THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA // DECEMBER | JANUARY 2025
LENA WAITHE
“Combining the expected with the unexpected is my favorite thing to do.”
THE VISIONARY GUMPTION OF 3PAS STUDIOS P. 84
NAVIGATING THE ETHICS OF AI P. 96
Zoe Saldaña
Selena Gomez
Adriana Paz
“POWER ATTRACTS THE CORRUPTIBLE”
FRANK HERBERT AUTHOR OF DUNE
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIES INCLUDING
BEST PICTURE
MARY PARENT, p.g.a. | CALE BOYTER, p.g.a. | TANYA LAPOINTE, p.g.a. | DENIS VILLENEUVE, p.g.a.
“A
“A KNOCKOUT. IT LOOKS AT A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN
“ THIS IS REALITY TV AT ITS BEST.”
(DRAMA)
“SUSPENSEFUL. AN ELEGANTLY CRAFTED THRILLER that utilizes tight plotting and strong character work to modernize a classic for our contemporary world.”
“HHHH”
“HHHH”
TELEGRAPH “HHHH”
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DECEMBER | JANUARY 2025
68 LENA WAITHE
The multitalented entrepreneur talks about how she mines her life for content and builds teams that deliver on her vision.
84 HUMOR, HEART AND HUMANITY
The founders of 3Pas Studios shed light on how they cross boundaries in terms of language, content, production approach and distribution.
96 NAVIGATING THE ETHICS OF AI
An overview of resources and guidelines that creators can look to when using AI in their work.
110 CREATING CLIMATE STORIES FOR KIDS
A breakdown of the ways that film, TV and emerging media projects are tackling climate storytelling for young viewers.
LENA WAITHE
ROMA ROTH (CENTER) RUNNING THE SHOW ON THE SET OF SULLIVAN’S CROSSING.
DEPARTMENTS
32 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENTS
Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line update members on the Guild’s efforts to educate the industry about the critical work that producers do.
35
TREASURER’S REPORT
The Guild remained in strong financial shape at the end of its 2023–24 fiscal year.
38 ON THE MARK
How Pamela Oas WIlliams, Tucker Tooley and Lee Daniels earned the Producers Mark making The Deliverance
46
NEW MEMBERS
Meet the PGA’s newest members and discover what makes them tick.
61 A DAY IN THE LIFE
EP, showrunner and writer Roma Roth makes the most of every hour in her workday.
106 2024 DEBRA HILL FELLOW
Karen Madar is the latest recipient of the fellowship established by the PGA to honor the legendary producer.
129 SEASON’S GREETINGS
Enjoy a visual recap of events presented by the Guild in 2024.
Bianca Ahmadi
Autumn Bailey-Ford
Fred Berger
Melanie Cunningham
Linda Evans
Mike Farah
BOARD OFFICERS
PRESIDENTS
Stephanie Allain Donald De Line
VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCING
Charles Roven
VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCING TEAM
Steve Cainas
VICE PRESIDENT, EASTERN REGION
Tonya Lewis Lee
TREASURER
Yolanda T. Cochran
SECRETARIES
Mike Jackson Kristie Macosko Krieger
DIRECTORS
Jennifer Fox
Beth Fraikorn
DeVon Franklin
Donna Gigliotti
Jinko Gotoh
Bob Greenblatt
Lynn Kestin Sessler
Samie Kim Falvey
Rachel Klein
Jean Lane
Lori McCreary
Tommy Oliver
ASSOCIATE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Michelle Byrd
CEO
Susan Sprung
EDITOR
Lisa Y. Garibay
PRODUCERSGUILD.ORG
Vol. XXI No. 1
Produced By is published by the Producers Guild of America.
11150 Olympic Blvd., Suite 980 Los Angeles, CA 90064 310-358-9020 Tel. 310-358-9520 Fax
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PARTNER & BRAND PUBLISHER COPY EDITOR
Emily S. Baker
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Ajay Peckham
ADVERTISING
Ken Rose
818-312-6880 | KenRose@mac.com
Bob Howells
PHOTOGRAPHER
Chrris Lowe
MANAGING PARTNERS
Charles C. Koones
Todd Klawin
OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
PABLO LARRAÍN | JUAN DE DIOS LARRAÍN | JONAS DORNBACH
Academy Award® Winner
ANGELINA JOLIE
“ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. ANGELINA JOLIE is phenomenal, completely disappearing into the role. Maria Callas would be proud.”
directed
by
PABLO LARRAÍN
written by STEVEN KNIGHT
PRODUCING IS A JOB
Every working producer knows that what they do is a job. In fact, producing is one of the most complicated and nuanced jobs in our industry. No two producers work in exactly the same manner, even when they’re on the same production. Every production and each producer on it is unique and brings their particular skill set to bear during the various phases that take a production from idea into making its way in front of an audience.
Alongside determination, creativity, leadership and passion, a producer’s skill set combines expertise across a range of areas, not the least of which are diplomacy and organization. The job also requires constant learning and leveling up to remain agile within an industry that morphs week by week. It is a job title not to be taken lightly.
The Producers Guild issued its first Code of Credits in 2001 in an effort to codify exactly what it is that various types of film and television producers do. The Code of Credits is regularly updated. Our most recent and comprehensive update, which was completed in September 2024, involved over a year of work and the participation of more than 100 working producers in film, television and emerging media. It is an invaluable resource to educate producers and the industry about the specific work done by producers, recognizing 32 unique credits across 12 formats. Visit producersguild.org/code-of-credits to read more.
Also in 2001, the Producers Guild began evaluating producers for eligibility for its honors. In 2010, the Guild
introduced the Producers Mark (p.g.a.) to recognize producers who perform a significant portion of decision-making work on feature projects.
The process, overseen by experienced producers, now evaluates over 400 films annually, including both studio and independent productions. The rules are regularly updated to reflect industry changes. Recent revisions, completed this fall with input from more than 75 professional producers, further define the required work for earning the Producers Mark and awards recognition. Updated guidelines are available at producersguild.org/producers-mark.
As we continue to update these extensive efforts, we have started an advocacy campaign to underscore the message that producing is a job—a fact that so many of us know and live daily, but is still greatly misunderstood throughout the industry. “Producer” is not an honorary title to be handed out as a perk during the production process. It’s a full-time job title earned by professionals who invest hard work, expertise and dedication into every project.
Watch the Guild’s social media channels to read illuminating testimonials from a range of producers describing the myriad ways that producing is, in fact, a job. We also invite you to share your own #ProducingIsAJob story with us on social media.
Stephanie Allain
Donald De Line
PRODUCED BY FRED BERGER, p.g.a. • JAMES MANGOLD, p.g.a.
ALEX HEINEMAN, p.g.a. • BOB BOOKMAN
PETER JAYSEN • ALAN GASMER
EFF ROSEN • TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET
A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
The PGA entered the 2023–24 fiscal year in a solid financial position
Maintaining its conservative budgeting approach, the Guild underestimated revenue and cautiously estimated expenses. As a result of this careful planning, net income—driven by ancillary income streams and expenses that were lower than anticipated— significantly exceeded expectations.
The June 30, 2024, fiscal year-end financial statements tallied a net revenue of $4,543,329. As illustrated by the charts shown here, the largest sources of revenue for the Guild remain PGA Awards-related income and membership dues. Income from Produced By magazine and sponsorship remain steady sources of additional revenue for the Guild.
We were delighted to bring back the in-person Produced By Conference in June, bringing hundreds of members together for this hallmark education and networking experience. While a greater number of in-person events were presented in various cities during the fiscal year, the Guild continued to offer virtual events to keep members connected, educated and empowered wherever they are.
During the 2023–24 fiscal year (July 1, 2023–June 30, 2024), PGA members benefited from 291 events: 136 networking and social events, 39 committee meetings, 42 screenings featuring Q&As with producers, 37 panels and webinars, 36 straight screenings, and the daylong Produced By Conference.
As a reminder, the Producers Guild of America is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit, and its charitable arm, the Producers Guild Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We have no shareholders and pay no dividends. We pay no taxes on our business-related income.
All net revenue is either reserved to safeguard our financial future or invested in the organization to improve our member services and increase our impact on the industry.
PGA members who would like to review a copy of the year-end financials or the budget should reach out to us at members@ producersguild.org. We are grateful for your continued support of the Guild.
Yolanda T. Cochran
PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS MEMBER DUES AND FEES
PRODUCED BY CONFERENCE
MEMBERSHIP APP & INITIATION FEES O-1/O-2 PROFESSIONAL FEES PUBLICATIONS
SPONSORSHIP
MISC INCOME
2024 EXPENSES
STAFF & SELECT CONSULTANT COMPENSATION PRODUCED BY CONFERENCE
PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS
RENT, OFFICE & GENERAL ADMIN
MEMBER EDUCATION AND EVENTS
PUBLISHING
Please note: Proportions provided above are based on year-end actuals, and not final tax returns.
REVENUE
PRODUCER
OF THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Denzel Washington, p.g.a., Todd Black, p.g.a.
“A
WINNER
REMARKABLE CAST.
Danielle Deadwyler anchors the film with a performance of tremendous courage and heft. She brims with yearning and pain, her soulful eyes barely containing the storminess of her soul. John David Washington brings self-possession to a man who yearns to exceed the oppression of his ancestors.”
ON THE MARK
Lee Daniels, Tucker Tooley and PamELA OAS Williams share the gory details of their experience making THE DELIVERANCE, which earned them the Producers Mark certification.
written By Katie Grant
The Deliverance is a horror/ psychological thriller based on the true story of Latoya Ammons, her mother and her three children, who experienced bizarre behavior after moving into a seemingly haunted house in Gary, Indiana. Ammons’ two sons and daughter behaved as if possessed, becoming violent, levitating above their beds, and growling like demons without remembering ever doing so. These stressful trials took such a toll
on Ammons and her mother that, after seeking medical help with zero findings, the family reluctantly called upon a spiritualist as a last resort to perform a “deliverance” of the demon they felt was causing such disturbances. A deliverance is a Christian practice that involves casting out evil spirits and breaking the connection between a person and a discarnate entity. It is about spiritual oppression as opposed to an exorcism, which addresses demonic possession.
Academy and PGA Award-nominated director and producer Lee Daniels did not want to make this movie. Neither did his longtime producing partner, Pamela Oas Williams, who said, “I don’t do demons.” But Tucker Tooley, their partner in the producing triumvirate, saw the movie as the “money-grab” indie thriller it could be. This got Daniels and Williams on board to make it as a streaming project for Netflix, the team’s first time going straight to streaming.
Lee Daniels (left) on the set of The Deliverance
Just as things seemed beyond control for the Ammons family, so too did the production of the film go way beyond what they expected.
Here, Daniels, Tooley and Williams talk about how they protected their story from beginning to end, starting with an on-set spiritualist who led willing cast and crew through prayer before each day’s shooting began.
IF THERE WERE A “MAKING OF” DOCUMENTARY OF THE DELIVERANCE, WHAT WOULD THE FIRST SHOT BE?
Tooley: My vote would be an establishing shot of our production offices, which looked like a bombed-out place somewhere in Eastern Europe.
Williams: Yeah, it looked like Chernobyl. The offices that we looked out to were totally gutted for asbestos.
So the film started out as scary from the production offices on.
Daniels: I think it would be a shot of me in my apartment where I look confused.
WHY WERE YOU CONFUSED?
Daniels: I didn’t want to do the movie. Tucker and I had just been on the phone. I remember distinctly where I was when I said, “I cannot do this movie.” Tucker brought the project to me, and said, “You’ve got to do this.” It was his idea to make it “Black horror.” There hadn’t been anything done like that before. It had been in a spoofy way, or in a Jordan Peele, provocative, intellectual way. But never a true story like this. Tucker planted the seed of horror in my head. I do horror. Precious was horror in its own sort of way. Precious is in her own kind of hell.
SO WHAT MADE YOU GO, “OK, I’M GOING TO MAKE IT AFTER ALL”?
Daniels: I was clear about the vision I wanted. The writers, whom I respect, kept trying to jump-scare us (in the script). I understand, because it’s easy to fall into that trope as opposed to, you know…
MORE PSYCHOLOGICAL SCARES?
Williams: Yes. I have to say I ate my words when I read Lee’s last version of the script. I wasn’t on the project. Tucker and he were moving ahead. I don’t do demons, because much like Lee, I believe in demons. I believe in God. I believe in the devil. I believe that these do exist. So I just don’t need to play with demons, right? That was my attitude.
Daniels: So we kept doing one pass after another after another on the script.
Pamela Oas Williams and Lee Daniels on the set of The Deliverance
Pam said, “I don’t do spooky.” I knew in my head what I was going to do with it, and I started caring for the characters with each pass. I think we went through a hundred passes.
Williams: Right. And Lee kept saying, “But God wins in the end.” I said, “I know that, but I don’t need to engage.” Then he gave me his version of the script. I was like, “Shit, this is so good.” It was about the characters, and I cared so very much about them. So I turned around and said to Tucker, “Well, I’ll do demons if you’ll have me on this.”
YOU EARNED THE PRODUCERS MARK BEFORE AS A TEAM FOR THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY. HOW WAS THIS COLLABORATION DIFFERENT FROM THAT PROJECT?
Williams: In comparing this movie to Billie Holiday, it was very similar in terms of it being a team sport. The biggest difference was that Tucker had to deal with Netflix, who had the money and the creative execs, versus dealing with our single investor on Billie Holiday. We all breathed a little bit easier on this one because we had the support of Netflix. On Billie Holiday, we were on a much more limited budget and scraping by. In terms of the team sport, Tucker and I are here to see Lee’s vision through. So we’re good at tag-teaming.
WHO’S GOOD AT WHAT? IS THERE A ROLE THAT YOU NORMALLY PLAY?
Tooley: Pam is a godsend. She’s the most organized. Very detail-oriented. She makes sure the trains run on time and makes sure things happen in the way they should happen. That’s not my strong suit at all. She’s unbelievable at it, like the best of the best.
Williams: While I love the weeds, Tucker always has the big picture in mind. You can get lost in the weeds. I think we complement each other with him having the bigger view, as the lead on deals and with the Netflix creative executives. We are collaborative. Hopefully, as Tucker says, we try to serve Lee as best we can.
