Alison Haskovec AB ‘01 grew up just blocks from Harvard Yard. The daughter of Czech architects, she never imagined her childhood in Cambridge would lead to a career in Hollywood. “I didn’t know anyone in the film business,” she says with a smile, “but when I was at Harvard I did a lot of theater. I directed plays, took acting and directing classes, and acted in my friend’s student film. I definitely had the bug.” Though she loved storytelling, she hadn’t yet connected the dots between creative passion and professional opportunity until a junior-year internship changed everything. “I realized, ‘Oh, I can get paid to read scripts and work on projects. This is a job.’ That was so exciting.”

That internship sparked a focus on development, which she pursued immediately after graduation. Ultimately, she landed a position at Radar Pictures, where she met her mentor, producer Scott Kroopf. “He was a real soup to nuts producer.” She recalls. “There’s something so fulfilling about producing, because you’re there from the beginning of a project to the very end.” Under his guidance, she worked on THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, even relocating to Vancouver for six months. “It was a big studio sequel to a low-budget genre film, and a great learning experience ,” she recalls. That time on set cemented her love of producing, which has since taken her across indie film, television, book adaptations, and into the heart of family entertainment.

After Radar Pictures, Alison had the opportunity to work at various companies. While in her next position at Intermedia, she got her first co-producing credit on a horror film called ONE MISSED CALL and developed her love for the genre. “Working on a horror movie, I really appreciated the artistry and how much it's a director's medium,” she explains. She cultivated that appreciation and brought PARANORMAL ACTIVITY into her company as an acquisition before it sold to Paramount.  Next, Alison pivoted into adaptations and then family content, with GOOSEBUMPS 2 and CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG. “That was my first experience in family films… It felt a little bit like coming home. These are the type of movies I've always loved: movies that are filled with hope and joy.” This led her to a role at Netflix, where she was part of a team that made an impressive total of sixteen movies in about four years. “It was a small, mighty group, and we really were trying to walk the walk of representation, of authenticity, having a strong voice from the community being portrayed at the table telling that story, and I'm really proud of that. It takes a little more work. But it's so rewarding.” 

So what makes an adaptation strong from page to screen? Alison says that there must be characters you can really fall in love with, as well as a world that’s fleshed out and that you’re curious to explore. “Reading a book is a very different experience from watching a movie. So, a lot of those really successful book adaptations tend to be pretty easily translatable into a compelling concept.”

She connected with family media, she says, because “it's something that brings different generations together. Now that I have children, I can share that with them… the joy of filmmaking and exploration of different worlds and new characters, and finding ways to build empathy. I think there's a lot of value that can be brought in filmmaking and storytelling in general that is not just entertainment. I want a sense of purpose in my work.”

In terms of what’s influencing the work she’s doing, Alison says that IP is king right now within the industry. “Everyone's demanding a built-in audience,” she notes. “You have to draw a lot of people in  these days in order to justify production and marketing budgets.” But is that dependence on IP overrated? “As someone that works in IP, a lot of my favorite movies are originals. And for me, it's really about the original voice of the filmmaker or show runner that makes for the most outstanding productions and storytelling.” The goal for Alison is to marry strong IP with an amazing voice; that’s her secret sauce to success. But still, “it’s so much easier to say no” to things right now, from the studio side, Alison points out. “You really have to show the vision and make it “undeniable.” This ties into what Alison views as the biggest challenge facing the industry right now. “It feels like the industry is contracting quite a bit… I worked at Netflix, and there was just a huge amount of content we were producing. Then it created a glut in the marketplace. Now, I think everyone's pulling back. I don't think that's a bad thing. I think fewer, better, is a good strategy.” However, aspiring creatives and execs, don’t lose heart! “The industry has gone through similar convulsions in the past,” Alison recalls. “You see this expansion, contraction, expansion, contraction.” Which means, hopefully, there’s a period of expansion on the horizon.

One thing that will likely impact the continued contraction or eventual expansion is AI. In terms of how she sees AI affecting her work specifically, Alison views it more as a tool than a complete replacement for people. “There is an element of humanity that audiences are still looking for,” she states. “I will say, though, that AI can perform a more powerful search.” And this function has been useful when seeking out new IP or researching during the development process. But ultimately, Alison says, she will “always root for the human part of the creative process with a tool of AI. If it's helpful.”

Speaking of helpful, Alison shared some lessons and advice she learned early on in the industry. For students, “find an internship, because having that background experience is so helpful. Figure out what companies and projects and genres excite you. And network. Reach out,” she says. “And foster those relationships, with your peers, mentors, and filmmakers you admire, those are key to finding great projects and lasting success in this business.”