Tubefilter Hollywood Web Television Meetup — December 2009

Eric Berger, Senior Vice President of Digital Networks at Sony Pictures Television: As the head of Crackle, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s premium online video network, Eric supervises content development and programming, marketing and distribution for Crackle. Berger also manages the day to day operations of the digital networks group. These responsibilities include overseeing product, video operations and engineering as well as Crackle’s programming and multi-platform distribution functions for original series, television shows and movies. Prior to Sony Pictures, Berger was Vice President of Strategic Planning at Time Warner Inc. (AOL, HBO, Turner Broadcasting, Time Inc., Time Warner Cable, and Warner Bros.)

Chris McCaleb, Big Fantastic: After college, McCaleb worked closely with legendary filmmakers Michael Mann and John Sayles for nearly six years, where he cultivated a passion for personal storytelling on multiple levels. He co-founded Big Fantastic in 2006, and today is dedicated to the creation of original entertainment across every platform – film, television, comics, games, toys, phones, and of course, the internet. McCaleb also enjoys long walks on the beach.

Mark Gantt, Executive Producer, Writer, and Star of Crackle's The Bannen Way: Originally from Stockton, CA, Mark got his start in the business working in the Art Department, Props and Production on over 100 feature, TV and commercial projects, all the while training as an actor and director at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, where he met his writing partner Jesse Warren. Before creating The Bannen Way, Mark wrote, directed, produced and/or edited over a dozen short films (including the award-winning Martine), and acted opposite Brad Pitt in Ocean's Eleven, Burt Reynolds in The Hollywood Sign, as well as in many other films and TV shows.

Jesse Warren, Executive Producer, Writer, and Director of The Bannen Way: Having graduated from UCLA's School of Theatre, Film, and Television, Jesse has studied all aspects of film-making in preparation of becoming a director. Before being able to commit to his craft full-time, he was a World Class Track Athlete, sponsored by Nike, where he competed all over the world; from the Dominican Republic, all throughout Europe, and as far as Beijing, China. After retiring a few years ago, he changed his name and devoted his entire energy to his reel passion. After writing a few screenplays, and appearing in TV and Films like CSI and Brothers Solomon, Jesse finally created his own project with partner, Mark Gantt. The Bannen Way marks Jesse Warren's directorial debut.

Larry Tanz, President, Vuguru: Larry is the newly-minted President of Vuguru, the digital studio founded by Michael Eisner that recently received financing from Canada’s Rogers Media. Larry started in the digital space at AOL in 1998, after which he served as CEO of LivePlanet, a multiplatform production company that included Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as co-founders. During his tenure, LivePlanet produced numerous Film, TV, and New Media properties, including Project Greenlight. He then co-founded Agility Studios which finances and produces multiplatform franchises, including Jon M Chu’s The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (distributed by Paramount Digital) and Ultradome with Milo Ventimiglia (distributed by MSN).