Daniels: What’s interesting is that there was a third party, Netflix, involved this time, adding to myself as director and Pam and Tucker as producers. Even though I had final cut, you want to make sure that they feel good, and they’re supported. I’m not insisting on the final cut like I’m God. I wanted to take in what they had to say, but a lot of them, the suits, didn’t understand the world we were creating. So Tucker or Pam would say, “Did you get this note right here? Because they want this.” It was hard in that I’ve never had anybody give me notes before. I was thinking, “Am I taking that note? Am I veering away from the story that I’m trying to tell by embracing people who don’t understand what this is?”
BEING YOUR FIRST TIME PRODUCING FOR A STREAMER, WAS IT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT TO GO TO WORK THAT WAY?
Tooley: Yes. This is the first time Lee has made a movie in conjunction with a streamer or studio. Everything else has been made and then sold or made and then distributed. They (Netflix) were super supportive the whole way. There were tussles here and there creatively, as there always are, and I think that makes a movie better. But they were supportive of us, and when the marketing and publicity teams saw the film, they were amazing. It was the best experience I’ve had in a long time.
Daniels: I didn’t enjoy them not understanding the world, but who could get into my head to understand abuse, my idea of abuse? But once Netflix felt safe, I couldn’t have had a better support team.
Williams: All of Lee’s movies up to this point have been independently financed. I’ve made two independently financed movies with him and now this one with a studio. As a producer, it was great to have the support of Netflix versus having to count where every penny went because you had to save it from one area to spend it on another. With that all-consuming nature of finances, it’s great to have Netflix support behind you.
Daniels: This is the great part about Netflix. I don’t know how many times we reshot the character of the Devil. My first intent with what the Devil looked like was this naked, beautiful white
On the set of The Deliverance
PHOTO BY MYRIAM SANTOS
man trying to seduce you. We shot that and then I thought, “This is stupid.” So I kept reshooting until we got the idea that the Devil is not an external entity. The Devil was in ourselves, in us, in the characters. That was something that I found. And that was a place where some money went.
IS THERE A STORY FROM THE SHOOT THAT MAKES YOU LAUGH OR CRINGE?
Tooley: There’s a lot of funny stories. I would say everybody on the movie was hypersensitive to the story we were telling—and thus everything kind of spooked us. Like, “The light went out! What was that about?”
Daniels: You are literally walking into hell every day when you’re making a movie. Filmmaking is not for kids. It’s going to war. Every day I look at it as going to war.
EVEN ON ALL YOUR OTHER PROJECTS?
Daniels: Yeah, because you have to get it. You have to get the shot, your vision. Everybody lies to me and says, “You don’t have enough time,” which makes me think that I’ve got to get it now. It’s a psychological tactic. It doesn’t matter even if I know they’re lying. But then it does, because what if they’re not?
Williams: I wouldn’t call it lying. I would call it a way of helping to strategize what time you have left.
Tooley: That’s a good way to put it. But Lee’s so aware that’s happening that the minute Pam or I walk anywhere near him, he just looks at us and goes, “What?”
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FOR EACH OF YOU AFTER PRODUCING THE DELIVERANCE?
Daniels: It’s a journey. Not only a creative journey but a financial journey. You never know how it’s going to end up. You start out thinking you’re making one movie, and it’s never that for me.
Tooley: The marketplace today demands that something is in a certain box. This movie could never be in a box. It was not that kind of movie. Even though the subject is a horror thriller or psychological thriller, it could never be in a box like that. The ability to have something that’s not in a box, but has a lot to offer, is rare. I think we accomplished what we set out to accomplish and it’ll continue to have a life for a long time.
PHOTO BY AARON RICKETTS
Lee Daniels with costars Andra Day and Anthony B. Jenkins on the set of The Deliverance.
Mal Ward • Lia Buman • Tim Headington • Jack Selby FOR YOUR PGA AWARDS CONSIDERATION
Outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures
Azazel Jacobs • Alex Orlovsky • Duncan Montgomery • Matt Aselton • Marc Marrie
“The best picture of the year.” “A major accomplishment.”
“Vivid and moving in unexpected ways. The film captures a family’s wounds; it also heals them.”
WINNER
GOTHAM AWARDS
BEST SCREENPLAY
AZAZEL JACOBS
WINNER
SPIRIT AWARDS
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
WINNER
NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW AWARDS TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FILMS
Williams: I talk a lot about this being a team sport, and it is, from your department heads coming together and bringing their very best. We were also fortunate to have an amazing line producer, Jackie Shenoo, who is my favorite line producer I’ve worked with. So a shout-out to all the producers on this coming together and creative problem-solving. Not creating fires so they can put them out, but genuinely always eye on the ball for what we had to accomplish.
Daniels: This was a hard film for me to execute. I never want to do it again because how do you balance making this very grounded story as authentic as it can be? I knew how to get that authentic world going, but how do we segue into a space of authentic horror? How do you do that with the visuals and everything? And then also, what is God? Religion? It’s different for everyone. It’s a hard thing to do. I feel the people that believe in the Lord believe I accomplished it, and I think that’s all that matters. If you don’t believe, then you’re not buying into the world at all.
Tooley: Lee certainly went above and beyond with having a faith-based aspect to this movie. I always try in our projects to do something where some people get it, and some people don’t. Fortunately, Netflix totally got it. We delivered an honest version of the movie, they marketed an honest version of the movie, and the audience responded. I think we accomplished our mission. ¢
Certification via the Producers Mark (represented by p.g.a.) indicates that a producer performed a major portion of the producing functions in a decision-making capacity on a specific project. Criteria, its definition, the process for earning the mark and other particulars can be viewed at producersguildawards.com.
The cast and crew of The Deliverance. PHOTO BY AARON RICKETTS
FOR YOUR PGA AWARDS CONSIDERATION
BASED ON THE HEROIC TRUE STORY
ONLY ON DECEMBER 20
A FILM BY TYLER PERRY
NEW MEMBERS
Produced By trains the spotlight on some of the Guild’s newest members, and offers a glimpse at what makes them tick.
Shivani Jhaveri
Shivani Jhaveri is a VFX and virtual production producer on the Emmywinning StageCraft team at Industrial Light & Magic, working on features, TV series, and immersive projects. Jhaveri is passionate about blending technology and storytelling, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible to create innovative experiences. Recent projects include The Mandalorian, ObiWan Kenobi and Ahsoka.
What skills do you rely upon most as a producer in VFX and virtual production?
I rely on strategic thinking, clear communication and a deep respect for collaboration. While project management—scheduling, coordinating departments, and keeping budgets in check—is critical, the real magic happens when the team unites to bring the creative vision to life. Whether it’s artists, filmmakers, or the virtual production crew, every person’s expertise is essential.
In virtual production, adaptability is key. With technology constantly evolving and new challenges cropping up, staying nimble is crucial. Success is never about one person; it’s about the team working together toward a shared goal.
As a producer, my role is to ensure everyone stays aligned, motivated and focused on the big picture, even when obstacles arise. It’s about creating an environment where collaboration drives creativity, and the collective effort leads to extraordinary results.
Samantha Murphy
Samantha Murphy was born a military brat in North Carolina and grew up in Dublin, Ireland, where she started her career in the music industry. She moved to Los Angeles in 2010, where she ended up as a live-comedy touring agent doing stints at CAA and UTA before moving into management and producing. She’s been working almost exclusively with stand-ups ever since. In the last decade, Murphy has produced more than a dozen comedy specials and albums, and developed with FX, JAX, Funny or Die, Comedy Central, ABC Studios and 20th Century, among others.
Murphy consults on business affairs for 800 Pound Gorilla Media and manages and produces with client Sean Patton, who costars in the FX series English Teacher
What skills do you rely upon most as a producer of stand-up comedy and liveaudience programming?
One of the most important skills I rely on is emotional intelligence. The average standup production is a model of controlled chaos involving talent, production crew, a fully operational venue and its staff, and, of course, the X factor of several hundred unvetted members of the general public—all with access to alcohol. Anyone overseeing a situation like that has to first and foremost understand people.
In my opinion, a great comedy special has to look as beautiful as a feature film, feel as quick as an episode of TV, and cost as little as a commercial. When up against what can seem like an impossible task, the best traits you can ask for in a producer are being solution-oriented, measured in interactions with others, and definitely up for a challenge.
Jennifer Treuting
Jennifer Treuting is an Emmynominated producer, writer and director specializing in kids and family content. At Nickelodeon, she created award-winning projects across broadcast, streaming, and digital platforms, amassing over 100 million YouTube views, as well as innovative content for interactive, voice-driven platforms like Alexa.
In addition to her work on shortform series for Nickelodeon and Noggin, Treuting has produced kid-focused documentaries, a STEM-driven nonfiction pilot and several comedy web series. She also cocreated the stop-motion interstitial series What’s Inside?, which was sold to TVOKids and was a finalist for a Prix Jeunesse interstitial prize.
What unique challenges do you face when creating short-form content, and how do your producing skills help you meet these challenges?
Creating short-form and animated content is all about efficiency and impact, whether that is in the storytelling itself or how you produce the content, all while keeping in mind the platform it will live on.
Understanding the changing landscape is critical, especially in the rapidly changing kids space. Not everything has to be defined by an algorithm, but as storytellers, we should be aware of how algorithms impact the stories we want to tell as well as our ability to successfully deliver them to young viewers.
Story has to come first, no matter what. A great narrative can be told at any length, and short-form content demands a level of storytelling efficiency to create full, satisfying experiences for kids and families. This doesn’t mean you need fast-paced edits, but you need to keep run times in mind and create compelling narratives, whether they’re fun and humor-driven, or help child viewers take a moment to pause, breathe and reflect.
THE EMMY® AWARD-WINNING GLOBAL PHENOMENON RETURNS
ONLY ON DECEMBER 26
IN 2007, I DIDN’T THINK ABOUT IT.
I was a proud member of Local 724. Still am. We'd saved for years to buy our first home. And a new baby, our third, was due in weeks. Life was hectic, crazy... perfect. Then suddenly this thing we thought couldn't happen, did. The industr y just shut down. And in an instant: no work, unyielding panic. When MPTF helped us with enough to pay the mortgage, it was the yes that lingers in my soul to this day. We survived. MPTF was the safety net I didn't know I needed, until I did.
Caring is Infinite, since 1921
For Your PGA Awards Consideration
OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF EPISODIC TELEVISION - COMEDY
“
EVERYBODY WANTS THIS.”
“One of the best shows of the year.”
Harris M. Forbes
Harris M. Forbes is the associate producer for the CBS News Race & Culture unit. His credits include original features for CBS Saturday Morning, contributions to nearly two dozen specials (including primetime, streaming and CBS Reports documentaries), and the BET newsmagazine America in Black, a coproduction with CBS News that he helped develop. Harry, as he’s known to his friends, focuses largely on the intersection of historiography, ethnicity and representation—namely, in professional sports and the performing arts. He began his career as an intern in CNN’s Beijing bureau and is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
Heather Wilson
Ohio native Heather Wilson has worked on film and television documentaries for over a decade. She earned her BA in communication and film production from the University of Toledo and an MFA in producing and screenwriting from Academy of Art University. She’s also a member of FOCAL International. A passionate storyteller, activist and feminist—and journalist at heart—Heather strives to incorporate the truth in everything she works on. She is a firm believer in the integral role of archival materials in documentary work. Because archival material has the ability to evoke emotions and unearth important parts of history, she considers it essential to documentary storytelling.
How do your producing superpowers help you tackle the unique challenges you meet as an archival producer?
I constantly have the challenge of hunting down and contacting owners of specific content found online. One of my producing superpowers is that I’m a research enthusiast and an internet sleuth. Sometimes I wonder how I didn’t end up as an investigator with these skills.
What makes you proud to be a producer, and what’s one daunting project you’re most proud of having produced? It’s extremely gratifying to chase an idea from its inception to the field to the Google doc—where you write and rewrite and rewrite a script—to the edit room, and then watch it be broadcast across the country. My generation rarely watches live TV unless sports are on or it’s a major news event. But I’m inspired by the storytelling legacy of CBS News and do my best to uphold its long-standing tradition of excellence and cosmopolitanism. Being a part of that lineage makes me proud.
That said, blazing new trails is critical. America in Black has been the most extraordinary experience. Again, building out an idea from scratch as our team did is fantastically rewarding. In a world of programs designed to distract, it’s incredibly motivating to work on something that people genuinely care about, especially when it helps amplify underappreciated voices.
for your pga awards consideration outstanding producer of limited series television
outstanding lead actor in a limited series
Richard Gadd
outstanding supporting actress in a limited series
Jessica Gunning
MEMBER
SPOTLIGHT
Bettina Vecchi
Bettina Vecchi started her sports marketing career in 1995 at ISL Marketing in Lucerne, Switzerland. She segued to TV production in 2001 when she was sent to Korea to assist with broadcast production at the FIFA Confederations Cup.
Since then, Vecchi has worked on more than 150 sports events from soccer to ice hockey to handball. Her current focus is biathlon, and she is preparing for the FIFA World Cup that will take place in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in summer 2026.
What unique challenges are you faced with when producing sports-related content, and how do you meet them?
Sports production means live production most of the time. Everything can happen, from thunderstorms or power loss that stops a race or match, or weather conditions that do not allow an event to take place at the venue as planned, so it needs to be moved to another country on short notice. Several times, a TV colleague or an athlete has been injured or worse, which is not easy to deal with mentally but needs coordination on various levels, including international broadcasters so that they can report the story.
Whatever happens, it is important to remain calm and focused and not make the situation worse by being nervous. Experience helps, but it is good to have a plan ready for such situations and know whom to talk to and share thoughts.
Christina Sanchez O’Hara
Tina Sanchez O’Hara is a video game producer with 15 years of experience working on iconic, award-winning games. She has the rare distinction of directly producing every department involved in large-scale, multiplayer projects.
At Infinity Ward, she supported Call of Duty, one of the largest game franchises played by millions. As its spokesperson, Sanchez O’Hara earned respect from the industry and Call of Duty players alike. Her move to Respawn Entertainment for Apex Legends contributed to the most culturally diverse cast in the history of the studio and helped it win a BAFTA. At Santa Monica Studios, she contributed to the acclaimed God of War franchise, guiding the gameplay engineer team responsible for facilitating the needs of crucial parts of the game.
Sanchez O’Hara is also a passionate advocate for diversity in gaming, committed to creating a more inclusive environment within the industry.
What superpowers do you draw upon most as a producer in the unique world of video games?
Creating successful video games requires “finding the fun” through trial and error, which can have deep impacts on the scope and scale of the games, especially when all teams are working concurrently. To effectively manage shifting schedules, game producers must understand the development process of the teams they support, and how they interact with other disciplines.
