Hollywood’s 100 Power Lawyers 2023 – The Hollywood Reporter

James Adams

Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham
Cornell Law School

Adams says the launch of his client Natasha Lyonne’s Peacock series Poker Face put the streaming service “on a different level” of original programming. Meanwhile, John Krasinski produced, wrote and stars in If for Paramount, Joy Bryant stars in the Spiderwick Chronicles reboot and Annaleigh Ashford returns to Broadway in Sweeney Todd. Adams’ roster also includes Kathryn Hahn and Kevin Hart.

An industry rule made to be broken “Precedent. Let the creatives be creatives.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Perseverance and treating each other with respect.”

Michael Auerbach

Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein
NYU School of Law

Several of Auerbach’s clients had a scary-good year: Actor turned filmmaker Zach Cregger found himself in multiple bidding wars after Barbarian; Mia Goth’s work in X and Pearl made her a horror queen, signing a third entry in Ti West’s series; and director Rob Savage made thriller The Boogeyman. “It was a horror business I didn’t anticipate,” says the father of four young sons. Jonathan Majors saw two years of chess piece-placing deals pay off with a trajectory that began with Loki and Devotion and would continue into this year with Magazine Dreams, Ant-Man 3 and Creed. Elsewhere, client Ben Platt returned to Broadway, Leslie Odom Jr. nabbed the lead in The Exorcist reboot, Corey Hawkins joined The Color Purple movie, and Eiza González signed on to star in Netflix’s high-priced Three Body Problem. Auerbach says he focuses on “building a business architecture that represents the clients’ interests and letting the art lead.”

The actor who’d play me “Craig T. Nelson. I’m 39 going on 70, and I was influenced by Coach. Him or Brendan Gleeson.”

I admire “My partners Kim Jaime, Ryan LeVine, Peter Sample and Jeff Hynick. We have been together the entirety of my career at Jackoway. They have always been champions of mine and I of theirs. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I have without their support from day one.”

Karl Austen

Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein
Harvard Law School

A master at growing actors over the long haul, Austen renegotiated Finn Wolfhard’s deal for Stranger Things season five and Norman Reedus’ for The Walking Dead spinoff — each at around $1 million per episode. (Wolfhard started out making $35,000 per episode and Reedus made $8,500 for what was initially a guest appearance.) He also made massive deals for Matt Reeves’ The Batman sequel and Fede Álvarez’s upcoming Alien installment and inked multiple projects for Dave Bautista, including Dune: Part Two, Knock at the Cabin and Glass Onion. Austen, who has been his firm’s managing partner for the past three years, is focused on keeping the firm relevant for the future in very uncertain times. “There will always be cycles,” he says. “You just have to ride through them.”

I admire “Alan Wertheimer because he loves his job, has passion for clients, and he hired me 30 years ago this month.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Hard work, passionate advocacy and luck.”

John Berlinski

Bird Marella Boxer Wolpert Nessim Drooks Lincenberg & Rhow
University of Michigan Law School

Berlinski, who resolved client Katie O’Connell Marsh’s Narcos profits suit on the eve of trial and reps Chuck Norris in his Walker, Texas Ranger fight, says the industry is still feeling “aftershocks” from the rise of wholly owned streaming platforms. “We continue to see disputes about how these rights should be valued for purposes of accounting to profit participants and the guilds,” says the attorney, who last year made the move to Bird Marella after nine years at Kasowitz Benson Torres.

How I start my workday “Greens 4 cold-pressed juice.”

The actor who’d play me “George Clooney, since we share the same hair color. (The rest is aspirational).”

Jeff Bernstein

Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein
Harvard Law School

Three of Bernstein’s powerhouse clients landed Golden Globe noms this year: Carey Mulligan, Hilary Swank and Margot Robbie, the latter set to produce and star in the Oceans prequel and has two upcoming Amazon films under her LuckyChap banner. And Tessa Thompson has first-looks in the works for her production company, Viva Maude, as well as actor-producer deals for the limited series His & Hers with Fifth Season and a Hedda Gabler film with Plan B. Elsewhere, Bernstein says more clients, like Judi Dench and John Leguizamo, are landing book deals.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Working hard and having integrity — and a little luck never hurts.”

I admire “Margot Robbie because she is kind to everyone.”

Gordon Bobb

Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang
Columbia Law School

Bobb’s roster is a who’s who of A-list talent both in front of and behind the camera. Director Justin Simien has Haunted Mansion out later this year, Amandla Stenberg joins the Star Wars universe in Disney+ series The Acolyte, and the Lena Waithe-produced doc Being Mary Tyler Moore opened to rave reviews at SXSW. Bobb also celebrated a career milestone in 2022 — being elevated to name partner in his longtime firm, along with colleague Loan Dang.

The actor who’d play me “Sterling K. Brown”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “Series sales bonuses and development fees.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Adapting to innovation.”

Leigh Brecheen

Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver & Thompson
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

A go-to adviser for some of the biggest names in comedy, including John Oliver, Rob Delaney and Iliza Shlesinger, Brecheen worked on the $150 million sale of Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco to SiriusXM — which also saw a five-year talent deal for O’Brien — as well as the sale of 60 percent of Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment to Mediawan. She also closed a new five-year contract renewal for Kevin Beggs as chairman of Lionsgate TV.

How I start my workday “Cappuccino, workout, NPR News.”

I admire “Conan O’Brien: Brilliant, likable, exceptionally generous with credit and money, principled, and has a remarkable ability to be ahead of the curve in adapting to changing times.”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “’We only gives series bonuses, not real backends’” needs to be OVER.”

Andrew Brettler

Berk Brettler
Brooklyn Law School

There’s been no slowdown for Brettler since making the “life-changing move” to launch a firm with criminal law powerhouse Blair Berk — just less sleep. In the past year, he’s helped Lindsay Lohan resolve her crypto trouble with the SEC; defended Sydney Sweeney in a dispute with LA Collective over a failed swimwear deal and led the charge in Chelsea Handler’s suit against ThirdLove for backing out of an ad campaign, while also advising Armie Hammer, Tiffany Haddish and writer Elisabeth Finch.

The actor who’d play me “Jeremy Allen White”

I admire “My partner Blair Berk because she fights so hard for her clients every day.”

An industry rule made to be broken “You don’t necessarily have to break rules, but all rules should be tested. My clients rely upon original thinking to best protect their rights and reputations.”

Chad Christopher

Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher
USC Gould School of Law

Christopher helped Miles Teller’s reteam with Top Gun studio Skydance in Apple TV+’s The Gorge and negotiated Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton’s return to the MCU with the Avengers movie The Kang Dynasty. The best part of his job, he says, is helping clients overcome obstacles. “There is no greater feeling than helping a client overcome an impediment, economic or otherwise, that has prevented or limited such client from achieving their artistic goals.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Endurance.”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “’It’s called showbusiness, not show friends.’ I disagree. I’ve worked with the majority of my partners for close to twenty years and consider them some of my closest friends.”

How I end my workday “Watching a great series or film with my wife, and a large glass of wine.” 

Stephen Clark

Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler Feldman & Clark
UC College of the Law, San Francisco

Clark advised George Clooney and Grant Heslov on a new TV overall with 101 Studios and feature overall with Warners, with the pair in production on the Clooney starrer Wolves for Apple TV+. Meanwhile, Ti West came off the back-to-back acclaim of A24’s X and Pearl by setting up MaXXXine, set to shoot this spring. Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman continued their Knives Out mystery with Glass Onion, and Clark says John Wick 4’s Shay Hatten has been “on a run like I’ve never seen before for a young writer.” His most challenging deals, however, have been in TV development. “They should be easy but they are tricky and have been unduly time-consuming,” says Clark. “It could be volume, or maybe it’s a time of contraction, but it feels like what once was easier to do via a handshake, it’s reverted to a labored process.”

The actor who’d play me “Damian Lewis”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “‘Don’t take no for an answer.’ While I admire those who pursue their dreams over every apparent obstacle, sometimes a closed door can redirect you to an open one you might otherwise not have found.”

Jeff Cohen

Cohen Gardner
UCLA School of Law

To get to Data, you have to go through Chunk. Ke Huy Quan’s Goonies co-star is his lawyer, working out the actor’s deal for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Cohen also reps Michelle Yeoh — “Next year we’re aiming for 75 percent [of Oscar-winning actors as clients],” he quips — and has negotiated all of the pair’s subsequent gigs, which include Loki (for Quan), Wicked (for Yeoh) and American Born Chinese (for both). Asked whether Quan’s success has him dreaming of his own on-camera comeback, Cohen’s replies: “Absolutely not! I’ll stay in my legal dungeon where I belong. I don’t have to audition and I still get to go to the parties.”

