On the My Creative Careers podcast, we are going to be talking to a vast range of people who have all kinds of careers in the film industry. But today we’ll start with a short introduction to us, your hosts Adam and Tamika, and give you a brief insight into how our own creative careers have developed over the years.
Adam Leipzig, Founder and CEO of MediaU, was previously a senior executive at Walt Disney Studios and the President of National Geographic Films. He has been a producer, distributor, or supervising executive on 35 films that have disrupted expectations, including, A Plastic Ocean, March of the Penguins, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Dead Poets Society, The Way Back, and Titus. Adam’s movies have been awarded or nominated for several Academy Awards, BAFTAs, Golden Globes, and Emmys, to name but a few! In addition to guiding MediaU, Adam is a part of the faculty at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Tamika Lamison is a valued advisor at MediaU; her expertise as a writer, director, and producer has garnered many awards and accolades. Before becoming the Executive Director of the Commercial Directors Diversity Program which she built for the Directors Guild of America & Association of Independent Commercial Producers, she was a research consultant at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Tamika also founded and created the non-profit, Make A Film Foundation, which grants film wishes to seriously or terminally ill children by teaming up them with noted writers, directors & producers who help them create their film legacy.
“You never leave theater, you might take extended vacations from it, but you never leave.” – Adam Leipzig
“When you can make a film that’s entertaining and makes a difference or has impact, to me that’s a win-win.” – Tamika Lamison
Highlights This Week:
- When Tamika was first bitten by the theatre bug and how long she stayed there before she moved into things that happen on screens.
- How Tamika’s experience of being at the Disney fellowship motivated her transition into different roles in film and TV.
- Tamika’s commitment to staying valued centered, why she founded the Make a Film Foundation, and how it all started with a bad check.
- Why Tamika is passionate about promoting positive change and how creating Commercial Directors Diversity Program fits into that worldview.
- Adam’s career trajectory, from an early immersion in theatre to being a dramaturg, then creating a theater right through to working at Disney.
- Why Adam’s film A Plastic Ocean demonstrates how telling an authentic story to audiences can make a profound difference in the world.
- Why Adam founded MediaU to give content creators access to methods of up skilling and up trending in a technologically rapidly evolving industry.
- Adam and Tamika also share their personal superpowers—and they’re not necessarily what you might think!
