TheGrill Starts Today: See Will Packer, LA Times Owner Patrick Soon-Shiong and Showtime and AMC Bosses

Topics at this year’s conference include studio mergers, the rise of esports and the future of Cryptocurrency

| October 1, 2018 @ 9:00 AM
TheGrill 2018 Starts Today

TheWrap’s annual conference, TheGrill, showcasing Hollywood and Silicon Valley’s top thought leaders begins today at the SLS Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Beverly Hills — kicking off a two-day slate of panel discussions and interviews on the convergence of tech and entertainment.

This year’s spotlight conversations include Will Packer, producer of “Girls Trip” and “Night School,” and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner and executive chairman of the Los Angeles Times. Keynote speakers at the event include Josh Sapan, president & CEO of AMC Networks Inc., and David Nevins, president & CEO of Showtime Inc.

Day 1 begins with a discussion on the Future of Media. TheWrap’s Editor in Chief Sharon Waxman will moderate a conversation with Jason Hirschhorn, CEO and Chief Curator of REDEF Group Inc. Waxman and Hirschhorn will then lead a discussion on The Remaking of the Studio System and the trend of mergers across the industry. It will be followed by a panel discussion on how cryptocurrency and blockchain could impact the entertainment industry.

Also Read: At TheGrill 2018: How Do You Bring Casting into the Digital Age?

Following the keynote conversation with Nevins and Sapan, Wyck Godfrey, President of Motion Picture Group at Paramount Pictures, JL Pomeroy, Global Chief Marketing Officer at IMAX and Julie Rieger, President Chief Data Strategist & Head of Media at 20th Century Fox will take the stage to chat about innovating in movie marketing.

Then MoviePass’ Ted Farnsworth, the Chairman & CEO of Helios & Matheson, will participate on a panel discussing how online ticketing is disrupting the theatrical model. Finally, on Day 2, on-air host and gaming analyst Malik Forté will lead a conversation on the rise of eSports and how it is carving a niche in the entertainment world.

TheGrill 2018 will close with the unveiling of TheWrap’s annual Innovators List and a cocktail party.

For more information about TheGrill, view the full agenda of events here.

Follow along with all the events and join the conversation via the Twitter hashtag #TheGrill2018.

TheGrill 2017: Exclusive Speaker Portraits From John Singleton to Lena Waithe (Photos)

  • John Singleton
  • Lena Waithe
  • Lena Waithe
  • Cindy Lin
  • Stanley Rosen
  • David Grinberg
  • Tobias Queisser
  • Susan Williams
  • Jeff Weber
  • Vicki Beck
  • Colin Brady
  • Chris Fenton
  • Sandra Stern
  • Catherine Zhang
  • Jan Pinkava
  • Robert Goldberg
  • Michael Bloom
  • Sharon Waxman
  • Grace Helbig
  • Sky Moore
  • Kathleen Grace
  • Chris M. Williams
  • Gary Newman and Dana Walden
  • John Macinnes
  • Rich Greenfield
  • Ted Schilowitz
  • Alec Shankman
  • Thai Randolph
  • Anthony Batt
  • Andy Wood
  • Megan Colligan
  • Emiliano Calemzuk
  • Darren Throop
  • Dan Altmann
  • Franklin Leonard
  • Beatriz Acevedo
  • David Lancaster
  • Adi Sideman
  • Chris Silbermann
  • Nina Jacobson
  • Farhad Massoudi
  • Noel Maxam
  • Karyn Spencer
  • Billy Parks
  • TheGrill Speakers
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Gary Newman, Dana Walden and Catherine Zhang are among featured speakers at TheWrap’s annual media leadership conference

Director and producer John Singleton

Photographed by Shayan Asgharnia for TheWrap

Photographed at The Montage Beverly Hills

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