Iris Yamashita is a screenwriter nominated for an Academy Award for the movie Letters From Iwo Jima, directed by Clint Eastwood.   Letters from Iwo Jima received a Golden Globe award for “Best Foreign Language Film” and was nominated for 4 Oscars®.  Iris is the only female of Asian descent ever to have been nominated in the “original screenplay” category.  She has also optioned or been assigned to various screenplays, working with internationally acclaimed directors such as Wayne Wang, Shekhar Kapur and Hideo Nakata.

Ms. Yamashita has taught screenwriting at UCLA, USC, CalTech and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  She has also been a judge or mentor for programs sponsored by the Writers Guild of America, Film Independent, the Korean Film Council, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and the San Francisco International Asian Film Festival, and is a member of the advisory board for the Asian Culture & Media Alliance.

Currently, Iris is the writer and creative consultant on an originally conceived stage show, which is scheduled to debut at Tokyo Disneyland in the summer of 2016.  She continues to work on projects for both film and television.

Neil Landau served as an assistant dean at UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television and co-director of UCLA’ Screenwriting MFA program and their Graduate Professional Program in Writing for Television for many years, and is the founding Director of Screenwriting in the new MFA Film & Television Program at the University of Georgia.

Neil’s screen credits include the cult teen comedy Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead; Melrose Place, The Magnificent Seven, Doogie Howser, M.D., The Secret World of Alex Mack, Twice in a Lifetime, MTV’s Undressed. His animated movie projects include Tad: The Lost Explorer (aka Las Adventuras de Tadeo Jones) for which he earned a Spanish Academy “Goya” Award and Cinema Writers’ Circle Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (2014); Tad2 (Tadeo Jones and the Secret of King Midas), from Paramount, premiered in August, 2017 (once again to record box office). Neil is working on the Tad #3 for a 2022 release by Paramount. He also co-wrote the animated feature Capture the Flag (also for Paramount); and the animated movie Sheep & Wolves, for Wizart Animation (The Snow Queen), 2017 release. He’s currently Head Writer and Co-Executive Producer on the new animated feature film Finnick for Riki Animation Studios, and serving as Co-EP and Executive Script Consultant on Mummies for 4 Cats Pictures and Warner Bros. Both are currently in production for 2022 release. Neil’s new projects include Strings (for Warner Bros.), the live action miniseries for Amediateka/HBO Europe entitled Patient Zero and a remake of Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead slated for remake in 2021.

Neil is author of five books, including the bestselling 101 Things I Learned in Film School (Grand Central Publishing, 2010, reissue by Random House/Crown in early 2021; and The TV Showrunner’s Roadmap (Focal Press, 2014; second edition to be published in 2021).

Neil served for several years as executive script consultant in the international divisions of Sony Pictures Television and Columbia Pictures. He gives lectures, keynotes, and hosts workshops around the world on the art and craft of screenwriting, including keynotes in Milan, Rome, Seoul, and Sochi. He’s lectured at USC School of Cinematic Arts, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, La Femis in Paris, Met Film School in London, University of the Andes in Santiago, Alexander Mitta Film School in Moscow, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Shanghai Film Art Academy, Starlight Media in Kiev, and Accademia Nazionale del Cinema in Bologna, Italy. He’s a member of the WGA west, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, PEN west, and is on the Board of Directors for OUTFEST.

Neil received a Master of Fine Arts, Screenwriting, from the University of Georgia, and Bachelor of Arts, Film/Television, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Jean Qing Su (Su Qing) co-founded Broadvision Pictures in 2014 to develop and produce a slate of movies and TV series across multiple genres that will appeal to audiences around the world.

Jean is Executive Producer of “Grey Lady”, a multi-million-dollar crime thriller starring Eric Dane, Natalie Zea and Oscar-nominated Amy Madigan. “Grey Lady” was released theatrically by Broadvision in April, 2017, and was produced in association with Beacon Pictures. Jean and her partner Tony Scott created and managed the marketing plan for the twelve city, twenty-five theatre limited release of “Grey Lady” which exclusively utilized social media marketing to maximize a limited budget. Their plan drove “Grey Lady” to be the highest performing new indie movie the week of its release, and Top 20 performer for
Lionsgate the month of its home entertainment and international release.

Jean co-created and co-wrote the feature movie screenplays “Mistress Mom”, “Parent Management”, “Sentience” and “Silver Wings”, and the television series “Leading Edge”, “Mistress Mom” and “Tiger Cub Bites Back”.

