This week's guest is Scot Cru, who works as an independent international television and media consultant and previously served as Executive Vice President of Global Formats and Unscripted Content at MGM Studios. In this role, Scot was responsible for the distribution of MGM formats worldwide and launched MGM UK. Before that, Scot worked as Executive Vice President of International for Mark Burnett Productions for fifteen years. In that time, Scot oversaw distribution and international production of United Artists Media Group shows and formats, including The Apprentice, The Bible, and Are you Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? In this position, Cru was responsible for the creation of international UAMG affiliate production companies, which have included those in France, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Scot Cru visited UT on February 20, 2024 and spoke with students taking a class on unscripted media. The conversation was Co- hosted by Dr. Alisa Perren and Brian Edwards, who worked with Scot at United Artists Media Group and served as co-instructor for the course. They discussed Scot's career trajectory, the nuances of global distribution, and the nature of unscripted media production.

Scot Cru, Independent International Television & Media Consultant

This week, we're taking a look back at an MIC session with Elaine Frontain Bryant from Fall 2022. Elaine is Executive Vice President and Head of Programming at A&E Network, where she manages the A&E programming team and is responsible for overseeing the development, creation and execution of all programming for the network. In this role, Elaine won Emmy awards for launching the groundbreaking series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, as well as The Day I Picked My Parents. Shortly after this conversation, Elaine added the Lifetime and LMN networks to her purview as well. Elaine previously held positions at the History Channel and Magna Global Entertainment, and she is a graduate of Texas Christian University. 

Elaine Frontain Bryant spoke to UT students on November 7, 2022 over zoom and was hosted by Dr. Alisa Perren. In 2022, industry leaders were focused on streaming returns, mergers and acquisition, and were just beginning to consider the possible impacts of AI. This MIC session focuses on Elaine's career trajectory, the scope of her work at A&E, and the trends and issues within the production of unscripted media.

Elaine Frontain Bryant - EVP and Head of Programming at A&E - Nov. 7, 2022

This week's guest is Andrew Wang. Andrew Wang is Head of TV, Development & Production at JuVee Productions, a production company founded by Viola Davis and Julius Tenon that emphasizes artist driven projects from a diverse range of new and established voices. At JuVee, Andrew guides projects through all stages of the development process, seeing a title through from the early days of its conception to its premiere. Before joining the JuVee team in 2016, Andrew introduced scripted programming to the Bravo Network. He additionally worked in development at Alloy Entertainment on projects such as The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, and Pretty Little Liars. Andrew is a graduate of the RTF department right here at UT Austin. 


Andrew Wang spoke with students on October 3, 2022, at a time when Hollywood was focused on the high demand for streaming original content, a rise in mergers and acquisitions, and the possible impacts of early AI developments. The conversation was hosted by Dr. Alisa Perren, and focused of Andrew's career trajectory, the scope of his work in development at JuVee, and the process involved in guiding a project from script to screen.

MIC: Andrew Wang, Head of TV, Development, and Production

This week's guest is Brent Weinstein, Chief Development Officer of Candle Media. At Candle, Brent oversees brands like Moonbug, Faraway Road Productions, and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. Before joining Candle Media, Brent worked at United Talent Agency, one of Hollywood’s largest and most influential agencies, for nearly 20 years. During his time at UTA, Brent served as Partner and Chief Innovation Officer, where he led the company’s entry into the Digital Talent business, and managed its Live Events, Podcasting, Ventures, Heartland and Web3 divisions. Brent graduated with his BA from USC, and earned his Law degree from the University of San Diego.

Brent Weinstein visited UT on October 24, 2024 and spoke with students taking Dr. Alisa Perren's Business of Hollywood class. The conversation was hosted by Dr. Perren, and they discussed Brent's career trajectory, the impact of his work at UTA and Candle Media, and his views on the current state of the media industries.

Brent Weinstein - Chief Development Officer at Candle Media - Oct. 21, 2024

This week’s guest is Colby Gaines, who is the Founder of Back Roads Entertainment. Colby, who produces unscripted series in his home state of Texas after 20 years in NYC, is an Emmy nominated executive producer and one of the top storytellers in unscripted entertainment. He’s well known for having co created cable’s longest-running hit show, Pawn Stars. He’s managed large teams and a variety of C-suite partners and famous personalities, developing, producing and distributing thousands of hours of content for television, brands and fortune 500 companies.

Colby Gaines spoke to UT students on October 28th, 2024 and the conversation was hosted by Dr. Alisa Perren. They discussed his career trajectory, the nature of unscripted production, and the landscape of the Hollywood marketplace that studios must navigate.

This episode of the MIC podcast is part of a series on the media-makers working right here in Texas. We’ll speak with more of the organizations and filmmakers that are creating around the state throughout this semester, so stay tuned for more!  


