Locke and Key premiered on Netflix February 7th, and showrunner Carlton Cuse AB '81 will join Harvardwood for an exclusive talk about the making of this highly-anticipated series based on the comic book series by Joe Hill. All attendees will have had ample time to binge-watch the series on Netflix, so beware: all spoilers will be fair game at this event! The talk with Carlton will be moderated by Harvardwood Co-Founder Mia Riverton Alpert AB '99. 

Dues-paying Harvardwood members and friends can register for this event at a discount ($15/person); non-member tickets are $25/person.

Carlton Cuse AB '81
(Jack Ryan, Bates Motel, Lost)

Working variously as a creator, writer, producer and director, Carlton Cuse is one of the most successful and well-regarded showrunners in television.

Born in Mexico City, Cuse grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and Orange County, California.  He attended Harvard University, graduating with a degree in American History.

Cuse started his career in television as a writer on the Michael Mann series “Crime Story,” and then as co-creator and executive producer of the critically acclaimed Fox series “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.”  He went on to create and executive produce the highly rated CBS show "Nash Bridges," starring Don Johnson and Cheech Marin, which ran for six seasons and 121 episodes.

Cuse along with Damon Lindelof served as writer and showrunner for all six seasons of “Lost” for ABC. He most recently co-created, wrote, directed, and was the showrunner for the first two seasons of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” the most viewed show in the history of Amazon's streaming platform.

Cuse is currently writer and showrunner of “Locke & Key” for Netflix, filming in Toronto. His other credits include:  “Bates Motel” (A&E), “The Strain” (FX), and “Colony” (USA).

In feature films, Cuse wrote “San Andreas” starring Dwayne Johnson, Warner Bros. highest grossing film of 2015.  He followed up by co-writing the Warner Bros. and Dwayne Johnson film, “Rampage.”

Cuse has received 10 Emmy Nominations for his work and has won 2 Emmys: for Best Drama Series and for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Media.

Among his other honors, Cuse has won a Golden Globe, a Peabody Award, a Producers Guild Award, three AFI Awards, The Jules Verne Award, four Saturn Awards, The Saturn Legacy Award, a Writers Guild Award, the Variety Creative Leadership Award and the People’s Choice Award, and was named to Time Magazine’s annual List of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Moderated by Mia Riverton Alpert AB '99:

Mia Riverton Alpert is the co-founder of Harvardwood.  She is a writer, actor and producer whose film/TV credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Mentalist, Leverage, Spare Parts, Capture and the award-winning feature film Red Doors, which she also developed as a pilot for CBS. Stage work includes the Ovation-Award-winning world premiere of Bare and Voices We Remember at the Geffen Playhouse. Originally from Indianapolis, Mia was named a Presidential Scholar by Bill Clinton and graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College. She currently serves on the Board of Advisors for Harvardwood, the UCLA Lab School, and United Friends of the Children, a nonprofit serving current and former foster youth in LA County.

Members, Register Here

Purchase tickets   $15.00 Members & Friends

In 1921, at the age of 34, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was one of Hollywood's greatest stars.  A mentor to Buster Keaton and a collaborator of Charlie Chaplin, Arbuckle made some of the most wildly popular film comedies of the day.  In 1918, Paramount gave him a contract for what at the time was an amazing $3 million to make 18 short films over 3 years.  And then scandal struck.  All at once, his acting career was over.  His films were banned from the theaters, and to this day are known only to the relatively small coterie of silent film buffs.  But now, finally, interest is reviving in Arbuckle's work.  And a notable step in this revival is the appearance of Steve Massa's new book, REDISCOVERING ROSCOE: The Films of "Fatty" Arbuckle.  In this talk, Massa will discuss the scandal and its aftermath as well as Arbuckle's artistic achievement. And, to make that achievement unmistakable, we will screen several of Arbuckle's finest short comedies.

Steve Massa is a major authority on Arbuckle's work and on silent film comedy in general.  His previous books include SLAPSTICK DIVAS: The Women of Silent Comedy; LAME BRAINS AND LUNATICS: The Good, the Bad, and the Forgotten of Silent Film Comedy; and MARCEL PEREZ: The International Mirth-Maker.

Massa will be interviewed by Robert Tevis.  Tevis writes a monthly column for Classic Images on film and film history.  His articles and reviews have appeared in Films of the Golden Age, Screentalk, and Written By.

REDISCOVERING ROSCOE: The Films of "Fatty" Arbuckle will be available for purchase, and a booksigning will follow the event.

Advance registration is REQUIRED—no tickets will be sold at the door.