Because they must collaborate with artists, animators, engineers and designers, the most successful producers are the ones adept at guiding cross-functional teams, helping them understand how they complement and enhance each other.
Communication, empathy and curiosity, combined with a keen sense of organization, give good producers the ability to see the forest for the trees, allowing them to help their team chart a course to success. ¢
“THE YEAR’S MOST HILARIOUS SHOW. IT HAS THE MAKINGS OF A COMEDY CLASSIC.” COLLIDER
“THIS IS A SHOW ABOUT DISCOVERING YOURSELF. HILARIOUS.”
“FANTASTIC. THE SERIES IS BEAUTIFULLY RELATABLE.” VARIETY
CONTINUITY QUEEN
SULLIVAN’S CROSSING showrunner, producer and writer Roma Roth is always on a roll.
Intro by Katie Grant
Roma Roth is the showrunner, writer and executive producer behind CW’s most popular show, Sullivan’s Crossing, and the executive producer of Virgin River , Netflix’s longest-running original series Roth’s path to the job wasn’t a typical one. As part of her master’s degree program in primatology, Roth wrote, produced and filmed a documentary called The Uncommon Chimpanzee
When she spotted a posting on a bulletin board saying that the producer of the TV series Lonesome Dove was looking for an assistant, Roth applied for and got the job,
despite having no professional experience working in the TV industry.
She’s been working in television ever since.
Roth says she was drawn to the medium of television because she was interested in creating programming that inspired and resonated with a global audience in a meaningful way. She has successfully developed and adapted feel-good stories from New York Times best-selling authors like Robyn Carr. Here’s how she balances a life of writing and running a hit series.
Roth working on her documentary
The Uncommon Chimpanzee in Indonesia in 2002.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Morning
I’m currently filming Sullivan’s Crossing in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. My workday consists of waking up early, usually around 6 a.m. Then I check my phone to see what sort of productionrelated questions need addressing prior to call time.
Usually there are some lastminute wardrobe, hair, makeup and props questions I have to deal with. Then I’ll grab a coffee, shower and get ready to head to set. I’ll listen to Jason Mraz and say a personal mantra while I shower. It’s my way of staying positive and upbeat in what can at times be a very stressful job.
My drive to work is about 45 minutes with traffic. My assistant drives me so I can continue to work on the way. Since my family lives in LA, I don’t get a chance to check in with them until later in the day as it is a four-hour time difference, so I’ll answer work emails that came in from LA instead.
Once I get to our location, I’ll pop into the hair and makeup trailer to say hello to my cast. Then I might have some breakfast from catering before I head to set to talk to the director and go over scenes that are shooting that day. When the cast travels, I’ll head to set with them to watch the director block the various scenes so I’m there to answer any questions they have. Then I’ll watch the takes, give notes and make any last-minute adjustments if something isn’t quite landing. If things are going smoothly, I will head back to my trailer where I will Zoom with my (writers) room to continue breaking the rest of the episodes in the season.
Roma Roth with Robyn Carr, author of the Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River book series.
Roth with Sullivan’s Crossing costar Chad Michael Murray.
As we are block shooting two episodes at a time, we end up prepping a block while we are shooting another block. So I’ll spend my day running back and forth between set and my trailer as well as to various production meetings. While I’m doing all this, I am also casting the actors for the next episodes and liaising with my line producer to ensure we stay on budget.
As we get further along into the production schedule, I also get pulled into editing episodes. As with my virtual writers room, I will log in with my editor and start my producer’s cut on the episodes, editing scenes and selecting the needle drop and temp score to go along with them. At some point, I try to eat a healthy lunch if I’m not pulled away to help solve any pending production-related problems.
Afternoon
Some days, I’m also needed to help with electronic press kits, publicity and stills. Other days, we have table reads where I’ll get to hear the words come to life so that I can make script revisions.
Because we have medical and indigenous storylines, I also need to make time to speak with consultants to protect the authenticity of the show.
When we wrap for the day, I’ll stop by wardrobe again to see the next day’s lineup before my assistant takes me home. On the way back, I’ll check in with my family.
It’s a 12-hour day. I spend a lot of time juggling and prioritizing many different things, so by the end of it all, I’m pretty tired.
Once I arrive back to my apartment, I’ll check the call
Roth with Sullivan’s Crossing costar Morgan Kohan.
sheet to see what’s filming the next day and go through the sides to recheck the words and see if I missed anything. Then I’ll usually order in or make myself something to eat.
Evening
At this point, it’s late for me but still early in LA, so I’ll return emails and calls. Then I’ll phone my husband because he’s also my business partner. I’ll update him on what’s been going on with production and he’ll update me on the LA side of things as well as anything he needs help with on the home front.
After that, I’ll sometimes take a bath. Then I’ll research ideas and best-selling books for future projects. If there’s time, I’ll watch an episode of whatever interesting new drama is trending out there to help inspire me.
Then the workday is finally over and I’m very ready to crawl into bed and get some sleep. Because I’m so busy, I find I get some of my best ideas while I’m asleep. So if I’m stuck on something, I’ll just think about it before bed and often have a solution for it once I wake up. The next morning my alarm will go off, and then it’s wash, rinse and repeat
Roth consulting on the set of Sullivan’s Crossing
Roth with series costars Murray and Kohan.
The JOY of Being Needed
Lena Waithe’s rare combination of talents and traits make her a fierce and pioneering creative force—as well as a mentor and advocate for up-and-coming talent.
written
By Lisa Y. Garibay photographed by chrris lowe wardrobe by Waraire Boswell
Any producer knows they must be able to draw upon an unceasing supply of inner resources to succeed. Ambition, tirelessness, ingenuity, discernment, grace, passion—the list goes on. Most people possess one, two, or a few of these traits, but it’s rare to find so many in one person. Lena Waithe fits the bill.
When Waithe won the 2017 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series—becoming the first African American woman to do so—the attention she received was enough to cement her brand as a writer and keep her comfortably coasting in that lane for the rest of her career.
But as one of the costars of that series, Master of None, Waithe was already doing double duty on the show, and her role expanded even further when she became a co-executive producer for its third and final season in 2021.
By then, the Chicago native had created, written, and produced series of her own, including Showtime drama The Chi—set in her hometown and about to go into its seventh season—along with BET comedy series Boomerang and Twenties. The latter show was loosely based on Waithe’s experiences in Hollywood.
With that series, Waithe exhibited one of her hallmark traits: taking a chance on new talent and backing them up.
On Working With Lena
THE NEWBIE: JOJO GIBBS
After Jojo Gibbs sent Waithe a goodie box with gifts promoting a project for which Gibbs and her friends were raising support, Waithe shouted it out on Instagram, giving their crowdfunding effort a huge boost. Gibbs was then asked by Waithe to audition for the lead role of Hattie in Twenties, a role Waithe fought for Gibbs to land despite her lack of
acting experience. Here, Gibbs describes the impact this had on her.
“Lena chose great people to do what she needed them to do on Twenties, like lead writer Azie Dungey, co-showrunner Susan Fales-Hill, and director and executive producer Justin Tipping. She’s a great delegator to the great people she chose to be in these positions. That’s the biggest talent you can have as a producer, because that runs the machine. Everything on the show was happening fluidly while she was still able to do other things.
“Lena is a brilliant creative, but she’s very savvy as a business person as well. She’s very intentional and laser-focused on giving her energy—not just because she believes in something, but also because there’s potential.
“She’s the epitome of ‘put your money where your mouth is’ because she’s given so many people their first shots. What they do with it, that’s on them. To be a person in a position to give someone even just an audition is so significant. It changed my life. I have so much gratitude for Lena being tenacious enough in this industry to rise to a position of influence to make those opportunities happen.
“As a masculine-presenting queer woman, you never know what people will be accepting of. She is leading the way because no one before her has presented the same way she does, nor is in the industry in the same capacity she is. Where’s her blueprint? She’s forging this path on her own.”
BRANCHING OUT
Shortly before she started breaking boundaries on TV, Waithe started producing features. Her foray began when she joined the producing team of 2014’s Dear White People, which billed itself as “a satire about being a Black face in a white place.”
The film follows a group of African American students as they navigate
campus life and racial politics at a predominantly white college. But themes and messages depicted could just as easily have been transposed onto Hollywood, as they so mirrored the experiences that many of the film’s Black cast and crew have had in the industry.
It was a bold debut for a first-time writer, director and producer who was right up Waithe’s alley.
On Working With Lena THE HERALD: JUSTIN SIMIEN
Dear White People was based on Justin Simien’s time as a film student at Chapman University. The film garnered a slew of prestigious festival slots, nominations and awards, including the Sundance Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent. The feature debut spun off a critically acclaimed TV series for Netflix just two years later. Simien recalls how Waithe’s support was critical to this success.
“Lena came on board during the early development stages. We met through a writers group, and during one of those sessions, Lena read for the character Coco Conners. I was completely blown away. I remember thinking, ‘Who is this crazy woman? I’m obsessed with her.’
“She got the project right away—its humor, its message and its cultural significance—and it just made sense for her to join the team as a producer.
“Her fearlessness and clarity were crucial, especially when trying to break through as a new voice in the industry. Her perspective helped shape how the project was marketed and ensured it resonated with the audience it was meant to serve.
“At the time, we were both figuring out what it meant to have our voices heard in this industry. I learned a lot from her about persistence and the importance of believing in yourself, even when the path isn’t clear. I like to think we shared lessons about storytelling and
DISCLAIMER
championing Black voices in a way that was nuanced but unapologetic.
“I admire Lena’s ability to stay grounded in her authenticity while navigating the business side of things. She has this innate ability to communicate a vision and bring people on board without compromising the heart of the story. That’s something I’ve tried to emulate in my work—leading with passion and making sure everyone involved understands why we’re doing this.
“Lena invests her energy, insight and resources into making sure the story gets told the way it deserves to be told. If you’re a producer, take a page from Lena’s book—support bold, unique voices and create space for them to thrive.”
ANOTHER FIRST
In 2019, Waithe produced the highly lauded drama Queen & Slim. It was her first feature-length screenplay. Rather than put it in the hands of a director with a number of features under their belt, Waithe sent it to the talented director of her Emmy-winning Master of None episode, who had never helmed a feature before.
The making of Queen & Slim is a prime example of how Waithe strives to show up for the creators she works with to give them what they need. This includes teaching these visionaries how to ask for help, how to be specific about what they need without apology, and reassuring them that it isn’t a sign of weakness but rather an act of courage and professionalism to do so.
On Working With Lena THE FIGHTER:
MELINA MATSOUKAS
When Waithe asked Melina Matsoukas to direct an episode of Master of None, Matsoukas was executive producing Insecure and wasn’t interested in working on another episodic. But she
Lena is a brilliant creative, but she’s very savvy as a business person as well. She’s very intentional and laserfocused on giving her energy—not just because she believes in something, but also because there’s potential.”
—JOJO GIBBS
couldn’t resist Waithe’s script and the chance to help create something she’d never seen on television. Matsoukas
describes how that successful partnership paved the way for their next venture.
“When we were doing Master of None, I would say to Lena, ‘This story is so personal for you. Is it OK if I suggest some ideas?’ She said, ‘Trust your instincts.’ That’s something I’ve always admired and respected about her, but didn’t really do myself.
“I get all these scripts I pass on because they don’t speak to me. But the story of Queen & Slim spoke tremendously to me. So I picked it as my first film. And who better to do it with than Lena?
“We were both producing it. I’m more the on-the-ground, dig-in-everyday producer, but Lena was right there whenever I needed support to fight for my vision.
“I fought to shoot on film and to film in three cities, because the story is about a road trip. I wanted to actually be in at least three states and not cheat everything. She had my back and said, ‘We’re going to fight for that and make it work.’ And we did.
“Postproduction was hard. I didn’t realize until doing a film that how you put your film out is almost as important as making it. I wanted to have control of the narrative and how the film was put out into the world. I wanted to make sure the people it was about had access to it first, and that it spoke to our community.
“I wanted to have control of the key art. I wanted to have control of our trailer edits. I wanted to have control of where it premiered and screened. It was a very different approach than what’s traditionally done in Hollywood. We fought for it together. It was really powerful to have that backing because if I had been in that fight alone, I don’t know if I would have won.”
KEEPING COMPANY
In 2018, Waithe founded Hillman Grad, which has generated award-winning
content and elevated the careers of creators who expand and enrich the industry landscape. The name is a tribute to A Different World, one of the TV shows that most inspired and shaped a young Waithe. (Hillman was the name of the fictional historically Black college in the show.)
In just six years, Hillman Grad has produced a range of content that has collected numerous awards and amassed loyal audiences. It has projects at Amazon, BET, Disney+, Focus Features, HBO, Netflix, Showtime/Paramount+, Universal and WBTV. This success is due in no small part to the young, talented executive whom Waithe brought on board as CEO when she launched the company in 2018.
DPs, costume designers, actors, writers, executives and more?
“If someone here is really excited about something, we make sure that executive has the opportunity to run with it, can find the right financing home, and has the right kind of rollout. Chang Can Dunk is a perfect example of how Lena did that for me, with (director) Jingyi Shao being a filmmaker I had been excited about for so long.
“When I was coming up, a lot of things were obscured for me. I wasn’t allowed to know what was going on with the budget or allowed to be on a phone call with a senior individual. It’s the exact opposite of how I run this team, which is if you have a question, ask and we’ll talk about the knowledge gap we can fill.
On Working With Lena MOVERS AND SHAKERS: DEONDRAY AND QUINCY LENEAR GOSSFIELD
Deondray and Quincy LeNear Gossfield were already trailblazers in LGBTQ+ TV programming with their GLAAD Award-winning anthology series The DL Chronicles and Daytime Emmy-nominated The Chadwick Journals when they were selected for the Rising Voices class of 2021. That year, they also joined season 5 of The Chi as directors.
On Working With Lena THE EXEC:
RISHI RAJANI
Rishi Rajani was a young exec who’d racked up experience at 20th, UTA, and Studio 8, where he met Waithe when she went in to pitch a project. The two connected deeply on their aspirations for bringing about change in the industry and how to do it. Rajani explains how that connection has informed the way Hillman Grad is run.
