ENTERTAINMENTPARTNERSHAS BEEN PROUDTO SERVE THEENTERTAINMENTINDUSTRY FOR40 YEARSWE ARE GRATEFUL FORYOUR SUPPORT AND LOOK FORWARD TO PARTNERING WITH YOU FORMANY YEARS TO COME.

ep.com

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F ew industries have taken greater advan-tage of digital tech-

nology than entertain-ment. The benefits extend not just to production and exhibition, but also to the behind-the-scenes worlds of accounting, payroll services, budgeting, and scheduling.

Showbiz Stalwart Celebrates Four Decades of ServiceEven as production becomes more complicated, there are ways to be simpler and more efficient

And few companies have ridden the digital wave more effectively than Enter-tainment Partners. When EP first opened its doors in 1976 as Independent Infor-mation Services, it focused on automating film and TV accounting — a process that was carried out with

reams of paper forms in duplicate and triplicate.

Realizing there were syn-ergies between managing the costs of production and cutting cast and crew pay-checks, EP soon segued into payroll services, eventually becoming the biggest such provider in Hollywood.

Myfa Cirinna, exec VP of marketing for EP, explains the company’s evolution this way: “For almost 100 years, most of the industry focused on solving produc-tion as an individual event. [But] most of our clients produce more than one piece of content and [do] it over and over again, so we moved away from event solutions to a continuum opportunity.”

EP has done that by adding synergies through expansions and acquisi-tions over the past several

decades, from extras cast-ing, via its iconic Central Casting unit, and incen-tives consulting to its cloud-based Smart Stu-dio Platform, a produc-tion management system that takes projects from the script stage to residual payments.

In the process, EP has made itself integral to the operation of studios and independents alike.

“Throughout any given week I find myself reaching out to Bob Pucher in their labor department and/or Joe Chianese in their tax rebates and incentive →

By TODD LONGWELL

Supporting the BusinessFrom its headquarters in Burbank, above, and other offices, EP provides the industry with a wide array of services.

Entertainment Partners Over Time1976 Independent Infor-mation Services opens its doors in Hollywood with five employees.

1978 Launches Screen Production Management System, the first time-share accounting and payroll scheme.

1980 Name is changed to Draney Information Ser-vices Corp.

1982 Implements first studio payroll and residuals systems.

1985 Establishes affiliate offices in Canada and the U.K.

1991 Changes name to Entertainment Partners; acquires Central Casting.

2002 Acquires Movie Magic Scheduling, Budgeting, and Virtual Production Office.

2003 Founders retire; Mark Goldstein becomes presi-dent and CEO.

2004 Company becomes 100% employee-owned through workers’ stock ownership plan.

2006 Establishes EP Finan-cial Solutions, providing incentives consulting.

2012 Launches film financ-ing division.

2013 Creates ACA Solutions team and EP Cares, first entertainment industry pri-vate health care; introduces digital timecard solution, SmartTime.

2014 Introduces digital onboarding solution, SmartStart.

2015 Acquires Ease Entertainment Services and Scenechronize Studio Hub.

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EP INCENTIVES GURU HELPS FIND THE RIGHT LOCATIONSO ver the past decade, as states

from Alaska to Georgia and

numerous countries around the

globe have one-upped each other with

incentive packages, tax credits have

become a key component in the budget

of virtually every film and TV project.

This has made Joseph D. Chianese,

executive VP of financial solutions at

Entertainment Partners, one popular

guy in Hollywood, where he’s earned

a position on the speed-dial of many

industry execs.

“Joe is my first

call whenever I begin

to budget a project,”

says Amy Herman,

independent producer

and unit production

manager (“Argo”).

“Joe has a worldwide

knowledge of the constantly changing

film incentive programs as well as an

overall understanding of what a producer

is looking for when deciding to choose

a location to shoot a movie besides the

rebate.”

Chianese joined EP in 2006 from

Sony Pictures, where he was senior

director of tax. Today, he heads a

department of 15 people, with satellite

offices in New York, Louisiana, Georgia,

Florida, New Mexico, and North Carolina.

They consult with producers, fielding

anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 calls

a year — as well as from jurisdictions

looking to implement or fine-tune an

incentive.

EP’s incentive consulting services

evolved out of its core payroll services

business, which, like tax credits, requires

a thorough understanding of numerous

local and federal laws and regulations.

In recent years, EP has added other

incentive-related services, including

tax credit placement and production

financing, issuing loans as high as $10

million, using credits as collateral, both in

the U.S. and abroad.

For Chianese and his team, each day

seems to bring a new law to learn and or

another territory to explore.

“There are lot of new incentives

being offered in places you might not

realize, like Georgia, the country, and

Macedonia,” says Chianese. “So we’re

always looking to see what our clients

need and where they’re going.”

— Todd Longwell

← area with questions, seeking clarification, asking them if they ever encountered a similar situ-ation to what I am attempting to work through,” says Brian C. Wensel, senior VP of production finance for Legendary Entertainment.

