Raising Money

Anne Marie Gillen, CEO of Gillen Group, LLC is an independent Producer whose goal is to develop and produce commercially successful entertainment that expresses heart and enlightens the human experience. She is extensively experienced in motion picture and television development and has exceptional relationships with studios, international distributors, production and acting talent.

Presently Anne Marie’s film slate includes the recently released Cabin 14 Production Into Temptation starring Kristin Chenoweth and Jeremy Sisto; she is producing The Schwa Was Here based on the bestselling Young Adult novel written by Neal Shusterman; and developing and producing Charlie’s Place with director Thomas Carter (Save the Last Dance, Coach Carter, Swing Kids). In Fall 2010 Ms. Gillen released her first book – the 3rd edition of The Producer’s Business Handbook – through Focal Press and co-branded by Variety.

 

Ms. Gillen is a lecturer and panelist and gives workshop seminars for such organizations as:  International Institute of Film Financing (IIFF), Show Biz Expo, Screenwriters Expo, UCLA Film School, USC Film School, Chapman University, Act One Producer Program, Century City Chamber of Commerce Entertainment Symposiums, Independent Feature Project seminars in New York, Minneapolis and Cannes, France, California Lawyers for the Arts, Women In Film, and Playback.

 

From 2002 – May 2006, Anne Marie was consulting to Entertainment Business Group (EBG) as their President, Development & Production, an independent motion picture and television funding, global rights sales, research, analysis and business services entity.

 

From 1996 – 2001, Anne Marie was the Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Freeman’s company, Revelations Entertainment. She led the company in the strategic financing and distribution of Revelations’ projects. During her tenure, Revelations Entertainment produced Along Came the Spider for Paramount; developed Port Chicago Mutiny for NBC Network; and developed, independently financed and produced Under Suspicion starring Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman for Sony Premiere DVDs/Lions Gate.

 

Prior to her tenure at Revelations Entertainment, Anne Marie was co-founder and CEO of Electric Shadow Productions, and it’s Chair. Electric Shadow fully financed, and Anne Marie was the Executive Producer of its first feature, Fried Green Tomatoes which was released by Universal and starred Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy. This picture earned over $200 million worldwide and was nominated for two Academy Awards and three Golden Globes.

 

She came to Electric Shadow Productions from Hemdale Releasing Corporation where she was Vice President of Acquisitions and Ancillary Sales. During her tenure, Hemdale was one of the leading independent film companies producing such films as: Platoon winner of Best Picture and Best Director, Hoosiers, The Last Emperor winner of nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Screenplay.

Barbara Freedman Doyle has been active in film production and film education for more than 20 years. She began her film career at Creative Communications, in Boston, producing promotional films for non-profit clients and political campaigns, then moved to Los Angeles where she soon became the Assistant to the Senior VP of Worldwide Production at Tri-Star Pictures. During her five years at Tri-Star she was involved in the administration and organization of over forty feature films.

 

Barbara left Tri-Star to work in production on national commercial spots, music videos, network television movies, and feature films. She was Production Supervisor on television movies for the Disney Channel, NBC Productions, Hearst Entertainment, HBO, Showtime and Hallmark and worked on feature films for 20th Century Fox, Interscope, and Warner Brothers. She was Production Supervisor on the films "Two If By Sea" with Sandra Bullock and Denis Leary (Morgan Creek Productions), and "Lost and Found" with David Spade (Alcon Entertainment).

 

In 1999, Barbara became an Associate Dean at the prestigious American Film Institute. She left the AFI in 2002, and in 2003, while a Chair at Brooks Institute of Photography’s Motion Picture/Video program, she served as Line Producer on the BBC/Granada Television documentary, Martin Scorsese’s British Cinema.

 

Barbara joined the team at MPS Productions in 2003, as Line Producer of the Kaiser film project, On the Same Side. She produces and consults for the company on feature film and documentary projects, and is currently on the faculty at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. She is a frequent guest lecturer at colleges and universities specializing in film studies, and is working on her first book, Surviving the Business and Politics of Making Your Feature Film-the Answer Book For First-Time Filmmakers.

 

Levison is President of Business Strategies (moviemoney.com), a consulting firm in Sherman Oaks, California, specializing in business plan packaging and venture capital financing. She is the author of the best seller Filmmakers and Financing. Ms. Levison is a visiting lecturer in the Department of Entertainment Studies of the Extension Program at UCLA and is publisher and editor of The Film Entrepreneur newsletter. She regularly conducts workshops on financing for organizations and at film festivals. Levison holds an M.B.A. in finance.

Ricky joined Future Films USA, the Los Angeles-based branch of the film and production company Future Films, in 2007 initially as a Production Executive, and is currently the company's Vice President. His responsibilities include overseeing both the financing and production of projects, both in-house and with external producing partners. Ricky has been involved in a number of the company's high-profile films over the last few years, including CRACKS (starring Eva Green), VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE (starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Melissa Leo), and LAST PASSENGER (starring Dougray Scott). Additionally, he has been involved in the construction and financing of a number of investments covering elements such as pre-sales and Gap financing, as well as the cash-flowing of tax incentives in various states including New York and Louisiana. He is frequently invited to speak at film panels and events, and has been a member of the jury for the Woods Hole Film Festival for the past two years.
 
Prior to joining Future Films USA, Ricky worked for nearly three years at Filmax International in Barcelona, Spain, one of the country's leading audiovisual companies, where he spearheaded various marketing campaigns in the international sales divison. As part of a European "mini-studio", he gained etensive experience working directly with producers, directors, writers, talent, agents and financiers across the world, as well as attending markets including Cannes, the AFM, Berlin, MIPCOM and MIPTV, where Ricky was involved in the packaging and marketing of high-profile films such as FRAGILE (starring Calista Flockhart), THE KOVAK BOX (starring Timothy Hutton) and THE BACKWOODS (starring Gary Oldman).
 
Ricky's first experiences in film production came at the age of 17 when he worked on the set of hit British comedy WAKING NED DEVINE, which was followed by further on-set and post-production experience on several projects.
 
Aside from films, Ricky has spent time working in Germany for sportswear giant adidas, and also as a teacher in northern France.
 
Ricky holds a Bachelor's Degree (with honours) from the University of Leeds in English and French, and a Masters Degree from the University of Manchester in Modern European Cinema. He is fluent in English, French, Spanish and German.