L.A. film czar Tom Sherak taps Bob Pisano as an advisor
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Bob Pisano has played many roles in Hollywood. He was president of the Screen Actors Guild, ran the Motion Picture Assn. of America and served as chairman of the Motion Picture and Television Fund.
Now he’s taking on a new mantle: advisor to Tom Sherak, who was recently appointed film czar for Los Angeles by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Sherak, the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said Pisano will help him develop the mayor’s plan to boost the entertainment industry and keep production from leaving Southern California. The task will involve lobbying state lawmakers for stronger film tax incentives.
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“I’ve said from the very beginning no one person is going to get this done,’’ Sherak said. “He’s one of the people who knows the industry longer than I’ve known it, and knows people I don’t know.... He’s going to serve as my consigliere.”
Like Sherak, Pisano will serve as a volunteer. “I offered him 50 cents and he wouldn’t accept it,’’ Sherak said.
Pisano was among the leading candidates Garcetti considered for the position of film czar.
Sherak said he expected to name his deputy, who would work for the city and would be paid, as early as next week. The deputy would help filmmakers navigate the city’s bureaucracy.
“I never thought for one minute I could do this alone,” he said.
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