Mark Goldstein, EP’s president and CEO, says the company prides itself on being a leading agent of change, such as when it helped create the first fully compliant pri-vate industry health insurance exchange after the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

“Our head of payroll sits in on an IRS compliance group, help-ing to shape how the IRS imple-ments its laws,” says Goldstein. “On the labor side, we’re sitting in negotiations with the unions, and we’re often brought in by lobbying groups and chambers of commerce when they’re evaluating the credi-bility of the labor laws.”

Aside from its various opera-tions, EP is also known for its own-

ership structure. Its employees — who number approximately 1,000 spread across 14 offices, with some 800 concentrated in its Burbank, Calif., home base — have their own perspective on labor issues: since 2004, the company has been 100% employee-owned.

“Because we’re an employ-ee-owned company and we value employees as owners and part-ners with our clients, we’re able to retain the kind of subject mat-ter expertise that’s important with our customers,” says Goldstein.

Then there’s technology. EP impacts the industry through its Smart Studio Suite, which includes information and document man-agement, and its Scenechronize automated budgeting, schedul-ing, and script tools that let users break down scripts, create sides with the push of a button, water-mark documents and customize permissions for content control.

The system speeds up the pull-ing of time cards, deal memos and reports for DGA audits, says Mike Rose, EP’s chief strategy officer and president of its Movie Magic Scenechronize Technologies divi-sion. “What once took weeks now takes minutes.”

Steering the ShipFrom top: Mark Goldstein, president and CEO; Myfa Cirinna, exec VP of marketing; and Mike Rose, chief strategy officer and president of the tech unit.

EP Puerto Rico congratulates

Entertainment Partners for its

40th Anniversary. Your leadership,

excellence and vision inspires us

everyday!

We also wish Central Casting

a Happy 90th Anniversary,

what an extraordinary

achievement!

Sargent-Disc

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O f all the brands scat-tered across the Hol-lywood landscape,

few have burned as long and as brightly as Central Casting. When someone is said to come “straight out of Central Casting,” enter-tainment insiders and out-siders alike know just what they’re talking about.

Or do they? Central Casting, opened

its doors in 1926 and in the ensuing 90 years has been the preeminent facil-ity for background actors, body doubles, and stand-ins around the U.S. It’s such a generic brand that many are surprised to learn it’s actually a business.

“It makes me laugh,” says Jennifer Bender, Cen-tral Casting exec VP. “People think it’s a joke.”

It’s not. With more than

100,000 active background actors —“extras” is so yes-terday — in its database across four offices, L.A., New York, Atlanta, and New Orleans, Central Casting remains the most promi-nent casting house in the business.

“We like to see ourselves as a company that’s lead-ing the way,” Bender says. “We’re full-service, training background actors, offering enrichment classes.”

Central is also the only one-stop shop in the indus-try to both place back-ground actors and handle their payroll.

The more specialties actors can offer – juggling, dancing, costumes – the more in demand they are. When Showtime’s “The Big C” wanted real-life can-cer patients, or “Deepwater

CENTRAL CASTING CHANGES WITH THE TIMESCelebrating 90 years, EP’s acting unit benefits from the digital revolution

By RANDEE DAWN

Horizon” director Peter Berg wanted real oil rig workers, Central provided.

“Central Casting has the bulk of opportunities for television, film and the occasional commercial,” says longtime background actress Jo El Skore, who has appeared in productions ranging from “Seabiscuit” to “Dr. Ken.” “And I never have to go looking for my paycheck.”

Originally formed under the direction of the Motion Picture Producers and Dis-tributors of America pres-ident Will Hays, Central sought to organize and reg-ulate the influx of extras in the budding industry. During its first six months of operation it had placed more than 113,000 back-

ground actors; in 1927 it opened a division for Afri-can-American actors.

The company has built an actor database, helped regulate working conditions and wages, and provided an entryway for upcoming stars. Future Oscar winner David Niven registered in 1935, for example.

Central’s fortunes have always been tied to the vagaries of the industry. Its registry took a hit for many years after World War II when studios brought cast-ing in-house.

But Central came through for some big pro-ductions — 1969’s “Hello, Dolly” boasted a parade of 16 units and 3,108 extras; 1979’s “The Rose” required 12,000 rock fans.

The company was acquired by Production Pay-ments Inc., the West Coast subsidiary of Talent &

The days of casting a New York scene with 100 random people are gone. It’s now an art form.”Jennifer Bender

Residuals (itself owned by Intl. Digitronics Corp.) in 1976. In 1991 IDC merged with Draney Information Services to form Entertain-ment Partners, Central’s present owner.

Bender notes that cast-ing today is becoming more precise. “The days of casting a New York street scene with 100 random people are gone. It’s now an art form where direc-tors often want to hand-se-lect or pre-interview people because they want a very specific look. … We’ve even looked for a man with one eye and one arm. If it exists, we’ll find it.”

Then and NowCentral Casting’s offices in the early days, top, where paper abounded, and the company’s offices today.