Los Angeles, Calif. - Bob Dowling, president of The Bob Dowling Group, and Unicomm LLC, an event management company, announced that writer/director M. Night Shyamalan (The Last Airbender; Sixth Sense) and Chris Cookson, president of Sony Pictures Technologies, will be joining Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation SKG, as keynote speakers at the 3rd annual 3D Entertainment Summit presented in association with Variety. The two-day conference is scheduled for September 15-16, 2010 at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City, Calif.
“Using new creative techniques to tell stories with fierce and brilliant intelligence has been the hallmark of M. Night Shyamalan's remarkable career," says Dowling, "and we look forward to his insights into the immersive narrative possibilities of 3D as one of our Keynote Speakers.”
M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed the 1999 breakout hit Sixth Sense, which was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay; other notable films include Unbreakable (2001), Signs (2002), The Happening, (2008) and the current box office hit, The Last Airbender.
"As President of Sony Pictures Technologies, Chris Cookson's mandate is to oversee the use of hardware and software in the service of content creation and creators across Sony's vast entertainment space," Dowling says. "Few executives can speak more authoritatively than Chris about the critical importance of company-wide integration of technology and creativity to maximize audience response to 3D in all its platforms."
Premier Sponsors of the 3D Entertainment Summit presented in association with Variety include: RealD, the conference 3D provider; Sony Electronics, including its Digital Cinema Solutions group which is the official projection sponsor of the general sessions; Official Sponsors include: MASTERIMAGE 3D; Supporting Sponsors include: Samsung Electronics; Sponsors include: NVIDIA Corporation, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics, Hyundai, Technicolor, BSAT Labs (2D to 3D conversion), JVC U.S.A, VOLFONI 3D Eyewear, Legend 3D, Sensio Technologies, IMAX Corporation, Dolby Laboratories, SRS Labs, Panavision, DreamWorks and Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company,; Screen Sponsors: Harkness Screens and Strong / MDI Screen Systems; Supporters: Micoy Corporation, GUNNAR Optiks, American Paper Optics, Lightspeed Design, Inc. / DepthQ, Roxio, Quantel Inc., Spatial View, Marchon 3D, Reliance MediaWorks and Transilwrap Company Inc.; Industry Partners: Interpret LLC, ICG Magazine, JUMP! 3D, Screen Digest, S3DGA (The S-3D Gaming Alliance) and Meant to Be Seen (mtbs3D.com), the foremost authority group on consumer S-3D gaming and entertainment.
The 3D Entertainment Summit presented in association with Variety is the definitive conference devoted to examining and analyzing the burgeoning confluence of 3D and entertainment. Last year's event attracted more than 500 attendees representing a “who’s who” in 3D from top brands and all aspects of the entertainment community. The Summit has drawn international media coverage and boasted industry leading sponsors supporting its status as a "thought leadership" event. For more information, please visit: www.3d-summit.com
The 3D Gaming Summit in association with Variety, the most recent addition to the entertainment industry series of events produced by The Bob Dowling Group and Unicomm, LLC, featured an all-star speaker roster of industry leaders this past April. Keynotes included producer Jon Landau (Avatar), director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil), and executives Phil Eisler (NVIDIA), and Josh Greer (RealD). For more information: www.3dgamingsummit.com
LA Mobile Entertainment Summit in association with Variety and in partnership with the Mobile Excellence Awards, the most influential and coveted awards program in the mobile industry, brings together the brightest minds in the mobile ecosystem for a two-day conference packed with in-depth, interactive discussions. From start-ups, studios, content providers, entertainment, apps and handsets, to brands and more, industry luminaries will share best practices and discuss the future of mobile entertainment to provide a unique and deep reach into the mobile and entertainment world. More information can be found at www.lamobilesummit.com
Variety is the leading publication for business entertainment news, recognized and respected throughout the world of show business. The Variety Group – Daily Variety, Daily Variety Gotham, Weekly Variety and Variety.com – are all owned by Reed Business Information (RBI), the largest business publisher in the U.S. RBI is a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE: RUK and ENL).