I admire “Richard Donner because he taught me about the most important things in life and the biz.”

How I start my workday “Quiet weeping.”

How I end my workday “Also, quiet weeping.”

Robert Darwell

Sheppard Mullin
Georgetown Law

Darwell represents Amazon Studios in some of its biggest deals, including the $8.5 billion MGM acquisition and a rights deal to the Parker crime novels by Richard Stark that will see Robert Downey Jr. and Shane Black adapting the IP for the studio. The lawyer also works with the likes of Disney, Nickelodeon, Wondery and Meta.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Be smart, work hard and be open to fateful opportunities.”

How I start my workday “A Diet Coke and emails.” 

How I end my workday “A Grey Goose and emails.”

Warren Dern

Sloane Offer Weber & Dern
Southwestern Law School

Client Zack Snyder’s space opera Rebel Moon hits Netflix in December, and he’s working on Rebel Moon Part 2. Todd Phillips has wrapped Joker: Folie à Deux, while Paul Feig is filming the action-comedy Grand Death Lotto, starring Awkwafina, Simu Liu and John Cena, for Amazon. On the acting side, Rebel Wilson is serving up the tennis comedy Double Fault for Paramount. Other longtime clients include Amy Poehler and J.A. Bayona.

An industry rule made to be broken “I suppose, ‘Do not take no for an answer.’ ”

I admire “Anyone who, in addition to their primary job, gives back to their community.”

André Des Rochers

Granderson Des Rochers
Howard University School of Law

Zendaya — for whom Des Rochers handled a groundbreaking deal for Euphoria’s next season — is poised to have a bigger year than ever, with Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers and the second Dune film. The attorney also reps indie visionaries with a pas- sion for underrepresented voices like Everything Everywhere All at Once producer Jonathan Wang, Moonlight and Aftersun production outfit Pastel, and Nanny filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu, now working on an untitled horror film for Monkeypaw and Universal. “The people I work with are reflections of the diversity of my natural experience,” Des Rochers says.

I admire “Nina Shaw because we all stand on her shoulders as black lawyers. She’s poised, elegant and a charmed dealmaker. There are a lot of ways that my generation of non-white lawyers benefit from the work that she did.”

How I start my workday “I wake my 19-month-old daughter up, give her a snuggle and change her, then I work out. I try not to check my phone first thing. I look, but I try not to respond.”

Ken Deutsch

Latham & Watkins
Harvard Law School

If you want to invest, raise capital or explore tricky deals, Deutsch is your man. A go-to expert for financial players, studios, streamers and indies like Content Partners, Participant Media and Anonymous Content, he also advises Jon Favreau and his companies and recently helped Charles D. King’s Macro raise $90 million to broaden its ambitions. Says Deutsch, “I love advising clients like Macro throughout their life cycle, from original capitalization through a variety of strategic deals and financings, and eventually to an IPO, sale or other successful exit in the future.”

How I start my workday “A 20- to 30-minute meditation.”

 I admire “My client Jon Favreau because he is insatiably curious.”

Isaac Dunham

Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham
Columbia Law School

This year, Dunham, who represents such talent as Awkwafina, Kumail Nanjiani and John Mulaney, saw his client Nick Kroll co-create, executive produce and star in the Hulu series History of the World: Part II alongside original creator Mel Brooks. Meanwhile, last year Amy Schumer premiered a comedy on Hulu, Life & Beth, and Rachel Brosnahan is wrapping up the final season of Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

The actor who’d play me “Brad Pitt, of course.”

I admire “Our client Amy Schumer because she is principled, fearless and hilarious.”

 An industry rule that’s made to be broken “You have to conform to a model that’s worked before.”

David Eisman

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
UCLA School of Law

There was no shortage of Lord of the Rings deals in 2022. For his part, Eisman represented the Swedish gaming conglomerate Embracer in its major acquisition of the global IP rights to both J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy and The Hobbit across film, games, merch, theme parks and stage productions. Outside of Middle-earth, Eisman repped UTA in its acquisition of the Curtis Brown Group and in the sale of a stake to EQT, now the largest outside shareholder in UTA.

How I start my workday “Putting on an 80’s-style track suit on work-at-home days.”

How I end my workday “Watching the L.A. Kings or Dodgers.”

The actor who’d play me “John Cusack”

Craig Emanuel

Paul Hastings
Monash University Law

For longtime client Ryan Murphy, Emanuel negotiated two new Netflix shows: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and The Watcher. And he handled Tom Hanks’ deal to star in A Man Called Otto. He notes, “This shows that the theatrical release of adult dramas still has an audience and there is no role that Tom cannot play.” Emanuel also worked with The Bourne Legacy director Tony Gilroy as he created the Andor series to reconfigure the Rogue One franchise.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Remembering you’re not always the smartest person in the room.”

I admire “Sidney Poitier, because at a time of great prejudice in our country the roles he played changed the views and minds of a large number of people.”

The actor who’d play me “John Turturro”

Jeff Endlich

Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich & Gellman
Cardozo School of Law

The massive commercial and critical achievements of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for their film Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a highlight of his year, says Endlich, who represents three of Hollywood’s most lauded filmmakers: the aforementioned Daniels, who won Academy Awards for best director and best picture, and fellow Oscar winner Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit). Endlich’s roster also includes top TV talent like Liz Feldman (Dead to Me) and Raphael Bob-Waksberg (BoJack Horseman).

The actor who’d play me “Taika Waititi”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “I think it’s absolutely key to be surrounded by people who support you and share your goals. I’ve been at my firm for over 20 years, and I am beyond grateful to have the support of my brilliant partners who are truly the best in the business.”

Alan Epstein

Willkie Farr & Gallagher
UCLA School of Law

A longtime adviser to Ryan Reynolds, Epstein most recently worked on his $1.35 billion sale of Mint Mobile to T-Mobile after having previously advised on the $610 million sale of Reynolds’ Aviation Gin brand. When it comes to these types of deals, Epstein says George Clooney’s billion-dollar Casamigos sale “is probably the only other one in that same stratosphere.” Epstein, who also represented Brad Pitt’s Plan B in its stake sale to Mediawan, says premium creators “are still in high demand,” whether that’s onscreen or in the boardroom.

How I start my workday “Early.”

How I end my workday “With a deep sigh and an Aviation gin and tonic.”

Jamie Feldman

Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler Feldman & Clark
Harvard Law School

“What the deals are and who the buyers are change every few years,” says Feldman of the increasingly fast-paced Hollywood turnover. “It’s a source of frustration but also challenging in a good sense. We get to reinvent the wheel.” Feldman, who counts Viola Davis, Barry Jenkins and Ted Lasso breakout Juno Temple as clients, is helping both newcomer and veteran talent navigate the prestige TV landscape, like Lily-Rose Depp, set for her breakout in HBO’s The Idol, and Kiefer Sutherland in the Paramount+ thriller Rabbit Hole.

David Fox

Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light
Western State College of Law

Fox was behind one of the biggest deals of the year, the merger between Jason Blum’s Blumhouse and client James Wan’s Atomic Monster. “This is a bet on horror programming at a time when distributor appetite for the economics of genre content is at an all-time high,” he says. He also structured a unique deal between client Sugar23 and Anheuser-Busch, with the former to make branded content without the brand in the content. Elsewhere, David Robert Mitchell landed his next project with a green light at Warners and set up a sequel to his horror breakout, It Follows; Lauren Schmidt is expanding the Witcher universe at Netflix; and Christopher McQuarrie got two Oscar nominations for Top Gun: Maverick.

The actor who’d play me “Pete Davidson, without the game, but my wife would say Harrison Ford.”

I admire “Writers because they are in my opinion the most critical and least celebrated part of the process.”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “‘Never trust anyone.’ I think that’s bullshit and exactly the opposite of reality. We could not do what we do on behalf of our clients if we weren’t able to be candid and thoughtful about the things we are seeking for our clients. Full-time combat mode is usually counterproductive.”

Melissa Fox

Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush Kaller Gellman Meigs & Fox
Penn Law 

Fox cornered the Daily Show market after Trevor Noah’s surprise departure, negotiating guest-hosting stints for three of her clients, with Leslie Jones, Hasan Minhaj and Jordan Klepper each taking turns at the iconic desk. She also secured a new deal for Maya Erskine to create and star alongside Nicole Kidman in HBO’s The Perfect Nanny, handled a bidding war for Tim Robinson to create and star in The Chair Company for HBO, and closed a deal for Kate McKinnon to star in the Searchlight feature In the Blink of an Eye.

The actor who’d play me “Sarah Silverman”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “Studio policy.”

