Kerry McCluggage to Deliver Keynote at IFTA Production Conference

LOS ANGELES, May 30: Kerry
McCluggage, the chairman of Allumination FilmWorks, has been tapped to deliver
the keynote speech at the Independent Film & Television Alliance’s (IFTA) annual
Production Conference, which will take place on June 15 at the Beverly Hills
Hotel from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

McCluggage and Jeff Sagansky
acquired Allumination FilmWorks— formerly Ardustry Home
Entertainment—in 2005. Allumination has a portfolio of nearly 200 quality
theatrical films in all major categories, as well as more than 4,000 hours of
television programming, along with music specials and kids/family feature titles
for television, cable and home video/DVD distribution markets worldwide.
McCluggage, along with Sagansky, are also key investors in Peace Arch
Entertainment.

McCluggage has been in the
entertainment business since 1978. In 1980, he became Universal Television’s
youngest VP at the age of 25. During his stint at Universal, McCluggage oversaw
the development and production of such television hits as Magnum P.I.,
Murder, She Wrote, The A-Team, Miami
Vice and Law & Order. He joined Paramount in 1991, where he developed the
original plan for UPN and oversaw its 1995 launch. As chairman of the Paramount
Television Group, he aided in the development and production of JAG, Deadwood, the
Emmy Award-winning series Frasier and
the magazine show Entertainment Tonight,
among many others.

“We are honored to have Kerry
McCluggage serve as our keynote speaker this year,” said Jean M. Prewitt, the
president and CEO of IFTA. “His wealth of experience and leading role in
shaping the television landscape provides unique insight into where our
business stands today and, more importantly, where it is going.”

In addition, the conference will
also feature the panels “Marketing and Distributing Movies in the Age of New,
User-Centered Technologies,” and “How Do New Incentive Programs Change our
Choices for Production Locations?” Tickets to the event are available to IFTA
members for $60 per person, and $90 for non-members.

“Marketing and Distributing Movies
in the Age of New, User-Centered Technologies” will be moderated by
Pierre David, the chairman and CEO of Imagination Worldwide and chairman of the
IFTA Producers Committee. It will feature Steve Bickel, the president of Aura
Entertainment; Nicolas Chartier, the president of Voltage Pictures; Susan
Cleary, IFTA VP and general counsel; Kirk D’Amico, the president and CEO of
Myriad Pictures; Richard Guardian, the co-president of Lightning Entertainment;
Pedro Rodriguez, the president of IDC; Marcy Rubin, the senior VP of
international distribution for CineTel Films; and Michael Weiser, the CEO of
Pinnacle Entertainment.

“How Do New Incentive Programs
Change our Choices for Production Locations?” will be moderated by Paul
Hertzberg, the president of CineTel Films. The panel’s confirmed participants
include Dama Chasle, production executive of Axium International; Lloyd
Kaufman, the president of Troma Entertainment; Michael Ryan, the director of
Handmade Films Intl.; Hal Sadoff, the head of international and independent
film for ICM; Kirk Shaw, the president and CEO of Insight Film Studios; Trevor
Short, the CFO of NuImage; and Jimmy Veres, the president of Heartstone Films.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, the
Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) is the global trade
association of the independent motion picture and television programming
industry. The organization’s premiere event, the American Film Market,
takes place every year in November in Santa Monica.