Former Hollywood Negotiator and Business and Legal Affairs executive
Resume:
Eric Klein
Entertainment Industry Negotiator/Business & Legal
Affairs Consultant
#17
Las Vegas, NV 89104
**********@*******.***
General job skills across career positions:
• Deal Negotiating in Studio,
Agency & General Corporate
Arenas
• Business Development &
Business Model Design
• Production and Distribution deal
negotiation and documentation
• Business & Public Relations • Payroll P&L Management • Human Resources
• B2B Strategic Marketing • Cost Control / Budgeting • Teambuilding & Training
• Sales & Advertising • Profit & Growth Strategies • Safety & Quality Control
• Event Planning & Promoting • Contracts & Legal Affairs • Operations
• Project Development &
Production
• Planning & Coordinating • Vendor & Inventory Management
• Media Relations
•
• Public Relations, non-profit
warm calling, recruiting and
fundraising
• Writing for all Areas of
Experience
Eric Klein
818-***-**** • **********@*******.***
Former Member, Board of Directors
Las Vegas Urban Leagueds
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Business Affairs Consultant
• Two One-year funding models created for Las Vegas Urban League March, 2018 – Feb, 2019
• Negotiate various entertainment industry deals similar to those described below for NBC/Universal Television and Montana Artists Agency as well as the following business model creations: June, 2016 – Dec, 2017
• Requested by Peter Gayton, Exec Director of the American Legion (Washington, DC) to draft Legislation to fund a feasibility study to determine cost of implementing ideas proffered To increase productivity and reduce costs of running the V.A. medical system June, 2012
• Successfully researched, drafted and funded 48 page, $300,000 business plan funding (cash and credit) October, 2010
Developed and executed business model for StudioLexus Streaming Entertainment Network May, 2007 – April, 2008 Manager, Line Producers
Produced by…Entertainment, Los Angeles, CA Sep 2013 – May 2016
• Represented producers who receive “Produced by” credit to studios and networks. Negotiated deals and oversaw client experiences on productions Executive Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs Montana Artists Agency, Los Angeles, CA Dec 2004 – Sep 2013
(began as Vice President)
• Handled all top “Produced by” producer and IATSE client negotiations while overseeing all lower level deals before closing for the top industry production agency
• Brought in to arbitrate labor issues between guild members/guilds and studios
• Involved in all recruiting/HR issues
• Began expanding company into development agreements for clients with projects with network/studio relationships created through the years
• Oversaw purchase orders and approvals for food, office supplies and equipment
• Increased productivity by restructuring departments and streamlining costs Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs
NBC/Universal Television, Universal City, CA Jan 2000 – Dec 2004
(began as Director)
• Lead Business/Legal Affairs negotiator for television series, event movies and miniseries with budgets exceeding $20 million for projects such as
“Helen of Troy”, “Spartacus”, “Atilla”, “The Last Ride” and many others
• Coordinated with Above the Line and Below the Line Guilds; helped IATSE guilds change
• Ran business side of productions; oversaw productions and production counsel
• Advised and assisted with guild documents and production insurance issues
• Coordinated with government officials of various countries including Hungary, Georgia, Shanghai,
• Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Canada to conduct film projects at these locations
• Coordinated with various government agencies to acquire deferments, VAT agreements, insurance plans, work permits, and security and international funding transfers of multi-million dollar transactions
EDUCATION
B.A.: Business Psychology; B.A.: Psycholinguistics Wayne State University, Detroit, MI Eric Klein
**********@*******.***
Executive Profile
Eric has spent the majority of his career in the entertainment industry--from international award-winning commercial/corporate entertainment writing, producing and directing to a highly regarded studio, network and agency Business/Legal Affairs executive, senior agent and television producers’ manager. Eric has worked with multi-million dollar budgets on television and feature projects; overseen the business side of productions as well as worked to conceive, produce and supervise marketing, promotion and premiere events. He has worked with and negotiated deals for lead actors, directors, producers, writers and department heads. He has negotiated over 40 Negative Pick-up deals.
At NBC/Universal Television, Eric had the highest closed deal rate of the Business and Legal Affairs department five years running. He negotiated the deals and oversaw television production budgets upward of $25 million for such high profile projects as Helen of Troy, Attila, Traffic, Clive Barker’s Saint Sinner and Spartacus. Television series deals include, Friends, E.R., Lois and Clark, Riddick, Monk and Battlestar Galactica. Talent deals include Bruce Willis, Dennis Hopper, Vince Vaughan, Teri Hatcher, Malcolm McDowell, Lisa Kudrow, Gerard Butler, David Sedaris, Vin Diesel, Monica Potter, Danny Glover, Powers Booth and David Foster. On the agency side, As Executive Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs, Eric negotiated deals for over 30
“Produced by” prime-time television producers. He also negotiated producer agreements for numerous feature film producers. At the same time, Eric oversaw the business side of the agency including recruiting, training and termination of agents and support staff. He was also liaison to the various IATSE guilds as well as SAG, DGA and WGA.
