Schwartz Named Head Of New Venture.
By ROBERT GOLDRICH
Bicoastal Johnson/Burnett, best known for providing production services and backroom/administrative support to the spot industry, has diversified with the formation of an entertainment division under the aegis of veteran TV/feature executive Allan B. Schwartz. The new bicoastal venture has been named Johnson/Burnett Entertainment Group and will be involved in developing opportunities in television, cable, features, home video, the Internet and other emerging media for clientele.
Schwartz, who joined Johnson/Burnett this past April as VP of new business development, has been promoted to executive VP and will work closely with company chairman Biff Johnson. In his capacity at the helm of the entertainment division, Schwartz said a top priority is to service Johnson/Burnett’s existing core of commercial clients, specifically those looking to cross over into other areas. For example, commercial/music video house pre•duk’shen—headed by executive producers Tony Frere and Sherry Simpson—taps into Johnson/Burnett for production and backroom/administrative support as needed. This enables pre•duk’shen, which is headquartered on Johnson/Burnett’s Hollywood premises, to maintain a low overhead in its spot and music clip endeavors.
Now, Johnson/Burnett is extending its reach via the Entertainment Group to help facilitate a musical dramedy series that pre•duk’shen has in development. Schwartz explained that he linked pre•duk’shen with TV agent Marc Pariser of Marc Pariser & Associates, Sherman Oaks, Calif., who is shopping the project to premium cable channels.
Similarly, added Schwartz, Johnson/Burnett Entertainment Group hopes to assist director Stan Schofield of New York-based Schofield Films on his planned feature, entitled Nothing Serious. Schwartz said he might be called upon to help line up a theatrical agent for that project. Schofield Films also makes its commercial home at Johnson/ Burnett for production services and support.
"Just as we [Johnson/Burnett] have helped producers to stay competitive in commercials," related Johnson, "now we’re trying to do the same—through our entertainment division—for the independents who are looking to get into longform and other areas. In order for our commercial clients to be viable in blending their skills with the entertainment community, we have created a bridge for them to cross that can lead to collaborations and creative strategic alliances."
Also part of Schwartz’s self-described "mandate" is to make writers/producers aware of Johnson/Burnett and the commercial directors the company works with on a regular basis. "There should be opportunities for joint ventures where, for example, a cable series writer or producer can tap into the talents of a commercial director—or into the production services that Johnson/Burnett offers," said Schwartz. "Again, it’s a way to make certain projects a reality."
Along those lines, Schwartz noted that Johnson/Burnett Entertainment Group has entered into a nonexclusive working relationship with The Blaze, a talent agency that represents writers/producers of reality television programming. He foresees bringing Johnson/Burnett and clients of The Blaze together on select assignments. The Blaze and Johnson/Burnett’s West Coast office are both based on the Hollywood Center Studios lot in Hollywood.
Johnson added that Schwartz’s experience and industry contacts will enable the Entertainment Group to offer development, packaging and marketing of entertainment-related productions. Schwartz’s background includes serving as a feature line producer for movie producer Edgar Scherick on such ’70s films as Sleuth, starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, and The Heartbreak Kid, with Cybill Shepherd and Charles Grodin.
From ’74 to ’78, Schwartz was VP of movies, miniseries and syndicated programming at 20th Century Fox. In ’78, he became an independent producer on the Columbia Studios lot. Through the ’80s, Schwartz held such positions as VP of program development for Taft Entertainment Television, Los Angeles, VP of syndicated development for Fries Entertainment, Hollywood, and executive VP of the Playboy Entertainment Group, Los Angeles.
In the ’90s he assembled diverse television credits, including independently producing a two-hour telefilm for NBC called Lethal Exposure, which starred Ally Sheedy. That project was completed in partnership with France’s Canal Plus. In conjunction with now defunct Multimedia Television, Schwartz also produced talk show host Phil Donahue’s 25th anniversary special for NBC. Six years ago, Schwartz moved to Chapel Hill, N.C., for family lifestyle reasons, but continued to serve as an indie producer, shuttling back and forth to Los Angeles. Last year, he permanently relocated back to L.A. and reunited with Johnson, his longtime friend. That laid the groundwork for Schwartz coming aboard Johnson/Burnett earlier this year.
Among Johnson/Burnett’s spot production support clients are New York-headquartered Sandbank Films, bicoastal Pfeifer Van Dusen, Hollywood-based Barking Weasel Productions and bicoastal A Pictures.
Jury Presidents Named For The One Show 2025
The One Club for Creativity has announced the global creatives from around the world who will serve as jury presidents for The One Show 2025.
These creatives will lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work.
Confirmed One Show 2025 Jury presidents, by discipline, are as follows:
--Brand-Side/In-House: David Lee, CCO, Squarespace, New York
--Branded Entertainment: Malcolm Poynton, Global CCO, Cheil Worldwide, London
--Creative Use of Data, Creative Use of Technology: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, CCO, FCB Canada, Toronto
--Cultural Driver: Bianca Guimaraes, partner, ECD, Mischief, New York
--Design: Liza Enebeis, creative director, partner, Studio Dumbar/DEPT®, Rotterdam
--Direct Marketing: Vicki Maguire, CCO, Havas London
--Film & Video: Javier Campopiano, global CCO, McCann Worldgroup & McCann Global, Madrid
--Gaming: Taj Reid, global chief experience officer, US CCO, Edelman, New York
--Integrated, Experiential & Immersive: Chris Beresford-Hill, worldwide CCO, BBDO New York
--Fusion Pencil: Walter T. Geer III, CCO, Innovation North America, VML, New York
--Green Pencil: Barbara Humphries, ECD, The Monkeys, Sydney
--Health & Wellness, Pharma: Wendy Lund, chief client officer, WPP, New York
--IP & Product Design: Ronald Ng, global CCO, MRM, New York
--Moving Image Craft & Production: Irene Kugelmann, chief creative officer, DDB Group of Companies Germany, Berlin
--Music & Sound Craft: Joel Simon, CCO, JSM Music, New York
--Out of Home, Print & Promotional: Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy India, Mumbai
--Public Relations: Patricia Ávila, regional director for Latin America, Ágora, São Paulo
--Radio... Read More