Jeff Frankel

McKuin Frankel Whitehead
UCLA School of Law

Frankel extended Ryan Condal’s overall with HBO, where he serves as showrunner of House of the Dragon; negotiated a pact for A-list TV star Milo Ventimiglia to executive produce and star in ABC’s The Company You Keep; brokered a deal for Sam Esmail’s latest, Metropolis, for Apple TV+ under his deal with UCP; teamed with partner Allen Vainshtein to negotiate an overall deal at FX for The Bear co-showrunner and executive producer Joanna Calo; handled an eight-figure extension of Lauren Iungerich’s overall pact at Netflix, where she created On My Block, Freeridge, and Boo, Bitch; and inked Matt Fogel’s deals to write Minions: The Rise of Gru and The Super Mario Bros. Movie under his overall at Illumination, the latter of which set the box office on fire and broke numerous records when it opened in early April.

How I start my workday “Excited.” 

How I end my workday “More excited.” 

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Optimism and hard work.”

Matt Galsor

Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger
Columbia Law School

Galsor describes his past year as “spectacular.” Two of his clients had movies break 10 figures globally: first Tom Cruise with Top Gun: Maverick ($1.49 billion) then James Cameron with Avatar: The Way of Water ($2.3 billion). “The reports of the death of theatrical have been greatly exaggerated,” quips Galsor, who also counts the Russo brothers (Citadel), Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Love and Thunder) and the Tolkien Estate (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) as clients.

How I start my workday “Plan innovative ways to relieve studios of their money.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … ” Like anywhere else – always protect your partners, to paraphrase Johnny Ola.”

Jonathan Gardner

Cohen Gardner
University of Virginia School of Law

In addition to homegrown clients like Ryan Coogler (whose Proximity Media produced Creed III, Stephen Curry: Underrated and the upcoming Ironheart) and Boots Riley (I’m a Virgo), Gardner also has developed a roster of international filmmakers, including Bong Joon Ho (Mickey 17) and Asghar Farhadi, for whom he negotiated his upcoming first English-language feature with Anonymous Content. Says Gardner, “To some extent, most of my clients are coming from the outside trying to figure out this beast called Hollywood.”

How I start my workday “Illy Coffee.”

How I end my workday “A glass of Austin Hope pinot noir.”

The actor who’d play me “Ray Liotta”

Bruce Gellman

Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush Kaller Gellman Meigs & Fox
Berkeley Law

After representing the creator of NBC’s This Is Us, Dan Fogelman, for 20-plus years, Gellman found
it rewarding to watch the series finale end where it began: delivering “truly original and moving stories.” The attorney, who also represented writer Dave Andron (Snowfall) and Fleishman Is in Trouble EP Carl Beverly in their overall deals, says he’s seen an increase in short-term writer engagements, which creates a challenge to ensure “writers receive fair compensation for their work and flexibility to pursue their own development or other projects.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Know your stuff and be decent to everyone.”

I admire “Assistants because their job is tough and often thankless. My assistant, Susan Burns, has worked with me for over 18 years and I could not do this without her.”

How I end my workday “A walk around the block with my wife and dogs.”

Gregg Gellman

Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich & Gellman
Loyola Law School

“It’s always rewarding to see when cli- ents achieve thresholds of success,” says Gellman, whose writer client Akela Cooper hit the mark with her meme-inspiring horror hit M3GAN. Other successful clients on Gellman’s roster include Squid Game creators Hwang Dong-hyuk and Kim Ji-yeon; Kenya Barris; filmmaker Lulu Wang (The Farewell); She-Hulk: Attorney at Law writer Jessica Gao; and Emmy- nominated writer Gordon Smith (Better Call Saul).

An industry rule made to be broken “Streamers need to be more transparent. In streaming, there’s often a lack of transparency and little residual. At the end of the day, the talent and studio are effectively supposed to be partners, so there needs to be genuine transparency regarding the actual level of success of the applicable project. What’s more — there needs to be a true backend structure that reflects that actual level of success.”

How I start my workday “Prior to the pandemic, it would generally begin when I got to the office. Now, it seems to begin almost immediately from the moment I open my eyes in the morning.”

Rick Genow

Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher
Harvard Law School

“Overnight, people’s lives change,” says Genow of the streamers’ expedited star-making ability. “To
me, that has been the brightest spot in the past year.” Genow has seen this firsthand with clients like Chase Stokes and Drew Starkey (Outer Banks), Jacob Elordi (Euphoria) and Lukas Gage (The White Lotus, You). Another likely highlight is his work for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their Archewell banner — while he won’t comment on the outfit, they had a big hit with their Netflix docuseries.

The actor who’d play me “Harrison Ford — the way he plays his character in Shrinking.”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “Television exclusivity, in all of its heinous forms.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Remember to laugh.”

Lev Ginsburg

Ginsburg Daniels Kallis
UCLA School of Law

Among Ginsburg’s recent highlights are a “super busy” spell for client LaKeith Stanfield, who followed up an Oscar nom with top studio deals for Disney’s Haunted Mansion, as the title character in Legendary’s Book of Clarence for Sony, and appearing in the Apple TV+ series The Changeling, which he also executive produced. Client Timothée Chalamet wrapped the musical epic Wonka and the hotly anticipated Dune: Part Two from Denis Villeneuve while making a viral splash with a “Call Me” campaign for tech giant Apple TV+. He also reps Sara Hess, an executive producer of HBO’s big-budget House of the Dragon, who inked a landmark new overall deal there to shepherd the show and to develop her own projects.   

How I start my workday “With an open mind.” 

How I end my workday “With a run in the hills.” 

The actor who’d play me “Dame Helen Mirren”

One industry rule that’s meant to be broken “It’s not really a rule, but most, ‘Can we get a call on the books?’ scheduling requests can be more quickly resolved by just … calling someone! Try it!” 

Tamerlin Godley

Paul Hastings
USC Gould School of Law

“It’s very satisfying when I’m the first call,” says Godley, who specializes in sensitive investigations and significant business disputes. Some of her recent public work includes representing former business partners of the late Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh in disputes with his estate and advocating on behalf of NBCUniversal and Bravo Media in a discrimination lawsuit filed by NeNe Leakes, which the former Real Housewives of Atlanta star dropped in August. Otherwise, she notes, “I think a lot of the stuff I do is super interesting, if I could talk about it.”

I admire “Ava DuVernay because she is a badass and uses her power for good. And, she is a fellow Bruin!”

How I start my workday “Prayer and Mediation.”

How I end my workday “Recording my time for the day! Gotta love the billable hour!”

Carlos Goodman

Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher
UCLA School of Law

Quentin Tarantino has announced his next and final film, The Movie Critic, while other A-list directors repped by Goodman have films waiting in the wings, including Steve McQueen (Blitz, Apple), Alex Garland (Civil War, A24) and Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, MGM). Goodman’s other clients include Christian Bale, Jake Gyllenhaal, The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann, and Darren Aronofsky, whose The Whale served up a best actor Oscar win for star Brendan Fraser. Longtime client Gyllenhaal is shooting Presumed Innocent for Apple, and Bale had two films last year: Amsterdam and The Pale Blue Eye.

How I end my workday “I am compulsive about making sure I return all my calls for the day.”

An industry rule made to be broken “That precedents are not supposed to be broken.”

Marissa Román Griffith

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
Stanford Law School

Bringing together creatives and financial institutions is Griffith’s wheelhouse. She helped MRC with its Sundance sale of Fair Play to Netflix and set up Rian Johnson’s Peacock series Poker Face. “I really admire the creativity of Rian Johnson and have been fortunate to play a small part in several of his projects,” says Griffith, who also advised JPMorgan Chase on a credit facility for Amblin Partners that provided capital for Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans.

The actor who’d play me “J.Lo (a fellow Boricua).”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Take your work, but not yourself, seriously.”

How I end my workday “Snuggling my dogs.”

David Grossman

Loeb & Loeb
UCLA School of Law

Grossman’s docket reads like a streaming queue, with matters involving Stranger Things, Shahs of Sunset and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. High- profile clients include Paramount, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Lionsgate and Morgan Creek Productions — as well as Vanessa Bryant and the Bryant estate. As to recent trends, Grossman says the rise in arbitration and mediation following pandemic court delays has led to higher-caliber mediators and arbitrators who have a keen understanding of his clients’ issues.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Longevity and trust. The longer you are here, the smaller this city becomes.”

How I end my workday “On my best days I’m home in time to see the sunset and have dinner with my hilarious teenage kids.”

Harris Hartman

Sloane Offer Weber & Dern
University of Michigan Law School

Hartman is happiest when he sees clients’ long-gestating work finally make it to the screen: “That sort of meaningful personal connection is an unexpected thrill, not something I think many of my law school friends are lucky enough to find.” The lawyer advises clients like Jennifer Garner and Julia Garner on everything from new projects to long-running pro- motional and fashion partnerships. He negotiated Euphoria star Hunter Schafer’s Hunger Games prequel turn and Richard Madden’s return to prestige TV with Amazon’s Citadel.

