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Laura Rister is a Los Angeles based film and television producer and oversees production at Untitled Entertainment. She’s been recognized by Variety and Sundance as a notable independent film producer. Among Laura’s producing credits are many internationally acclaimed, award winning films, including: ALL IS LOST, LOVELACE, ELVIS AND NIXON, THE ICEMAN, MARGIN CALL, LAWLESS, CUT BANK, and THE WORDS. She is currently in post production on THE FREE WORLD (starring Boyd Holbrook, Elisabeth Moss, Octavia Spencer). Laura previously served as Head of Casting and VP of Production and Development during Miramax Film’s Weinstein era. Her first love was journalism; she got her start in media working at CNN in Washington, DC. Full Bio »
We welcome esteemed producer, Laura Rister, as our guest for The Executive Hour! Laura has Produced and Executive Produced internationally acclaimed and award winning films such as FERRARI, MR. MALCOLM’S LIST, THE TALE, MARGIN CALL, ALL IS LOST, THE ICEMAN, LOVELACE, and BREATH, to name a few. She is currently building a production/finance company with global strategic partnerships, to enhance and streamline the process of telling unique stories, with visionary filmmakers that make you feel.
The Executive Hour
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We're back in the Writers' Room for The Executive Hour with Alec Sokolow Alec Sokolow is an Oscar nominated screenwriter, storyteller and character creator who specializes in global branding and franchise creation. Alec regularly works as a screenwriter for all the major studios and various global independent producers. His feature film credits include "Toy Story", "Cheaper By the Dozen", "Garfield", "Garfield: A Tale Of Two Kitties", "Money Talks", "Evan Almighty", "Goodbye Lover" and "Daddy Day Camp." Alec has also written the meta video game storyline and user interface for Activision's billion dollar franchise "Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure" and "Skylanders: Giants" Alec’s character creation and naming includes Buzz Lightyear (and his catch phrase “To Infinity & Beyond”) and Woody. He has also produced feature documentaries, directed animation shorts and written children's books. Alec’s storytelling has created global receipts of over 2 Billion Dollars. He is also currently an adjunct professor at NYU teaching screenwriting. PRAISE FOR ALEX'S LESSIONS: "Thank you for your time today, Alec, your advice was phenomenal!" -Caitlin Cahill "Thank you, Sam and Stage 32, and most of all, Alec, for your writing wisdom." -Tony E. "Thank you Alec, Sam and Stage 32. Fantastic discussions, today. Thank you for sharing your story and journey." -Lyndsay Sinclair "Thanks, Alec! This webinar was EPIC!!!!!" -Bill B.
The latest edition of The Executive Hour didn’t just pull back the curtain; it handed viewers a backstage pass to what agents actually look for when signing writers. Drawing from her time at Paradigm Talent Agency and A3 Artists Agency, Nikita S. Adams broke it down with refreshing clarity: agents weren’t chasing perfection, they were chasing perspective. Writers who stood out had a distinct voice, a clear point of view, and the confidence to own it. One takeaway, it was this: originality wasn’t optional; it was the entire point. With more than 25 years in television and film, overseeing the development and production of HBO’s Life Support, starring Queen Latifah, developing and selling a fantasy drama to Amazon, and an IP-based dramas & features to HBO Max & Paramount, Nikita's insights were invaluable! Nikita emphasized the importance of, as a storyteller, what kinds of stories you tell, why you tell them, and what makes you the only person who could, making it easy for an agent to champion you in rooms that matter. The writers who sparked interest were the ones who came prepared—not just with a great script, but with a sense of career direction and the ability to talk about their work like professionals. Nikita shared that the clients who got signed were already doing the work: writing consistently, generating new ideas, and demonstrating they were in it for the long haul. By the end of the session, attendees didn’t just understand what agents wanted—they understood how to position themselves as the kind of writer agents couldn’t ignore.
Gaye introduced herself and shared her career and experiences with the Stage 32 community while answering questions from the attendees in a supportive and interactive environment designed to promote growth and creative integrity. This is education you can only get at Stage 32!
We're back in the Writers' Room for the Executive Hour Webcast with Aimee Rivera, VP of Motion Pictures Development at Skydance Media, which has released TOP GUN: MAVERICK, THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER, THE ADAM PROJECT, SNAKE EYES, THE TOMORROW WAR, 6 UNDERGROUND and many more.
We're back in the Writers' Room at 4pm (Pacific) for the Executive Hour Webcast with Paramount+ Creative Executive Aaron Kerman. Aaron is a Development Executive in the Originals Content Development division of the recently launched Paramount+. He has worked on series including THE GOOD FIGHT, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, GUILTY PARTY, and WHY WOMEN KILL, among many others. Aaron has been at CBS Studios for the last three years. Prior to this, he was at WME for two years, working directly with the heads of TV and Talent. His is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
In this Executive Hour we speak with screenwriter Lorien McKenna! Lorien is a former Pixar Story Manager who worked on such features as Oscar-winning UP, Oscar-winning BRAVE, Oscar-winning INSIDE OUT, and THE GOOD DINOSAUR. She also served as a producer for Paramount Animation where she oversaw development for WONDER PARK. Lorien, along with Oscar-nominated writer Meg LeFauve, sold their romantic comedy anthology, THIS THING CALLED LOVE to Hulu with Dan Lin producing; as well as a half hour sitcom, POOG to NBC and WBTV. Lorien also wrote HOW TO SET A FIRE AND WHY, based on the book of the same name by Jesse Ball, for Straight Up Films. Previously, she served as the Co-EP for Hulu's CURIOUS GEORGE series, and has developed projects for Disney Jr., Funko, and Netflix. She is the co-host of the podcast The Screenwriting Life with fellow screenwriter Meg LeFauve. During the webcast, Lorien discusses her unusual career trajectory, working in the "Brain Turst" on Oscar-Winning animated films at Pixar, battling "Imposter Syndrome", tackling adaptations, writing for television vs. features, how hard it is to take notes even as an established writer, and much more!