Hollywood Wolfpack With Kaia Alexander - From agent to producer, MENA powerhouse talks collaboration, teamwork, fun and why she's optimistic about the future: Karina Manashil

From agent to producer, MENA powerhouse talks collaboration, teamwork, fun and why she's optimistic about the future: Karina Manashil

11/17/22 • 79 min

Karina Manashil is the President of MAD SOLAR, having begun her career in the mailroom at William Morris Endeavor where she became a Talent Agent. Manashil represented notable clients including Scott Mescudi, known by his stage name, Kid Cudi, and built her career taking talent into new arenas.

In 2020, she partnered with Mescudi and Dennis Cummings to launch MAD SOLAR, which is backed by BRON Studios. The first production released under the banner was the Amazon documentary,

“A Man Named Scott” from director Robert Alexander. Manashil then went on to Executive Produce SXSW fan-favorite “X”, along with its highly anticipated prequel, “Pearl”, and the recently announced sequel, “MaXXXine”. All three films are directed by Ti West

and distributed by A24.

“Pearl” had its world premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, followed by a screening in the Midnight Madness program at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and released

Manashil is an Executive Producer on the critically acclaimed Netflix animated series directed by Fletcher Moules, “Entergalactic” which was released alongside its album of the same name from Kid Cudi on September 30th 2022.

Manashil is a native of Los Angeles and graduated from Chapman University with a BFA in Film Production.

https://twitter.com/karinamanashil

IG: @LionKarina

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In 2020, she partnered with Mescudi and Dennis Cummings to launch MAD SOLAR, which is backed by BRON Studios. The first production released under the banner was the Amazon documentary,

and distributed by A24.

“Pearl” had its world premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, followed by a screening in the Midnight Madness program at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and released

Manashil is a native of Los Angeles and graduated from Chapman University with a BFA in Film Production.

https://twitter.com/karinamanashil

IG: @LionKarina

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

A how-to primer for writers on staffing from Glenise Mullins' experience on Star Trek Discovery, Lord of the Rings and her new show

Glenise Mullins began her career in post-production and worked as an assistant editor before breaking into screenwriting. Her credits include: SHIFT, Lord of Rings: The Rings of Power, Warrior on HBO MAX, Star Trek: Discovery on Paramount +, Surface on Apple TV

@gleniseme

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Next Episode

Writer of MINAMATA starring Johnny Depp (now on HULU) talks about taking the script to screen: David Kessler

Originally from Philadelphia, David attended that city’s “Fame” high school, Creative And Performing Arts, where his classmates included QuestLove and Boyz II Men. He then graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York, and worked as a graphic designer for ad agencies, designed book covers, movie posters, and indie film titles.

He impulsively moved to Los Angeles in 2000 and became a stand-up comic for a while, performing at The Improv, The Vancouver Comedy Festival, and in sketches on “The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson” and “The Showbiz Show with David Spade”. But he tired of comedy clubs after a few years and focused on writing instead. In 2006, his “Will & Grace” spec made it to the semi-finals of the Warner Bros. Comedy Workshop.

Switching to drama, he optioned the book “Minamata” (and the life rights of the author), about the experiences of journalist W. Eugene Smith photographing mercury poisoning victims in Japan. He wrote the screenplay in six weeks, and it got him a literary manager. Then Johnny Depp’s company came on board to produce with Depp himself as the star. “Minamata” premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2020 and is now an Oscar favorite, streaming on HULU, Amazon Prime, and iTunes. It also stars Bill Nighy, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano.

His follow up, DREAMERS (based on the book “John Lennon Vs. The US”), is about John Lennon’s immigration battle with the Nixon administration which legally set the stage (many years later) for DACA/The Dream Act.

David was recently hired by the director of “Minamata”, Andrew Levitas, to rewrite a script about the two brothers who owned Adidas and Puma and who battled each other for decades. That project, “Adidas V Puma”, is currently out to actors and mentioned in “The Hollywood Reporter” in early March 2021.

https://scriptanatomy.com/david-kessler/

@EvrythngGldnBks