Jere R. Hausfater, Esq
Attorney/Executive Producer
About Speaker
Hausfater is currently a practicing entertainment attorney, executive producer, expert witness, and COO consultant in the entertainment space focusing on film, television, and music. Hausfater’s expertise is in development, finance, production, packaging, and worldwide distribution. Hausfater has provided legal and business affairs services for Cassian Elwes’ Elevated Films, Marvel Films, Netflix, Film Finances, MGM International Television, Vine Alternative Investments, Wood Cliff Capital, Marvel Films, The Orchard, Shamrock Investments, Cinetic Media, Foresight Films, Tom Ortenberg, Roadside Attractions Television, Arclight Films, Maloof LLC, and Sentient Entertainment, among others. Currently, Hausfater is finance counsel on three financed independent feature films that have been granted SAG waivers. He also serves as an expert witness in litigation cases. Hausfater spent a majority of his career as Executive Vice President of Acquisition and Business Affairs for Buena Vista International, Buena Vista Film Sales, Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Pictures Distribution reporting to Jeffrey Katzenberg, Bill Mechanic, Dick Cook, Joe Roth and David Hoberman. He built and ran his own acquisition division within Walt Disney Studios acquiring pictures and children’s programming for Disney to distribute and created Buena Vista Film Sales, an internal sales company at Disney selling feature films, library product, and acting as a sales agent for third party product licensing to distributors throughout the world. Hausfater’s first acquisition for Buena Vista to theatrically distribute was Dances With Wolves for Latin America which won the Oscar for best picture. Hausfater was responsible for all third- party film and non-theatrical acquisitions for Disney. His division of 25 employees generated in excess of $300M in operating income for the studio which included selling the Merchant Ivory, ABC and Cinergi libraries through Buena Vista Film Sales. Hausfater acquired for Disney to distribute or sold distribution rights to studio and third party product throughout the world for over 500 films, including: Il Postino, Life is Beautiful, Runaway Bride, Face Off, The Piano, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Face Off, La Femme Nikita, The Professional, Die Hard With a Vengeance, Central Station, Dances With Wolves, 3 Ninjas, The Crow, The Straight Story, Snake Eyes, Shine (Geoffrey Rush winning an Oscar for best actor), Kolya(which won the best foreign language Oscar), and Air Force One. Hausfater also acquired home entertainment properties such as The Chipmunks library, DIC library, (such as Inspector Gadget and Madeline,) Felix the Cat, The Brave Little Toaster 2, Spot the Dog, The Jim Henson and the Rocky and Bullwinkle library. Hausfater was the international and acquisition liaison at Walt Disney Studios for Miramax/Dimension Films distributed internationally by Buena Vista International acquiring Pulp Fiction for Buena Vista UK and Latin America which was the beginning of Buena Vista International distributing Miramax/Dimension films in the UK, Latin America, France, Spain, Italy and Australia/New Zealand. He also created and ran the UK Comedy Label which acquired, developed and green lite the feature films, Calendar Girls , High Heels and Low Lives, and Kinky Boots. Buena Vista Film Sales also green lite for production, the feature films , Duets starring Gwyneth Paltrow and directed by her father, Bruce Paltrow, and Gun Shy starring Sandra Bullock and Liam Neesom. Hausfater was also the studio liaison for Elton John and David Furnish’s feature film company and Scott Free Pictures. Following his 13 year tenure at Walt Disney Studios, Hausfater became Executive Vice President at Miramax/Dimension overseeing international distribution, marketing, sales, home entertainment and international business and legal affairs as well as a member of the Miramax Acquisition Group and Senior Executive in charge of the Los Angeles office. During his tenure, Miramax theatrically released over 30 films annually including Cold Mountain, Starsky and Hutch, Spy Kids 3, Scary Movie 3, Il Postino, Kill Bill 1 and 2, Shall We Dance, Aviator, Finding Neverland, Sin City, Amityville Horror, Garden State, and The Brothers Grimm, among others. Prior to Miramax, Hausfater joined Intermedia Films as President of The Motion Picture Group, responsible for worldwide sales, marketing, and distribution overseeing a staff of 50 employees in London and Los Angeles. He achieved worldwide sales in excess of $300M with such films as K-19, The Widow Maker, Resident Evil, Adaption, The Life and Death of David Gale, K-Pax, The Wedding Planner, Iris, The Quiet American, Dark Blue, Basic Instinct 2, the first Terminator reboot, Wise Girls, Basic, Minehunters, Enigma, and Suspect Zero. Hausfater also founded Essential Entertainment as CEO, a development, finance, sale and distribution company handling such films as Defiance, The Informers, Fireflies In the Garden, Book of Blood, Solomon King, a rebooted Point Break, My One and Only, The Other Woman, Stan Helsing, and An American Carol. Thereafter, Hausfater was COO of Aldamisa Entertainment, a production, finance and worldwide sales company handling such films as Chef, Sin City, A Dame to Kill For, Machete Kills, Jayne Mansfield’s Car, Shanghai Calling and the animated feature, Jock, the Hero Dog. Hausfater has extensive and long -standing relations with agents, managers, attorneys, producers, entertainment banks, studios, and worldwide distributors. Hausfater began his career in the music business having worked as an attorney and executive at United Artist Records/Blue Note Records, ABC Records/ABC Music, MCA Records and K-Tel Entertainment. He graduated from Boston University School of Business with a law degree from Southwestern University in Los Angeles. He is a voting member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science and former board member of IFTA. He was a professor for Boston University in Los Angeles teaching Entertainment Finance to undergraduate business students for over 10 years. He earned an executive producer credit on 15 feature films.