“This company exists to find a sweet spot between critical and commercial success—to make things that people really want to see, and to do it from a slightly different perspective. The core idea that there are so many more human stories to tell that are not monolithic diversity Hollywood bullshit has driven us and allowed us to set ourselves apart from a quality perspective. It’s also allowed us to introduce a number of emerging filmmakers to the marketplace and the world.
“Another core question for us as a company is, how do we become a launching pad not just for filmmakers from diverse backgrounds, but also
“I was 26 years old when Lena hired me. She took a shot because she believed in my taste and tenacity and that if I was given the opportunity, I would figure it out. I made tons of mistakes but was allowed to learn from those mistakes. From the start, Lena was like, ‘I’m not going to be on the phone with you unless Rishi is also on the phone with us.’ That kind of thing was incredibly empowering for me.”
THE OPPORTUNITY TO SOAR
In 2020, Hillman Grad partnered with Indeed to create the Rising Voices talent incubator. Each year, the program accepts 10 filmmakers, giving each one $100,000 and mentorship by Waithe and other industry leaders to make a short film for the Tribeca Film Festival.
Rising Voices was created to address the issue of unequal access, which, as its mission states, is particularly harmful due to the significant role film plays in shaping societal attitudes and perspectives. The incubator not only opens doors, it gives participants tactics and relationships to keep their careers going.
“Before we began on The Chi, Lena sat us down with the rough cut of season 3 of Master of None to let us know how far outside the lines we could paint. That season was very existential in tone and style, something rarely seen in a TV show format, much less in a Black hourlong cable TV drama. We applied some of this daring aesthetic to our first episode, hoping Lena would dig it. She did, and she offered us the job of producing directors for the next three seasons.
“Lena knows the vibrations of her viewers, and because of that knows what she wants—the most valuable asset of any producer. She’ll present something to us that we meet with immediate skepticism and she’ll say, ‘Trust me on this.’ When the season airs, the audience responds in the exact way she suspected they would, and it propels the show in a new and fresh direction.
“She’ll re-break a story midseason if she feels like the audience needs to be shaken up, but it’s usually an easy pivot that blends well with what we’ve already been shooting. If it doesn’t, she takes all precautions ahead of time so we’re ready for the shift.
“Producing is an elixir of good judgment, talent recognition, superb communication skills, organization, creativity, stamina and foresight. The best producers not only create work that elevates genres, but create new ones.
“Lena is on a mission to move the needle with filmmaking and to escort
a whole family of new artists of color to ratify that charge. She’s why we, A.V. Rockwell, Jingyi Shao, James Adolphus, Melina Matsoukas, Little Marvin and Radha Blank have been given a chance. That should always be the legacy of an effective and consequential producer.”
AN ENGINE OF INGENUITY
Since Master of None wrapped in 2021, Waithe has accomplished even more across the film and TV spaces. She’s also ventured into book publishing, establishing a Hillman Grad imprint with independent publisher Zando. In November she debuted a podcast, Legacy Talk with Lena Waithe, in which she talks one-on-one with icons whose legacies have had an impact on her including Sheryl Lee Ralph, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mara Brock Akil, Jenifer Lewis and Debbie Allen.
Waithe has also eagerly pursued opportunities to produce for the stage, and it comes as no surprise that she’s seen success in that arena, too. As part of the star-studded producing team of Ain’t No Mo’, Waithe received a nomination for Best Play at the 76th Tony Awards in 2023.
“We’re diversifying our portfolio,” Waithe says. “I love film. I love TV. But I always want to be sparring with myself and making sure that I don’t get complacent or comfortable, but rather still scared.“
Waithe has garnered many awards since that groundbreaking Emmy in 2017, including the 2023 PGA Vance Van Petten Entrepreneurial Spirit Award. Waithe has been continually celebrated in other ways for the impact of her work. Her Vanity Fair cover in 2018 was the first featuring an openly queer Black woman. That year she made Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list, for which then-Senator Kamala Harris composed Waithe’s profile.
Across a media and social landscape broader than most people are capable of imagining, Waithe is a trailblazer who shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
“PRODUCING IS AN ELIXIR OF GOOD JUDGMENT, TALENT RECOGNITION, SUPERB COMMUNICATION SKILLS, ORGANIZATION, CREATIVITY, STAMINA AND FORESIGHT. THE BEST PRODUCERS NOT ONLY CREATE WORK THAT ELEVATES GENRES, BUT CREATE NEW ONES.”
—DEONDRAY AND QUINCY LENEAR GOSSFIELD
Rishi Rajani and Waithe during a Hillman Grad company retreat in 2023.
Deondray and Quincy LeNear Gossfield’s film Flames, executive produced by Waithe and Rajani, debuted at Rising Voices in 2021.
Q+A WITH LENA WAITHE
HOW DOES YOUR BACKGROUND, AND THAT’S IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD, INFUSE THE WAY YOU PRODUCE?
The most important part of producing is connecting people, building teams, and putting the right people in positions that lend to their strengths. My background is very much about doing things as a community. Any set—TV, film, theater—is a community of people working toward a common goal: to make something special for us, something timeless yet timely, which is a very unique thing.
I treat whoever’s project it is as a partnership. I need to know how you need me to show up for you. That’s the most important question I can ask a writer-director whose movie or TV show we’re helping to birth. If you need me to lean in more with execs because they’re giving you a tough time. If you need me to help navigate some stuff with you and the cast. If you need me to talk about how you need to be working with your DP or your editor.
HOW DO YOU TEACH PEOPLE NOT TO BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP?
I always say it makes you really good at your job to ask your producers for help. Treat us like a resource, someone to lean on, talk to, vent to. I’m often dealing with women of color, and I think we are taught to take it all on, get it all done, and be strong and resilient. But I’m saying, “You don’t have to be strong. I’m not someone you have to fight,” because oftentimes in this business, your dukes are up.
I know a lot of people on the studio side don’t want to feel like they are
Waithe with Jenifer Lewis, who appeared in the series Twenties and on Waithe’s podcast Legacy Talk.
your enemy either. We are all trying to figure out ways to build a bridge. They also have someone they report to and sometimes they’re like, “I’m just as frustrated as you and I want to figure this out.”
I’m often working with a director who is making a movie for the first time. That’s a huge honor, and I have to be a
support system. Sometimes you have to be a listener or a soldier or you just have to be there.
That’s what I really enjoy about being a producer. I enjoy being needed. And because these are all different people with different personalities and sets of traumas, they’re going to need different things at different times.
Gina Prince-Bythewood, A.V. Rockwell and Lena Waithe at a screening of Rockwell’s debut feature A Thousand and One
AND THAT GOES FROM PRODUCTION THROUGH TO RELEASE, AND EVEN BEYOND, RIGHT?
Absolutely. A lot of times people get caught up in making the thing, which they should do. But this is a business, so we have to sell it. I ask, “How do you want the premiere to feel? Who are you hoping comes to see this movie?” If I can get a sense of who that is, then we can ask, “Where do we find those people? How do we market to them?”
The TV world is unique because of what’s happening in our business—so many different streamers and mergers. We all get those emails saying, “Your subscription’s going to go up a few bucks.” And no one says, “Well, I’m canceling it.” You just kind of go, “OK, got it.” Then that audience demands more of their entertainment. The people at these companies then ask, “What can we do to make sure you keep paying that $14.99?”
Before, we would see Nielson ratings. Now, we see how many minutes people watch. That’s even more pressure on writers rooms. Every scene, turn and character has to be interesting, or else you’ll lose people’s attention.
Oftentimes, people have their phone in their hand when they’re watching television. When I’m watching cuts of The Chi before we turn them in to lock, I watch with my phone in my hand. If I turn away to look at my phone, we need to turn up the heat and figure things out.
HOW DOES HILLMAN GRAD BALANCE FILM AND TV IN ITS BUSINESS MODEL?
We are in an overall five-year TV deal at Warner Bros. That’s the bulk of how we pay for executives. Before that, we were at Amazon.
TV is hard to invest in, but we want to start investing more in film, raise funds to spend $5 million and try to make $10 million. I got to invest my money in a film for the first time with The 40-YearOld Version. That was really exciting because we were kind of our own studio
until we were screened at Sundance and Netflix bought it. We love making small films and having them do really well.
HOW CAN SOMEONE WHO’S TRYING TO GET FILM OR TV PROJECTS OUT THERE BALANCE CREATIVITY WITH COMMERCIALITY?
Creatives make the content that audiences gravitate toward, yet we also have to have our finger on the pulse. Sometimes it is about timing. It is about stars aligning. And it’s about you mining your own life and experiences to put on the page, which more often than not people will relate to, because it’s honest and vulnerable. That’s where I live anyway, whether it be on The Chi or Queen & Slim or with my new play, trying to find things that people can’t help but lean into.
For folks who are trying to figure it out, don’t take it personally if the industry isn’t responding to the material you’re bringing to it. The industry is in a fearful place. They’re betting on what they feel is a sure thing. But I don’t think there’s any such thing. The things that tend to work and pop are always surprises. Always.
For example, I’ve always loved pairing a fresh face or a name you might not know with someone you may be familiar with. Queen & Slim was a prime example of that with Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. I loved working with Angela Bassett, who everybody knows, in the Master of None episode, and putting Kim Whitley, who I know and love but everybody may not know, next to Angela. Combining the expected with the unexpected is my favorite thing to do.
WHEN SHAPING PROJECTS FOR TV, HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THE DEMAND FOR BINGEABLE CONTENT?
The Chi would not still be on if we were bingeable. Because you have to wait every week and you have to wait a year between seasons, it helps us as creators,
because the audience is hungry. There’s a fear they might go away and find new shows. But we’ve been pretty blessed with our show. People come back every year and they also bring folks with them. Every season, our ratings go up.
It’s hard to get people to remember an episode if they’re watching five in a row. I appreciate the fact that folks have to be on the same page. No one has seen more than anyone else. I don’t mind having to parse it out. It gives us a beat, too, to make another season.
YOU AND HILLMAN GRAD ARE CONTINUALLY INVESTING IN UPAND-COMING TALENT. WHAT DO YOU TEACH THEM ABOUT BREAKING INTO THE INDUSTRY AND MAKING A LIVING?
Here’s the truth about this industry: I don’t advise anyone to get into it unless they have a spirit of stone. Because it’s hard, and it’s more difficult if you’re othered, queer or not the norm. A lot of times our industry has been tasked with improving society and teaching people how to be better. As artists, all we can do is make a statement about where we are as a society.
But I do think our industry is white leaning. If you look at Emmy and Oscar winners, the numbers of (nonwhite) winners are just dismal. And those awards count for something in our industry. The Chi is a very popular show, but it’s not going to get mentioned at the Emmys because the cast is predominantly African American. They’re like, “Maybe the NAACP Image Awards will give you guys something.” Our industry is still very segregated. A lot of Black and brown folks watch shows with white people on them. I watch Succession. I watch Game of Thrones. But I don’t know if white people in the industry are going to be watching Power and P-Valley and The Chi. I think they’re like, “That’s for y’all. But when it comes to our (white) shows, you should watch them and know them if you want to exist in this industry.”
That’s not a criticism. It is a fact. And until we acknowledge these things, I don’t know how we plan on changing them. Our industry is smoke and mirrors, and you have to be an exceptional chess player to get through. But most artists of color are just trying to figure it out, like the folks I’m trying to help. They don’t have the luxury of just being good. They also have to be good at reading a room. They have to be good at not making someone uncomfortable.
The playing field here is not level, yet we all still want to play. For a lot of us, we don’t know how to do anything else. So, we’re going to play on an uneven playing field with hopes that at some point we’ll make a touchdown in spite of the fact that the playing field isn’t level. When we do win, when you do have a Quinta or an Issa or a Donald or me, we are seen as unicorns because the fact that we made it was almost quite impossible.
With our Hillman Grad mentorship lab, I say, “It’s not just helping y’all out by getting some instructors and making sure y’all know what you’re doing. You’re also meeting each other and you’re building
community.” That’s the only way I can help these motherfuckers survive. This is what we do as Black women. We’ve always been a part of forging community, figuring out where we can help. That’s why for me it’s really about tangible help, not just, “Here’s an internship.” But more tactical, like, “This is what you got to know to make it.”
WHAT ARE SOME INDUSTRYSPECIFIC ISSUES THAT RISE TO THE TOP FOR YOU?
We need to look at who is in charge. Who really has the green-lighting ability? Where does the buck stop? We may feel we’re doing a good job because we have people of color working in these offices, but who they answer to often doesn’t look like them.
If you’re an exec and you’re a person of color, you’re going to be put in a tough position because you’re going to get placed on a person of color’s project as a way for (the studio) to say, “Look, we have a person of color on your project advising you.” It presumes that we have the same experience because
we’re both Black women. That person is now giving me notes on a show about Black people, but they had a different experience than I did. It may not be helping the creative process. It may be hurting it.
IF SOMEONE OFFERED YOU A VP POSITION AT A STUDIO, WOULD YOU CONSIDER TAKING IT TO HELP BRING ABOUT CHANGE?
Yes, but only if it’s real. Don’t offer me a job to make you look good. Can I actually get something green-lit? Give me the opportunity to make three or four films, put a couple shows on the air, and if they do well, then you can say, “Maybe there’s something to this. Let’s continue.”
I’m not completely against it, but it would be a unique journey for me to enter that space. I don’t know if I’ve seen that career path, where somebody went from being on the creative side to the executive side. But you’re right: Who better to help advise a creative than another creative?
But oftentimes, the sensibilities of
(Clockwise from top L) Hannah Bing, Joey Xeutong Zhao, María Alvarez, Candace Ho, Miguel Angel Caballero, Justin Riley, Larry Owens, Ana Verde, Jackie! Zhou, Constanza Casto, Domenica Casto, Chris Hymans, Rishi Rajani, Lena Waithe and LeFawn Davis attend the Indeed Rising Voices premiere at Spring Studios on June 12, 2023, in New York City.
creatives don’t lend themselves to being an executive. That’s why I have wonderful execs in Naomi (Funabashi, president of film and TV at Hillman Grad) and Rishi—because my brain doesn’t necessarily work like theirs.
Half the time, Rishi will have conversations with the executives on my behalf. You need somebody to help translate because executives and creatives speak very different languages. Yet we’re forced together to create art.
YOU RECEIVED THE PRODUCERS MARK AND A PGA AWARD NOMINATION FOR BEING MARY TYLER MOORE. HOW DID THE MAKING OF THAT FILM DEFINE FOR YOU WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PRODUCER?
