FREE Monthly Virtual Power Hours for Filmmakers

Join us on the last Wednesday of each month at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET

A live conversation with working filmmakers from all facets of the industry — sharing insight, wisdom, and resources focused on what actually helps you move your project forward.

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JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT INDUSTRY POWER HOUR!

Wednesday, November 29th, 4 PM PST/ 7 PM EST

Kelly Edwards

TV Executive & Screenwriter

Kelly Edwards has worked for every major studio in Hollywood. After a long career as a film and television executive, she decided to transition from executive to writer.

As the SVP of Talent Development for Warner Media Entertainment, Kelly Edwards oversaw emerging artist programs for HBO, HBOMax, and Turner. Prior to HBO, Edwards served as a corporate diversity executive at Comcast/NBC Universal where she oversaw over 20 divisions.

Edwards' career has spanned both television and film having produced a Hallmark MOW and a network drama series after serving as the SVP of Comedy for UPN. She graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater and MFA in Screenwriting at Emerson College.

She has been a Sundance Episodic Lab fellow and is the President of the non-profit organization she founded, Colour Entertainment. Her book, The Executive Chair: A Writer's Guide to TV Series Development, is an Amazon Best Seller. She currently writes for the Fox drama, OUR KIND OF PEOPLE.

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Our Most Recent Power Hour Guest

René Besson: Independent Producer

What do greats like Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Nicole Kidman, Nicholas Cage, Laura Dern, Daniel Radcliffe, and Octavia Spencer have in common? Independent producer René Besson has worked with them all!

René Besson is an independent producer with over 25 film credits. Spanning all genres, but with an emphasis on genre films, René shared more about his process of maintaining studio-quality within independent budgets using an empathetic, filmmaking-centric approach that supports creativity. We discussed attracting and attaching top talent to indie films, the art of keeping quality high but the budget low, and how René went from making his first film, Boxes, in 2000 at $285,000 to becoming an Executive Producer on hit indie films.

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Originally from Miami, René Besson was the producer on director Simon West’s The Mechanic, starring Jason Statham, as well as Stolen, starring Nicolas Cage. He also served as executive producer on The Iceman, starring Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, and James Franco; Stone, starring Robert De Niro and Edward Norton; Trespass, starring Nicole Kidman; Straight A’s, starring Luke Wilson and Anna Paquin; Drive Angry, starring Nicolas Cage and Amber Heard; Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D; Homefront, starring Jason Statham, Kate Bosworth, and James Franco; and Stonehearst Asylum, directed by Brad Anderson and starring Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley, and Michael Caine.

He also produced The Taking of Deborah Logan with Bryan Singer; The Free World, starring Elisabeth Moss and Octavia Spencer; The Tale, starring Laura Dern; Beast of Burden, starring Daniel Radcliffe; Speed Kills, starring John Travolta; Driven, starring Jason Sudeikis and Lee Pace; Ordinary Love, starring Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville; Military Wives, starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan; and The Estate, starring Anna Faris and Toni Collette.

Besson has overseen production on the box office hits The Expendables, starring and directed by Sylvester Stallone; Righteous Kill, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro; The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, starring Nicolas Cage; Trust, starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener; Leaves of Grass, starring Edward Norton; and Solitary Man, starring Michael Douglas.

René Besson is a member of the Producer's Guild of America and the Director's Guild of America.