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Liz Heller

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Residence
  
Los Angeles

Role
  
Producer


Name
  
Liz Heller

Occupation
  
ProducerEntrepreneur

Movies
  
The Basketball Diaries

Liz Heller httpspbstwimgcomprofileimages115385100IMG

Full Name
  
Elizabeth Heller

Board member of
  
The Liberty Hill Foundation

Similar People
  
John Bard Manulis, Scott Kalvert, Jim Carroll

The Girls' Lounge @ Cannes 2016: A Conversation with Esther Perel


Elizabeth Heller is an American producer and entrepreneur. Described by USA Today as the "'godmother' of the women's cyber movement in Hollywood," Heller is noted for her early advocacy of the internet in the entertainment industry.

Contents

Early life and education

Heller was born in Los Angeles and raised in Beverly Hills, California, the daughter of Seymour Heller, a personal manager, and Billie Heller, a women's rights activist. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles.

Career

Heller began her career as an assistant at Epic Records. In 1983, she as hired by MCA Records; as an artist development executive, Heller commissioned more than 500 music videos for artists including Bobby Brown, Belinda Carlisle, and Tom Petty. She remained at MCA until 1990, when she was appointed president of Island Visual Arts. In 1994, Heller began working at Capitol Records, where she served as vice president of new media, and gained attention for developing early strategic alliances between the label and Microsoft, Macromedia, Liquid Audio and Apple, among other technology companies. Additionally, Heller acted as an executive producer on several of the label's soundtrack releases. She was named executive vice president of Capitol in 1996.

While at Capitol, Heller was reunited with music video director Scott Kalvert, who she had worked with at Island Visual Arts. Kalvert, who grew up in New York, had spent more than a decade unsuccessfully "making the studio rounds," trying to get Jim Carroll's autobiography,The Basketball Diaries, made into a film. Excited by the idea, Heller took the project to her former boss, Chris Blackwell, who agreed to invest in the film. Heller produced The Basketball Diaries, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, released by Palm Pictures in 1995.

Heller founded Buzztone, a marketing company, in 2000. Focused on brand building, cause marketing, social media, and ecommerce strategies, Buzztone's clients have included Microsoft, Paramount Pictures, Electronic Arts, Product(RED), Sony Pictures, and Coca-Cola. She has been a strategic partnership and initiative adviser for TOMS since 2008.

From 2000 through 2002, Heller served as the managing director of Prime Ventures, an investment firm founded by Richard Rosenblatt. In 2010, she founded Vwalls, a social publishing platform, with her husband, John Bard Manulis.

Heller is on the board of directors for uWink and the advisory board for Boopsie. She is a frequent speaker at conferences, events, and seminars worldwide.

Heller is a mentor for X Media Lab, a digital media think tank, and hosts regular networking events for women in Los Angeles. She is a member of the Los Angeles Sustainable Business Council, and is active in the Liberty Hill Foundation. Heller and Manulis were presented with the Liberty Hill Founder's Award in 2010.

Personal

Heller lives with Manulis in Los Angeles.

Honors and distinctions

  • Founders Award, Liberty Hill Foundation, 2010
  • Best in the Business, NARIP, 2009
  • Rising Star, National Association of Women Business Owners, 2004
  • Executive director, Grammy Awards host committee, 1993
  • Cable Ace Award nomination, New Orleans Live, 1992
  • References

    Liz Heller Wikipedia


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