FootageFest Announces Top Conference Sponsor and Exciting New Panelists

Fox Archives, who have been longtime supporters of FootageFest ‘23, have stepped up to become the top sponsor of this year’s three-day conference in Los Angeles, Friday, September 29th through Sunday, October 1st. Known for its practical panels, exhibitors of niche content, and screenings of archival-packed documentaries, FootageFest ‘23 welcomes Legendary Gossip Queen Rona Barrett and producer/director Steve Binder (Elvis ’68 Comeback Special), just two of the many guests sharing their insight into Hollywood archival content. 

Rona barrett

The cultural icon has hundreds of interviews in her amazing archive, and will be sampling some of her favorite subjects, including John Travolta, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Midler and Donald Trump.  We are so happy to have her with us this year.

Again, FootageFest will be partnering with the Visual Researchers Society of Canada (VRSC), and are happy to welcome dozens of the industries top archive producers from New York, London, Sydney, and even Argentina. 

The fun begins on Friday evening with the Retro Video-sponsored screening of A Disturbance in the Force, about the making of the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. Moderating the post-discussion will be KFI’s Mo’Kelly, with cast and crewmembers which include Binder, Bruce Vilanch, The Goldbergs creator Adam F. Goldberg, as well as lead guitarist of the Jefferson Starship, Craig Chaquico.

Some of the confirmed presentations will be a two-part panel on Artificial Intelligence. Part One will feature Jimmy Kimmel Live graphic artist Seth Strong demonstarting how AI works, as well as ChatGBT – its benefits, and having fun with it. The second part will address the many concerns of it, mainly –- how the copyright is sourced – if at all – and potentially “created”, and if this new technology will be jeopardizing our careers. 

Paramount’s Larry McAlister and MGM’s Ben Houston will discuss working with the studios in licensing TV and films. Also, a flock of niche content owners like StormStock’s Martin Lisius and Xenon Pictures’ Leigh Savidge. The latter who represents the infamous Dolemite collection, and other urban contemporary content.

Toronto’s Elizabeth Glynn will be interviewing showrunner Tom Jennings; Brooklyn’s Rich Remsberg will be moderating a historical content panel. Also, this year’s FOCAL Researcher of the Year, Brooklyn’s Lizzy McGlynn, will be moderating two panels – oneon AI, and one on acquiring news content, sponsored by News Exposure.

NewsExposure joins Fox Archives, Retro Video, CNN and 3P Sync as Footagefest ’23 top sponsors. Premiering in 2017, the L.A.-based FootageFest is the brainchild of British archival vet Dominic Dare and Late Night clip producer Steve Kozak. 

Most of the conference will be held at a classic Hollywood theater complex: The El Portal Theater is nearly 100 years old -- a true Hollywood landmark that opened its doors in 1926.  Its  main theater seats 360 people, and the intimate Monroe Forum seats just under 100.  Additional events will be held at the Garland Hotel, amd other venues in the revitalized NoHo district of Los Angeles.

Speaking of embarrassing projects, FootageFest will be doing a case study of sorts – about the 1989 Oscars, in which Allan Carr produced a cringeworthy vocal duet between Rob Lowe and yes, Snow White. Not only was Lowe – and the entire opening production number -- eviscerated in the press, the producers neglected to ask Disney for permission to use one of their most valuable properties, resulting in a threat of legal action. The show’s writer Bruce Vilanch and Eileen Bowman (the real-life Snow) will join our legal experts to discuss this alleged assault on American TV viewers.

And, of course, returning again for its fourth time will be the Ultimate Fair Use panel, where several top attorneys from top films, as well as TV and film studios, discuss the most recent claims and cases.  Hosted again by the former Hulu Attorney Heather Bennett, this is always FootageFest’s most popular panel.

Go to http://www.footagefest.com/sign-up to sign up for the event.  Sign-up before August 1st and to take advantage of the Early Bird rate that takes 25% off the $100 admission.