Only person to successfully negotiate and close a deal with Dick Clark for use of the name American Bandstand;
First American to negotiate western distribution for Solo Voyage: The Detached Mission, the first English speaking film produced in Russia and released under Glasnost.
First person to negotiate reduction in Australia’s stringent pet quarantine from six months to one month;
Designed and implemented the business model for streaming entertainment site, LStudio;
Engaged to restructure and rewrite profit participation business model for the SAW movies. Was one of the first people to implement and negotiate box office gross bonuses for actors, director and executive producers;
Negotiated deal for Snapple, Blockbuster and Apple $300,000,000 music “baseball cards” with QR Scan readers for immediate updates on music artists’ news, interviews and streaming performances on iPhone;
First person to change decades old studio policy by creating a contractual obligation for the UPM to get
“Produced by” credit on any episode the Line Producer was not providing present, in service duties;
Successfully fought studios to remove a century old, unfair, lower paying wage schedule for directors of photography, as well as to give screen credit placement with other department head credits.
First to negotiate a pay-or-play agreement for department heads (production designer, etc.) Outside of Eric’s entertainment industry career, his life experiences include the following:
10th Degree Black Belt/Grand Master, Ju Bushido/Xing Xa Dao with over 50 1st place wins in weapons, kata
(forms) and fighting; only person to win 10 consecutive light vs heavyweight full contact grand championships in the Midwest region (1983), an achievement that has never been repeated;
Author, Walking the Path of a Sensei, Random House (2000);
Received Certificate for completion of Peer Support Specialist training in March, 2018;
Over 1000 hours of volunteer time for City of Las Vegas’ “Courtyard” day shelter;
Over 500 hours of volunteer time for Foundation For Recovery;
At age 14, was chosen to be alternate for Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s percussion section. Recorded as a drummer for jazz, dixie and rock albums.
Eric Klein
WRITTEN DOCUMENT BREAKDOWNS
In 2000, my Excellence in Martial Arts book Walking the Path of a Sensei sold over 30,000 copies in six months. Even though a niche book, it was sold in book stores across the county. In 2001, I received my 10
th
Degree Black Belt/Grandmaster certifications. In 2004 I was inducted for life of the International Board of Masters.
In 2010, I presented a $300,000 privately funded business plan for my “Produced by…Entertainment”, a management company representing producers who receive the “Produced by” credit on television and feature films projects. I spent approximately 20 years as a top Business/non-attorney Legal Affairs Executive. The plan was fully funded and repaid. A 38 page copy is available for review. In 2012, I was requested by then American Legion Executive Director Peter Gayton through a member of Congress to draft legislation to do a feasibility study on change recommendations to streamline The V.A. doctor/hospitalization system I discussed with Mike Lacy, head of the Houston, TX office while taking my very elderly father-in-law back and forth to appointments. The idea was to draft and present it to Congress prior to alerting the V.A. so there could be no interference in the legislation. Ultimately, the V.A. found out and shut down the legislation. I have a 12 provision draft of it for review, as well as a breakdown of Achievements during this time regarding V.A. benefits and elderly issues. A copy of the draft topics for the legislation is available for review. Also in Texas in 2012, I discovered that Texas Adult Protective Services (APS) was committing serious breaches on County, State, Federal and Civil Rights laws. I contacted then Vice President Joe Biden regarding this. After our conversation, he instructed Danielle Borrin to run point for him and to bring in Kathleen Sebelius’ coordinator (Sec’y of HHS) as well as the head of Civil Rights. This resulted in a 129 page document of breaches that stated who did what, when, how and the laws broken as well as stating the language of the laws broken. A copy of it is available for review. I also presented an Achievement document of the things I had done for Vets and their families, including acquiring 100% Aid and Attendance (benefits) in 4-1/2 months rather than the standard 13 – 18 month waiting period for a proposed non-profit to help Veterans with their V.A. issues. A copy of this is available for review.
In 2018, I was brought onto the Board of Directors of the Las Vegas Urban League, where I reviewed project systems and offer recommendations for improvement. A copy of these two brief assessments are available for review. In 2019 I began working with Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak on researching and creating a pre-legislation draft document on the failures of the HUD “Housing First” program which allows HUD funding to be used to place homeless people into fully furnished apartments for years, with no requirements for sobriety or job training/placement that would help achieve HUD’s pro forma of moving people through the housing system. There are also laws requiring spot inspections and drug testing which are not being followed because doing so would discover drugs being sold by clients, noise law breaches and destruction of property requiring under law to have the client charged or evicted for these and other crimes. An approximate 20 page document overview is also available for review.
Contact this candidate