Colby Gaines - Founder of Back Roads Entertainment - Oct. 28, 2024

This week's MIC podcast features a panel on Entertainment Law with attorneys PJ Shapiro and Greg Slewett. Both Slewett and Shapiro are founding partners at Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett, and Kole LLP, which was established in 2021 with philanthropy, civic engagement, and inclusion as its core tenants. JSSK LLP represents some of Hollywood's most in-demand talent, including Donald Glover, Florence Pugh, Emma Stone and Adam McKay. PJ earned his Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from UCLA, and Greg graduated from our very own Radio-Television-Film department here at UT. 

PJ and Greg spoke to UT students on November 4, 2024 and the conversation was hosted by Dr. Alisa Perren. They discussed the scope of their work as entertainment lawyers, the evolving structures through which their clients can monetize media, and the impact of new developments in the industry, such as conglomeration and artificial intelligence. 


Entertainment Law Panel: PJ Shapiro and Greg Slewett - November 4, 2024

This week's guest is Elaine Frontain Bryant who is Executive Vice President and Head of Programming at A&E, Lifetime, and LMN. She manages the programming teams for all three networks and is responsible for overseeing the development, creation and execution of all programming.  Elaine has developed lots of groundbreaking unscripted programming, such as Storage Wars and Duck Dynasty, and her work on Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath garnered the show an Emmy.  Elaine previously held positions at the History Channel and Magna Global Entertainment, and she is a graduate of Texas Christian University. 

Elaine Frontain Bryant spoke to UT students on September 30, 2024 and the conversation was hosted by Dr. Alisa Perren. Their conversation focuses on Elaine's career trajectory, the challenges and opportunities that come from working in the industry during a period of contraction, and finding undeniable premises for unscripted shows.

Elaine Frontain Bryant - EVP and Head of Programming at A&E, Lifetime, and LMN - September 30, 2024

For this week’s MIC Podcast, we’re excited to present our conversation with Mark Shapiro, moderated by Dr. Alisa Perren and James Andrew Miller. For regular listeners of the MIC podcast, this episode will have a unique structure, as James Andrew Miller moderates the first half of the conversation and Alisa Perren moderates the second half.

Mark Shapiro is President and Chief Operating Officer of Endeavor and TKO.  Endeavor is a global sports and entertainment company, and the Endeavor network specializes in talent representation through the entertainment agency WME. Prior to joining Endeavor in 2014, Mark Shapiro was CEO of Dick Clark Productions, where he managed its day to day operations while also developing and producing programming for linear and digital media. Shapiro began his career at ESPN, where he earned 16 Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards in his role overseeing the production of sports and entertainment properties. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa.

James Andrew Miller, the co-moderator for this podcast, is an award winning journalist, media consultant, and author of five books including Live from New York: An Uncensored History of SNL and Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN. He got his start at the Washington Post, and has worked as a Senior Executive Producer of Anderson Cooper 360 and EVP of Original Programming for USA Network, among other positions. He got his bachelor’s from Occidental, a master’s from Oxford, and an MBA from Harvard. 

Mark Shapiro and James Andrew Miller spoke to UT students on February 10th, 2025. Mark discussed his career trajectory, the scope of his work in sports media, and his insights on building a career in a competitive field.

Mark Shapiro - President and COO, Endeavor and TKO

A short audio story about how plant-based eating is transforming student food culture in Austin, Texas — from campus cafeterias to BBQ joints.

🎧 Audio credits:
“birds_wind1” by mmiron – CC BY 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/mmiron/sounds/244198/
“ding kausha” by kausha – CC BY 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/kausha/sounds/475839/
“university campus downtown distant traffic and nearby students hanging out spanish + some people and groups walk by steps Cusco, Peru, South America” by kyles - CC BY 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/kyles/sounds/413951/
"ambience - restaurant" by soundtracvkradio - CC BY 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/soundtracvkradio/sounds/394678/

Shifting Palates in the Capital of BBQ

This week's MIC podcast features James Emmanuel Shapiro, who was President of US Distribution at XYZ films at the time of this recording. James Emanuel Shapiro is an entertainment executive veteran of twenty years and has been the COO of both Drafthouse Films and NEON, where he helped build both distribution companies from the ground up. He's worked on several academy award campaigns including Bullhead, The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence, and I, Tonya. He most recently started the analytics department and helped build the booking department at the Alamo Drafthouse. He's also active in the festival world, having worked with both Fantastic Fest and Beyond Fest and he occasionally writes about the entertainment industry for Birth, Movies, Death and The Bulwark. 

James spoke to UT students on December 9, 2024 and the conversation was hosted by Dr. Alisa Perren. He discussed the scope of his work as a distribution executive, the methods and strategies that distributors use when acquiring films, and the changing landscape of American exhibition and distribution. 


James Emmanuel Shapiro - Former President, US Distribution at XYZ Films

Conversations with professionals throughout the entertainment industry. Created as part of a course in the Department of Radio Television and Film in the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin. 

New tracks tagged #UT Austin