Jean is the Producer of the proof-of-concept dramatic short “Together”, which was released in March, 2019. “Together” has been accepted into over 25 film festivals in the U.S. and Europe, including three Academy-Award Qualifying festivals for short films, and has won multiple awards for “Best Film” and “Best Screenplay”, as well as awards for “Best Actor”, “Best Actress”, “Best Score”, “Best Producer” and “Best Director” in festivals. The success of the short led to a commitment of full funding for the feature version, titled “Higher Love”, which will star Danny Glover, Jane Seymour, and Lynn Whitfield. It is slated to go into production in 2022, with Jean as lead Producer on a multi-million budget.

In 2019, Jean co-Directed the satiric short “Representation Matters” with Tony Scott. The film has been accepted into multiple film festivals in the U.S, Latin America and Asia, winning awards for “Best Film”, “Best Actress”, and “Best Director”.

In 2020, Jean Produced an Industrial “Image Ad” for wealth management company Innovative Wealth Strategists. Like her prior two produced projects, it was completed on time and under budget.

Prior to entering the entertainment industry, Jean worked as an executive search consultant and Venture Capital investor developing and building technology and new media companies in China, Silicon Valley, London and Boston. She was the first executive search consultant in mainland China, where she built and led the China office for Korn/Ferry, the world’s largest executive search firm, recruiting Presidents of China and Asia-Pacific for Fortune 500 companies. Jean later co-founded ChampionScott Partners in Silicon Valley to provide Venture Capital and build senior executive teams for technology and new media start-ups. Many of her investee companies have gone public or successfully exited through acquisition by Fortune 1000 companies.

Born in Beijing, Jean received her undergraduate degree from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing; her Master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); and completed the Professional Producers Program in UCLA’s Graduate Film School.

Fluent in English and a native Mandarin Chinese speaker, Jean has lived and worked in Beijing, Boston, Hong Kong, London, Napa and Silicon Valley, and now resides in Los Angeles.

With planned production in 2022, A.W. “Tony” Scott will be Directing “Higher Love”, the feature version of his dramatic short “Together”. Danny Glover, Jane Seymour, and Lynn Whitfield are attached to play lead roles. Tony and his partner in Broadvision Pictures, Jean Qing Su, will Produce.

In 2019, Tony wrote and directed the dramatic short film “Together”, which was created as a proof of concept for Tony’s previously written feature script “Higher Love”. The short was completed in March 2019, and over the next 12 months selected to screen in 25 film festivals in the U.S., the UK, the Caribbean and Europe, including three Academy Award Qualifying Festivals for Short Films. “Together” won accolades at 11 of these festivals including: multiple “Best Film” and “Best Screenplay” awards, as well as awards for “Best Director, “Best Producer”, “Best Actor”, “Best Actress” and “Best Score”.

Prior to entering the entertainment industry, Tony worked as a consultant and venture capitalist to high tech companies around the world. He then entered and completed the UCLA Graduate Film School’s Professional Screenwriting and Writing for Television Programs, and studied Directing in UCLA Extension’s Directing Program.

Since completing the UCLA Professional Screenwriting and Writing for Television Programs, all seven spec feature screenplays and three of the four television pilots that Tony has written to date have won awards in screenplay competitions. Three of Tony’s spec feature screenplays have been optioned.

In 2013 while studying at UCLA, the Blacklist.com named Tony’s screenplay “At Last” a Top 10 drama script. In 2015 his contained sci-fi thriller “Sentience” was named best feature screenplay in the Professional Screenwriting Program at UCLA.

Tony has been hired by financier/producers to write three feature scripts. In 2017, an investor-producer hired Tony to write a love story set in Mexico and Spain in the controversial world of bullfighting. In 2018, a Singaporean financier/producer engaged Tony to write a police-terrorism action-thriller feature that is planned to be filmed in Singapore and Chongqing, China on a $8 – $10 USD million budget. In 2019 Tony was hired to write a feature based on a true story that occurred during the WWII Japanese occupation of the Philippines, with planned production on a $30+ million USD budget.

In 2017 Tony created and directed the six-episode web-series “Searching for Adrian Lester” to support the marketing and release of the feature “Grey Lady”, which Broadvision Pictures produced in association with Beacon Pictures. Tony and his partner Jean Su created the marketing strategy and implemented a pure social media driven campaign for the film, and were responsible for the film’s limited theatrical release in 25 theaters in 12 cities in the U.S. Tony also directed two scenes for the stage in Northwestern University Entertainment Alliance’s showcase in 2017, performed before sell-out crowds over two nights. In 2018, Tony created and directed a proof-of-concept reel for his production company Broadvision’s unscripted docudrama series “Going Pro”.

In late 2019, Tony was hired to write and co-direct the short “Representation Matters?” to showcase the comedic skills of an established dramatic actress. The satiric short was completed on time and budget, and is beginning a run on the film festival circuit, where it has been an Official Selection in multiple festivals in the U.S., Europe and Asia, winning awards for “Best Film”, “Best Director” and “Best Actress.

