Relevé
Entertainment has announced that THE MERGE SUMMIT 2012 will be held August
23-25, 2012 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles.
The merge summit 2012 event,
presented in association with partners EMI Music Publishing, Verity Gospel
Music Group, and UPSCALE magazine, integrates faith and entertainment and
provides a platform for men and women of faith to interface with, learn from
and partner with leading executives and talent in the entertainment industry.
“We are so excited to announce
that we will return for the fourth year”, said SUMMIT Founder and Chair Holly
Carter. “Each year, THE MERGE SUMMIT has grown and changed to represent the
evolution of the entertainment business, while always remaining true to our
original purpose: to give a voice and opportunity for the gifts and talent of
creative men and women of faith who have stories to tell.”
Added SUMMIT Co-Founder &
Co-Chair Robi Reed: “Each year, I grow more excited with anticipation of the
Merge. It has proven to be an invaluable source of information for all who
attend. I have no doubt this time around will be even greater.”
Gospel superstar Kirk Franklin
said, ”I’m excited about the Merge Summit … by partnering faith with
media… we are able to cast a wider net, impact culture in unimaginable ways.”
The multifaceted program, one
of the largest entertainment industry events for people of faith, is a complete
weekend of education, inspiration and entertainment. Nearly 100 of the
industry’s top entertainers and executives will lead more than 20 interactive
panel discussions, workshops and Master Class sessions, covering the spectrum
of music, television, film, radio, creative development, branding, management
and new media.
Confirmed
presenters (in alphabetical order), as of July 3, 2012:
Austyn Biggers, Sr. Director of
Development, BET Networks
Charlie Jordan Brookins, Senior
Vice President, Original Programming, BET Networks
Clint Culpepper, President,
Screen Gems
Debra Langford, Entertainment
Industry Veteran
Detavio Samuels, Executive Vice
President/Director of Client Services, GlobalHue
DeVon Franklin, Vice President
of Production, Columbia Pictures
Endyia Kinney Sterns, Executive
Director, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)
Essence Atkins, Actress (Are We
There Yet?, Half & Half, The Smart Guy)
Harry Lennix, Actor (Man of
Steel, A Beautiful Soul, The Matrix, The Five Heartbeats)
Holly Carter, President/Producer,
Relevé Entertainment (A Beautiful Soul, The Gospel)
Jazzy Jordan, Executive Vice
President/General Manager, Verity Gospel Music Group
Jeff Clanagan, CEO, Code Black
Entertainment
Jon Platt, President, North
America Creative, EMI Music Publishing
Kary McHoul, President, Nigel
Lythgoe Entertainment
Kelly Griffin, Sr. Director,
Music Programming, BET Networks
Kirk Franklin,
Author/Host/Recording Artist
Mali Music, Recording Artist
Michael Elliot, Screenwriter
(Like Mike, Brown Sugar, Just Wright)
Myesha Chaney, Kingdomanity
Recording Artist
Niija Kuykendall, Director of
Development, Warner Bros. Pictures
Rob Gibbs, Music Talent Agent,
ICM Partners
Robi Reed, Vice President,
Talent and Casting, Original Programming, BET Networks
Rose Catherine Pinkney, VP,
Development and Original Programming, TV Land
Rushion McDonald, CEO/Executive
Producer, NuOpp, Inc.
Sheldon Candis, Director (LUV)
Sheilah Belle, Editor in Chief,
“The Belle Report”
Stephen A. Smith,
Journalist/Commentator/Analyst, ESPN Networks
Suzanne de Passe, Co-Chairman,
de Passe Jones Entertainment
Tirrell Whittley,
Principal/CEO, Liquid Soul Media
Touré Roberts, Pastor, One
Church International
Tracey Edmonds, Producer
(Jumping the Broom, New in Town, Soul Food The Series)
Traci Lynn Blackwell, Vice
President, Current Programming, The CW Network
Will Packer, Producer (Think
Like a Man, Obsessed, Stomp The Yard, Takers, This Christmas)
Wendy Raquel Robinson,
Actress/Philanthropist
Zola Mashariki, Senior Vice
President, Production, FOX Searchlight Pictures
For
more information and to register, please visit www.themergesummit.com
