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Leonard Shapiro is President of Rootbeer Films, Inc., which he began in 1996 to act as an independent consulting company specializing in the marketing, financing, distribution and acquisition of independent motion pictures. Since 2003, Mr. Shapiro has acted as an Acquisitions Consultant for Echo Bridge Entertainment as part of its worldwide acquisitions team. Most recently Mr. Shapiro served as Executive Producer on the films "Dahmer" and "Gacy" for DEJ Production, a wholly owned subsidiary of Blockbuster, Inc. Rootbeer arranged the international financing and the domestic distribution with MGM for the movie "Trigger Happy," starring Richard Dreyfus, Jeff Goldblum, Ellen Barkin and Gabriel Byrne. From 1982 to 1996, Mr. Shapiro served as President and CEO of Shapiro Glickenhaus Entertainment (SGE). He was responsible for the day-to-day operation of SGE, an independent production company with its own foreign sales department and an exclusive distribution arrangement with MCA/Universal Home Video. Mr. Shapiro supervised the production, marketing, and distribution for SGE's 14 in-house productions, as well as the distribution for more than 100 completed films from independent producers. Before forming SGE, Mr. Shapiro was Vice President of Acquisitions and Marketing Services for AVCO Embassy Pictures, responsible for negotiating and acquiring films for U.S. theatrical distribution. Additionally, Shapiro actively participated in theatrical marketing campaign plans and was directly responsible for all print and advertising budgetary planning and controls. In this capacity Mr. Shapiro reported directly to the CEO and worked closely with senior management, as well as producers, filmmakers, and creative personnel. Mr. Shapiro was responsible for the acquisition of "Time Bandits," "Prom Night," "Phantasm," "The Exterminator," among many others. He was involved in the marketing and distribution of over 25 films for AVCO, among them "Escape from New York," "The Howling," and "The Fog."Mr. Shapiro has served as a faculty member for the film entertainment program at UCLA Extension for fourteen years, teaching independent film production and distribution classes. Mr. Shapiro has also serves as an instructor at the Producer's Summer Program at UCLA, which attracts film students globally. From 1992 to 1998, Mr. Shapiro served as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Film Market Association (AFMA), an association of more than 100 international media companies, including ABC, NBC, Miramax, New Line Cinema, and Artisan Entertainment. | 