

About Variety:

Recognized and respected through out the world of show business, Variety is the premier source of business entertainment news. Since 1905, the most influential leaders in the industry have turned to Variety for timely, credible and straight forward news and analysis - information vital to their professions. For more information, please visit: www.variety.com

About Digital Media Wire, Inc:

Digital Media Wire is an events, news, and publishing company serving the digital entertainment & media industry since May 2000. Digital Media Wire produces executive forums featuring the leading executives in digital media and entertainment. Digital Media Wire also publishes an authoritative daily email newsletter and industry directory. Other prominent Digital Media Wire events include Future of Television East & West, Digital Music Forum East & West, LA Games Conference, NY Games Conference and Digital Media Conference East and West. For more information, please visit: www.dmwmedia.com.

Web site: http://www.dmwmedia.com/
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