Becoming... CEO of Samuel Goldwyn Films Ben Feingold

Mentors on the Mic: Your guide to pursuing a career in the Entertainment industry

Ben Feingold is the current CEO of Samuel Goldwyn Films, which licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. Previous to working at Samuel Goldwyn, he was the President of Columbia TriStar Home Video and the Former President Worldwide Home Entertainment Digital Distribution and Product Acquisitions at Sony Pictures.

Samuel Goldwyn Films is dedicated to working with both world-renowned and emerging writers/filmmakers and committed to filmed entertainment that offers original voices in uniquely told stories. This is best exemplified by the Academy Award® nominated SUPER SIZE ME; the critically acclaimed feature debut by Francis Lee GOD’S OWN COUNTRY; SXSW winner MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND; Warwick Thornton’s Australian western SWEET COUNTRY starring Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, and Hamilton Morris; the Wim Wenders film, starring James McAvoy and Academy Award winner® Alicia Vikander, SUBMERGENCE; A BOY A GIRL A DREAM starring Omari Hardwick and Meagan Good; Sci-Fi/Fantasy PARADISE HILLS starring Emma Roberts; the horror/thriller film starring Patrick Schwarzenegger and Miles Robbins DANIEL ISN’T REAL; the road-trip comedy COME AS YOU ARE; action packed Scott Adkins lead film DEBT COLLECTORS; MR. JONES starring James Norton, Vanessa Kirby, and Peter Sarsgaard; the sea shanty true story FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS; epic drama WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS starring Academy Award® winner Mark Rylance, Academy Award® nominee Johnny Depp, and Robert Pattinson; FROM THE VINE starring Joe Pantoliano; LGBTQ+ teen comedy DATING AMBER; LUXOR starring Andrea Riseborough; and the Danish Oscar® Entry ANOTHER ROUND starring Mads Mikkelsen. Upcoming releases include RAMS starring Sam Neill; LGBTQ+ COWBOYS starring Steve Zahn and Jillian Bell; horror/thriller DREAMCATCHER; the food-centric FOOD CLUB; and THE GOOD TRAITOR.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Being the savior behind the movie When Harry Met Sally

• How NBC put Seinfeld on the air and cancelled it twice, but how Ben kept the rights to distribution when they sold it

• Helped launch the DVD format and the digital business

• Made a deal with Dave Chappelle to make one of his first concert movies in 2004 “for what it’s worth” with SHOWTIME

• Created the first game show channel

• Helped Will Packer make his first movie by giving him his first deal

• Why men were the early adopters of DVDs

• Turned down running Blockbuster twice because they had too much debt

• Making an offer for CODA (which went to Apple for $25 million) and competing with the big streaming platforms

• Why a filmmaker should go with Samuel Goldwyn for distribution instead of a larger streaming platform

Guest:

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If you liked this episode, check out Actor/Director Tony Goldwyn (President Fitzgerald in Scandal)

Check out your Write your Dream Role Starter Kit by Emily Grace. Full Episode with Emily Grace

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