How I start my workday “Go through all my overnight emails, check my calls for the day, check my to-do list, debate flaking on lunch.”

The actor who’d play me “Oh gosh, I think I get Stephen Colbert a lot?”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “I am hoping to figure this one out, but I believe it’s a perfect mixture of empathy and honesty.”

Michael Hill

Covington & Burling
Fordham University School of Law

There was a flurry of sports media deals over the past year, and Hill was at the center of all of them. From the NFL’s deal to bring NFL Sunday Ticket to YouTube (he repped the NFL), to Apple’s landmark agreement to become the global streaming home of Major League Soccer (he repped MLS), the nature of sports rights is changing. Notes Hill: “These deals may wind up being fairly precedential as other sports leagues and properties negotiate their media rights renewals over the coming years.”

The actor who’d play me “I would trust only Cate Blanchett.”

I admire “My colleagues in Covington’s entertainment and media practice because our culture of collaboration means there is always a subject matter expert ready and willing to help me navigate the most complex legal issues.”

Shawn Holley

Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley
Southwestern Law School

Much of Holley’s work in the past year was behind closed doors in an arbitration with MLB for client pitcher Trevor Bauer, who was suspended amid domestic violence and sexual assault allegations that ended in his reinstatement. Her work for Bauer continues with defamation suits, and she also is defending Shia LaBeouf in a civil sexual assault case brought by FKA Twigs and gearing up for Danny Masterson’s criminal retrial.

How I start my workday “Working out — either on my home Soulcycle bike or doing yoga with my husband on our living room floor.” 

How I end my workday “Listening to a sleep story on the Calm app to distract my mind from ruminating on all the things I need to do on my cases.”

The actor who’d play me “Either Reese Witherspoon (I know it sounds crazy, but even her son saw the resemblance) or Emayatzy Corinealdi, the amazing actress who plays Jax, the character loosely based on me in the Hulu show Reasonable Doubt.”

Andrew Hurwitz

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz
Georgetown Law

James Gunn’s ascension to co-head of DC Studios was perhaps the most surprising executive deal of the year — after all, how many studio heads are also A-list filmmakers who will be writing and directing for the studio they run? “We negotiated a pretty bespoke deal. I can say there isn’t a James Gunn-type deal floating around Warner Bros. for any prior exec,” says Hurwitz, who also negotiated for Andrew Millstein and Rob Baird to launch Annapurna Animation and for Baird to write animated films.

How I start my workday “If I’m not playing tennis, I walk the dog and do calls with New York and London.”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “The industry has historically worked on the basis of precedence. When I started 20 years ago it was all about, ‘This is how you do it at Warner Bros.’ Now it’s, ‘This is the way we did it in 2022.’ In 2023 it can be completely different.”

Jeff Hynick

Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein
Southwestern Law School

Hynick guides one of Hollywood’s most in-demand young actors, Scream and Wednesday star Jenna Ortega, and most in-demand new filmmakers, Smile’s Parker Finn. After Smile earned $217 million at the box office on a $17 million budget, Hynick was in prime position to negotiate Finn’s first-look deal with Paramount. (Initially, Smile was going to be a streaming only movie, which would have made its value harder to gauge.) “When you have box office numbers, they are public and the number speak for themselves,” says Hynick, who also reps All Quiet on the Western Front filmmaker Edward Berger and is one of Nicole Kidman’s advisers.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Knowing when and how to use leverage.”

How I start my workday “By making sure I’ve responded to all emails, calls, texts, and WhatsApp messages.”

Matthew Johnson

Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole
NYU School of Law

“The landscape is changing rapidly in terms of what the [streaming] platforms want to produce and are willing to spend on projects,” says Johnson, who recently secured Tyler Perry four-picture and two-picture deals at Amazon and Netflix, respectively. He also negotiated Oscar winner Jamie Foxx’s pact to headline Netflix’s Back in Action, Idris Elba’s return to Luther on Netflix and director Matthew Vaughn’s spy film Argylle for Apple.

I admire “Jeffrey Katzenberg. He is relentless in his pursuit of growing his business and is equally committed to making the world a better place.”

How I start my workday “Reading The New York Times, Washington Post and the trades.”

How I end my workday “Organizing my priorities for the following day.”

Adam Kaller

Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush Kaller Gellman Meigs & Fox
Whittier Law School

Kaller continued his podcasting hot streak in 2022, representing clients like Emma Chamberlain in her multi-year exclusive deal with Spotify, and Crooked Media in its major ad sales and sponsorship deal with SiriusXM. Other clients include Steven Yeun, who’s playing a still-under-wraps character in Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts, and How I Met Your Father showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, who landed a seven-figure writing and producing deal with Amazon.

The actor who’d play me “Tom Cruise”

How I end my workday “Ideally, I am off my screens an hour before bed, listening to a podcast or a book and preparing for optimal sleep (which I prioritized this year as much as exercise and diet).” 

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Unyielding determination, unbridled optimism and a point of view.”

Kelly Klaus

Munger Tolles & Olsen
Stanford Law School

Klaus is defending Disney in sprawling litigation accusing the company of illegally using VFX technology called MOVA Contour that is threatening profits from several of its blockbusters. He’s convinced the judge that profits from Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool are off-limits; they can’t be tied back to use of the tech, and secured dismissal of a related suit involving the Avengers films.

How I start my workday “Working out on my Peloton tread.”

How I end my workday “Peloton meditation.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Being able to bring a story to life.”

Deborah Klein

Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein
USC Gould School of Law

A-list dealmaker Klein works with some of the funniest people in Hollywood. Last year, she saw several deals closed for heavy-hitter clients such as Jim Carrey in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Paul Rudd in the Ghostbusters sequel, Will Ferrell in You’re Cordially Invited and Vince Vaughn in Bad Monkey, while Samuel L. Jackson has Marvel’s upcoming Secret Invasion and his ongoing Capital One pact.

A rule that’s made to be broken “The studio saying, ‘We do not ever give this.’ ”

The key to success in Hollywood is… “Not sure, but I will ask ChatGPT.”

Alex Kohner

Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich & Gellman
Loyola Law School

In addition to representing the Duffer brothers and negotiating their deal to make a London stage play based on Stranger Things, his broad client base includes the literary trust of the late author David Foster Wallace and Goosebumps creator R.L Stine as well as NASCAR and the L.A. Lakers in their entertainment ventures.

How I end my workday “I try to follow my father’s advice and return every call and email by the end of each day.”

I admire “Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell for simultaneously saving the world and the theatrical business.”

Tara Kole

Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole
Harvard Law School

“There’s chaos, but that’s an opportunity for creativity and invention,” says Kole of the evolving entertainment landscape. She also says theatrical is bouncing back, and her clients made two of March’s biggest movies: Scream VI (Radio Silence, Melissa Barrera) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (Chad Stahelski). Elsewhere, she inked three deals for Zac Efron (The Iron Claw, A Family Affair and Ricky Stanicky) and Rolin Jones’ rebooted Interview With a Vampire for AMC.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Hard work.”

How I start my workday “Emails.”

How I end my workday “Emails.”

Michael Kump

Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley
University of Michigan Law School

Kump knows his way around free speech and says he’s seen an “increased attack on First Amendment rights” for public figures. On his docket: representing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a defamation suit filed by her estranged half-sister (he recently won dismissal, but it’s likely not over) and defending Evan Rachel Wood in a defamation suit filed by Marilyn Manson.

I admire “Ari Emanuel because throughout his career he has overcome all obstacles to create innovative companies that make our industry better.”

How I start my workday “I run in the dark.”

How I end my workday “Watching old rock videos on YouTube.”

Susan Kay Leader

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
University of Virginia School of Law

Leader successfully represented WME in its dispute with Virgin Fest 2020, convincing a judge that WME isn’t liable for its clients and that artists like Lizzo and Ellie Goulding shouldn’t have to return millions in deposits after the event was canceled because of COVID-19. She’s now rep- resenting Zuffa in a class action over UFC Fight Pass user data.

How I start my workday “Walking my dog while listening to a podcast. True crime is my favorite.”

How I end my workday “Binge-watching Netflix while clearing my inbox.”

I admire “Jennifer Coolidge because she reminds me of a modern day Lucille Ball, pioneering a new trajectory for women in Hollywood.”

Molly Lens

O’Melveny & Myers
University of Michigan Law School

Being hired to defend Paramount in the Top Gun: Maverick copyright case has been a career highlight for Lens, who’s also on the front lines of high- profile copyright termination disputes involving several iconic Marvel characters. She notes, “Litigation in this space is complicated and will have implications far beyond those [termination] notices, as the case law is really developing in this space.”

