Allen Shapiro is a media executive and investor. He is the former executive chairman and CEO of

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces award shows and other music en ...

(DCP), a former chairman of

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

, and a former entertainment lawyer. Shapiro was the executive producer of DCP's flagship programming and oversaw the development, production and licensing of the company's high-profile properties. Since 1999, he is a managing partner of Mosaic Media Investment Partners production and talent management company.

Life and career

Shapiro was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law sch ...

, earning a J.D. in 1972.

Entertainment lawyer

Shapiro’s professional career began in his hometown of Chicago in the Office of the General Counsel at

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

Enterprises, Inc. In 1983, Shapiro joined the law firm of Gipson Hoffman & Pancione, subsequently became a partner. The firm represented numerous entertainment clients including

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

and

Miramax Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...

. Shapiro also headed the music practice at Kaplan, Livingston, Goodwin, Berkowitz & Selvin. In private practice, Shapiro specialized in music and entertainment law.

Media industries

In 1999, Shapiro helped shape a merger between Gold/Miller Management and

Atlas Entertainment Atlas Entertainment is an American film financing and production company, started by Charles Roven, Bob Cavallo and Dawn Steel in 1995. History In 1990, Charles Roven and partner Bob Cavallo formed Roven/Cavallo Entertainment. At the same tim ...

, that formed Mosaic Media Investment Partners, with himself as a partner and president of Mosaic Media Group; he subsequently serves as managing partner. Before joining Mosaic, Shapiro was president / CEO of The IndieProd Company, where he arranged the sale of the company to

Carolco Pictures Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit ...

Inc. While at IndieProd, the company produced numerous films and television shows including ''Universal Soldier'', ''Air America'', ''Roxanne'', ''L.A. Story'', ''Footloose'' and ''All That Jazz''. In 2004, Shapiro facilitated the

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loan ...

of DCP from Dick Clark, and became CEO of the company. Three years later, DCP was successfully sold to RedZone Capital Management in June 2007. In October 2012, Shapiro once again became CEO of Dick Clark Productions after the company was purchased from Redzone Capital Management by

Guggenheim Partners Guggenheim Partners is a global investment and advisory financial services firm that engages in investment banking, asset management, capital markets services, and insurance services. Organization The firm is headquartered in New York City ...

Mandalay Entertainment Mandalay Entertainment Group is an American entertainment company founded in 1995 by Peter Guber, with interests in motion pictures, animated films, television, sports entertainment and new media. The name after ''Mandalay'' the second-largest c ...

and Mosaic Media Investment Partners. Shapiro is the co-executive producer of "

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE'') is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City's Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop ev ...

" and co-produces its successor, "New Year’s Rockin' Eve with

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and '' ...

" with its host.

Macrovision Solutions Corporation TiVo Corporation, formerly known as the Rovi Corporation and Macrovision Solutions Corporation, was an American technology company. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company is primarily involved in licensing its intellectual property ...

sold its

TV Guide Network The American cable television, cable and satellite television network Pop (American TV channel), Pop was originally launched in 1981 as a barker channel service providing a display of localized electronic program guide, channel and program listings ...

to Shapiro and One Equity Partners, an investment arm of

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...

, for about $255 million in 2008. Three months later, in 2009, Shapiro partnered TV Guide and One Equity Partners with

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

, serving as chairman of the joint venture. Shapiro was responsible for steering

's overall business strategy, while also overseeing its P&L operations and long-term growth. In 2013, Shapiro and Keshet International formed a joint venture called Keshet DCP, to serve as a platform for the two companies to jointly finance, develop and produce unscripted television programming in English and Spanish for U.S. and worldwide audiences. One of the first shows Keshet DCP wanted to exploit was ''Rising Star'', a live talent show using real-time audience voting through a downloadable app. Among other DCP productions in 2013, was the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produc ...

followed, in January 2014, by the

71st Golden Globe Awards The 71st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2013, was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 12, 2014, by NBC, as part of the 2013-14 film awards season. The ...

. That month DCP announced a multi-year television agreement with CBS to broadcast the

Hollywood Film Awards The Hollywood Film Awards are an American motion picture award ceremony held annually since 1997, usually in October or November. It was founded by Carlos de Abreu and his wife Janice Pennington. The gala ceremony takes place at the Beverly Hilto ...

. In 2014, Shapiro made his first appearance on the Billboard Power 100 List at . In 2015, Shapiro appeared on ''Billboards first "TV's Top Music Power Players List", and was on the Billboard Power 100 List of the most influential people in the music business. Shapiro is an investor in the Los Angeles football club Team Liquid, Blaze Pizza, Skims, Epic Games, Niantic, and Next VR, among several other properties. He was an investor in

Aviation Gin Aviation American Gin, also known as Aviation Gin, is a brand of gin first produced in Portland, Oregon, by founders Christian Krogstad and Ryan Magarian in 2006. It is referred to by some as an "American dry gin" and is produced by House Spir ...

, which was sold to

Diageo Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...

in a $610 million dollar deal. In September 2020, Shapiro partnered with

John D. Howard John D. Howard is CEO of Irving Place Capital (formerly Bear Stearns Merchant Banking) and was senior managing director of Bear Stearns. He is the manager of the $3 billion Bear Stearns Merchant Banking Fund III. Howard has more than 20 years of ...

to launch Celebrands, to partner with celebrity owners and others to both found and acquire consumer-facing brands. In December 2020, Shapiro formed

special-purpose acquisition company A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC; ), also known as a "blank check company", is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring a private company, thus making it public without going through the traditional i ...

