• By Mabel Pais

New Jersey – has become a hotbed of TV and film production – where moving pictures were invented. And now, it’s where more and more film and television projects are produced every day. This is thanks to a welcoming tax credit environment for content creators and studios, and the streaming industry’s appetite for more product.

NJPAC, at the next Business Partners Roundtable at 8:30 AM on December 10 will welcome Tom Bernard, Co-President and Co-Founder of Sony Pictures Classics, Jon Crowley, Executive Director of the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission, Desiree Hadley, Director of the Newark Office of Film and Television and Katherine Oliver, Principal, Bloomberg Associates, to discuss the industry’s growth in the Garden State. NJPAC President and CEO John Schreiber will moderate this conversation!

PANELISTS

Tom Bernard

As Co-President and Co-Founder of Sony Pictures Classics, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022, Tom Bernard (with Michael Barker) has distributed some of the finest independent movies. Previously, he was the director of the first modern-day specialized distribution company, United Artists (1980-1983), and went on to co-found Orion Classics (1983-1991) and Sony Pictures Classics.

Over the span of his career, Bernard has released prestigious films that have won 41 Academy Awards® (37 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 187 Academy Award® nominations (161 at Sony Pictures Classics), including Best Picture nominations for ‘The Father,’ ‘Call Me By Your Name,’ ‘Whiplash,’ ‘Amour,’ ‘Midnight In Paris,’ ‘An Education,’ ‘Capote,’ ‘Howards End,’ and ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’. 

Jon Crowley

In his role as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission (NJMPTVC), Crowley will serve as the senior leader of all of New Jersey’s film initiatives, leading both the NJEDA’s (New Jersey Economic Development Authority) film sector development work, as well as the management of the NJMPTVC.

Prior to joining the NJEDA, Crowley worked within the television industry for over two decades, producing and directing several well-known television series including ‘Impractical Jokers,’ ‘House Hunters International,’ ‘Big Brother,’ ‘Lizard Lick Towing,’ ‘Love After Lock-Up,’ ‘Trading Spouses,’ ‘Breaking the Ice,’ ‘Full Contact,’ and ‘Upload with Shaquille O’Neal’ among many others. Crowley is a two-time EMMY award winner and CableACE Writing Nominee. He has also been a vice president at NBC/Comcast, The Food Network and Time- Warner.

Desiree Hadley

Desiree Hadley serves as the Executive Director of the first ever Newark Mayor’s Office of Film and Television, a specialized agency dedicated to marketing and promoting the City of Newark as a premiere production location and facilitating film, television and multimedia production in the city.

Desiree is the City’s primary liaison to the entertainment industry, ensuring production companies experience a seamless, coordinated approach to navigating municipal locations and requesting city services that projects require. Desiree will also focus on initiatives to engage the community in events and workforce training opportunities to ensure that Newarkers that can be a part of this growing industry.

Katherine Oliver

Katherine Oliver is a founding Principal of Bloomberg Associates, an international philanthropic consultancy founded by former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Katherine oversees the media and digital strategies portfolio, advising global cities on economic development and public communications strategies, while helping them harness the power of media and technology to improve government services. Katherine also oversees Bloomberg Philanthropies’ film portfolio, serving as Executive Producer on ‘From the Ashes’ and ‘Paris to Pittsburgh,’ two environmental documentary films tackling climate change; and ‘The Invisible Shield,’ a docuseries on the history and significance of public health.

She actively supports nonprofit organizations dedicated to storytelling and filmmaking, including the Academy Museum, Ghetto Film School, Paley Center, and Center for Communication. Katherine is also a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Art and Sciences (AMPAS).

MODERATOR

John Schreiber, President and CEO – NJPAC

John quips about himself, “I fell in love with the theater and I thought, I don’t know how, but I want to be part of that.”

“I grew up in Queens, and I lived at the last stop on the subway. Starting at the age of nine, my parents let me take the subway into the city, and they gave me $5, and I could buy a seat in the balcony at a Broadway show. I have memories of seeing Carol Channing in ‘Hello Dolly,’ Angela Lansbury in ‘Mame,’ Linda Lavin in ‘It’s a Bird,’ ‘It’s a Plane,’ ‘It’s Superman.’ And I fell in love with the theater and with what it felt like to be transported into another world. I thought that was the greatest.”

“And I thought, ‘I don’t know how, but I want to do that.’ I want to be part of that.’ When I went to college, I ran a concert series, and I started a summer theater. And I just knew that I needed to be in this universe somehow. I went to work for George Wein, who was the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival. I’ve been doing this sort of thing in music and theater and television and festivals ever since. And it’s been a glorious ride.”

 “I’m especially proud that Savion Glover has become such an engaged and active part of our family here. Savion has this amazing ability to connect and inspire young people, give them a sense of confidence in themselves, a feeling of ownership of the development of the work they’re doing. A few summers ago, he directed and choreographed a new production of ‘The Tap Dance Kid,’ which he starred in when he was 11 on Broadway. It’s one thing to be a genius, another thing to be kind. To combine those two things in service of young people’s growth is very moving to me.”

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Business, Social Issues, Spirituality, Cuisine, Health & Wellness, and Education)