The actor who’d play me “Ellen Pompeo. She exudes confidence and has a take-charge persona, plus we have similar eyes.”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “‘Pay your dues.’ While it’s important to take time to learn and perfect your craft, it’s also vital to dream big and stretch yourself beyond others’ perceived limits of your current abilities.”

Adam Levin

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp
University of San Diego School of Law

A go-to for entertainment labor and employment disputes, Levin in 2020 helped Fox and the producers of The Simpsons resolve a discrimination lawsuit brought by composer Alf Clausen, and advocated on behalf of Warner Bros. in a Big Bang Theory employment discrimination case that was dismissed in federal and state courts. He’s also representing The Voice’s production company in a suit brought by the American Federation of Musicians union.

How I start my workday “Smothered by my three little boys.”

How I end my workday “In a yoga class.”

The actor who’d play me “Jeff Goldblum”

Bianca Levin

Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman
Yale Law School

In addition to negotiating for tried- and-true players (Dwayne Johnson starring in and producing Amazon’s Red One) and keeping clients in dependable franchises (Martin Lawrence’s deal for Bad Boys 4), Levin also helped Bella Ramsey hammer out a deal for HBO’s The Last of Us, which has earned acclaim and higher ratings than even House of the Dragon.

How I start my workday “Reviewing my to do list.”

How I end my workday “Reviewing my to do list.”

Jared Levine

Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich & Gellman
Harvard Law School

It’s fitting that Levine represents Bill Lawrence and his production company, Doozer, as Levine’s brother- in-law was one of the therapists who loosely inspired Harrison Ford’s character on Lawrence’s Apple TV+ series Shrinking. His roster of high-profile clients also includes Jordan Peele (and his Monkeypaw Productions), who inked a five-year exclusivity pact with Universal. He also signed Squid Game helmer Hwang Dong-hyuk and the hit show’s production company.

The actor who’d play me “George Clooney”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Having confidence in one’s point of view, being able to take criticism, and developing the ability to balance both.”

Jamie Mandelbaum

Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein
NYU School of Law

For Mandelbaum, the sweetest part of the job is exceeding client expectations. “There’s more to get than they can even imagine,” he says. His client list includes Succession’s Brian Cox and Nicholas Braun, The Last of Us executive producer Carolyn Strauss, actor Nick Offerman and Marvel star Danai Gurira. Amid industry concern that the studios’ appetite for overalls may be waning, Mandelbaum notes, “When they need you, they continue to make the big deals.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Live your best life and don’t compare yourself to others.”

The actor who’d play me “Stanley Tucci”

Stacy Marcus

Reed Smith
St. John’s University School of Law

Advertisers and ad agencies who work on SAG-AFTRA-affiliated projects have Marcus to thank for keeping labor peace last year when she again served as chief negotiator for the industry on the union’s
$3 billion commercials pact. “We were able in 2022 to do really transformative things to the contract,” including implementing a new category for streaming use, says Marcus. “We were able to get this giant cargo ship pointed in the right direction.”

A rule that’s made to be broken “All of them. The industry thrives by adding seats to the table and eliminating the scarcity complex. There is no single ‘right’ way, and someone else’s victory is not always your defeat.”

The actor who’d play me “Anna Kendrick”

Steven Marenberg

Paul Hastings
University of Chicago School of Law

When COVID-19 safety protocols sparked lawsuits over exemption refusals and terminations, Disney turned to Marenberg to oversee all the litigation involving constitutional and employment law claims. He secured dismissal in November of some claims in a vaccine refusal discrimination suit filed by former 9-1-1 actor Rockmond Dunbar. He also rep- resents Pixar in a breach-of-contract case relating to Onward that raised novel issues concerning copyright preemption defenses.

I admire “Bob Iger because of his consistently successful leadership of Disney throughout times of dislocation in the entertainment industry.”

How I start my workday “Responding to emails that came in overnight.”

How I end my workday “Responding to emails that came in throughout the day.”

Kevin Masuda

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
Harvard Law School

Sports and media stars alike have Masuda on speed dial. He has quarterbacked the NFL in creating joint-venture production studio Skydance Sports, helped agency Klutch Sports score a sale to UTA, cheered Rachel Maddow on in establishing her production company and coached FM Media in the purchase of a stake in the Russo brothers’ AGBO. Plus, he has teamed with LeBron James on various transactions.

The actor who’d play me “Ke Huy Quan! Actually, I don’t need an Academy Award winner playing me, but I’m thrilled that Asian actors are being recognized in the industry.”

How I start my workday “Taking the dogs out so that they can do their ‘business.’”

How I end my workday “After a long day of dealing with my clients’ ‘business,’ I wind down with the same dogs, who help keep me grounded.”

David Matlof

Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof & Fishman
Berkeley Law

As filmmaker Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick was making history at the box office, Matlof helped strike a deal for Apple to acquire Kosinski’s untitled Formula One project starring Brad Pitt. Client Chris McKenna is writing the next Spider-Man movie, while showrunner Ben Watkins has completed the first season of Cross for Amazon, where he also has a Muhammad Ali miniseries brewing. Bill Skarsgard is in The Crow redux, while Jesse Plemons stars in HBO Max’s Love & Death. And writer Kate Trefry is working on the stage adaptation of Stranger Things.

How I start my workday “With a tennis workout.”

How I end my workday “I’m typically at home with my wife and teenage sons. We try to eat dinner together as often as possible.”

Joel McKuin

McKuin Frankel Whitehead
Harvard Law School

With a client roster that includes Kristen Stewart, Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo and Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley, McKuin has a very full plate. He recently extended Stewart’s deal as spokesperson for Chanel after her Oscar nomination for Spencer. He also closed a deal for Matarazzo to appear in Broadway’s current revival of Sweeney Todd and helped secure a new term deal with FX for Hawley as the showrunner preps the network’s massive Alien TV series.

How I start my workday “6 a.m. emails, followed by readying two kids for school.”

How I end my workday “A gin martini with my wife, Sherry.”

The actor who’d play me “Justin Timberlake, of course!”

Liz McNamara

Davis Wright Tremaine
UNC School of Law

When there’s a high-profile defamation case lodged against a media or entertainment firm, or a critical copyright suit that could impact the industry at large, McNamara is likely in the courtroom. After successfully defending Showtime in the defamation suit brought by former Alabama judge Roy Moore over Who Is America?, she’s representing Simon & Schuster and Bob Woodward in a case brought by Donald Trump over recorded interviews the former president gave for Woodward’s book.

A rule that’s made to be broken “Win at all costs. One wants to win, but not at all costs.”

How I end my workday “I take my dog for a walk.”

John Meigs Jr.

Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush Kaller Gellman Meigs & Fox
Harvard Law School

Meigs kept his clients booked and busy this year, with deals that included locking Winston Duke in
as co-star in The Fall Guy, securing Kaley Cuoco as lead and EP for Peacock comedy Based on a True Story, negotiating a new overall deal (and a new acting deal) for Dave Burd as co-creator/EP of FX’s Dave, setting Betty Gilpin as the lead for Peacock’s Mrs. Davis and co-lead of Netflix’s American Primeval, and closing Sherri Shepherd’s deal for her daytime syndicated talk show Sherri.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Creating your own narrative.”

How I start my workday “By waking up.”

How I end my workday “By going to sleep.”

Darrell Miller

Fox Rothschild
Georgetown Law

After celebrating the success of his longtime client Angela Bassett for her Black Panther: Wakanda Forever awards season run, Miller was met with the unexpected: becoming a viral meme. When client Lala Kent took to Instagram and directed that all legal documents be sent to her lawyer, “Send it to Darrell” spread like wildfire. “I don’t think I could have paid for better marketing,” quips the lawyer, who also represents Moses Ingram, Taylor Tomlinson and Ludacris. Ahead of potential labor union strikes across the industry, his game plan is to accelerate the ability to do work (“Take everything we can!”) before deals come to a halt. 

I admire “Sidney Poitier because of his story, his struggle, his path. We lost a giant.”

The actor who’d play me “Courtney B. Vance”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Longevity. Thinking long term and not short term.”

Amy Nickin

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz
Wayne Law

After helping Blumhouse scare up the first bona fide hit of 2023 with M3GAN, Nickin negotiated the deal to have star and EP Allison Williams upped to producer on the sequel, M3GAN 2.0, using “an extensive financial modeling exercise.” Her clients also include Ian Brennan, co-creator of Netflix dramas The Watcher and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and Melissa Benoist, whose company landed an overall deal with Warner Bros. TV.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Hopefully not ChatGPT.”

