Two former producers of The Oprah Winfrey Show have teamed to launch a Chicago-based TV production and branded entertainment company. Candi Carter, a former senior producer who produced nearly 300 hours of the Oprah show, and Rick Segall, a former senior-level producer, have formed New Chapter Entertainment (NCE), with a focus on originating, developing and producing unscripted TV shows for broadcast, cable, syndication and new media. The company is also launching a branded entertainment division to create short-form video content, commercials, short films and more for corporate clients.
Carter, who serves as founder and CEO of NCE, spent the last 15 years at Harpo Productions, where she served as a senior producer for The Oprah Winfrey Show. During her tenure, Carter created some of the most memorable hours of television in Oprah show history, including the award-winning special featuring 200 male survivors of sexual abuse, Oprah meeting her half-sister (the highest-rated show in six years at the time), the historic reunion for the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders and an iconic MLK special. An Emmy® award-winning producer, Carter started her career at CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta and also worked as a programming producer for WISN in Milwaukee before joining Harpo Productions.
A 19-year television industry veteran, Segall is executive VP of development and production for NCE. Prior to his four-year tenure at the Oprah show, he was president of RSTV, Inc., creating entertainment, news, educational and corporate productions for clients such as The Coca-Cola Company, FOX, Turner Private Networks and other news organizations and large companies. Emmy® award-winning producer Segall also spent eight years as a correspondent/producer for the hit show America’s Most Wanted.
Heading up NCE’s Branded Entertainment division is Jim Olen, a 20-year veteran of Chicago’s advertising and postproduction communities, who has worked with such brands as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, State Farm and Gatorade. Olen serves as NCE’s director of branded entertainment.
In addition to Carter, Segall and Olen, NCE’s senior leadership consists of a team of entertainment industry veterans who each bring expertise and perspective to the venture. Entertainment attorney Daryl Jones, VP of business and legal affairs, has worked with multi-Platinum recording artists and producers and Fortune 500 companies including McDonald’s. Award-winning music composer/producer Ira Antelis, VP of music production and licensing, has written songs for eminent artists including Patti LaBelle and Marc Anthony and corporate clients known worldwide like Disney, Coca-Cola, Gatorade and McDonald’s. Rounding out the team is financial expert Scott Lang, a founding member and consultant to NCE who also serves as managing director of City Capital Advisors, a Chicago-based investment banking boutique.
NCE is represented by William Morris Endeavor.
Sheriff Reports Preliminary Autopsy Results On Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa
Preliminary autopsy results didn't determine how Oscar-winner Gene Hackman and his wife died at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but did rule out that they were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, the sheriff leading the investigation said Friday.
The condition of the bodies found Wednesday indicated the deaths occurred at least several days earlier and there was no sign of foul play.
At a news conference, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the initial examination by the medical examiner showed no sign of carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas produced from kitchen appliances and other fuel-burning items. When it collects in poorly ventilated homes, it can be fatal.
Mendoza also said an examination of the 95-year-old Hackman's pacemaker showed it stopped working on Feb. 17, which means he may have died nine days earlier.
Hackman's body was found in an entryway. The body of his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, was in a bathroom. She was on her side and a space heater was near her head. Investigators said the heater likely was pulled down when she fell. There also was an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a countertop.
Whether the pills or other drugs were a factor won't be known until toxicology tests are completed in the coming weeks.
Dr. Philip Keen, the retired chief medical examiner in Maricopa County, Arizona, said it would be unlikely for a person who tests negative for carbon monoxide initially to later be found to have been poisoned by it.
He also said the moment when a pacemaker stops working could mark the point when a person dies, but not always.
"If your heart required a pacemaker, there would certainly be an interruption at that point — and it might be the hallmark of when... Read More