DRESS CODE: Business Casual is fine for the event itself, but if you are thinking of staying for dinner (the Pub at The Lambs will accept credit cards), JACKETS & TIES will be required for men. No denim, sneakers, or such.

This is a joint event with THE LAMBS.

Special thanks to Andy Goodwin and the Plymouth Hill Foundation

Members, Register Here

Purchase tickets   $5.00 Members & Friends

Rosa Antonelli, one of Argentina's leading pianists, is especially celebrated for her performances of the classical piano music of Latin America. Antonelli knew Piazzolla and others of these composers personally, and she plays this repertory with deep love and a very special warmth and understanding.

When she gave the first of her two solo recitals in Carnegie Hall's main Stern Auditorium, Joe Franklin wrote, "On October 15 in Carnegie Hall, a star was born.  Her name is Rosa Antonelli."  And the legendary critic Harris Goldsmith wrote of her playing, "She is a dyed-in-the-wool Romantic Lyricist.  Her always aurally beautiful and caressing pianism uses a lot of color via the sustaining pedal; she molds phrases with enormous flexibility, and there was never a hint of harsh, ugly or astringent glint to her lush singing tone . . . Antonelli's inward poetry forced me to rehear, and revalue, Piazzolla's Tangos, which she infused with an eloquence and inner communication."  Donald Vroon of American Record Guide has called Antonelli's Chopin playing "Utterly perfect—playing, pacing, sounds."

This special private invitation-only concert for Harvardwood members and friends celebrates the release of Antonelli's new CD, BRIDGES.  Chopin was the teacher of Georges Mathias, who was the teacher of Alberto Williams, who taught the great Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, who in turn was the teacher of Astor Piazzolla, and in BRIDGES Antonelli plays the music of each of these, making the chain of connection one that can be experienced through the music itself.  Jacqueline Kharouf wrote in her review in Fanfare, "I will listen to this album for many years, and always with a sense of deep gratitude and admiration."

For this concert, Rosa Antonelli's program will include music by Chopin and Piazzolla and others.

A reception with wine cheese will follow the performance. 

Advance registration is REQUIRED.  No tickets will be sold at the door.

The exact address of the concert will be listed in the confirmation email that you receive soon after you register.

Members, Register Here

Purchase tickets   $10.00 Members & Friends

Meet with industry professionals and learn about the nuts and bolts of the all-important packaging, marketing and selling of your film. Who are you selling to? How do you land that buyer? Who picks up the tab? Find out the answers to these questions and more concerning distribution and distribution options for your films.

Mentor Sessions offer 15 minutes of one-on-one interaction with industry leaders and professionals from a variety of fields spanning interactive, film, and music. Registrants who sign up online must check-in 30 minutes before their mentor time slot to guarantee their spot. Limited on-site sign up is also available for a small number of Mentor Sessions spots and will begin 30 minutes before the first time slot of each session.

Originally from greater Philadelphia, Daniel Cantagallo AB '02 has been working in the film industry for over a decade as a creator and distributor, and he is the Vice President of Cargo Film & Releasing, a boutique documentary sales agency. A graduate of Harvard University’s Visual and Environmental Studies program, he went on to obtain his Master’s in Film Production from the London Film School. He produced and co-wrote the award-winning documentary, SHADOWS OF LIBERTY, and with Cargo, he recently executive produced SATAN & ADAM and PLAYING HARD, both on Netflix.

He is responsible for development, sales and acquisitions at Cargo Film, a boutique sales agency that handles nonfiction exclusively for the global market.

Official SXSW event page

From Emmy-Award winning writer Greg Daniels AB '85 (The Office) comes Upload, a new sci-fi comedy series set in a technologically advanced future where hologram phones, 3D food printers and automated grocery stores are the norm. Most uniquely, humans can choose to be “uploaded” into a virtual afterlife when they find themselves near-death.

The series follows a young app developer, Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell), who winds up in the hospital following a self-driving car accident, needing to quickly decide his fate. After a rushed deliberation with his shallow girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards), he chooses to be uploaded to her family’s luxurious virtual afterlife, the Horizen company’s “Lakeview.” Once uploaded in Lakeview, Nathan meets his customer service “Angel” Nora Anthony (Andy Allo), who at first is his charismatic concierge and guide, but quickly becomes his friend and confidante, helping him navigate this new digital extension of life.

An Amazon Original, Upload is a ten-episode sci-fi comedy series starring Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Kevin Bigley, Allegra Edward, and Zainab Johnson. The series was created by Greg Daniels who also serves as executive producer along with Howard Klein.

