Banff World Television Festival Announces Elite List of Industry Showrunners as Master Class Speakers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) March 24, 2010 -- Banff World Television Festival Announces Elite List of Industry Showrunners as Master Class Speakers
Showrunners confirmed include Ricky Gervais from “The Office, David W. Zucker from “The Good Wife” and James Manos Jr. from “Dexter”

Banff, AB – The Banff World Television Festival is proud to announce an elite list of international showrunners who will be presenting Master Classes and participating in networking events during the conference. This year’s Banff World Television Festival - in strategic partnership with nextMEDIA - will be taking place June 13-16 at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta.

“Banff and nextMEDIA will be showcasing some of the best creative minds in the industry and we are proud to have such a stellar line-up at the conference to share their knowledge, experience and business insights,” said Peter Vamos, Executive Director of the Banff World Television Festival.

Showrunners confirmed for the Banff World Television Festival include:

• Ricky Gervais – “The Office”
• David W. Zucker – “The Good Wife”
• James Manos Jr. – “Dexter”
• Bill Prady – “Big Bang Theory”

• Bryan Elsley – “SKINS”
• Peter Murrieta – “Wizards of Waverly Place”
• Vince Gilligan – “Breaking Bad”

Ricky Gervais is best known for creating and starring in “The Office,” one of the most critically acclaimed sitcoms of all time, becoming the first British comedy to win a Golden Globe. Ricky has won two Golden Globes, three primetime Emmys, and seven BAFTAS. “The Office” is shown in over 90 countries with seven remakes, including NBC’s US version where he served as executive producer. He also created and starred in another successful television sitcom “Extras,” wrote and guest starred in an episode of “The Simpsons,” appeared on “Sesame Street” and has taken leading roles in Hollywood films like “Ghost Town” and “The Invention of Lying”.

David W. Zucker is showrunner on CBS’ legal drama “The Good Wife,” and has executive produced for other noteworthy television drama series including “Numb3rs,” “The Company” and “The Andromeda Strain”. Zucker was a story editor on the popular series “Judging Amy” and a writer on the series “To Have and To Hold”. He also served as the Vice President of Drama Development for CBS and as Vice President of Drama Development at Warner Bros. Television.

James Manos Jr. is the creator and showrunner of Showtime’s “Dexter,” currently in its fourth season. He was also a co-producer and writer on the first season of “The Sopranos” where he won an Emmy Award. He also served for two seasons as the consulting producer on “The Shield,” and produced the award-winning HBO movie, “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom.”

Bill Prady began his career in entertainment writing for Jim Henson’s “The Muppets” and “Fraggle Rock.” Following his work with Henson, Prady wrote for a number of television comedy and drama series including “Married with Children,” “Dream On,” “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Dharma & Greg,” and “The Gilmore Girls.” He is currently the showrunner on CBS’s sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.”

Bryan Elsley is known most notably for the co-creation of the British teen drama “Skins.” He’s written many British television dramas including “40,” “Rose and Maloney,” “Nature Boy,” “The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star,” “Govan Ghost Story,” and his award winning television adaptation of Ian Bank's book “The Crow Road.”

Emmy-Award winning producer Peter Murrieta is a versatile and successful television series showrunner and creator of ABC's “Hope and Faith,” the CW's “Greetings from Tucson,” which was based on his own experiences growing up in Tucson, and WB’s “All About the Andersons.” He is currently the executive producer and showrunner of Disney Channel's “Wizards of Waverly Place,” for which he won the Outstanding Children’s Program Emmy Award in 2009.

Series creator and executive producer of Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan wrote the screenplay for “Home Fries”, was a writer and executive producer on The X-Files, for which he shared Golden Globe Awards in 1996 and 1997 for Best Dramatic Series. After writing and directing the Breaking Bad pilot, Vince received the 2008 Writers Guild Award for Episodic Drama and accepted a Peabody Award honoring the show’s first season. Breaking Bad earned Emmy Award nominations in 2008 for Outstanding Directing for a Drama and in 2009 for Outstanding Drama, was named one of the best shows of 2008 by the American Film Institute,

Some of the biggest international names in broadcasting, television production, distribution and digital media will come together at the Banff World Television Festival and nextMEDIA to experience industry insight, learn, strategize and network with the media community. Over 1,500 delegates are expected to attend.

Delegates will have the opportunity to build the indispensable relationships required to succeed in the international marketplace through shared BANFF and nextMEDIA networking, social events, and our prestigious awards ceremonies. Delegates can continue to expect the high-quality programming, ground-breaking speakers, high level participants, facilitated networking sessions and new initiatives dedicated to generating business opportunities and building relationships that continue to make Banff the most important event in the world that is specifically dedicated to media content production and development.

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About the Banff World Television Festival
The 31st Banff World Television Festival will take place June 13-16, 2010 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Banff, Canada. International broadcasters, producers, writers, directors, distributors and industry executives from over 25 countries will be attending. A core feature of the festival is the prestigious Banff World Television Awards (“The Rockies”). In 2009, 130 programs from over 30 countries were chosen as finalists in 23 program categories. www.banff2010.com

About nextMEDIA

nextMEDIA is North America’s premier digital media conference, opening up opportunities for delegates to access multi-platform partnerships and learn about key technology trends. nextMEDIA places attendees at the forefront of the evolving media marketplace. For companies in Online Content & Publishing, Digital Advertising, Mobile, and Technology that support these areas, nextMEDIA Banff is the ultimate gateway for connecting the mainstream media with the emerging digital ecosystem. nextMEDIA Banff will take place concurrently with the Banff World Television Festival from June 13-16, 2010 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. www.nextmediaevents.com/banff

About Achilles Media
The Banff World Television Festival and nextMEDIA are produced by Achilles Media Ltd., an international business-to-business media and facilitation company serving the media and investment industries. Achilles Media communities include: History Makers: International Summit of History & Current Affairs Producers, nextMEDIA World events, Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) and the Canadian New Media Awards. For more information, visit www.achillesmedia.com


Media contact:
Almira Bardai
Jive Communications

Tel: 604-568-7214
Email: almira@jivecommunications.ca

More information can be found online at http://www.banff2010.com

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