The tricky thing about the word “producer” is that nobody can define it. If you ask a million people, “What does a producer do?” you’re going to get a million different answers. Being Mary Tyler Moore started with me wanting to write a biopic. Then I went to sit with her widower and quickly changed my mind to turn it into a documentary,
which then meant, “OK, I’m not going to write it, but I need to step back and hire a person to come in and direct. I’ll be producing it, and we’re going to figure this out.”
It took me five years to get that whole thing together. I mentioned it in Vanity Fair on purpose. Dr. Robert Levine (Mary Tyler Moore’s widower) read it and invited me over. The project was initially at CNN. But they said, “You can’t do it if her widower is involved because we’re a journalistic (outlet).” So I said, “Well, then I can’t do it with you.” Then HBO Max raised their hand and I said, “Great. That works.”
It was probably the most producerial type of project I was on every step of the way. Like asking James (Adolphus) to direct. He had just done this thing with me for Quibby, and I said, “I think you’d be great because you’re super intentional and layered, and that’s what I need for this.” He wasn’t familiar with Mary Tyler Moore, so I said, “Go watch her show. Read her memoir. If you’re as fascinated with her as I think you will be, let’s do this together.” He came back and he said yes.
I wasn’t on set when the interviews were being done, but it was my decision to cover up the speakers (with archival footage). That was a tough day in the editing room with James. When we were done watching the cut, I said, “OK, I got a big note.” I think he left that day dizzy, like, “What the fuck? We worked on this for so long.” After we added more footage, he said, “Oh wow, there it is. This is the movie.”
My job is to be creative. Not just administrative, but to also say, “Let me step back from this and be an audience member. What do I want?” And what do I want as a producer, as a person who came up with this? I was like, “I want to see Mary. That’s the point of this.” Now you get more Mary. I think that’s why the doc is so wonderful.
That’s why this is such an honor for you all to see me and to see what we’re doing and what we’re building. People don’t always think of me as a producer because they see I have a TV show or they’ve seen me on a TV show or movies. But I really feel most comfortable with a producer’s hat on because I like to just be helpful. ¢
The Hillman Grad team at its company retreat in 2023.
COURTESY
The three pillars of 3Pas Studios’ content have resulted in success in endeavors that both include and transcend the company’s Spanishlanguage origins.
Written by Lisa Y. Garibay
In an era of rapid change, uncertainty, and anxiety about staying afloat, it can seem that the only way for a producer to navigate the industry is by diversifying their involvement as much as possible. It’s one thing to throw proverbial spaghetti at the wall. It’s another to have it not only stick, but stick meaningfully.
Across a variety of formats for television and film, plus a forthcoming entrée into podcasting, 3Pas Studios—whose name is a play on tripas, the Spanish word for “guts”—has been successfully prolific, led by producing partners Eugenio Derbez and Ben Odell.
The comedy series Acapulco and dramedy feature Radical exemplify the quality of projects coming out of 3Pas Studios.
Watching Acapulco feels like a warm hug, an embrace of perfectly timed jokes and tugs on the heartstrings by a talented cast, all shot in Mexico and delivered with tip-top production value. The series has been renewed for a fourth season on Apple TV+.
“That’s a goal that’s really hard to achieve in the U.S. for a Latino series,” says Derbez. “We always work for the general market, but I’m proud to be doing a series that shows Mexico differently, not full of narcos and violence.”
“It’s so gratifying to see audiences embrace Acapulco for its generosity of spirit, humor, warmth and emotion,” says Morgan Wandell, head of international development for Apple TV+. “3Pas, along with Eugenio and the entire cast and crew, have created a show that resonates deeply with audiences everywhere, but especially within the communities it celebrates.”
Radical is an intimate feature based on the true story of an impassioned educator who unlocked the potential of impoverished elementary school students in a Mexican border town ravaged by corruption and violence. Although Radical won the top audience prize at the 2023 Sundance Festival, 3Pas expected it to remain within the art-house realm with a respectable but limited box office. Instead, it became one of the highest-grossing indies of 2023 in the U.S., earning more than $8 million between its November release and the end of the year, and the highest-grossing drama ever in Mexico.
“Teacher movies are a subgenre in the U.S. We export optimism, but it’s not something we see in the rest of the world,” says Odell. “Radical is realistic and bittersweet, but it shows that there’s possibility. The premiere in Mexico was the closest thing to a religious experience that I’ve ever had in a movie theater. People were crying so profoundly from the bottom of their souls. It hit them in a way because nobody had ever had this conversation with them. That idea that we can bring things to audiences they haven’t seen before is really exciting.”
Sky-high standards for creativity and quality have been requirements for every project 3Pas has undertaken since the company was launched in 2014. It’s a testament to the founders’ grit that they’ve not only succeeded in a range of formats, but have done so within a highly coveted Latino/Spanish-language market that a slew of industry powerhouses have been trying to predict and capitalize on for decades with dubious results.
PERSISTENCE AND PAYOFF
The heartwarming 2013 film Instructions Not Included became the proof of concept for the 3Pas business model. Back then, Spanish-language content wasn’t considered worth much by investors even while the industry was pulling its hair out trying to capitalize on 60 million Spanish speakers in the U.S. and a population of 65 million who identified as Hispanic or Latino. Staggeringly, this population was estimated to account for nearly 30% of the theatrical audience in the U.S.
Derbez—who was serving as the writer, director and star of Instructions—was determined to make his film for no less than $5.5 million. But the average Spanish-language film was being made for less than half that amount.
“Most attempts to reach the Latino market were about immigrants crossing the border—the kinds of movies I feel we (Latinos) don’t want to watch. We know that story so well. It’s painful and boring,” Derbez explains. “If you look at the box office in Mexico, Hollywood films are always beating Mexican films because we want to see big productions from Hollywood. So I wanted to do something big.”
It took Derbez 12 years to get what he wanted.
“Eugenio felt that if he didn’t give the audience the best version of this idea, they were being shortchanged,” Odell says. “That was the driving impetus of our company. Let’s give them what they really deserve. Let’s do things that are quality.”
In 2013, Odell—who had an impressive track record of film and TV success while living and working in Colombia—was an executive at Pantelion, a partnership between Lionsgate and Mexican media giant Televisa. Pantelion signed on to distribute Instructions theatrically with fingers crossed that it was the magic bullet everyone had been seeking.
Derbez and Odell had first worked together on the 2006 indie Sangre de Mi Sangre, which Odell produced and Derbez starred in. It won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, marking the first of a string of accolades the 3Pas partners have racked up since then.
Awards are important, but revenue is critical to stay alive in this industry. When Instructions Not Included opened in 348 theaters in 2013, it was the highest-grossing U.S. debut ever for a Spanish-language film. Pantelion doubled the number of theaters the second weekend. In just one month, Instructions had surpassed Pan’s Labyrinth to become the highest-grossing Spanish-language film of all time in the U.S., and the fourth highest-grossing foreign film of all time. The numbers in Mexico were even more impressive.
Clearly, the market was hungry, and Derbez’s film had hit the spot.
“It was because you could see a Latino who is a nice guy,” Derbez says. “I’m not playing a narco or a drug dealer or a gang member. It has a little bit of English, a little bit of Spanish. It feels big. It feels different. It’s a comedy.”
Members of the 3Pas Studios team at the premiere of They Came at Night. Photo by Carlos Eric Lopez.
With full faith in that formula, Odell and Derbez decided to plant their stake, and 3Pas was born.
It would be negligent not to acknowledge how much Derbez’s star power has contributed to 3Pas’s success. The decades he has spent as one of Mexico’s most beloved onscreen presences was a rock-solid foundation upon which to build a company—except for the fact that, at 52, Derbez had uprooted his life in Mexico to follow his lifelong dream of breaking into Hollywood. And he wanted to do so in English, not Spanish. This was not what Odell had in mind.
“I said, ‘Wait a second, you made a $5 million Spanish-language movie that made $100 million at the box office. There’s clearly a demand for it. Maybe we should do a couple more of those first, and then we’ll figure out what else we want to do.”
But Derbez wasn’t about doing things for the money. He wanted the challenge. “I was scared out of my mind, but whenever something produces fear in me, I take it as a sign that I should move toward it, not away from it,” says Derbez.
The next step was figuring out how to get the sizable audience that turned out for Instructions Not Included to show up for 3Pas’s English-language movies. “It took us a lot of time to figure out a path,” Odell admits.
But figure it out they did, with features including a remake of the ’80s comedy Overboard, How to Be a Latin Lover, The Valet, and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, all of which garnered critical acclaim or significant audiences; sometimes both.
Former head of MGM Jonathan Glickman worked with Derbez and Odell on 2018’s Overboard
“When Eugenio walked into our office at MGM, people went crazy, from the highest-level executive to
the person at the reception desk. He was so nice to everybody. That was the moment I realized, my god, this guy’s much bigger than I thought,” Glickman recalls.
Charm is one thing, but business is the name of the game. Much of the industry is built upon making bets and hoping at least a few will pay off. For Glickman, it was a sound business decision beyond the magnetism of an actor. Derbez had proved his value with Instructions Not Included, and his comedic persona felt like a natural fit for the adaptation of Overboard.
“Anytime you take on a beloved title there are some risks. But 3Pas had their own take on it with the gender flip and developed a great script,” Glickman recalls. “It felt like there was an underserved audience that we could reach while we could also get mainstream success based on the popularity of the title.”
Glickman, who had not yet worked with Odell, had his trepidations. “Usually when you’re making a movie and an actor has a producing partner they want to be involved, you’re like, OK, they’re only going to really care about whatever the actor needs. But Ben and Eugenio were the exact opposite. Ben found the writers and was incredibly vigilant in
making sure the script was not only great but could be made affordably. Eugenio was very involved in big-picture decisions like casting, while Ben handled nuts-and-bolts, day-to-day producing. They were incredible.”
Perhaps the best endorsement of the soundness of 3Pas’s business acumen is their ability to sustain relationships. “I would work with them again in a second—tomorrow, yesterday, as soon as possible,” Glickman says.
The list of 3Pas’s credits proves the company has not given up on Spanish-language content. Despite Derbez’s initial goal of making English-language films, compelling developments in the local language market demonstrated by the success of Netflix’s Club de Cuervos made it smart for the company to invest in Spanish-language TV.
The partners decided to chance a Spanish-language, Mexico-based remake of a Japanese reality show by Amazon. Documental locks 10 comedians in a room battling to make the others laugh—without laughing themselves—to win a cash prize. It was outrageous, ribald, arguably offensive and not at all in line with what Spanish-speaking audiences throughout Latin America were likely to get behind.
Derbez opened his comedic toolbox and got to work reengineering the format for the audience he knew so intimately. “I was sure it was going to fail. I was regretting it every single second,” Derbez recalls. “But I figured we’d promote it as an experiment and let people know it might be bad.”
Season one of LOL: Laugh Out Loud Mexico was successful enough to justify continuation. After its second season, Amazon began bringing producers from other countries to 3Pas’s set in Mexico to learn how they might be able to seed the series in other territories successfully.
Actor Daniel Raymont, Eugenio Derbez, Ben Odell, acting coach Paola Madrigal and Javier Williams on the set of They Came at Night
“With Eugenio at the helm and 3Pas creatively producing alongside us, we made an undeniable hit,” said Javiera Balmaceda, head of originals for Latin America, Canada & Australia at Amazon Studios. “And look how far we’ve come, about to launch our seventh season this December. The format’s success in Mexico resulted in more than 20 local adaptations and became Prime Video’s most successful franchise.”
She adds, “The fact that 3Pas can expertly deliver different content types makes for an incredibly fruitful partnership as they help us meet goals across unscripted, dramatic series and film.”
LEARNING CURVE
All this isn’t to say that the road hasn’t been bumpy. Even though Derbez had expertise not just as an actor but also a writer, director and producer in Mexico, he found that knowledge didn’t necessarily carry over in his new home.
“Producing in Mexico is completely different from producing in the U.S. It’s a learning curve 24/7. I will go to a meeting with Ben to sell a show and they start dropping names and I don’t know what they’re talking about,” Derbez admits.
And despite the success of Instructions Not Included, Hollywood wasn’t banging down the door for more from the team, perceiving it as a one-time fluke by an entertainment industry newbie. “It was like, no, Eugenio’s been doing this for 25 years successfully! But we had to go back and prove it all over again,” Odell recalls.
Furthermore, the partners have fought an uphill battle to get the company appreciated as more than just a vanity shingle—to prove it had value to offer beyond a popular face.
“We spend a lot of time on every single project that we do because we’re trying to educate people that anything produced by 3Pas is going to be as good as a project that I’m starring in,” says Derbez. Buyers are now trusting that Derbez, Odell and their team of seasoned execs have invaluable knowledge to bring to the table for what they refer to as non-Eugenio projects.
“I used to be the most proud of the things that Eugenio and I worked on. Now I’m proud of the things we’re barely touching that get made because we have these executives who are so smart and competent,” Odell says.
MAKING THE MOST OF THE MARKET
The Latino Donor Collaborative’s 2024 Latinos in Media report found that the entertainment industry could generate an additional $12 billion to $18 billion per year if it properly engaged the Latino demographic by increasing representation in TV and film both behind and in front of the camera.
“3Pas speaks to the fastest-growing audience in the United States,” says Nick Lafferty, a scripted global TV agent at CAA. “They understand that the Latino audience is a four-quadrant, multigenerational audience. That fact has been hard for a lot of other companies to gauge.”
3Pas conducted its own market survey to learn more about what it was doing well and what it might be missing. More than 2,000 Latino-identifying film and TV viewers in the U.S. replied with input about the content they consume.
“The results proved that an audience we all talk about as one is spread across many different platforms,” says Odell. “So how do you get them all together? A middle-class family trying to get their
kids through school and everything else isn’t necessarily going to sign up for another streaming platform. One of the reasons that theatrical is still so important to us is because that is one place where you can get all of them to show up.”
“I’m not going to say that we know all the Latinos, because there are many type of Latinos. We’re trying to tell the market how we see Latinos,” Derbez explains. “The problem is that the industry is trying to reach Latinos as if it’s just one block, and we’re not. It matters if you’re a Latino who was born in the U.S. or a Latino from Mexico, Ecuador or El Salvador.”
Odell adds, “When I hear somebody say, ‘That’s a Latino show,’ I say, ‘Latinos are the mainstream. You can’t have a hit if you’re not getting Latinos to show up for your TV or movie.’”