The actor who’d play me “Jennifer Garner.”

Robert Offer

Sloane Offer Weber & Dern
UCLA School of Law

New clients include Where the Crawdads Sing breakout actress Daisy Edgar-Jones, who has signed on for her first studio tentpole, Universal’s Twisters, and David Harbour, who will star in Marvel’s Thunderbolts. Adam Driver has Michael Mann’s Ferrari and Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis in post, while Ryan Gosling stars opposite Margot Robbie in Warner Bros.’ high-profile summer pic Barbie. Other clients include creator Mike White of White Lotus fame, Tom Holland and Gal Gadot.

The actor who’d play me “Steve Guttenberg”

I admire “Bob Iger because he has a great long game, short game, is accessible and visionary, and looks as good in his workout outfit as he does in his suit.”

Rick Offsay

Latham & Watkins
Harvard Law School

French production powerhouse Mediawan made a splash with a majority investment in Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, as did David Ellison’s Skydance when it raised $400 million from private equity giant KKR and the Ellison family. In both, Offsay used his expertise in bringing together financial and strategic partners in complex deals. His clients have also included MGM, Silver Lake and Endeavor.

How I start my workday “Unsubscribing from junk email received overnight.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Remembering that you will work with everyone again on another deal.”

Anthony Oncidi

Proskauer
University of Chicago School of Law

A trusted adviser to companies like Live Nation Entertainment, CAA and Fandango Media, Oncidi works on matters that are “an exception to the rule that all publicity is good” and remain confidential, he notes. Nevertheless, it is public that Oncidi serves as the Grammy organization’s lead counsel for employment issues and recently helped conclude a dis- crimination and harassment case for NBCUniversal and Fandango Media.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Not to take yourself too seriously and show some humanity!  I’ve been listening to The Mike Wallace Interview on SiriusXM. It’s spectacular. The show was originally televised between 1957-60 and hasn’t been seen or heard again since then until now. In his inimitable style, Wallace grilled everyone from Rod Serling and Kirk Douglas to Ayn Rand and Eleanor Roosevelt. Those who showed some humanity and humility uniformly came off the best!”

The actor who’d play me “Keanu Reeves — $39,000 per word for John Wick: Chapter 4!

Danny Passman

Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman
UCLA School of Law

Despite a dip in the documentary market, Passman secured a $30 million doc deal for Elton John and represents Daniel Roher, director of Oscar-winning Navalny. “I’d like to think that’s still out there,” he says of future opportunities. Prospects may hinge on the pend- ing writers strike, which could lead “networks and distributors [to look] for more premium [doc] content.” He also represents Emma Corrin, Camila Cabello and Heidi Klum.

How I start my workday “Cappuccino.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “To understand that the industry is always changing. Trends change, and processes change. You can’t expect to succeed doing tomorrow what you did yesterday.”

Jodi Peikoff

Peikoff Mahan
Cardozo School of Law

It was an exciting awards season for Peikoff and her client Charlotte Wells, whose film Aftersun won multiple trophies and saw its star, Paul Mescal, nominated for his first Academy Award. Peikoff also helped a number of her clients, including Adrienne Warren, America Ferrera, Tilda Swinton and Sophie Okonedo branch out into producing.

A rule that’s made to be broken “It is not ‘show friends,’ it’s show business. I have been lucky enough to have many, many show ‘business’ colleagues, competitors, mentors and mentees become close and valued friends.”

The actor who’d play me “Mark Rylance, because his range is insane! (And he makes even the most flawed characters compelling).”

Marvin Putnam

Latham & Watkins
Georgetown Law School

The work Putnam is most proud of is done quietly, but some cases do make headlines. Most recently, he signed on to defend Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen and Larry David in the lawsuit over their endorsements of the crypto exchange FTX. It’s part of a larger story about the new publicity-related challenges famous people face in a digital age. Says Putnam, “There’s a need to reassess and relook at what it means to have publicity rights in this age of social media, and how do you protect them?”

The actor who’d play me “Quentin Tarantino because he looks like me, or I look like him.”

 I admire “My wife Keri Putnam. She’s kind of jumpstarted and changed the dialogue on women in film, and women in the industry, to great effect.”

Ken Richman

Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush Kaller Gellman Meigs & Fox
Harvard Law School

Richman’s clients are working in the streaming space more than ever before, which requires navigating “short orders, and often fewer sea- sons.” Last year, he secured Elisabeth Moss’ deal for the final season of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Richman, whose clients include Will Forte and Mike Schur, also worked with partner Adam Kaller on the deal for Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley to direct Paramount’s recently premiered Dungeons & Dragons movie.

How I start my workday “Reading the trades.”

How I end my workday “Catching up on emails at night.” 

The key to success in Hollywood is… “Positivity and working with people who you love and admire.”

Nancy Rose

Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham
GW Law

In addition to representing Sara Bareilles, Tony Kushner, Stephen Schwartz and Lorne Michaels (on his stage ventures), Rose has sup- ported client Lin-Manuel Miranda’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives by working on the Miranda Family Fellowship Program, which assists emerging artists from communities that are historically underrepresented, and his inclusion rider contract negotiations.

How I start my workday “A power walk in Central Park.”

How I end my workday “Tito’s and soda with a splash of cran.”

I admire “Sarah Polley for her brave film Women Talking. If everyone saw this film, the world would be a better place.”

Bobby Rosenbloum

Greenberg Traurig
Harvard Law School

Rosenbloum is one of the industry’s go-to attorneys for digital music licensing deals. Clients include
Meta, Snap, Audible, Twitch and Epic Games, which he represents on all global music licensing matters. For Meta, Rosenbloum negotiated the 2022 licensing renewals that allow creators a cut of the revenue from using licensed music on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

A rule that’s made to be broken “Never get too excited at concerts.”

I admire “Bob Iger because he re-energized the strongest and most iconic brand in entertainment, and is now back to do so for a second time.” 

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Forging lasting relationships, and making sure to respect people at all levels of the industry, as the younger people today may be running the company tomorrow!”

Mathew Rosengart

Greenberg Traurig
Boston College Law School

High-profile clients from Steven Spielberg to Lena Dunham turn to Rosengart on bet-their-career cases, though he often advises them to not be overly aggressive. “Sometimes the best litigation advice is to avoid litigation,” he says. “A significant part of my practice for A-list talent includes counseling. They call me for ‘out of the box’ thinking and creativity, and when necessary, a ‘take no prisoners’ approach to litigation.” He continues to represent Britney Spears, whom he liberated from a long-standing conservatorship, as well as Meta, Keanu Reeves and Michael Bay.

The actor who’d play me “Jon Bernthal”

Gretchen Rush

Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush Kaller Gellman Meigs & Fox
UCLA School of Law

As Reese Witherspoon continues her Hollywood blitz with her Hello Sunshine banner, Rush is negotiating everything from book-to-screen deals to Witherspoon’s co-starring turn with Will Ferrell in Nick Stoller’s wedding comedy You’re Cordially Invited. Elsewhere, Rush, who counts Ellen Pompeo and Jennifer Lawrence as clients, is keeping Rawson Thurber in the Netflix business, shepherding deals for Red Notice 2 and 3, as well as a Voltron movie.

I admire “My law partner (and client) Steve Warren because he and his partner Johnnie Ingram co-created the Emmy award winning show We’re Here for HBO, which is literally changing peoples’ lives through the art of drag.”

How I start my workday “Walking the dogs and talking to clients.” 

How I end my workday “Walking the dogs and talking to clients.”

Faiza Saeed

Cravath Swaine & Moore
Harvard Law School

Cravath’s presiding partner, Saeed is a master of high-stakes M&A and corporate governance battles whose recent highlights include representing Disney in its successful proxy contest against activist investor Nelson Peltz and Hasbro in its similar boardroom showdown against Alta Fox Capital Management.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Being able to see the next thing while everyone is copying the current thing.”

Kelli Sager

Davis Wright Tremaine
University of Utah College of Law

In a year chock-full of free speech and libel cases, Sager has kept busy rep- resenting the likes of ABC, TMZ, The Athletic and the Los Angeles Times, in the latter case convincing the California Supreme Court to order the State Bar to disclose records about its handling of complaints made against disgraced lawyer Thomas Girardi.

The actor who’d play me “Sally Field. When I showed up for law school registration, with my hair in two ponytails, one of my soon-to-be classmates said loudly, ‘Oh, look!  Gidget goes to law school!’  The nickname stuck for most of my first year of law school, so I’ve always felt a certain affinity for her.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “There’s no substitute for hard work. There isn’t one ‘key’ that will guarantee success — a lot of people who work very hard may not achieve their goals — but when I look around at the people who have been successful, the one trait that virtually all of them share is that they work hard and strive to do their best work every time, whatever their particular job may be.”

