LOS ANGELES – Variety Magazine has named six members of Barnes & Thornburg’s Entertainment, Media and Sports Practice Group to its 2018 Dealmakers Impact Report, which honors professionals handling the most substantial and sophisticated transactions in the entertainment industry. The six are Carolyn Hunt, Jason Karlov, Rebekah Prince, Bryan Thompson, Steve Weizenecker and Scott Witlin.
Hunt, a partner, is recognized for her work in television and film finance and distribution matters for banks, venture and production funds, high net worth individuals, producers and distributors. Notably, she managed deals on behalf of the financiers of the recently released films “Dumplin” and “A Private War”. She also worked on the deal involving Steven Soderbergh’s company, Fingerprint Releasing and Amazon which made “Unsane” directly available to Prime customers.
Karlov, partner and chair of the firm’s Entertainment, Media and Sports Practice Group, is noted for his continued work with high-profile clients like Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, T Bone Burnett, Rufus Wainwright, Michael Bolton, the publishing catalog of the Grateful Dead as well as the National Football League. He has extensive experience in virtually all aspects of the music, television, film, live events, advertising, licensing and technology industries.
Prince is included for her vast work on sports and entertainment corporate transactions. A partner, she focuses on providing counsel on investments and strategic relationships off the court/field and advising her clients to help them build their portfolios and create structure in the same manner a family office would. Prince also has significant experience negotiating celebrity endorsement transactions as well as joint ventures and license agreements in the media and entertainment, health and fitness, and restaurant and hospitality industries.
Thompson, special counsel with the firm who previously worked at Fox, Yahoo! and Whalerock Industries, is recognized for his assistance in a variety of entertainment deals for media companies, banks and asset managers. He was also involved in multiple restructurings and loan facilities for finance and media companies.
Weizenecker, a partner, was named to the list for his extensive work on production incentives, especially in the state of Georgia, a burgeoning market for entertainment companies and production projects. This year he and Hunt represented City National Bank in production financings for over a dozen films including “Boy Erased” and “A Million Littler Pieces.”
Witlin, a partner, handles high-profile, complex labor and employment matters on behalf of clients in the entertainment, broadcasting and video game industries, including wage and hour class actions, arbitrations, collective bargaining negotiations, compliance with various guild and union agreements, and union organizing campaigns.
Hunt, Karlov, Prince, Thompson and Weizenecker were also recognized in Variety’s 2018 Legal Impact Report, released earlier this year.
With more than 600 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from 14 offices in Atlanta, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, Ohio, Texas and Washington, D.C.
