Los Angeles, June 12, 2013 – TheGrill is pleased to announce that leading China experts Chris Fenton, President of DMG Entertainment and Larry Namer, founder of E! Entertainment and CEO and Founder of Metan Development Group, will be keynote speakers at “The Road to China: Global Finance and the Changing Film Landscape” on Friday, June 28, 2013 at the L.A. Convention Center.

DMG is one of China’s leading media and entertainment companies, having just distributed “Iron Man 3” to $125 million in box office. DMG coproduces Hollywood films like “Looper,” as well as distributes Chinese language films. DMG is also building a premiere cinema chain. Fenton will address this booming market and the rise of a Chinese entertainment culture.

Larry Namer, cofounder of the E! Entertainment Network, was invited by the Chinese government to start Metan Development Group in 2008. After five years, he has four shows on the air in China, produced exclusively for the Chinese audience, with many more in development.

“China is wide open,” says Namer, who spends 70% of his time between Shanghai and Beijing.  “But you’ve got to be in China.”

 

TheWrap, Hollywood’s leading voice about the forces transforming the entertainment industry, brings its unique conference format, TheGrill, to this year’s AFCI Locations Show, on Friday, June 28th at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The all-day event will focus on production financing and the most up-to-date information about the growing Chinese market, with special seminars and panels designed to help attendees construct a winning deal, find top tax incentives, and tap into the world’s fastest growing market: China.

In addition to keynote interview, TheGrill@ Locations will address:

  • Trends in Global Film and TV Financing
  • How to Navigate China – Obstacles, Opportunities and Solutions
  • Tax Incentives Around the Globe – What’s Hot, What’s New, What’s Missing
  • Visual Effects and Tax Incentives: A Race to the Bottom?

“China is the topic on everyone’s mind in the entertainment industry,” said Wrap Editor-in-Chief Sharon Waxman, “ The media and entertainment industry in China is expected to grow 17% per year and China’s box office is growing exponentially. We think it’s the perfect time to bring thought leadership to this critical, growing space.”

Other Grill speakers include:

  • Lindsay Conner, Partner and Co-Chair, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
  • Namit Malhorta, CEO, Prime Focus
  • Jeff Okun, SVP Prana  and Chair of Visual Effects Society
  • Franck Priot, COO, French Film Commission
  • Mimi Steinbauer, President and CEO, Radiant Films International
  • Marc Schipper, COO, Exclusive Media
  • Stuart Ford, CEO of IM Global,
  • Jon Niermann, EastMeetWest Productions.

For more information about TheGrill@ Locations Show and to register for the event, please visit: http://afcilocationsshow.com/thegrill

ABOUT THEGRILL

TheGrill is a high level forum bringing together the leaders, the deciders and the disrupters in the entertainment industry to debate the transformational forces in our changing industry.  TheGrill is a flagship brand of The Wrap News , the leading digital news organization covering the business of entertainment and media.

 

ABOUT AFCI

The Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1975 to serve the growing needs of on-location film and television production. The AFCI was initially formed by a small group of film commissioners who wanted to share information and learn from one another’s experiences. Since then, the AFCI has expanded into a worldwide network of more than 300 commissions representing six continents. All are devoted to the business of facilitating on-location film and television production activity which generates billions of dollars annually.

ABOUT THEWRAP

The Wrap News Inc., founded by award-winning journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009, is the leading digital news organization covering the business of entertainment and media. The Wrap News Inc. is comprised ofTheWrap.com, the award-winning, industry-leading outlet for high-profile newsbreaks, investigative stories and authoritative analysis; ThePowerGrid, an algorithmic, data-driven ranking system for every person, project and company in the film business, and PowerGridPro, the most current, relevant film development database; and TheGrill, an executive leadership conference centered on the convergence of entertainment, media and technology.

TheWrap was named the best online news site in both 2012 and 2009 at the National Entertainment Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club.