NATPE||Content First president and CEO Rod Perth announced Tuesday the slate of speakers for the “Storytellers and the Shaping of Pop Culture” conference during NATPE||Miami on Jan. 21, 2015 at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach.
Several award-winning showrunners and writers will speak at sessions. Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and Arrested Development creator Mitchell Hurwitz will join Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos, a 2015 Legacy Honoree, for a discussion. In addition, Community showrunner Dan Harmon and documentarian Morgan Spurlock will each have dedicated sessions.
Another 2015 Legacy Honoree Jay Leno, the host of The Tonight Show for more than two decades, will talk to outgoing Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson. Business magnate Russell Simmons, the entrepreneur who cofounded hip-hop label Def Jam, is also slated to speak at a session.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of America’s Funniest Home Videos, creator and executive producer Vin Di Bona will take part in a discussion with longtime host Tom Bergeron and executive producers Todd Thicke and Michele Nasraway. “NATPE has always held a special place in my professional career since first attending in 1978, so naturally I am thrilled to be celebrating our 25th year there,” Di Bona said.
Reality television pioneers will also be featured at the conference. Endemol North America co-chairman and co-CEO Cris Abrego will have a dialogue with Bunim/Murray Productions chairman Jonathan Murray, the 2015 Legacy Honoree who is considered an inventor of the genre.
“Our goal is to capture the exciting realities that are at the intersection of entertainment, culture, and the explosion of new platforms,” said NATPE’s Perth. “With these guests, who are all hit makers and change agents in unique ways, we can’t miss — and neither should anyone who is with us in Miami.”
The NATPE conference, under the banner theme “Content Without Borders,” features 150-plus speakers in more than 59 conversations and panels.
