Def Pictures Television has promoted Simone Reyes to director of television development, the company announced on Friday. In her new role, Reyes will be responsible for developing original scripted and reality programming for Def Pictures Television, which currently has a number of active projects, among them an HBO pilot, “Codes of Conduct,” directed by Steve McQueen. Reyes will be reporting to Def Pictures Television founder Russell Simmons and Head of Television Development Chris Conti. Also Read: Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital Closes $5M in Series A Financing “Simone has been an insightful and creative executive,” said Simmons in a statement.
- 2/6/2015
- by Itay Hod
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Hip-hop mogul, film and television producer and entrepreneur Russell Simmons has signed with Wme for representation in all areas. He was at CAA. The representation shift follows the Def Jam founder’s decision earlier this year to move full time to Los Angeles to focus on building his film and TV businesses, run by Jake Stein and recently appointed Chris Conti, respectively. Under a two-year first-look deal at HBO, which Simmons inked in May, he is executive producing a high-profile new drama project from 12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen. Simmons’ other entertainment endeavors include being the co-founder of the new YouTube channel All Def Digital and of the production company Simmons-Lathan Media Group with partner Stan Lathan, which was behind HBO’s Def Comedy Jam and Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry and hit feature The Nutty Professor, among others. Simmons also is the owner and founder of Rush Communications,...
- 11/8/2013
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Exclusive: Russell Simmons is quickly building up his newly launched Def Pictures and Rstv. NBC drama executive-turned-producer Chris Conti has been tapped as president of the two companies. Simmons, who bought a home in Los Angeles at the beginning of the year, has been focusing his money, time and energy on his new production shingles and recently signed a first-look deal with HBO. He met with a number of executives before settling on Conti as president. “Chris is such a good drama guy, and he is such a good ‘melody’ guy with great instincts for story,” Simmons said. Conti was recommended to Simmons by Brett Ratner, for whom Conti most recently worked as president of his production company Rat TV. Simmons said he already has “a broad plate” of projects, including one based on an idea brought in by Conti, a Norman Lear-esque comedy about a progressive guy and...
- 6/27/2013
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Exclusive: Director-producer Brett Ratner has closed a new overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television where he has been based for the past 7 years. He is being joined by former NBC development executive-turned-producer Chris Conti, who will serve as president of Ratner's Rat TV. "It's impossible not to love Brett," 20th TV chairman Dana Walden said. "He is a great entertainer, has such love for the business and has the most commercial sense of any creative person I've ever worked with." She praised Ratner for directing the pilot for the Fox drama Prison Break, which "helped reestablish what the 20th Century Fox TV brand is around the world." But for the past 7 years, Ratner has directed only one other 20th TV pilot that has gone to series, CBS' short-lived CIA dramedy Chaos. He has developed and produced a total of 3 series, Prison Break, Chaos and ABC's Women's Murder Club. That...
- 8/11/2011
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
NBC Universal Television Studio has optioned rights to the graphic novel Meet the Haunteds from Platinum Studios to develop into a half-hour scripted comedy for NBC, which has inked a script deal for the project. The single-camera project will center on an upper-middle-class white family who moves into a restored house in a gentrified neighborhood that's haunted by a black family from the early 1970s. Executive producers Chris Conti, who is working under his overall producing deal with NBC Uni TV, and Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, chairman of Platinum Studios, came up with the idea after scouring Platinum's library, which includes more than 3,000 comic book characters and more than 1,000 stories.
- 10/14/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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