MEDIA RELEASE: Thursday 8 October 2015
LEADING US FILM & BROADWAY PRODUCER PAULA WAGNER CONFIRMED FOR 2015 SCREEN FOREVER CONFERENCE
Screen Producers Australia is delighted to announce that Paula Wagner— co-founder of Cruise/Wagner Productions with Tom Cruise and producer of more than 20 films including the Mission: Impossible trilogy, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, The Others and War of the Worlds—is confirmed to speak at SCREEN FOREVER 2015, the premier conference for the screen industry in Australia.
"We are honoured to have such a highly respected producer as Paula Wagner participating in this year’s SCREEN FOREVER conference,” said Matthew Deaner, CEO, Screen Producers Australia. “Paula’s leadership, outstanding experience, and creative vision inspire producers and film executives around the world.”
Paula Wagner is a film and theatre producer who has worked in the top ranks of the American entertainment industry, and whose many Academy Award-nominated films shatter box-office records. After commencing as a prominent agent at Creative Artists Agency, representing top Hollywood talent such as Tom Cruise, Sean Penn, Oliver Stone, Val Kilmer, Demi Moore and Liam Neeson, Wagner launched Cruise/Wagner Productions with her former client Tom Cruise in 1993. Over the next 13 years, Wagner and Cruise produced a wide range of films that earned numerous prestigious awards, critical praise, and more than $3 billion in worldwide box-office receipts for films such as the Mission: Impossible trilogy, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, and The Others.
The Mission: Impossible trilogy is a series of action spy thriller films based on the television series of the same name, starring Tom Cruise. Directed by Brian de Palma, the original film premiered in 1996, breaking several box-office records and grossing over $457 million worldwide. The second and third films in the series were released in 2000 and 2006, directed by John Woo and J. J. Abrams respectively. The trilogy grossed over $1.4 billion worldwide, and the film series, which has since spawned a further two features, is the 17th highest grossing of all time.
Wagner was the executive producer for Steven Spielberg's sci-fi disaster film War of the Worlds, which grossed $591 million globally and was nominated for three Academy Awards in 2005. From 2006, Wagner was co-owner of United Artists Pictures, together with Cruise and MGM, and was the company's CEO until 2008. During her tenure, Wagner orchestrated relationships with top industry talent including Oscar-winning screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie, Paul Haggis, Steven Zaillian and Guillermo del Toro.
Wagner’s additional production credits include “Five” (Lifetime) and “The Governors Awards” ceremony for AMPAS, 2013. She is a member of the Broadway League, AMPAS, and she serves on the National Board of Directors for the Producers Guild of America, the boards of Film Forum, American Cinematheque, National Film Preservation Foundation, and the Executive Committee of the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television. Her significant contributions to the entertainment industry have been recognised with honours such as Premiere magazine’s Women in Hollywood Icon Award, the UCLA/Producers Guild of America Vision Award, awards from international film festivals such as Chicago and Sarasota, as well as serving as the President of the First-Time Directors Jury at the Venice Film Festival.
Currently, Wagner develops film, television and theatre through her production company, Chestnut Ridge Productions. Her recent Broadway production credits include the Tony-nominated plays The Heiress and Mothers and Sons.
In Conversation with Paula Wagner, Tuesday 17 November 2015 Sponsored by Holding Redlich SCREEN FOREVER 17-19 November 2015, Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne Australia. Registrations now open at www.screenforever.org.au
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ABOUT SCREEN FOREVER: Held over three days, SCREEN FOREVER is one of the largest congregations of media and entertainment professionals in the Southern Hemisphere. Conference delegates include leading Australian and international industry practitioners involved in all aspects of producing, creating, writing, directing, distributing and financing screen content. Delegates have unparalleled access to innovative thinkers and industry leaders at the intersection of entertainment, media and technology. Presented by Screen Producers Australia, SCREEN FOREVER 2015 will take place at Crown Conference Centre Melbourne Tuesday 17 November to Thursday 19 November 2015. Keynote speakers in 2014 included: Phillip Adams AO – Broadcaster Filmmaker Author; Gale Anne Hurd – CEO, Valhalla Entertainment; USA; Joe Godwin – Director BBC Children’s (UK); Mark Scott AO – Managing Director, ABC; Roy Lee – Producer, Vertigo Entertainment, USA; Tim Worner, Chief Executive Officer, Seven West Media; Richard Freudenstein - Chief Executive Officer, FOXTEL and Michael Ebeid, Managing Director, SBS.