Official SXSW event page

With 430 million monthly active users, more than 100K active communities, close to 15 years of history, and a recently burgeoning advertising business, Reddit is an interesting case study in the art of the steady build. In this Featured Speaker session, Reddit’s COO, Jen Wong, will sit down with CNN’s Kerry Flynn for a conversation about the company’s sustained 15-year growth, Reddit’s role in the social media ecosystem, the rise of online communities, and the inherent value for marketers looking to cut straight through awareness to brand advocacy and consideration.

Jen Wong MBA '04 is Reddit’s Chief Operating Officer, overseeing business strategy and related teams from Reddit’s New York office. Previously, Jen was Chief Operating Officer and President of Digital at Time, Inc., where she led the company’s digital and interactive strategies as well as its operations, consumer marketing, and revenue teams. Prior to Time, she worked as Chief Business Officer for PopSugar and Global Head of Business Operations for AOL. Jen earned her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, her M.S. in Engineering Economic Systems & Operations from Stanford University, and her B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Yale University.

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The evolution of the music industry has brought down global barriers and created greater creative innovation and agency. However, one barrier remaining is the lack of musical training for young people from less affluent communities, especially with classical instruments. This panel will explore the benefits – both for individual children and for society at large - of broadening access to music education among diverse populations and nurturing new creative voices. Featuring an innovative partnership between Warner Music Group and Harmony Program, a nonprofit music education organization, as well as a classical star who is inspiring the next generation of talent, this panel will discuss how artists, music companies, teachers and families can come together to create a richer artistic world.

Eliah Seton AB '04, MBA '09 is President of Independent Music & Creator Services at Warner Music Group. In his remit are the company’s many touchpoints servicing the independent music community, through ADA (Alternative Distribution Alliance), the Asylum Records label, and Level – WMG’s platform for unsigned artists. Previously, as President of ADA, Seton spearheaded the company’s transition beyond core distribution services into a digitally-savvy label services business with a worldwide footprint, and launched WMG’s Arts Music division, a repertoire center for classical, musical theatre, children’s music, and other fields outside the pop mainstream. Before that, Seton served as SVP, International Strategy & Operations, Warner Recorded Music, and prior to that in the Office of the CEO and on the Strategy & Business team. Seton, who was named on Billboard’s 2016 40 Under 40 list and the last three Indie Power Player lists, has an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated from Harvard College. He’s on the board of the school’s Hasty Pudding Institute and of the NY music education nonprofit, Harmony Program. Seton resides in Brooklyn with his husband Jamie, their twins Cecily and Amias, and their dog Pepper.”

Official SXSW page

A Meet Up for young music industry professionals to discuss topics and trade ideas related to their experiences in music. Topics like: new trends in music, what young professionals add to the conversation, getting others to take you seriously, professional development, finding the right mentors, and the ways in which young professionals are challenging or embracing music industry norms. Industry veterans are welcome to come absorb and share fresh perspectives as mentors, employers, etc.

Edgar Thornton AB '18 is a Co-Founder of and the CEO of BonFire Records. BonFire is an independent record label, music publisher and private equity firm. There, he focuses on strategy, technology and business operations. He is dedicated to providing a platform for unestablished artists of every genre.

Edgar also works as an Analyst at Seurat Group, a CPG focused consulting and private equity firm and as an advisor to technology startups. Previously, he worked on technology partnerships at Spotify and Facebook. Edgar is a graduate of Harvard College and currently lives outside New York City.

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Multi-Platinum rapper, comedian, producer, writer, and star of FXX’s DAVE Dave Burd in conversation with director and DAVE co-creator, executive producer and writer Jeff Schaffer AB '91.

Jeff Schaffer has spent a large portion of his adult life working with Larry David, writing and then producing four seasons of "Seinfeld" with his partner Alec Berg, and eventually helping to run the show until it was cruelly cancelled. He has also worked on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" since season five as a writer, director and executive producer. With his wife Jackie, he created and ran the show "The League" for seven seasons. Schaffer is currently the co-creator, executive producer and writer for FXX's "DAVE."

SXSW official page

Join stars and executive producers Kenya Barris & Rashida Jones AB '97 for a conversation discussing their upcoming Netflix series #blackexcellence. Inspired by Barris’ irreverent, highly flawed, unbelievably honest approach to parenting, relationships, race, and culture, #blackexcellence flips the traditional sitcom family on its head. Pulling back the curtain, the series uncovers and explores the messy, unapologetic and often hilarious world of what it means to be a “new money” Black family trying to get it right in a modern world where “right” is no longer a fixed concept.

#blackexcellence

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