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Canon Club: Issue No. 13
Welcome to the thirteenth issue of DEG’s Canon Club Newsletter!
| | Meet 2025's Hedy Lamarr Award Honorees | | (from l.) Innovation Award honoree Shobana Radhakrishnan of Google TV, Inspiration Award honoree Wendy Aylsworth of Walden Pond, and Achievement Award honoree Shantelle Subkhanberdina, University of Michigan undergraduate student. | | |
DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group will present Shobana Radhakrishnan, Senior Director of Engineering for Google TV at Google, with the 2025 Hedy Lamarr Award for Innovation in Entertainment Technology. In its ninth year, the Hedy Lamarr Award recognizes female executives in the fields of entertainment and technology who have made a significant contribution to the industry. Over a career spanning more than two decades, Radhakrishnan has been a technology visionary bringing AI-based innovation to many products.
At the same time, the Hedy Lamarr Inspiration Award will be presented to Wendy Aylsworth, CEO/CTO of Walden Pond, where she provides entertainment technology consulting and strategic board guidance for entities focused on emerging ecosystems and nascent technologies. The Inspiration Award was created in 2023 and is presented only in those years when the judges encounter a candidate who demonstrates the highest level of technological leadership, generosity of talent and commitment to the growth of budding storytellers and technologists.
The 2025 Hedy Lamarr Achievement Award for Emerging Leaders in Entertainment Technology, honoring a female college student whose studies in the fields of entertainment and technology have shown exceptional promise, will be presented to Shantelle Subkhanberdina, an undergraduate at the University of Michigan majoring in Performing Arts Technology with a concentration in Audio Engineering and Computer Science.
Read the Full Press Release Here
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A24
Laura Crymble
Director, Digital Distribution
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Amazon Prime Video
Jessica Fan
Principal, Head of New Ventures
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Cineverse
Danielle Canepa
Director, Release Strategy
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Disney+
Cass Yankala
Director, Marketing Strategy
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Google
Katherine Erdman
Product Manager, XR Devices and Content
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Lionsgate
McKenzie Smith
Director, Global Content Marketing
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Paramount Home Entertainment
Rebecca Hart-Brown
Senior Marketing Manager
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Paramount Home Entertainment
Melissa Torres Villafaña
Manager, Digital Distribution
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PBS Distribution
Sara Marszalkowski
Senior Manager, Business Intelligence
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Plex
Jillian Broek
Director, Growth
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Samsung TV Plus
Sarah Nelson
Global Head of Strategic Partnerships
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Sony Pictures Entertainment
Bita Eshghieh
Director, Customer Experience
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Universal International Studios
Margaret Schatzel
SVP, Global Scripted Series
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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Savannah Flynn
Senior Manager, Global Brand Marketing
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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Kenesha Luney
Senior Director, Global Operations
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Warner Bros. Discovery Content Sales
Sofia Gomez Garcia
Executive Director, Innovation, Special Projects
| | Congratulations to women from member companies who have recently joined new companies or been promoted to prominent positions. | | |
Cineverse
Michele Edelman
EVP, Technology & GM
Formerly at Premiere Digital
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Hallmark Media
Michelle Vicary
Head of Programming
Formerly EVP, Programming and Network Publicity
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Tubi
Naivasha Dean
SVP, Content Programming & Insights
Formerly at Apple
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Tubi
Lily Fisher
Manager, Executive
Content Office
Formerly at Fox Entertainment
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Tubi
Katelyn Kroneman
VP Finance and QSR Verticals
Formerly at Snap Inc.
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Tubi
Sharon Silverstein
SVP, Head of US Industry Verticals
Formerly at Snap Inc.
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Whip Media
Linda Sughrue
SVP, Customer Growth & Retention
Formerly at Locality
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Did a female executive recently join or receive a promotion at your company, or were they honored for any industry awards?
Email cayla@degonline.org to recognize them in our next newsletter!
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“Everyone else needs to catch up, though, and I think that a big part of this show is us just saying, it’s already here."
-Comedian and sports superfan Sarah Tiana, host of Roku's "Women's Sports Now," on the program's aim to keep the conversation going on breaking stereotypes in women's atheltics.