All of this is not to say that the projects 3Pas puts out into the world succeed only within that vaguely unified Latino audience. Radical has racked up awards from festivals and critics around the world and is resonating in countries without a sizable Latino audience. Acapulco is a big hit in Italy. How to Be a Latin Lover was remade in France.
“I think that limitations to our content are often simply the limitations of how things are distributed. But when our content can get to other audiences, we’re always surprised by the reception,” Odell says.
Eugenio Derbez and Ben Odell
Crossing boundaries is fundamental to 3Pas’s production approach as well as distribution. Consultants from the U.S. are often brought in to advise the company’s Spanish-language content, such as when Simpsons writer Bob Kushell helped supervise 3Pas’s animated series Circo Gomez . On the new limited series They Came at Night, 3Pas enlisted writers/EPs Bob Fisher ( Wedding Crashers , We’re the Millers ) and Rob Greenberg ( Frasier , How I Met Your Mother )
“We’re bringing our relationships in the U.S. into Latin America to help lift the quality of the content. At the same time, we’re looking for opportunities to bring U.S. Latino talent into the mainstream, Latin American talent into the U.S., or IP from Latin America into the U.S.,” Odell explains.
It was Fisher who first tipped off Derbez and Odell about the real-life history behind They Came at Night, which tells the story of the cast and crew who made a Spanish-language version of Dracula for Universal in 1931.
As the sun went down and shooting wrapped each day on Bela Lugosi’s English-language version, the Spanish-language production would take over, using the same sets and costumes but with only a fraction of the budget, especially when it came to compensating personnel. It may be considered the start of Hollywood’s attempt at penetrating the U.S. Latino market with mixed results.
Upon learning about this historical tidbit, Derbez and Odell couldn’t have been more excited to depict it onscreen. “It’s a great metaphor for the chutzpah of immigrants and their ability to do more with less,” Odell says. “We had to make it because we wanted to see it, and were never going to see it if we didn’t do it ourselves. That’s ultimately where we start from in terms of making decisions. The financials hopefully take care of themselves as you move through.”
THE 360 OF 3PAS
3Pas sums up everything it does with three characteristics: humor, heart and humanity.
“We always say you need two of the three, plus quality, for us to make anything. So that really leaves you open to any genre—scripted, unscripted, anything,” says Odell.
Projects in the hopper now include the Amazon Prime limited series El Juicio, in which Derbez has his first lead role in a TV drama; season four of Acapulco for Apple TV+; the animated comedy series Circo Gomez; a notyet-titled feature thriller with the enormously popular Kate del Castillo in the lead, helmed by lauded director Sebastián Borenzstein; and the company’s first podcast, Transformate, with another in prep.
3Pas juggles all of this skillfully with the following divisions:
ENGLISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION
Sonia Gambaro joined 3Pas in 2020 as SVP of English-language TV. This is where Acapulco sits, produced through the company’s first-look deal with Lionsgate TV covering English- and Spanishlanguage series. 3Pas also has a first-look deal with ABC Signature for English-language TV projects.
Gambaro was previously a literary manager at Equitable Management and her own company, Pollinate Entertainment, where she set up and sold projects to Netflix, Hulu, Freeform, Ellation, SonyTV, MWM and EndemolShine, and brokered worldwide branding campaigns.
SPANISH-LANGUAGE SERIES
International Emmy-nominated SVP Javier Williams arrived at 3Pas in 2019 to lead this division, lending more than 29 years of experience as an executive producer with Televisa, where he oversaw coproductions with Disney, Sony and Nickelodeon.
Amazon Prime’s LOL is beneath this umbrella, as is They Came at Night on ViX+, TelevisaUnivision’s Spanish-language premium subscription streaming service. The comedy was ViX+’s top-performing series for weeks after it debuted.
3Pas struck a first-look deal with TelevisaUnivision in 2021 covering original scripted and unscripted Spanish-language content. When the deal was announced, Pierluigi Gazzolo, president and chief transformation officer at Univision, said,
“This partnership is a testament to how we are doubling down on our commitment to building the best and largest Spanish-language streaming service in the world—one that will be the home to top-level creative Spanish-language talent.”
Additional projects within this division include spinoffs of De Viaje con los Derbez and LOL.
INTERNATIONAL COPRODUCTIONS AND SPANISH-LANGUAGE FEATURES
In 2023, Leo Zimbrón was brought in as SVP of Spanish-language features and international coproductions. Zimbron had produced 2015’s groundbreaking Club de Cuervos, the first original Netflix series in Spanish, which ran for four successful seasons.
In 2022, Zimbrón—who also brings valuable experience from time at EndemolShine Boomdog and Warner Bros—was named head of local original movies for Latin America at Amazon Studios, where he generated a slate of 40 projects before moving to 3Pas.
KIDS AND COMEDY
In 2021 Jordan Rubio stepped up as VP of Comedy/Kids & Family, Film & TV at 3Pas, working in both English- and Spanish-language TV and film. This division has housed successes like the 2018 comedy feature Overboard and 2017’s How to Be a Latin Lover with Lionsgate/Pantelion. Prior to joining 3Pas, Rubio contributed to the development, sales and production of features and TV series at Amazon, NewLine, HBOMax, Pantaya, Apple and Netflix.
PODCASTING
In May 2023, 3Pas ventured into podcasting via a multiyear, overall exclusive audio deal with Audible to produce scripted and unscripted audio
content in both English and Spanish. Cristy Marrero came on board that year to steer 3Pas’s brand-new division.
With over 20 years of experience in digital and social media-first content, Marrero had successfully launched and grown online and multiplatform brands such as The Americano, Floricua, and HOLA! USA. She also led the Hispanic Media division at Dotdash Meredith (formerly known as Meredith Corporation).
“We know that working with a production company like 3Pas results in content that provides our listeners glimpses into all kinds of communities while remaining universally relevant,” says Manny Miravete, senior director of original content at Audible. The possibilities ahead for the partnership range from true crime to well-being.
“The thing about podcasting is that it’s so quick. You can come up with an idea and get it out there quickly in a way that you can’t even with unscripted (TV). We’re storytellers at our core, so we don’t discriminate against platforms or genres,” Odell says.
“We decided to start doing podcasts because we found an idea that sounded very different and exciting,” says Derbez. “I feel that’s the only way to succeed—when you do things that are different and that resonate with your soul and your heart, not with your pockets.”
“A film like 3Pas’s How to Be a Latin Lover upends stereotypes about Latin men through its exploration of what it means to age,” says Miravete. “We knew this type of heartfelt, funny and whip-smart storytelling would fit in well with content we believe can serve as a powerful agent of change—educating, challenging, inspiring and bringing us closer together.”
Given all that 3Pas was already expending its energy on, the expansion into podcasting needed to be both financially responsible as well as
creatively fulfilling.
“We see it as another way to tell stories and generate IP that can then become something else,” Odell explains.
This feeds into the portfolio approach that is a fundamental of 3Pas’s business model, one that spreads across film (narrative and doc), scripted and unscripted TV, and animation.
The company works within two different markets focusing on two languages with different sets of buyers. Each format and market have different cycles; when activity in one is down, 3Pas has the expertise and capacity to ramp up in another, and the consistent flow of content results in consistent cash flow.
PLUS, PRODUCTION SERVICES
Also beneath the 3Pas banner is its Mexico City-based production services company Visceral, launched in 2019 and overseen by Javier Williams alongside Director of Production Pablo Calasso, who has in-depth experience developing scripted and unscripted series throughout Latin America.
Visceral leverages its combination of local and international expertise to get the best pricing for the highest-quality services in the region. 3Pas is developing a good deal of English-language content that can be shot in Latin America, where the company can take advantage of its know-how there to produce inexpensively.
“3Pas can shoot a project in Mexico for $2 million and it’s going to look like it was shot for $7 million,” says Nick Lafferty of CAA. “Their scrappiness is going to serve them well in an era where budgets continue to come down and companies look to right-size making shows versus spending infinite money hoping to make it to profitability.”
Lafferty adds, “Producers need to understand that the responsible ones who can shoot stuff for less money are going to be the ones that end up winning.” ¢
PRODUCED BY
PHILIPPA BOYENS, p.g.a.
JASON DEMARCO, p.g.a.
JOSEPH CHOU, p.g.a. DIRECTED BY KENJI KAMIYAMA
NAVIGA T INGTHE
ETHICS OF AI
Artificial intelligence has had a place in our collective awareness ever since Alan Turing’s Imitation Game raised the question of whether a machine can possess true intelligence. That was back in the early 1950s. No laws governed AI back then, and relatively few have surfaced since. Today we find ourselves navigating a world of artificial intelligence with a rapidly proliferating set of tools and an even more rapidly growing pool of AI-generated content, all without boundaries and only minimal regulations.
So where are the guardrails? What best practices are emerging? Using AI creatively and fairly in film, TV and emerging media requires careful consideration from many perspectives—technical and budgetary, certainly, but also ethical and legal. Fortunately, a great number of resources and guidelines are available to help content creators navigate the constantly evolving AI revolution.
GUIDANCE FROM THE GUILDS
In the absence of legal protection, entertainment industry guilds have stepped up to push for legally binding guidelines of their own. AI was at the center of the issues that led to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes of 2023, and the use of AI was addressed in the renewals of their collective bargaining agreements. A number of extremely useful and informative rules and information sources have emerged since.
WGA
The Writers Guild established regulations for using AI on projects covered by its Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA). Most importantly, AI can’t be used to write or rewrite “literary material.” The details of the Guild’s wins are in the 2023 MBA. The Guild has also published on its website a handy “Know Your Rights: Artificial Intelligence” guide, which includes the MBA provisions, a running list of AI-related Guild actions, and information about whom to contact at the Guild for AI-related situations, including how to contact their AI Advisory Committee. One example of these guidelines: WGA members should not consent to AI transcription during a pitch meeting, including on Zoom.
SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA’s 2023 TV/theatrical contract has created new rules on the use of AI-generated performances in film and TV, with a focus on informed consent and compensation for AI use. The contract addresses two main types of AI-generated content: digital replicas and synthetic performers. The first replicates a specific actor’s voice and/or likeness using digital technology. The second covers characters created by digital technology that appear to be real-life human performers, but are not identifiable as any existing performer.
A full list of the provisions is available on the Artificial Intelligence Resources page of the SAG website. The site also offers other downloadable documents including FAQs, a two-pager on regulating AI, and a packet called “Digital Replicas 101.” The latter addresses contracts, creation of digital replicas, compensation guidelines and more. These documents are not just for actors; they offer useful information for people in various roles on a production.
While the artificial intelligence landscape is changing minute by minute, guardrails, guidelines and best-practices resources are emerging to help creators utilize AI in a fair and ethical manner.
Written By Eve Weston
THE ANIMATION GUILD (TAG), IATSE LOCAL 839
The Animation Guild didn’t go on strike over AI usage, but it certainly has a stake in it. TAG established its AI Task Force in April 2023, and along with the Concept Art Association (CAA), the Human Artistry Campaign, and the National Cartoonist Society Foundation, TAG commissioned a study carried out by Los Angeles-based economic development and growth consultancy CVL Economics.
Titled “Future Unscripted: The Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Entertainment Industry Jobs,” the study surveyed relevant professionals to better understand the current use of AI, its future use over the next three years, and how these technologies will impact creative workers. A summary and a full PDF containing the report’s key findings are on the Animation Guild website.
PRODUCERS GUILD
The Producers Guild is in midst of producing quarterly, timely discussions about how producers can responsibly use AI in film, TV and emerging media. The first of the series of conversations took place during the 2024 Produced By Conference in a session titled “AI, What Every Producer Should Know.”
Panelists included Ghaith Mahmood, a partner at the law firm Latham & Watkins; Lori McCreary, CEO of Revelations
Entertainment; and Renard T. Jenkins, president of I2A2 Technologies, Labs & Studios. Each addressed the practical, legal and ethical considerations producers face when using and including AI in their projects.
The discussion focused on some of the most important considerations that creatives must take into account and spanned such topics as practical uses like dubbing and creating materials for pitching and sales to the implications of AI for training the next generation of producers. Members have access to the entire session on the Guild’s members-only Vimeo channel.
Additionally, Produced By magazine is publishing a series of articles on AI, of which this is the second.
GOVERNMENTS CATCHING UP
While the guilds were out in front, government regulation has been playing catch-up. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom took a big leap forward in September 2024, when he signed a whopping 17 new AI bills into law. Those most applicable to creators of film, TV and emerging media are AB 2602, ensuring that California’s performers control the use of their own digital replicas; AB 1836, prohibiting digital replicas of deceased performers without appropriate consent; and AB 2013, mandating disclosures about training data sets, such as whether the underlying assets are protected (e.g., copyright,
A Gen Battle presented by Machine Cinema, where creators and teams joined to create a music video in less than three hours.
trademark) or public domain.
The European Union enacted its Artificial Intelligence Act in August 2024. It “establishes a robust, enforceable legal framework with a riskbased approach to regulating the entire life cycle of AI systems,” says Victoria Bousis, director of the PGA Innovation Award-winning interactive virtual reality experience Stay Alive, My Son This framework is designed to ensure accountability, transparency, fairness and user safety, including mandates for chatbot disclosures. Its key provisions include: (1) prohibitions on certain AI practices deemed to pose an “unacceptable risk;” (2) strict requirements for “high-risk” AI systems to ensure rigorous standards are met; (3) transparency obligations for certain AI systems, ensuring clarity for users; and (4) regulation of general-purpose AI models to set clear boundaries.
More importantly, noncompliance with the Act carries significant penalties, up to €35 million or 7% of global annual turnover, reinforcing the importance of accountability across the AI industry.
INDUSTRY RESOURCES, GENEROUSLY SHARED
Where law or legally binding provisions fall short, industry associations have stepped in to provide guidance. “Generated images were getting dropped into (archival producers’ films’) edits by the junior editors,” says Fred Grinstein, a seasoned producer and executive who cofounded Machine Cinema. “So (archival producers) formed a group that’s highly organized and thorough in their efforts to advocate for best practices in the nonfiction industry.”
Less than a year after forming, and in the same month that Newsom signed his bills into law, that group—the Archival Producers Alliance (APA)—put out “Best Practices for Use of Generative AI in Documentaries,” a 10-page PDF available on its website It focuses on four key areas: Value of Primary Sources, Transparency, Legal Considerations,
and Ethical Considerations of Creating Human Simulations.