Neema Sahni

Covington & Burling
Harvard Law School

Sahni’s team notched a big win for the NFL and 31 of its member clubs, defeating a lawsuit over the Chargers’ relocation from San Diego to Los Angeles. In addition to leading the charge for the major music labels taking on internet service providers over piracy, Sahni also successfully defended Paramount Global in a franchise fee dispute and is representing the Pac-12 Network in a breach-of- contract suit against DISH Network.

How I start my workday “Coffee and Peloton.”

How I end my workday “Reading bedtime stories to my 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Not to take yourself too seriously, and to look for ways to support others in their careers. It not only makes for a more fulfilling professional experience, but it also pays dividends in an industry that can be relationship-driven.”

Michael Schenkman

Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher
Berkeley Law

Schenkman’s year was marked by striking a balance between his practice and giving back. He handled Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s Amazon overall, Oppenheimer deals for Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, Javier Bardem’s deal for Dune: Part Two and Michael Waldron’s new overall at Disney/ Marvel — while also hitting $10 million raised for the GOFARR Fund at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Not taking yourself too seriously.”

How I start my workday “Peloton.”

How I end my workday “Pickleball.”

P.J. Shapiro

Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole
USC Gould School of Law

John Cena, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mindy Kaling are among the clients who look to Shapiro to negoti- ate an overall deal or a starring role in a franchise feature. When asked about the challenges of working within the Hollywood ecosystem, Shapiro lists the potential strike, a difficult macroeconomic climate and the continued lack of transparency on content performance metrics. He adds, “Also, I really wish there was a Chipotle near my office — that’s been challenging.”

The actor who’d play me “John Cena, Andy Samberg, or maybe both.”

How I start my workday “Early morning wakeup, an hour of reading the news and catching up on work, a swim workout, and the workday begins.” 

How I end my workday “Watching one of my favorite TV shows with my kids followed by a bedtime story on the Calm app.”

Nina Shaw

Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang
Columbia Law School

The doyenne of entertainment law simultaneously shepherds deals for legends (James Earl Jones) and up-and-comers like The Bear breakout Ayo Edebiri and Kelvin Harrison Jr. She helped negotiate Ava DuVernay’s latest directing effort, Caste, and set Rick Famuyiwa’s return to the world of The Mandalorian, where he landed as both as a director and executive producer on the series’ third season.

Lawrence Shire

Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks
GW Law

Shire heads the new media, motion picture, TV, theater and sports group, where clients include LeBron James, Spike Lee, Robert De Niro and the New England Patriots. He repped Warner Bros. Discovery in negotiating executive deals with Michael De Luca and Toby Emmerich, as well as a deal among Apple, Imagine Films and the Patriots for a 10-part docuseries on the team’s Super Bowl wins.

How I start my workday “I walk 2 miles from the Upper West Side to my office next to Carnegie Hall on 57th Street.”

How I end my workday “Same as above, but in reverse.”

Amy Siegel

O’Melveny & Myers
Loyola Law School

Siegel made waves representing Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM in acquiring an 80 percent stake of Endeavor Content for $850 million. Her team also helped Disney and Marvel Studios in a 20-year licensing deal to use the name and likeness of late Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee. Elsewhere, she advised streamer Fubo in a first-look deal with Ryan Reynolds’ production company Maximum Effort for unscripted con- tent and inked a deal for Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment to release Batman-based NFT collections.

I admire “Oprah”

How I end my workday “Straight into mom-life.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Cherish good relationships with good people.”

Gregory Slewett

Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole
Cardozo Law School

Slewett negotiates buzzy deals for hot Hollywood talent including Florence Pugh (Dune: Part Two, Thunderbolts) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Wonder-Man, Topdog/ Underdog). Clients Regé-Jean Page and Glen Powell will team up to produce and star in the Butch & Sundance series for Amazon, and Michael B. Jordan bought an owner- ship stake in Premier League team AFC Bournemouth. Slewett says it’s fun having ambitious entrepreneurial clients because they throw you deals “outside your strike zone.”

A rule that’s made to be broken “Never work on a vacation.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Staying positive.”

Jason Sloane

Sloane Offer Weber & Dern
UCLA School of Law

Sloane thought his days of negotiating deals for Hugh Jackman to play Wolverine ended with Logan, but “it was a nice surprise” to make one more as the actor reprises his role in Deadpool 3. The lawyer, who in 2022 celebrated his 35th year of practicing and his firm’s 20th anniversary, also enjoyed building out the Terminal List universe for executive producer Chris Pratt, with deals for season two of the original series and a spinoff.

The actor who’d play me “Harry Styles”

Mitch Smelkinson

Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher
Loyola Law School

Several of Smelkinson’s clients are prioritizing projects based on quality material that’s earning them acclaim instead of chasing a big blockbuster payday. Client Hong Chau was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress for The Whale a year after fellow client Sian Heder’s CODA won the Oscar for best picture and Anthony Hopkins won best actor for The Father. Jesse Tyler Ferguson took a break from TV to star in Broadway’s Take Me Out, for which he won a Tony, and Oscar Isaac earned an Emmy nomination for HBO’s Scenes From a Marriage.

The actor who’d play me “Is in need of new representation.”

How I end my workday “Wishing my teenage daughters good night to their annoyance while I interrupt their precious FaceTiming with friends.”

Cheryl Snow

Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman
UCLA School of Law

Client Kerry Condon’s Oscar nod for The Banshees of Inisherin was the cherry on top of Snow’s past year. The lawyer, whose roster includes Melissa Rauch (Night Court), Busy Philipps (Girls5Eva), Daniel Dae Kim (Butterfly) and Robert Zemeckis (Here), also was busy with negotiations for Ben Stiller, who landed two major commercial deals (Pepsi and PlayStation) along with his directing gig for Apple TV+’s Severance.

A rule that’s made to be broken “1 p.m. lunches; a 12:30 seating is underrated.”

How I start my workday “Aspirationally, meditating; realistically, answering emails from bed.”

Orin Snyder

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
Penn Law

Snyder continues to defend AMC Network in long-running litigation over profits from The Walking Dead. He quips, “It does resemble the show because the litigation seems to never die.” Other high-profile clients include Bob Dylan, Big Fish Entertainment, Pinterest and MGM, for which he resolved a dispute with Starz Entertainment over exclusivity agreements for its library.

I admire “Lady Gaga because of her authenticity and commitment to mental health wellness.”

The actor who’d play me “Bruce Willis”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “Don’t trust anyone.”

Christopher Spicer

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
Georgetown Law

Putting his slate financing acumen to bankable effect, Spicer advised FilmNation on its launch of production label Infrared, which focuses on projects with franchise potential, and secured financing for the Keanu Reeves-led John Wick: Chapter 4, just as his firm did for the first three films. “It’s been awesome to be a small part of the creation of the exciting John Wick universe,” he says. Other clients include XYZ Films, Fifth Season, JPMorgan and East West Bank.

How I start my workday “Usually at the breakfast table multi-tasking while trying to feed my 6-year old.”

How I end my workday “I don’t understand the question.”

The actor who’d play me “Freddie Prinze Jr.”

Eric Suddleson

Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson
Yale Law School

“In a perfect world, I would have been a writer,” says Suddleson, which means he finds helping clients “realize their creative passions incredibly rewarding.” Recent highlights include negotiating Julie Plec’s overall at Universal TV, Brendan Fraser’s deal for The Whale and Gary Dauberman’s writing and directing deals on Salem’s Lot. He also advises Jeremy Renner, Greta Gerwig and Orlando Bloom.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Developing and maintaining strong relationships. The entertainment industry is not a one-transaction town. We’re constantly working across the table from people. It’s important that the relationship with the person on the other end is strong.”

I admire “My father, Ken Suddleson, a longtime entertainment attorney. He set an incredible example for me growing up of the importance of maintaining your integrity.”

Matthew Thompson

Sidley Austin
UC College of the Law, San Francisco

Comedy became serious business for Thompson when Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco podcast company sold to SiriusXM for $150 million in May. The lawyer also advised Mark Burnett in his dealings with MGM after its $8.45 billion sale to Amazon, and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in their joint venture with Redbird to launch Artists Equity ahead of their movie Air launching on Amazon Prime Video. Elsewhere, Thompson closed a deal for Warner Music Group to acquire the recorded music catalog for the rock band Yes.

A rule that’s made to be broken “Always make the ‘safe bet’ movie.”

How I start my workday “Coffee. Always.”

How I end my workday “Glass of wine. Often.”