(SPAC) Bright Lights Acquisition Corp. with former Dick Clark Productions CEO Michael Mahan, which had a January 2021 IPO of $US200 million. Directors include singer-songwriter

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

and former Dick Clark chairman and media mogul

Peter Guber Howard Peter Guber (born March 1, 1942) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, educator, and author. He is chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment. Guber's most recent films from Mandalay Entertainment include '' The Kids Are All ...

. In November 2021,

Manscaped Manscaped is a male grooming company based in San Diego, California, US. It was founded in 2016 by Paul Tran and produces and distributes male grooming tools and hygiene products under the Manscaped brand. History Manscaped was established in ...

, the men's grooming start-up backed by Channing Tatum, announced a deal with Bright Lights Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values the company at $1 billion. In 2021, having optioned

Dennis McDougal Dennis McDougal (born November 25, 1947) is an American author and newspaper journalist. He has been called "L.A.'s No. 1 muckraker." His book, ''Privileged Son'', was described as "illuminating reading for anyone interested in 20th-century Los ...

unauthorized biography An unauthorized biography is a biography written without the subject's permission or input. The term is usually restricted to biographies written within the subject's lifetime or shortly after their death; as such, it is not applied to biographi ...

Lew Wasserman Lewis Robert Wasserman (March 22, 1913 – June 3, 2002) was an American talent agent and studio executive, described as "the last of the legendary movie moguls" and "arguably the most powerful and influential Hollywood titan in the four decades ...

, ''The Last Mogul'', Shapiro was reported as co-executive producer, with

Mark Canton Mark Canton (born June 19, 1949) is an American film producer and executive. Life and early career Canton was born to a Jewish family in Queens, New York, the son of Shirley and Arthur Canton, who worked in the film industry on marketing and publ ...

, of a new film version of the book depicting MCA chairman Lew Wasserman and his "Hollywood fixer", attorney

Sidney Korshak Sidney Roy Korshak (June 6, 1907 – January 20, 1996) was a lawyer and " fixer" for businessmen in the upper echelons of power and the Chicago Outfit in the United States. His reputation as the Chicago mob's man in Los Angeles made him one ...

Mosaic Media Group

Mosaic Media was formed as a talent management company representing such artists as

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

and

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...

, and as a film production company, which produced shows such as ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, an ...

'' and ''The Dark Knight''. In addition to DCP, Mosaic Media bought and sold Hamstein Music Group, owner of the

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

and

Clint Black Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 1989, Black's debut album '' Killin' Time'' produced four straight number one singles on the ...

catalogues, and Daksel Seldak Music, owner of the

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

catalogue. Mosaic Media Investment Partners also acquired the

Time Life Time Life, with sister subsidiaries StarVista Live and Lifestyle Products Group, a holding of Direct Holdings Global LLC, is an American production company and direct marketer conglomerate, that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, ...

infomercial business. Mosaic was included in the consortium that took Dick Clark Productions from public to private in 2002. Production credits include: * '' Rollerball'' (2002, First Feature Film) * ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...

'' (2002) * ''

Bulletproof Monk ''Bulletproof Monk'' is a 2003 American superhero comedy film directed by Paul Hunter in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Chow Yun-fat, Seann William Scott, and Jaime King. The film is loosely based on the comic book written by B ...

'' (2003) * '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'' (2004) * '' Kicking & Screaming'' (2005) * ''

The Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

'' (2005) * '' Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'' (2006) * '' Idlewild'' (2006) * '' Live!'' (2007) * ''

The Bank Job ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (2008) * ''

What Happens in Vegas ''What Happens in Vegas'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Tom Vaughan and written by Dana Fox. It stars Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher as a couple who get married and win a casino jackpot prize during a drunken night in Las ...

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2008) * '' Step Brothers'' (2008) * ''

Land of the Lost Land of the Lost may refer to: * Land of the Lost (1974 TV series), ''Land of the Lost'' (1974 TV series), the original 1974 children's television series * Land of the Lost (1991 TV series), ''Land of the Lost'' (1991 TV series), the 1991 remake of ...

'' (2009) * ''

She's Out of My League ''She's Out of My League'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Jim Field Smith and written by Sean Anders and John Morris. It stars Jay Baruchel and Alice Eve, and was produced by Jimmy Miller and David Householter for Paramoun ...

'' (2010) * ''

The Other Guys ''The Other Guys'' is a 2010 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Adam McKay, who co-wrote it with Chris Henchy. It stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg with Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, Samuel L. Jac ...

'' (2010) * ''

Bad Teacher ''Bad Teacher'' is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Jake Kasdan from a screenplay by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. Starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins and Jason Segel, the film tells the ...

'' (2011) * '' The Lazarus Effect'' (2015) * ''

Holmes & Watson ''Holmes & Watson'' is a 2018 American-Canadian mystery-comedy film written and directed by Etan Cohen. The film stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as the eponymous characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, respectively; with Rebecca Hall, R ...

'' (2018)

TV shows

* ''

'' (2014) * ''

Apollo Gauntlet ''Apollo Gauntlet'' is an American adult animated television series created and written by Canadian animator Myles Langlois, which is an adaptation of his independent web series of the same name, released in 2012 on Rug Burn, a YouTube network born ...

'' (2016) * ''

The Stand ''The Stand'' is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which the few surv ...

'' (2020–21)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Allen Living people American film producers American television producers Year of birth missing (living people) American media executives American entertainment industry businesspeople American film studio executives Lawyers from Chicago Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni American chief executives of financial services companies