NETFLIX’S TED SARANDOS WILL DELIVER KEYNOTE ADDRESS TO CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY’S DODGE COLLEGE OF FILM AND MEDIA ARTS’ CLASS OF 2015
Orange, CA (May 8, 2015) – Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, one of the most visible and influential executives in the entertainment world today, will deliver the keynote address at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts’ 2015 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 23.
Ted Sarandos oversees content acquisition for Netflix and has held his post since 2000. With more than 20 years’ experience in the home entertainment business, Sarandos is recognized as a key innovator in the acquisition and distribution of film and television programs.
The keynote will mark the third time in four months that Sarandos will have addressed Chapman students. In February, the film school hosted an exclusive event on the Sony lot in Culver City that featured Sarandos discussing the evolution and future of the television industry. He was joined by Sony Television President Steve Mosko (who has also delivered the film school’s commencement keynote) and AMC Network COO Ed Carrol in the discussion. In addition, Sarandos visited the Chapman campus to address the College’s New Era of Television class.
“Ted Sarandos is a game-changer in the industry,” says Dodge College Dean Bob Bassett. “We are fortunate to have him so involved with Chapman and willing to share his expertise as the television industry continues to evolve on practically a daily basis.”
Named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most influential People of 2013, honored by the Producer’s Guild of America as a 2014 V.I.P. Digital Visionary, and taking home the ICG’s Television Showman of the Year award in 2015, Sarandos has become a force to be reckoned with in an industry that is focused on the relationship between content creation and digital media.
With the releases of “House of Cards,” “Arrested Development,” “Orange is the New Black,” “Turbo F.A.S.T.,” “Marco Polo,” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” in its first two years of original programming, Sarandos has led the transformation of Netflix into an original content powerhouse that is changing the rules of how serialized television is produced, released and distributed globally. Since releasing a variety of original series, documentary films and comedy specials, Netflix has been recognized by the film and TV industries with 45 Emmy® nominations and 10 Emmy® wins; two Oscar® nominations; 13 Golden Globe nominations and two wins; 2 Peabody Awards and 3 AFI Awards, in addition to being recognized by all of the major guilds. From its roots as a U.S. DVD subscription rental company, Netflix is now the world’s leading Internet television network with more than 57 million members in nearly 50 countries. The company will embark on releasing its first slate of Original Films in 2015.
Sarandos has also been producer or executive producer of several award-winning and critically acclaimed documentaries and independent films, including the Emmy® nominated “Outrage,” and “Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends.”
Sarandos is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and serves on the board of Exploring The Arts, a nonprofit focused on arts in schools. He also serves on the Film Advisory Board for Tribeca and Los Angeles Film Festival, is an American Cinematheque board member and is an Executive Committee Member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
About Chapman University:
Consistently ranked among the top universities in the West, Chapman University attracts highly qualified students from around the globe. Its programs are designed to encourage leadership in innovation, creativity and collaboration, and are increasingly recognized for providing an extraordinary educational experience. The university excels in film and media arts, performing arts, educational studies, economics and business, law, humanities and the sciences. Student enrollment in graduate and undergraduate programs is approaching 8,000, and Chapman University alumni are found throughout California and the world.
Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts:
One of the premier film schools in the country, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts offers students the unique opportunity to learn filmmaking in a hands-on environment modeled on a working studio. The college is comprised of the Sodaro-Pankey Undergraduate School of Film and Media Arts, offering degrees in film production, film studies, screenwriting, creative producing, news and documentary, television writing and production, public relations and advertising, screen acting and digital arts; and the graduate Conservatory of Motion Pictures, offering M.F.A. degrees in film production, film and television producing, documentary filmmaking, production design, and screenwriting, and an M.A. in film studies. Two joint M.F.A. degrees in producing are also offered in conjunction with the business (M.F.A./M.B.A.) and law (M.F.A./J.D.) schools. Dodge College is housed in Marion Knott Studios, a state-of-the-art, 76,000-square-foot studio and classroom building that provides students with 24-hour access to sound stages, edit bays, Dolby surround mixing, a motion capture stage and more. With an Oscar and Emmy-award winning full-time faculty that boasts more feature film credits than any other film school, Dodge College is where students learn the entertainment business from the inside out.
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