Fred Toczek

Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson
USC Gould School of Law

Satirical thriller The Menu starred two of Toczek’s clients: Nicholas Hoult (up next in Renfield) and Anya Taylor-Joy, who has Furiosa and The Gorge in the works and stars in The Super Mario Bros. Movie alongside Seth Rogen (also a client). Even though a strike looms, Toczek remains optimistic. “There will be some corrections, but we will get through it,” he says. “The business is and will remain strong.”

How I start my workday “Walking my dogs.”

How I end my workday “Walking my dogs.”

An industry rule that’s made to be broken “This is our ‘best and final’ offer.”

Darren Trattner

Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein
Berkeley Law

Trattner inks deals for established filmmaking talents like director Hiro Murai (Atlanta) and up-and-comers like Chloe Dumont, whose film debut, Fair Play, was one of the biggest sales at this year’s Sundance. Elsewhere, he negotiated Sigourney Weaver’s return to Pandora for the Avatar films, Karen Gillan’s final Guardians of the Galaxy tour, and Brian Tyree Henry’s post-Oscars nomination slate including Ridley Scott’s Apple TV+ series Sinking Spring.

How I start my workday “Hopefully with a walk.”

How I end my workday “Hopefully with a walk.”

Seth Traxler

Kirkland & Ellis
Northwestern Law

What do recent deals involving Kevin Hart, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber and Snoop Dogg have in common? The insight of a specialist in complex and strategic transactions focused around technology. Traxler worked with Abry Partners on its $100 million investment in Hartbeat and Cosm on its NBA immersive viewing partner- ship. On the music side, Traxler supported MNRK on the Death Row Records sale to Snoop, Blackstone on its deal with Hipgnosis and the latter’s deals for the two Justins’ catalogs.

The actor who’d play me “I would have thought Zach Galifianakis, but my wife says Bradley Cooper.”

How I start my workday “Meditating.”

Steve Warren

Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush Kaller Gellman Meigs & Fox
Harvard Law School

The highly anticipated Killers of the Flower Moon, which will premiere at Cannes, is led and directed by Warren’s clients Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese. Meanwhile, Millie Bobby Brown just wrapped big- ticket Netflix film The Electric State, while Jessica Chastain is performing on Broadway in A Doll’s House and will lead the Apple TV+ limited series The Savant. The success of The Drew Barrymore Show is another highlight for Warren, who says, “Drew has taken that format and is breathing new life into it.” After winning two Emmys for We’re Here, Warren and his partner Johnnie Ingram are about to launch their second show: An HBO Max rom-doc called Swiping America, which premieres in June.

The actor who’d play me “My client Rupert Friend, who does an amazingly accurate and hilarious impression of me.”

David Weber

Sloane Offer Weber & Dern
USC Gould School of Law

Ryan Reynolds will begin shooting Deadpool 3 in the next two months, while Weber also sealed a deal for Joaquin Phoenix to return to DC in Joker: Folie à Deux. He has five clients in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer — Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett and Dane DeHaan — while Andrew Garfield is eyeing Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. Weber also signed Austin Butler just before Elvis bowed at last year’s Cannes. Says Weber, “He was obviously a hotly contested client to try to sign, so it is very exciting.” And James Gray has just closed a deal to direct the Depression-era ghost story Ezekiel Moss for Focus Features.

How I start my workday “With the prayer that nothing bad happened overnight and a glass of water … Then I check my iPhone.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “To trust yourself to understand your role in the job at hand and to consciously try to deal respectfully with everyone without sacrificing your position or principles.”

Michael Weinsten

Lavely & Singer
GW Law

When Paris Hilton was sued for copyright infringement over posting a photo of herself online, Weinsten took the offensive. He found that the photographer was marketing the images of Hilton on her website using his longtime client’s trademarks and promptly countersued for millions. “It’s about time someone stood up against these bogus lawsuits,” says Weinsten, whose other clients include Charlamagne Tha God, YouTube star Mr. Beast and Scarlett Johansson.

A rule that’s made to be broken “Don’t text in the movie theater.”

How I start my workday “Kissing my wife.”

How I end my workday “Kissing my dog.”

Bryan Wolf

Ziffren Brittenham
Columbia Law School

Wolf specializes in navigating the intersection between creativity and deal structures, whether on the corporate side — restructuring Media Res (The Morning Show) to return full control to founder Michael Ellenberg, and negotiating Skydance Media’s shift from Paramount to Apple in a first-look feature deal (The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Ghosted) — or for individual clients, like the comprehensive first-look arrangement covering films, series and direct-to-streaming content he set up for Judd Apatow with Comcast/NBCUniversal.

Ashley Yeargan

Russ August & Kabat
Stanford Law School

When Yeargan’s hotline blings, it can only mean one thing: Drake needs his lawyer. She defended him in a trademark infringement suit, which settled in February, filed by Condé Nast over a spoof Vogue magazine cover made as part of a series of parodies to pro- mote his latest album (with 21 Savage) and continues to oversee his defense in more than 150 lawsuits arising from his appearance at the deadly Astroworld concert. She also resolved a trademark infringement case for Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila.

The actor who’d play me “Reese Witherspoon”

How I start my workday “Quick catch-up on news with coffee and a pastry.”

How I end my workday “Walk with my dog.”

Sophia Yen

Manatt Phelps & Phillips
Boston University School of Law

Yen led the Manatt team that advised on the merger of two of Kevin Hart’s companies to form Hartbeat and in its $100 million capital raise as the comedy superstar’s media empire expanded. On the movie financing front, Yen advised MS Participations and Ley Line Entertainment and helped indie producer Wavelength Productions grow its film, TV and digital content slate.

How I start my workday “Checking my emails.”

How I end my workday “With a glass of wine — while checking my emails.”

The actor who’d play me “I love that I actually have options these days!”

Kevin Yorn

Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich & Gellman
Tulane Law School

To paraphrase an old quote: Yorn doesn’t get out of bed unless a client is getting seven figures. He represents the two biggest female franchise stars of all time, Zoe Saldaña and Scarlett Johansson, with the former signing a 10-figure overall deal with Skydance while the latter is a star-slash-producer on Apple’s big-budget space race movie Project Artemis. Yorn’s roster also includes Jason Sudeikis, Jonah Hill and Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. The attorney, who has his finger on the pulse of Gen Z thanks to his daughter Sammi Yorn, who works at Vogue, also inked deals for TikTok stars Charli D’Amelio and Alix Earle. Yorn oversaw his firm’s move into a new office space that has generated buzz for being boldly forward-looking but also, along with his colleagues, mourned the loss of fellow partner Ashley Nissenberg.

The key to success in Hollywood is … “Listening deeply to others. It’s not what you say, but what you don’t say sometimes that makes the difference.”

I admire “David Krintzman because of his discipline, temperance and bold thinking.”

The actor who’d play me “Keanu Reeves.”

Julian Zajfen

Ziffren Brittenham
Stanford Law School

Major deals were on The Menu for Zajfen, who represents director Mark Mylod, as well as the Chadwick Boseman estate in regard to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Hayley Atwell for her roles in both the MCU and in the Mission: Impossible franchise, and Ncuti Gatwa, who’s taking on the role of Dr. Who. He also continues to advise top firm clients including Dick Wolf and Ed Harris.

I admire “Arnold Schwarzenegger. I think he might be arguably the most successful person in modern history. What I mean by that is: I defy you to find somebody who has reached the absolute pinnacle in three completely competitive careers: The greatest bodybuilder of all time, arguably the biggest action movie star of all time, and then the Governor of California. Any one of those three things is a lifetime of achievement for any normal human being. And most people never come anywhere close to the pinnacle of any of those three disciplines.”

The key to success in Hollywood is … “I think everyone needs to have core competency. You have to be smart, organized, and you have to be motivated. But I think what differentiates people and gives some people a real leg-up is a fantastic personality.”

Susan Zuckerman Williams

Paul Hastings
USC Gould School of Law

Zuckerman Williams is a go-to when you need a creative problem-solver for an especially complex capital transaction. She recently represented 777 Partners in the financing of The Najafi Cos.’ acquisition of STX Entertainment, Black Bear Pictures in the launch of its international distribution and sales operations, and Vine Alternative investments in rights acquisition and library licensing deals.

How I start my workday “Hot Starbucks blonde latte light foam.”

How I end my workday “Iced Decaf Starbucks blonde latte light foam.”

The actor who’d play me “Anne Hathaway”

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Profiles written by Patrick Brzeski, J. Clara Chan, Pamela Chelin, Winston Cho, Kirsten Chuba, Aaron Couch, Mia Galuppo, Chris Gardner, Caitlin Huston, Katie Kilkenny, Borys Kit, Pamela McClintock, Sydney Odman, Phil Pirrello, Scott Roxborough, Georg Szalai, Rebecca Sun, Etan Vlessing and Alex Weprin.

A version of this story first appeared in the April issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.