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March 10, 2009

E.I.N. Presents Dinner for Eight

Join Steve Dontanville for an Evening of Food & Talk


After the success of the USC 2K9 Sundance Trip,  the Entertainment Industry Network [E.I.N.] is proud to announce Steve Dontanville as the next industry host of Dinner For Eight, a program in which successful professionals host eight students for an intimate dinner to chat about their careers, life experiences, and advice on breaking into Hollywood. The students attending pay for dinner and the hosts are assured that no one will ask them for a job. It is simply an opportunity to hear about their life and career.

The Dinner For Eight program has been a tremendous success at USC since its inception in 2001 and has included such hosts as:

  • Robert Chartoff – (Producer)  Rocky, Raging Bull, The Right Stuff
  • Jon Landau –   (Producer)     Titanic, Dick Tracy
  • Larry Turman – (Producer)   The Graduate, Short Circuit
  • Ed Limato –       (Talent Agent)  Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Richard Gere
  • David Weitzner - (President) Worldwide Marketing for 20th Century Fox, Universal
  • Mark Goffman -  (Writer)   West Wing
  • Mel Stuart – (Director)  Willy Wonka
  • Chris Moore – (Producer)  Project Greenlight                                              
  • Larry Auerbach – (T.V. Agent)  The Cosby Show
  • Bill Mechanic – (Studio Exec/Producer)  Fox Studios
  • Jon Chu – (Director) Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3-D
  • Ian Sander & Kim Moses (Executive Producers)  The Ghost Whisperer        

Steve Dontanville:


Steve Dontanville worked for 27 years as a talent agent, becoming one of the industry's top agents at ICM and William Morris Agency. Though his most famous discovery was Reese Witherspoon, he also guided the careers of Holly Hunter, Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones, Alfred Molina, and many others. After growing burnt-out with the eroding quality of studio films, Dontanville took a two-year sabbatical from the industry. He re-entered in 2007 as a talent manager, partnering with Frank Frattaroli in New York.
      
Together they now represent a roster that includes Alfre Woodard, Malcolm McDowell, Frances McDormand, Benjamin Bratt, Emmy Rossum, Juliana Marguiles, Willem Dafoe, and others. In addition, he is serving as an executive producer on his client John Krokidas' independent feature Kill Your Darlings. Produced by Christine Vachon of Killer Films, the film follows a 1944 murder that draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs.

Interested Students:

Attendees are selected based upon their responses to a short questionnaire. An emphasis is placed upon picking a diverse group from the Writing, Producing, Animation, Interactive, Critical Studies and Production programs.

Students interested in being one of the eight students must email Ian Christian Blanche.

Emails must include:
  • Name
  • Division
  • Year
  • Contact Info
  • Attach a short response (around 150 words) to the following question: What most interests you about Steve Dontanville’s career and why do you want to meet him?
Do you know an industry professional who may be interested in hosting a Dinner for Eight? Send Ian an email.



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