When filmmakers encounter novel, unprecedented situations, it can be challenging to determine what is ethical or what is fair. That’s where Archival Producers Alliance and other industry associations serve as valuable resources to creators of film, TV and other media. The group represents more than 300 U.S. and international archival producers.
APA Co-director Rachel Antell makes the point that the group’s concerns are specific to documentary. “If you’re seeing Jurassic Park or Star Wars, you don’t expect that it’s real,” she says. However, she acknowledges some ethical issues cross over. “You might still, in a nondocumentary, go to create a human being who actually existed.” That would be a time to be extra cautious.
Bousis agrees. “As a cross-media director and technologist, I created a digital replica of (Cambodian genocide survivor) Yathay Pin,” Bousis says. “Using a hyperrealistic recreation of his likeness, supported by AI, I aimed to foster a powerful, empathetic connection between viewers and Yathay’s story. I sought his consent beforehand, firmly believing that digital replicas are an intrinsic part of our privacy rights, underscoring the need for individuals to retain control over their digital identity.”
The APA cofounders stress that using generative AI isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, it can help make it possible to tell powerful, timely stories to help raise awareness of injustice and persecution. The films Another Body and Welcome to Chechnya both used generative AI in groundbreaking ways to protect the identities of the brave people who came forward to tell their stories.
Building in time and money around legal concerns is also essential. Antell worked on a film that incorporated AI imagery at a time when standards and best practices weren’t yet formulated. But that changed by the time the film was delivered to its broadcaster.
“They got caught in standards and practices for a year,” Antell says. “Their broadcast was delayed and they had to go back to the drawing board to redo things because of the software they’d used and the way they had done certain things.”
By the time they finished, the broadcaster had developed ethical standards that the film’s team had not anticipated. This is a good reminder that being ethical isn’t just a solid principle; it’s a good business move. Making more ethical choices than are required can often end up saving a production a significant amount of
The PGA Award-winning VR experience Stay Alive, My Son created a digital replica of its real-life subject with his consent.
Stills from the documentary Welcome to Chechnya, which used a groundbreaking digital “face double” technique to protect the identities of its subjects.
time and money in the long run.
The example of a full-AI film shows how filmmakers can create content that is both entertaining and ethically sound.
“We established clear ethical guidelines from the start,” says Nem Perez, director and executive producer of one of the first AI feature films, Our T2 Remake. “We made sure that everything we created was transformative and abided by parody and fair-use law. The film was also noncommercial and experimental.”
One of the artists behind Our T2 Remake created guidelines in Germany called “The FAIR Codex.”
The Framework for Artificial Intelligence Responsibility (FAIR) is a set of guidelines that put fairness at the core of creating art with AI: by artists, for artists. It advises that creators should not use prompts that refer to or include intellectual property (e.g., Marvel), styles associated with artists or brands (e.g., Pixar), or living people (e.g., Tom Cruise).
It also insists that creators create in good faith. Creators who abide by the
codex can use the FAIR Seal and the FAIR Promise in promotion of their project; both are provided on faircodex.com.
For their next film, Perez and his team are making sure to abide by the FAIR Codex to ensure their work is both ethically sound and copyrightable when it is presented to major studios for possible sales.
“This, along with using fair models such as Adobe Firefly, is how we are approaching the ethical issues for our next AI-powered feature film,” Perez says. “We’re meticulous about our prompts—no copyrighted material, no actor names, no studio references.”
He adds, “While the legal framework around AI-generated art is still evolving, we’re positioning ourselves on the side of human-driven creativity, where the AI output is substantially transformed through artistic interpretation.”
Other industry groups are doing their part. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is hosting an AI Toolkit Series for TV Professionals, admission and recordings of which are
available to members. The Television Academy’s website (emmys.com) also has a collection of articles from its AI Task Force’s Executive Summary and additional relevant videos and articles. Few media productions are truly complete without music. ASCAP and BMI—the performance-rights organizations that represent songwriters, composers and music publishers—are naturally concerned with the impact of AI on visual media.
An AI-specific page on the ASCAP website offers information on how they’re helping music creators navigate AI, including an AI FAQ and specifics about copyright and advocacy. It also outlines the six key creator-centric principles guiding the ASCAP board of directors’ response to AI. The site offers videos from ASCAP’s AI Symposiums, a podcast, and a short documentary related to AI.
The “BMI & AI: What Music Creators Need to Know” page on the BMI website lays out the organization’s position on a human-centric approach to AI, shares
their advocacy and legislative action, provides answers to FAQs, and offers resources and events.
While the U.S. Copyright Office is obviously a federal agency and not an industry association, it too has AI resources relevant to film and TV producers. In July 2024, the office published “Part 1: Digital Replicas,” the first in a series of promised reports analyzing copyright law and policy issues raised by artificial intelligence. These include the scope of copyright in AI-generated works and the use of copyrighted materials in the process of teaching AI to better interpret data and respond to queries.
The Digital Replicas report suggests to Congress that, although current federal statutes on artistic style and copyright are adequate, an urgent need exists for federal updates to address other issues pertaining to digital replicas. More reports are forthcoming and will be posted on the agency’s website.
Beyond ethical considerations, best practices can be helpful to creators.
Fortunately, even in AI’s infancy, multiple organizations are ready to provide education, community and more. One such organization is Curious Refuge, the self-proclaimed “world’s first home for AI storytellers.”
“Joining Curious Refuge’s community set off a sequence of events and opportunities that seemed unimaginable to me one year ago,” says Jagger Waters, director of programming for Escape AI and a producer for Curious Refuge. The organization offers courses in AI Animation, Filmmaking, Advertising and Documentary. Their website has an AI Film Gallery and lists of tools, resources and prompts. They also sponsor AI contests, host events and list AI jobs.
Learning about AI terms and tools can feel overwhelming, making it difficult to know where to start. One easily accessible resource that may help is Curious Refuge’s AI Film News, posted to YouTube every Friday. The group also presents meetups and events that anyone can attend.
Another group devoted to sharing AI best practices is Machine Cinema. While it started with friends sharing prompting tips, Machine Cinema is now helping AI creators build, create, learn and prepare for the future of AI creation. They organize events for AI creators all over the world, particularly in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The organization designs learning experiences in partnership with various organizations and institutions. They also publish a Substack for sharing discussions on AI film, creativity, gaming and more.
Another group, Digital Hollywood, hosted an AI summit last July with three days of roundtables and keynotes. The sessions were all recorded, including the special track for Television Academy Emerging Media Peer Group members. The videos are on the Digital Hollywood website.
The resources covered here are by no means comprehensive. AI is evolving quickly and the engagement process— including AI-oriented laws, contracts, ethics, best practices and resources—will evolve with it.
“We are no longer in an era where AI adoption is optional,” says Bousis, who began her career as a prosecutor for the attorney general of Illinois. “Ethics must be at the core of legislation and discussions about AI.”
This requires an approach that includes voices from production companies, data analysts, machine learning programmers, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, educators and economists. “A multidisciplinary approach is essential to address AI’s impact holistically, ensuring we move forward as responsible global citizens,” Bousis adds.
These resources are intended to help our community be among those voices shaping responsible use of AI. Calling it by its full name, artificial intelligence, reminds us that we can’t count on AI to sort itself out. It falls on us to work together to create order out of chaos. ¢
CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF DEBRA HILL
Filmmaker Karen Madar is the latest recipient of the fellowship established by the PGA to honor the legendary producer.
In October, Karen Madar—a dual MBA/MFA graduate from NYU Stern and Tisch—was named the 15th recipient of the PGA’s Debra Hill Fellowship. Madar’s selection was announced during a reception at UTA in Beverly Hills by producers Deniese Davis and Lucienne Papon, who led the selection process.
Debra Hill was best known for her groundbreaking work producing and cowriting Halloween, which remains one of the most profitable independent films of all time. Hill was passionate about uplifting and mentoring the next generation of aspiring producers. She was also an advocate for producers’ creative rights, female representation in entertainment and environmental issues.
After her passing in 2005, the Producers Guild of America Foundation established the Debra Hill Fellowship to honor her legacy by inspiring emerging producers.
Both Davis and Papon are prior recipients of the fellowship. Since their wins, Davis went on to become the founder-CEO of Reform Media Group and to produce Insecure, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and Rap Sh!t, while Papon held SVP and EVP positions at ITV Studios America before becoming president of Loopdilu Ventures.
The fellowship continues a record of distinction for Madar’s career as a producer. She received the Tisch Media Services Producing Award in 2022 for her graduate film portfolio, which included Skin Can Breathe, directed by Chheangkea, and Let, directed by Alyssa Loh. The former was a winner of HBO’s Asian Pacific American Visionaries award and was streamed on Max; the latter world-premiered at the 2024 SXSW film festival.
Madar is currently in postproduction on a new short film by Chheangkea while developing the director’s first feature, Little Phnom Penh. She is also in postproduction on director Pepi Ginsberg’s short film Wassupkaylee
Prior to moving to New York, Madar graduated with a BSc in Politics and History from the London School of Economics. She began her film career working at a production company in Paris, gaining further experience as an associate producer on the feature film Sisters in Arms by Caroline Fourest.
Madar is driven by the creative goal of making films that resonate on a human level while introducing audiences to unfamiliar people, places, stories and societies.
As the recipient of the Debra Hill Fellowship, Madar will receive a $5,000 grant to support her filmmaking. She will also receive a $2,500 travel certificate from Delta Air Lines, a valued sponsor of the PGA, and a complimentary pass to the 2025 Produced By Conference. ¢
Lucienne Papon, Karen Madar, Deniese Davis and Susan Sprung.
Karen Madar
FOR YOUR PGA AWARDS CONSIDERATION
“ MASTERFUL, SUMPTUOUS, AND SUSPENSEFUL. A TOUR-DE-FORCE— THE FINEST THING TV HAS OFFERED IN MANY YEARS . ”
Making children’s content about climate change can seem daunting, But it’s doable—and imperative.
written By Katie Grant
Characters from the Netflx series Spirit Rangers.
BEST PICTURE
“ONE
THING IS UNDENIABLE, THE CRAFTS WORK IS EXTRAORDINARY AND SHOULD BE PART OF THE AWARDS CONVERSATION ALONGSIDE THE VERY BEST MOVIES OF 2024.” FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
What do Octonauts: Above and Beyond, Spirit Rangers, The Wild Robot and even Moana have in common? They are all examples of “cli-fi”—climate fiction films made for children. Cli-fi is a subgenre of science fiction meant to help viewers understand climate change—to educate through entertainment. Some use scare tactics showing dystopian futures or disasters, while others use comedy and superhero tales to spur kids to take action in whatever small ways they can to help the planet.
By contrast, we have climate silence—when people avoid mentioning the climate change elephant in the room even though they are worried about it. Until recently, this silence has been common in children’s media. But experts are recognizing the critical importance—and the attainable possibility—of breaking the silence and creating effective, entertaining climate content for children.
A 2022 United States Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Committees found that between 2017 and 2019, close to 1 in 5 U.S. students attended schools affected by federally declared disasters. The institute’s 2022 study revealed that close to 70% of parents and caregivers believe children’s media should include age-appropriate information about climate, including climate solutions. This information illuminates a clear avenue for children’s media to help turn kids into positive agents of change.
“If we know that kids have eco-anxiety and we know that storytelling affects attitudes and habits of mind, then what we need to do is get this into the water of the kids’ media ecosystem,” offers Amy Friedman, head of kids and family programming at Warner Bros.
There are strong examples of how movie and TV producers can navigate that ecosystem without sinking into the gloom and doom of climate content.
Jeff Hermann is the producer of the animated feature The Wild Robot, based on the book by Peter Brown. Climate change is subtly addressed in the film as it is in the book. For example, the Golden Gate Bridge is shown underwater. Hermann says it works because there’s no finger-pointing— the film is simply showing the state of the world where the story takes place.
“The theme of the movie is ‘Kindness is a survival skill,’” Hermann says. “But what we’re pointing to is that if there’s a way for technology and nature to coexist, hopefully the rest of us can as well. That’s the message we want to get across more than anything.”
Hermann’s advice for filmmakers wanting to address climate change in children’s media—and to find funding and backers—is to commit to telling a particular story or
including a particular topic or issue within their project. With that story goal in mind, producers can aim for the most suitable collaborators and studios, as well as financers— including nonprofits and grantors who may not be in the media industry space—who want to support that message.
A good deal of content for kids is animated, but that format isn’t the only way to put stories of climate change within the grasp of children’s understanding. Documentaries and instructional live-action content can help creators of film, TV and emerging media to deliver messages in a way that may inspire young viewers to take action, including a plan for growing up to study science, make policies, and engineer solutions.
Gary Knell is the senior advisor for media and social impact at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and executive chair of Common Sense Networks; he also serves as the cochair of the Planet Media Climate Task Force for This Is Planet Ed, an initiative of the Aspen Institute. The task force aims to unlock the power of education as a force for climate action and solutions.
It’s not news that television is a teacher to children. “It was the concept that television was the most important teacher ever that spurred Joan Ganz Cooney to create Sesame Street 55 years ago,” says Knell, a Sesame Street alum. The show has been covering climate for years with content like Being Green, the 2009 direct-to-video special in which Mr. Earth hosts an Earth-a-Thon and Abby Cadabby’s spell to help Elmo become more environmentally conscious turns him green.
The overall story arc of the show’s seventh season had the residents of Sesame Street deal with snow and freezing temperatures that foreshadowed periods of severe weather the planet is experiencing decades later. A character’s climate anxiety was addressed in five episodes that dealt with hurricanes in season 32.
Knell acknowledges that it’s a challenging time for producers who are focused on content for children, especially for those intent on telling stories about climate change.
“To me, it’s always a creative question: Can you come up with something that’s going to grab kids and be exciting and not be a lecture? Not be, as kids would say, ‘boring’?”
The challenge requires getting the correct information across, but also transforming that information into stories that kids can relate to. “Nobody needs producers to be scientists. Producers are storytellers,” Friedman says. Ideally, those stories inspire children, show how small changes really do matter, and show how they can build those small changes into their everyday lives.
Here’s how producers can help their creative teams do just that.
MAKING KID-FRIENDLY CLIMATE CHANGE CONTENT
After speaking with a range of climatecontent experts, Produced By identified valuable strategies for effective, engaging storytelling that helps kids understand and feel empowered to take a stand against climate change.
Make it sticky. To make sure your message really resonates with kids and has an impact, use vivid imagery and ageappropriate entertaining narratives. If it doesn’t feel fun, it doesn’t stick.