Read more
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Hollywood Hits Gender Parity for Leading Female Roles in 2024’s Top Films, Says Annenberg Study
TheWrap ($)
The study’s full findings revealed little progress in overall speaking roles for female characters onscreen. Of the 4,401 speaking characters considered, only 33.6% of them were girls or women; compare that to 29.9% in 2007 and 31.7% as recently as 2023. “While it’s encouraging to see that the film business can achieve gender parity on screen, reaching this benchmark for lead/co-lead characters is only the beginning,” Dr. Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, said of the Tuesday study, titled, “Inequality in 1,800 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBTQ+ & Characters with Disabilities from 2007 to 2024.” Read more
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Former Netflix Executive Cindy Holland to Head All Paramount Skydance Streaming, Including Paramount+, Pluto TV
Media Play News
Former Netflix senior executive Cindy Holland has been appointed chair of the direct-to-consumer unit for the new Paramount Skydance, overseeing SVOD platform Paramount+ and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service Pluto TV. Holland, a 16-year veteran at Netflix, including holding the positions of VP for original content, had been consulting for Skydance CEO David Ellison during its $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global, which is set to close on Aug. 7. Read more
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Meet the 26-Year-Old Who Reopened an 85-Year-Old Movie Theater
IndieWire
26-year-old Hannah Hockman spearheaded the refurbishment of an 85-year-old indie movie theater. It was a 16-month process of interior demolition, design, and rebuilding that she spearheaded and documented over a series of YouTube videos. When Hockman opened her restored Beach Theatre on July 18 with a screening of a documentary about its restoration, she took the stage to deliver remarks to a sell-out crowd. It was an extraordinary moment in the cultural life of this small barrier island on the Gulf Coast and a reminder that movie theaters can be a hub for an entire community. Read more
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How ‘The Studio’ Producer Frida Perez Went From Seth Rogen’s Assistant to Making Emmy History
Variety
Perez’s rise exemplifies the critical importance of allyship in creating meaningful change within Hollywood’s power structures. Rogen, an established producer and star, could have easily maintained traditional hiring practices, but instead recognized Perez’s talent and elevated her to co-creator status. This type of backing from industry leaders proves essential for breaking down barriers that have historically excluded underrepresented voices from decision-making roles. “When he gave me the ‘creator’ credit, everybody I talked to was like, ‘Oh my God, he did not have to do that,'” Perez says. “Most people, if it’s your first writing gig, producing gig, would be like, ‘Oh, thanks, have fun — staff writer.’” Read more
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Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku and the Women of ‘Sinners’ on the Film’s Diverse, Empowered Female Characters
Variety
Part of what makes the film unique is its characterization of the female characters beyond the archetypes they’re usually assigned. “All of the women have such a clear point of view and a clear storyline of their very own in the midst of this big, wild story, with all these characters’ storylines happening simultaneously,” Steinfeld (pictured, second from l.) says in a separate interview, reflecting on what she observed when reading Coogler’s script. “Each of these female voices cut through it all.” Steinfeld’s Mary and Mosaku’s (pictured, second from r.) Annie share romantic backstories with Stack and Smoke, respectively. Still, each woman is well-drawn beyond that. Read more
| | And the Oscar Goes To...Canon Club! | | For a third consecutive year, DEG's Canon Club and Giant Worldwide hosted a day at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Attendees across multiple member companies started the day by touring the museum's exhibits, with highlights including the history of the Oscars ceremony and "Barbieland" at the Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer exhibit. The day concluded with a delicious lunch at Fanny's Restaurant, with attendees receiving custom journals and pens as gifts from Giant Worldwide. A huge DEG thanks to Meri Hassouni and Giant Wordlwide for collaborating on this event, and to everyone who attended! | | |
(Top row from l.) Warner Bros. Discovery's Christa Mercer and Google's Lisa Bilgrei and Lauren Abercrombie, Iyuno's Anna Land, NBCUniversal's Abby Reher, and Tubi's Lilly Fisher.
(Bottom row from l.) Pixelogic's Maren Babcock and Warner Bros. Discovery's Alison Falk and Bibi Arbab, DEG's Cayla Newnan, Giant Worldwide's Meri Hassouni, and NBCUniversal's La Nita Harless
| | Canon Club Co-Chair and board representative Meri Hassouni of Giant Worldwide (l.) and DEG president and CEO Amy Jo Smith | | Warner Bros. Discovery's Alondra Vallecillos (l.) and Alison Falk check out a display of Oscar statuettes throughout the years | | At lunch, guests received custom "Reel Leaders" journals and pens from Hassouni and Giant Worldwide | | |
In America’s Return to the Office, Women Are Falling Behind
Wall Street Journal ($)
The gap reflects both women’s preferences, but also the balance they are often striking between work and family demands, according to economists. More women than ever are working outside the home, but they are also likely to bear the biggest share of responsibilities for child care and chores. Among employed men, 29% said they spent time working from home in 2024, down from 34% the prior year, according to a new Labor Department survey. For women, that figure stayed largely flat at 36%. Read more
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Black Women In The Workplace Are Facing A Crisis. What Now?
Refinery29
Rarely am I afforded the opportunity to bury my head in the sand to the issues that plague us (us meaning Black people, namely Black women). At this point, I’ve become a bit desensitized to the most pervasive of our ills. But a recent story left me weary because of its topic. The 19th News recently reported on Black women’s rising unemployment rates that are showing no signs of slowing. Not because we’re quitting, but because of vicious cuts to the funding of “secure” jobs Black women earned as a result of the Trump administration’s mission to undo all the progress Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has made. Read more
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From Girl Boss to No Boss
New York Times ($)
It’s a complicated time to talk — or write — about women choosing to leave their jobs. Conservative policymakers are loudly pushing for more women to make more babies, less loudly implying that they should also stay home to raise them. Women feel forced out of their jobs as child care costs spike. And the old glass ceiling remains intact, making women in high-pressure professional fields wary of confessing to anything less than apex career ambition. But an emerging slice of women who are shifting away from full-throttle careers defy such easy characterization. These are the women of the “girl boss” era, who have MBAs and legal degrees to match. They’ve read “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg. They’ve stood on the shoulders of the second-wave feminists who fought for their right to work. Read more
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