A virtual summit as Hollywood Eclairs changes

Our three-day forum for urgent issues that will define the immediate future of the entertainment business

Welcome to The Grill 2020.

For the first time, we are making changes to our annual summit that brings technology into the entertainment industry – on a streaming platform. Now it looks almost normal. Eight months ago, I had not dreamed of such a thing.

But of course, eight months ago the world was a different place.

With a global epidemic affecting every aspect of entertainment, media, politics and culture, it is a remarkable moment in time to discuss, intensifying the trends we have examined in TheGrill over the past 10 years. , Will be debated and analyzed. Decades to come.

The next three days will be part of the first draft of history. This year, TheGrill provides a platform for immediate issues that will define the immediate future of the entertainment business. We have worked hard to bring together some exciting sounds that will speak in the moment we are on:

• Future of theatrical exhibition
• Pivot of film festivals
• Challenges facing production
• Streaming crowd
• Vertical rise of gaming
• Podcasting craze
• Social media is a threat to society
• Where is the innovation coming from

We will welcome respected filmmakers from Antoine Fuqua and Brad Bird to Miranda July and do the Don Porter and Jeff Orlovsky documentary. We will welcome innovators at the intersection of technology and content – one of TeakTalk’s key competitors, head of Triller, from co-founders Fazeklan and Cameo.

I always leave TheGrill a lot smarter than when I started, and this year I hope that is especially true. I definitely want to see all of you who come every year, and will miss walking into the green room with our speakers. (I’ve noticed that some very good deals have started in that room.)

But I’m pretty sure we have an incredible experience. Allow me to thank our incredible sponsors who supported this important conversation: Lifetime, Gerber Kawasaki, Filmrise, NFP, Audible, Sony, WarnerMedia, IDG Consulting, The Privacy Company, Starz, Skydance, HBO. Thank our colleagues, create Writers Room, youth entertainment workers, dot.LA And decisive award.

Figuring out how to actually reduce this event to a level of excellence that you all expected was not easy. I want to thank our hardworking employees who accepted the challenge.

You can ask questions during most of our panels, and if you have a full access pass can connect to our Slack channel, called WrapConnect, to meet speakers and meet each other. And you get a schedule for all panels and how to access them The Grill 2020 Website.

Please share your thoughts with the hashtag # TheGrill2020 and follow us on @thewrap and our Facebook page. We will be streaming some of these panels on our social channels.

Ahead of TheGrill!