Make it visual. Help kids understand that the main culprits of climate change are invisible. According to UN.org, these are heat- and pollution-trapping greenhouse gas emissions caused by burning fossil fuels. That’s a mouthful, but you can help children visualize these gases and how they’re emitted by including graphics, animations and pointers to games or interactive apps. Once that understanding is laid down, you can show young viewers possible solutions so they can do their part. Vividly visual stories are the most accessible to kids. The film Wall-E shows climate change and its effects on Earth with minimal dialogue, yet powerful imagery makes the message clear.
The term “carbon footprint” goes hand in hand with this. Your stories can help children understand that we all have a carbon footprint, and explain where that comes from. A storyline about buying a plastic water bottle can explain how the amount of water it takes to make the bottle is greater than the amount of water it can hold. Follow this by showing characters choosing Earth-friendly alternatives, such as always carrying a reusable water bottle.
Empower agency. Kids need to see themselves in the stories they consume. If kids care about your characters—be they animals or spirits or kids like them—then they will care about the issues those characters face. Put them in situations that tug on a child’s heartstrings. Have your characters show compassion toward
each other and the Earth.
Counter feelings of anxiety and helplessness by having the young characters in your project demonstrate agency. Teach kids to challenge the status quo by depicting characters who question injustices and the issues around them.
Show youth working to create change in their communities through creative thinking, problem-solving and action. Inspire them with examples of children engaging in social enterprises such as community gardens or a school recycling program. Relatable kids like the characters in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind or Whale Rider instill a fascination with nature.
Showcase real-life examples of young climate activists like Greta Thunberg or the kids in Landfill Harmonic, which spotlights a youth orchestra that made their instruments out of recycled materials.
Kids will model the bravery shown by your characters. Have characters stand up for themselves so young viewers can learn how it’s done and that it’s possible for them to stand up for causes they care about.
Address the big picture. Show the interconnectedness of the different natural worlds to open a child’s mind to the ripple effect of one climate-related event across a wide range of creatures or geography. For example, in Finding Dory, the strong current that sweeps Dory away—as well as all the animals she meets on her quest to get back home—are part of her ecosystem. Help kids connect the dots to the bigger picture.
Weave it into all things, great or small. Imbue climate change into your storylines, character traits and imagery. Give characters eco-friendly jobs like solar panel installer or environmental scientist, and have characters routinely perform tasks like recycling and saving water. Find topics kids are already passionate about—playing outdoors, animals, swimming at the beach—and weave messages about fighting climate change into those scenarios.
Use storylines to explain reasons why the Earth’s weather is changing, and show how it is affecting everyday life. For example, a soccer game gets canceled because it’s too hot out.
Facts matter when integrating methods and meaningful information into your project’s world. Ensure yours are scientifically accurate by consulting resources like Climate Spring’s Storytelling Guide, Planet Media’s 4 Essential Climate Principles and Educational Guide, and climateonscreen.org. For example, an entertaining way to foster an interest in science is to have characters demonstrate experiments that show how and why the Earth is heating up.
Make it simple. Use graspable words to explain issues to children at their level. Use those words to teach the difference between terms like global warming, climate change and weather.
Rip from the headlines. Stuck for a story idea? Every day offers news reports about climate change that can be incorporated into your stories. Make sure to use the fact-checking resources listed in this article to ensure the integrity of the information presented in the news story.
Shed a positive light. Always end on a hopeful note with a resolution to the problem of your story. Make the characters safe and show the solutions they came up with and how they were effective, thus “saving the day.” Spotlight proactive characters. Rather than shying away from showing the truth about climate change, you’re emphasizing that something can be done to address it. Don’t be preachy. Use dialogue between characters to encourage talking about climate change and all of the questions, emotions, and ideas around it, instead of simply lecturing about the dangers we are facing. To inspire empathy in young viewers, have characters talk about their feelings and have questions answered in the simplest terms.
EXAMPLES TO INSPIRE
Following are some climate-centric projects that are either nascent or already successfully exemplifying how climate content can inform and entertain.
A Big-Ideas Pitch Fest
New stories on the cli-fi horizon are coming out of the Planet Media Call for Pitches, a pitch contest held last spring that brought more than 200 short-form content submissions aimed at helping children understand climate science and solutions. Friedman, executive producer and advisor to Planet Media, is supervising production of the seven winners of the 2024 pitch fest. The winners had to meet the criteria of addressing Planet Media’s 4 Essential Principles in their children’s story pitches: Earth is our home; it’s getting hotter because of us; it’s changing now, and it’s impacting us; but together, we can make the changes we need for a brighter future.
“We looked for a diverse array of big ideas that could hold and be entertaining for kids across all these four ideas so when you put them together, they can help us look at reality while feeling optimistic and empowered,” Friedman says. She sees the contest as “giving the pen and the power” to these storytellers.
“WHAT WE’RE POINTING TO IS THAT IF THERE’S A WAY FOR TECHNOLOGY AND NATURE TO COEXIST, HOPEFULLY THE REST OF US CAN AS WELL. THAT’S THE MESSAGE WE WANT TO GET ACROSS MORE THAN ANYTHING.”
-Jeff Hermann
An image from Yo Zeno, an anime-style series that teaches climate lessons to kids. Art by Nak Yong Choi.
Characters from the climate-themed animated series Solar Punks, created by Lindsey Owen with art by Mike Geiger.
Planet Media and the Aspen Institute are helping winners of the pitch contest represent the science accurately, providing them with the data they need to make their stories sound while supporting their creative freedom.
The winning projects range from feature films to TV series to songs. Among them are an anime comedy called Yo Zeno, about an eco-prince from a different planet who is making his way from eco-anxiety to becoming a steward of the Earth; Solar Punks, about time-traveling heroes who help kids find solutions to ecological problems; and Cold Sweat, a multimedia project about a YouTuber who initially doesn’t care about the environment but changes her tune after a trip to the Great Barrier Reef with her scientist father.
Spirit Rangers: Making Connections
Karissa Valencia, creator and showrunner of Netfix’s Emmynominated animated series Spirit Rangers, is a member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Valencia grew up with the ideology that plants and animals are not only very much alive, but that we are always connected to them. She believes this connection is necessary for kids to care for our environment, and recommends using humor and a sense of wonder to build that connectedness.
“I really want to capture that sense of amazement you feel when you enter a national park, see the Milky Way for the first time, or stand beside a waterfall,” Valencia says. “I think by capturing the power of awe, curiosity and love for the environment will naturally follow.”
She adds, “While I love incorporating all the wonderful environmental and Indigenous messaging, my job is entertainment first and always. Humor is our favorite tool. We rely on comedy and humor when writing many of our episodes.” She notes that music is also a helpful and creative tool to drive
certain themes home.
In the Spirit Rangers finale “Blizzards and Blankets,” a polar bear spirit gets lost when her home melts and she’s stranded in California. In earlier Spirit Rangers episodes, the three heroes would transform into their animal forms and save the day. But this episode was much bigger. Instead of having the kids save the day on their own, Valencia and her team included parents on the journey.
“It was a way for us to show that battling climate change is not a problem that should only fall on the children’s shoulders, but that they should rely on adults, too,” Valencia says. “This is an everyone problem, not just a mess for our youth to clean up. This way they can feel inspired to take action because they know they are not alone in this.”
Valencia believes that Spirit Rangers is growing a new generation of park ranger hopefuls who now think twice about squishing a spider they might see or kicking a rock on a trail “because they know it has a spirit,” she says.
Heroism and Cuteness
Octonauts: Above and Beyond, one of the first television shows directed at very young children to explicitly address climate change, shows animals facing challenges related to the environment and how the Octonauts rescue those creatures. The show teaches 3- and 4-year-olds that saving the planet is a heroic act to aspire to, while extreme cuteness lessens the frightening blow of our changing world.
Anu Ramamurthy, creator of KatKid Adventure, agrees with this tactic. KatKid is a climate change awareness education agency on a mission to raise a generation of “eco-heroes” by making learning about climate change “infotaining and funderstandable.” She believes that joy holds kids’ attention much more effectively than bad news. Grasping the meaning of words like
infotaining and funderstandble is also a great way to approach making climate change an easier topic—meeting kids where they are on the silly, goofy, curious front to help educate them. KatKid does this by using the principles of gamification to make climate literacy fun but also actionable.
Ramamurthy calls out Finding Nemo as an example of a kids movie that happens to address climate change as a part of its larger story. “While it’s a story about friendship, it also helped to build empathy for nature—the first step to wanting to protect it. Movies that are able to pique interest and cultivate curiosity for the natural world are a win!”
Another example is the animated feature Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which is not just a silly movie about meat falling from the sky. It’s a metaphor for the weather anomalies caused by climate change, human greed and exploitation of resources.
VR Makes It Real
In the digital world, Jeremy Bailenson, Stanford University’s Thomas More Storke professor of communication, coauthored a VR project educating children about climate change. The study called upon a multidisciplinary team of experts in environmental science, immersive technology, and education. They took the time necessary to identify key emotional and cognitive experiences—like how humans are destroying the coral in their immersive underwater VR experience—that can make complex climate concepts work as memorable virtual worlds.
Bailenson partnered with schools, museums and other educational outreach organizations to bring the VR experience to students. Wearing VR glasses, students took on virtual identities such as a pink coral on a rocky underwater reef brimming with coral and sea urchins. By the end of the
SELECT RESOURCES FOR CLIMATE ON SCREEN IN CHILDREN’S MEDIA
CONNECTING WITH PRODUCERS
The Producers Guild of America is a member of the Inter-Guild and Union Sustainability Alliance along with the Directors Guild of America, Directors Guild of Canada, IATSE and several of its locals, the Teamsters’ Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Division, the Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East. For a list of sustainability resources offered by these guilds and unions, visit producersguild.org/ sustainability/#guilds-and-unions.
For writers seeking to collaborate with members of the Producers Guild, visit producersguild.org/ sustainability/#writers-seeking-producers.
OTHER RESOURCES
• Climate Onscreen – climateonscreen.org
• Planet Media – thisisplaneted.org/initiatives/planet-media
• Climate Spring – climate-spring.org
simulation, the viewer’s virtual coral skeleton disintegrates, and the students hear the narrator say, “If ocean acidification continues, ecosystems like your rocky reef, a world that was once full of biological diversity, will become a world of weeds.”
While some schools visited Bailenson’s lab, it also developed portable versions of the VR system, which can be set up in classrooms, community centers or mobile learning spaces. This flexibility allowed the researchers to connect with diverse student populations without geographical constraints.
Bailenson’s follow-up studies and surveys revealed that students gained
a deeper understanding of climate change while also expressing a willingness to change their behaviors. Some participants engaged in energysaving measures. The immersive, emotionally resonant nature of VR can easily foster a sense of agency and personal responsibility.
Science, Awe, Hope
Additional examples of media helping educate about climate change include the film Electropolis 3D and the game Plan It Green: The Big Switch! These National Geographic-designed projects bring students in grades 4–12 content about energy sources, energy efficiency and energy conservation.
Games4Sustainability is a platform dedicated to making sure sustainability messages are more compelling, accessible, and fun. Its blog has stories of professionals using gamification to this end. NASA’s Climate Kids provides easy explanations to help convey the science of climate change in digestible ways. The program also shares games, videos, and activities to mine ideas from.
Shows like Weathered: Extreme Weather Explained on PBS are part of a vast resource of docuseries that teach science and a sense of awe while inspiring hope. Its website offers materials for classrooms and stories of real people making a difference. Wild Kratts, a PBS series that mixes live-
action and animation, is an example of how to show the truth about the planet while still entertaining kids.
Finally, the podcast We the Children, hosted by 12-year old Zachary Fox-DeVol, discusses climate change and solutions with experts and leaders. It also offers a toolkit for educators on its website.
SOURCES FOR SUPPORT
Climate Spring, Planet Media, NRDC’s ReWrite the Future, and Good Energy are a few of the sources available for support and funding to help create climate change stories. Climate Spring has a free storytelling guide on its website. As noted, Planet Media has a pitch fest and offers seed grants to the
winning story ideas in many mediums. Good Energy is a nonprofit that aims to increase the number of climate storylines on film and television. It helps producers by offering story consultations and access to scientists, writers, and showrunners. It also offers a Comprehensive Climate Lens Analysis that helps address the psychological aspects of climate as well as climate solutions, the impact of climate on other areas of society, and intersections with other key issues.
A study by a University of Minnesota initiative called Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing found that when participants viewed scenes from nature, the parts of the brain
associated with empathy and love lit up. On the contrary, viewing urban scenes activated the parts of the brain associated with fear and anxiety.
It appears that nature inspires feelings that connect us and our environment. Movies, TV, video games, and interactive experiences can encourage children to get out into nature, appreciate it, and be motivated to protect it.
Knell of the Planet Media Climate Task Force encourages producers to keep at it. “If you can lean into these core environmental issues that are affecting the next generation that’s inheriting the world from us, I can’t think of a more important use of your creative juices.” ¢
A scene from the animated feature The Wild Robot.
“BURTON IS BACK IN FULL CREATIVE COMMAND OF THE HUMOR, THE FANTASTICAL IMAGINATION AND THE GLEEFUL MORBIDITY ON WHICH HE BUILT HIS NAME.”
ROONEY /
DAVID
Waiting for the return of a SAG-AFTRA performance bond? PGA can help!
AVAILABLE TO ANY INDEPENDENT PRODUCER
The PGA’s Independent Film Producers Task Force and the Guild leadership have been working with SAG-AFTRA to accelerate the return of performance bonds. Significant progress has been made since the initiative began in 2021.
If you have delivered the required documentation to SAG-AFTRA and are waiting for them to return your bond, you can submit details about your return request to the PGA by visiting producersguild.org/return-ofperformance-bonds.
The PGA will deliver this information to SAGAFTRA along with a request from the Task Force urging expedited attention on behalf of your project’s signatory production company.
This is one of the many Producers Guild initiatives that do not require membership in the organization. It’s another way we hope to uplift all producers, especially independent ones.
Please share the link to this web page freely with any producing colleagues who need assistance with the return of their performance bond.
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PICTURE
Produced by MARC PLATT p.g.a. DAVID STONE
ERIK KAIN
“‘WICKED’ IS A TRIUMPH OF CINEMA,
FROM ITS FAITHFULNESS TO THE MUSICAL TO ITS GORGEOUS AND CREATIVE SETS, COSTUMES, SPECIAL EFFECTS AND BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES.