Penn in Pictures '08: He Acquires Films for Universal Studios (VIDEOS)

Penn in Pictures ’08: He Acquires Films for Universal Studios (VIDEOS)

Last week, I posted video of TV writer (and Penn in Pictures’) host Lew Schneider (C’83), “ER” Medical consultant, Zach Lutsky (C’97), and “Brothers and Sisters” TV Writer Sherri Cooper Landsman (C’94) talking about their beginnings in Hollywood.

Today, I continue my Penn in Pictures series with great video of Jason Resnick (C’94), Senior Vice President and General Manager of Worldwide Acquisitions for the Universal Pictures Group.

In this position, Resnick oversees motion picture acquisitions to support Universal’s global distribution network, which encompasses Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Rogue Pictures. Upcoming releases include Drag Me to Hell, a new horror film from director Sam Raimi and This Side of the Truth, the directorial debut of acclaimed British comedy star Ricky Gervais. Resnick also oversees Universal’s local language productions in Latin America and Asia. Recent films include Jose Padilha’s Brazilian hit, Elite Squad, and Korean director Park Chan-wook’s latest work, Thirst.

In the videos below, Jason talks about:

What he did at Penn as an English major

The not-so-encouraging advice he received from Penn’s Career Planning

His moves from Penn to Paris and then to NY where he began working at Miramax

His move to LA where he first worked for a manager/producer

What he has done in “acquisitions” over the past 10 years within Universal and what he’s doing there now as Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, including the types of independent international films he’s purchasing

A special thanks to editor David Chalfin (C’96), a fantastic editor living in Los Angeles who recorded and edited all the Penn in Pictures videos. Check out his reel here!