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Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Produced By Conference Sets 2025 Date
The Produced By Conference, the annual panel and networking confab organized by the Producers Guild of America, has set the date for its 2025 edition. The event will take place Saturday, May 31 on the Universal Studios lot in Universal City. The daylong event features discussions with producers around buzzy films and TV series and topics that include emerging media like AI and the future of producing. More from Deadline PGA Awards: 'Anora' Wins Best Picture Prize; 'Shōgun', 'Hacks' & 'Baby Reindeer' Top TV - Full Winners List On Eve Of PGA Awards, Leaders Discuss Health Benefits, Wildfire Relief Effort & Those Missing Names From The Best Picture Nominations WGA West & PGA Partner With Entertainment Community Fund, Pledging Combined $1M To Wildfire Relief No participants have been revealed yet, but organizers said Thursday that this year's lineup will include the return of its 'State of Producing' session. Last year's edition on the Fox lot featured participants like Howard Gordon, Michael Thorn and Lauren Stein discussing Accused; Jeff Schaffer of Curb Your Enthusiasm and John Wilson of How to With John Wilson in conversation about pitching their series; J.T. Rogers and Alan Poul talking Tokyo Vice; and Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky dishing on all things Hacks. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys & More 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
PGA David O. Selznick Honoree Chris Meledandri Calls On Producers To 'Disrupt Our Own Norms' In Ever-Changing Film Industry
'Storytelling has never been more important,' exclaimed Illumination founder and boss Chris Meledandri tonight receiving the PGA's David O. Selznick. 'We find ourselves now in a far more fragile moment. Our country, our city, our industry, are experiencing unprecedented disruption and uncertainty. We should not forget. That the health of a society is directly tied to its reigning narratives,' said the producer whose animated comedies have delighted global masses to the tune of $11 billion. More from Deadline PGA Awards: 'Anora' Wins Best Picture Prize; 'Shōgun', 'Hacks' & 'Baby Reindeer' Top TV - Full Winners List Disney's Dana Walden Talks "Importance Of The Industry" In L.A. & "Amazing" Ryan Murphy As She Accepts PGA Milestone Award From Bob Iger Taika Waititi Dispels Myths Of Indigenous Stories, Producing & More In His PGA Norman Lear Award Speech Meledandri reflected on his early days in Hollywood as a runner working for producer Dan Melnick. The first day when Meledandri drove on the 20th Century Fox lot, he had assigned parking space with his name on it. It was an early producing lesson for the young Meledandri that he would carry with him: 'Everybody matters.' Well before he arrived in Hollywood, Meledandri had already been reared in cinema by his NYC parents on such pics like Easy Rider, and the canons of Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick and the Marx Brothers. Here in Hollywood on his way, he had chance encounters with Billy Wilder and watching Orson Welles eat lunch at Ma Maison. 'It took me to my '40s to find my stride,' said the blockbuster producer of Super Mario Bros Movie, and the Despicable Me and Minions franchises. At a time when the industry fears AI, Meledandri mentioned that when he was coming up in the business, 'Technology was empowering us, not threatening to replace us.' Concluded Meledandri, 'As much as we might wish for it, no one is coming to save us. As producers, we are entrepreneurs. We must keep adapting to find ways to thrive no matter what. To do that, we have to disrupt our own norms. The comfort we feel staring in the rearview mirror is only an illusion. It's up to us now to build on our strengths, discover ways to keep our movies, our process, our budgets and our engagement with audiences searingly relevant.' On that note, earlier in his speech, Meledandri gave to Universal Motion Picture and TV Boss Donna Langley, exclaiming, 'At this moment in time, your unshakeable commitment to filmmakers and moviemaking has never been more vital.' In what was arguably the funniest presentation for an honor tonight, Despicable Me star Steve Carell had the Fairmont Century Ballroom full of producers in stitches before Meledandri hit the mic; elbowing the room for being envious of Meledandri's honor: 'Why honor him and not you? Why am I here saying nice things about Chris and not you? Why do you think you deserve to be honored? What makes you so special? Why are you so bitter? Where do you get off?' Asserted Carell, 'Chris Meledandri is getting honored tonight because he's better than you.' Carell credited himself as the star of Despicable Me 1-33, and Minions 2,5,9 and Horton Hears a Who. 'Each time I work with Chris, he's not just a visionary storytelling, but one sexy hot ass bastard!' continued the Gru thespian. Carell quipped that Meledandri handles his personal appearances as Gru at birthday parties, in what the actor billed as a 'side hustle' 'It's no simple task. Yes, he does deserve that applause. It's no simple task to create something that connects with an audience, [brings] joy and stands the test of time. It's something that Chris does effortlessly, but for you it's a slog,' exclaimed Carell. PGA's Selznick Achievement Award recognizes a producer for their outstanding body of work in motion pictures. Meledandri is the second animation producer ever to receive the honor. Past recipients include such legendary producers as Steven Spielberg, Barbara Broccoli, Mary Parent, Charles Roven, Brian Grazer, David Heyman, Kevin Feige, and most recently Martin Scorsese. Best of Deadline 2025 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Oscars, Spirits, Grammys, Tonys, Guilds & More 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 'The Apprentice' Oscar Nominees Sebastian Stan & Jeremy Strong On Why It's 'More Of A Horror Movie' With "Monstrous Egos"
