Press release from SPAA
The Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) has confirmed Matthew Weiner, the creator and executive producer of the award-winning TV series Mad Men, will be a keynote speaker at the annual Conference to be held at The Westin Hotel in Sydney from 17 to 20 November.
Set in the world of advertising on New York’s Madison Avenue in the early ‘60s, Mad Men is now entering its third season on the AMC network in the U.S. Series one aired in Australia in May on SBS to universal critical acclaim and exceptional ratings. Mad Men has won a slate of awards including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, two consecutive Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Drama Series, a Peabody Award, a Writers Guild Award for New Series and for Best Dramatic Series and an American Film Institute Award as one of the top 10 Outstanding Achievements in Drama. The series also landed on the top of many TV critics end-of-the-year lists as one of the best TV programmes of 2007 and 2008.
Weiner first wrote the pilot for Mad Men in 1999 and three years later sent it as a writing sample to The Sopranos creator, David Chase, who hired him as a writer and executive producer on the acclaimed show. Along with the other executive producers, The Sopranos won Weiner the 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and garnered him an Emmy nomination with co-writer Terence Winter for outstanding writing in the episode “Unidentified Black Males.” Weiner also earned a 2007 Writers Guild Award (TV) for the series and a 2005 PGA Golden Laurel Award for Television Producer of the Year in Episodic.
A Los Angeles-born, father of four, Weiner has worked as a scriptwriter and television producer for 18 years and has produced various television series, including The Naked Truth, Becker and Andy Richter Controls the Universe. He also wrote and directed the independent feature, What Do You Do All Day? He studied Philosophy, Literature and History at Wesleyan University and earned his Master of Fine Arts (Cinema and Television) from the University of Southern California.
The SPAA Conference attracts up to 650 industry representatives and key decision makers including producers, directors, distributors, financiers, exhibitors, television network heads, commissioning editors, lawyers and accountants. Of these there is a sizable international contingent from leading media organisations around the world. 2009 marks a change of venue to Sydney for the Conference after five years on the Gold Coast.
SPAA is the industry association for the independent film and television industry, providing leadership and direction on all debates concerning the economics, creative and technological future of the screen production industries in Australia. It strives to create the business conditions for the industry to compete strongly in both local and overseas markets.
SPAA Conference, 17 – 20 November 2009, The Westin, Sydney www.spaa.org.au/conference
Media enquiries: Fran Lanigan t: 03 9690 7557 m: 0412 174 033 e: laniganf@ozemail.com.au