Tony and his writing, producing and directing partner Jean Qing Su, who was born and raised in China, focus on creating grounded, character-driven stories, typically inspired by real people and events. Tony has been involved personally in business in Asia for nearly 30 years and has basic conversational skills in Mandarin Chinese.

Born in New Orleans, Tony received his B.A. at the University of Mississippi, and his MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University. He worked as a semi-professional jazz/funk/R&B musician to help pay his way through college and graduate school. He has lived and worked in Beijing, Chicago, London, Napa, Silicon Valley and Tokyo, and now resides in Los Angeles.

Dr. Jack Gao is the founding Partner and CEO of Smart Cinema in Beijing, China, and former CEO of Wanda Group’s Global Film Division. Within Wanda Group, he was Interim CEO of Legendary Entertainment, and served on the Board of AMC Theaters. He is a member of the American Film Institute’s Board of Trustees.

Dr. Gao’s new venture Smart Cinema will stream new-release movies to hundreds of millions of mobile devices in China during the same period movies are released and shown in theaters, with revenues included in the box office revenues. It is an officially recognized online cinema chain fully backed by the Chinese government agencies overseeing and regulating movie and entertainment industries.

Earlier, Dr. Gao served as Senior Vice President for News Corporation from 2006 to 2014. His roles at News Corp. included CEO, News Corp. China Investments; CEO, Star TV China; Chairman, MySpace China; and Chief Representative, News Corp. Beijing Representative Office. Prior to joining News Corp, he was President and General Manager of Microsoft China.

Dr. Gao was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of Bona Film Group when News Corp. was a strategic investor in Bona. He currently serves on the Boards of Beijing Vantone Industrial Co. Ltd and Beijing Weiying (WeChat Film).

Dr. Gao has served as an Assistant Professor in Engineering as a faculty member of the Harbin Institute of Technology in China, and an Adjunct Professor for the Business School at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His 2003 book “Experience Microsoft” has a wide readership in the China tech community.

Dr. Gao graduated from the Harbin Institute of Technology and the University of California, Los Angeles with B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. Degrees in Engineering.
 

Located in Silicon Valley, Dominique Trempont serves on the board of directors of private and public companies, with strategic focus on disruptive technologies, emerging markets and Asia, including:

• RealNetworks (NASDAQ: RNWK – $400M) that is a leader in on-line entertainment (video, music, SMS, ringtones, games).
• The Daily Mail and General trust (London Stock Exchange DMGT.L – £2.1B), a global B2B and B2C media company, focused on high quality content and publishing apps.
• ON24 ($70M – private), a late-stage software as a service company, leader in webcasting and virtual shows.
• Trion Worlds, a private Online Gaming company.
• Energy Recovery Inc (NASDAQ: ERII – $60M) that makes desalination affordable and is the second cleantech company to have gone public in 2008.

Dominique also teaches: “Building Businesses in Silicon Valley” at the INSEAD Business School (Europe/Singapore).

Dominque spent the first 14 years of his career as a key executive at Raychem, a company focusing in material science and a precursor of the cleantech space, with worldwide responsibilities and a focus on large scale turnarounds in the U.S., China, India, Japan, Latin America and Europe.  Raychem was a billion dollar company operating globally in 80 countries that was later acquired by Tyco.

In 1993 Steve Jobs recruited Dominique to turn around NeXT, first as CFO, then to lead operations while Steve Jobs focused on Pixar. Dominique led NeXT’s shift from hardware to Internet focused software and brought the company to profitability. He successfully restructured the company financially, organizationally and strategically, and sold NeXT to Apple in 1997 for $462M.

In 1997, Dominique joined with the founder of Gemplus (now renamed Gemalto), the world leader in smart cards, and became CEO of Gemplus Corp.  He built a highly profitable $150M new business in two years by focusing on the convergence of mobile consumer applications, micro-payments and on-line security. Gemplus has since gone public and is now a 2 billion dollar company.

In 1999, Dominique became chairman and CEO of Kanisa, an early-stage enterprise natural language search & knowledge management software start-up.  He focused the venture on customer self-service, contact center, and peer support applications. The company merged with ConsonaCRM in 2007.

Between 1996 and 1997, Dominque served on the Board of Verity (NASDAQ: VRTY), a leader in enterprise search.   In 1998 he became a founding investor in Signio, a leading online payment platform. Signio was sold to Verisign for $700M in 1999 and, a later, was acquired by eBay/Paypal.

In 2006, Dominique joined the board and chaired the Finance and Audit Committee of 3COM (NASDAQ, COMS), a global networking solution company; 3Com was acquired for $3.3B by Hewlett-Packard in 2010.

Dominique has a MBA from INSEAD, and a BA in business administration and software engineering from the University of Louvain in Belgium.