NEM 2015 is proud to announce that the producer of The Simpsons, Ms. Bonita Pietila, will be joining us this year in Dubrovnik.
Ms. Pietila will participate in the NEM 2015’s panel A Match Made in Co-production Heaven, during which she will be discussing the opportunities of today’s television industry, as well as the pros and cons of co-producing projects.
– It may be the more accepted path – when you set the cost of the project and see the need to co-produce. But I think that if someone can do it all on their own, that’s the way they’ll go. It’s interesting. It certainly seems to be the way things are done today to get a project on the screen, no matter if it’s the big one or small one.
Bonita Pietila started her career in the music industry, as a concert promoter, and was at one point the only female licensed promoter in the US. But she transferred to TV very soon:
– I moved to Los Angeles and I thought that I would work in the music industry. But I couldn’t get a job, it was hard for girls at that time. I had to find another way to make a living so I ended up being a talent agent. The entertainment industry is a crazy world, and you can get hired for the skills you have. That’s what happened to me.
Soon enough Ms. Pietila started working on The Tracey Ullman Show, from which The Simpsons derived, and she became the casting director, and later the producer of the show. Ms. Pietila succeeded in what many others couldn’t – she got a hold of well protected public personalities such as Julian Assange, Banksy and Ringo Starr, to name a few, and convinced them to participate in the show:
– Whenever the need to find someone comes up you immediately think – who would know that person. Julian Assange is a great example. I thought – who would know Julian Assange – his attorneys! So I tracked down his attorneys, read articles on them, and soon I knew who his representation was. It’s not a speedy process. It can take up to six months to convince someone, but I never give up.
NEM 2015 will explore possibilities of new media as well as the future of TV content, bringing to one place the most eminent professionals and experts in order to give better insight into new trends to everyone in the media business.
Join us at NEM 2015 in Dubrovnik!
