SpeakeRS - 2024

A Discussion with Doug Liman

Thursday, April 11th, 5 - 6 PM EDT

Granoff Martinos Auditorium

DOUG LIMAN is a director and producer for film and television. His career began with the film Swingers; further credits include Go, The Bourne Identity franchise, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Jumper, Fair Game, Edge of Tomorrow/Live Die Repeat, American Made, Chaos Walking, Locked Down, Road House (2024), and the upcoming Matt Damon & Casey Affleck film, The Instigators.

For television, Liman has directed and produced numerous series. He currently produces and has directed episodes of The Recruit on Netflix and his show Suits recently set a Nielsen record for most streamed series ever. Other credits include Impulse, Covert Affairs, I Just Want My Pants Back, and The O.C.. He has also won numerous awards for his commercials.  

Liman also works on web, non-linear and VR content through his label 30 Ninjas, which earned a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records for their show Invisible as the first scripted VR series.

Liman serves on the board of the Legal Action Center and the Arthur Liman Public Interest Program at Yale Law School.

Liman is also a pig farmer.

“The Idea Of You” Screening +

Talkback with Director Michael Showalter

Saturday, April 13th, 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM EDT

Granoff Martinos Auditorium

Michael Showalter is a prolific and Emmy-nominated director, writer, and producer who skillfully blends drama and comedy to tell unique and heartfelt stories that uplift and amplify unconventional lead characters. In 2018, alongside his producing partner, Jordana Mollick, Showalter founded Semi-Formal Productions where he focuses on producing contemporary and socially aware film and television.

On the feature film side, Showalter’s most recent release was Spoiler Alert, a Focus Features film adaptation of journalist Michael Ausiello’s 2017 best-selling memoir, starring Sally Field and Jim Parsons. Showalter also directed the two-time Oscar-winning film, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, an intimate look behind the extraordinary rise, fall, and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker starring Jessica Chastain who won Best Actress for her portrayal. Showalter’s 2017 film, The Big Sick, received an Oscar-nomination for its script written by Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. His additional feature credits include writing and directing Hello, My Name Is Doris starring Sally Field as well as directing and producing the action-comedy The Lovebirds starring Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae.

On the television side, Showalter is currently set to direct and executive produce A24’s adaptation of number one true crime podcast, “The Girlfriends”. Showalter has been tapped to direct the first episode of new original drama series “Happy Face” for Paramount+. He will also executive produce the series. Showalter recently directed and produced Hulu’s “The Dropout,” starring Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes for which she won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series. The show was nominated for six Emmy Awards including Showalter for Outstanding Directing. He also executive produced “I Love That For You,” a half-hour comedy series on Showtime, starring Molly Shannon and Vanessa Bayer and executive produced and directed “The Shrink Next Door,” for Apple TV+ starring Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd. He is the co-creator of “Wet Hot American Summer” and the hit HBO Max original series “Search Party,” which premiered its fifth and final season in January 2022, and serves as an executive producer on the CW series, “In the Dark.”

A Discussion with Cynthia Erivo

Sunday, April 14th, 3 - 4 PM EDT

Granoff Martinos Auditorium (Hybrid)

Cynthia Erivo is a Grammy® Emmy® and Tony® Award-winning actress, singer and producer, as well as an Academy Award®, Golden Globe®, and SAG nominee. Erivo burst onto West End and Broadway stages in THE COLOR PURPLE and has since taken the world by storm. 

Erivo is set to star as Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande’s Glinda in Universal’s highly anticipated film adaptation of the hit musical WICKED from director Jon M. Chu. Part 1 of WICKED will be released on November 27th, 2024. With Part 2 released on November 26th, 2025.

Erivo can currently be seen starring in DRIFT, which Erivo produces with her production company Edith’s Daughter. DRIFT follows a young Liberian refugee named Jacqueline (Erivo) who has barely escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. The film had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22nd, 2023 and opened to rave reviews. Erivo also wrote and recorded an original song for the film entitled “It Would Be.”

Erivo was nominated for an Emmy® for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Aretha Franklin in National Geographic’s Emmy-winning global anthology series GENIUS: ARETHA. This season is the first-ever, definitive, and only authorized scripted limited series on the life of the universally acclaimed Queen of Soul. The series premiered on National Geographic on March 21.

In addition to her illustrious acting career, Erivo is a Grammy®-nominated songwriter and performer, often headlining sold-out shows, symphonies, and music spaces including the Kennedy Center Honors, the 2020 Academy Awards, the 2017 Governor’s Ball and the 2017 Grammy Awards. Erivo released her debut album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, with Verve/Universal Music Group on September 17. 

Erivo released her first children’s book titled, Remember to Dream, Ebere on September 28. The book follows a young girl named Ebere whose mother encourages her to dream as big as possible. Erivo wrote the book as an ode to a child’s imagination, a parent’s love and the big dreams shared by both. 

Erivo recently starred opposite Idris Elba in the Netflix feature film installment of Luther: The Fallen Sun, continuing the story of the acclaimed crime series. Erivo plays a detective who is also Luther’s nemesis while Serkis is the story’s criminal villain. Luther: The Fallen Sun premiered on Netflix on March 10, 2023. 

In 2022, Cynthia Disney’s live-action retelling of PINOCCHIO. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Erivo will take on the iconic role of the Blue Fairy. She is also slated to star in Apple’s ROAR, an anthology series of darkly comic feminist fables. It was also announced that Erivo will produce and star in a biopic about Sara Forbes Bonnetta, a 19th-century Nigerian princess who was "gifted" to Queen Victoria after being liberated from slavery.

In August 2020, Erivo launched her production company, Edith’s Daughter, and announced her first-look deal with MRC Television & Civic Center Media. Edith’s Daughter focuses on projects that express the beauty in the stories and people who are often overlooked and underrepresented. Erivo named Solome Williams as Vice President of the company. 

Erivo recently starred in the HBO series THE OUTSIDER, which premiered on January 12, 2020. The series is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. The series follows an unorthodox investigator and a seasoned cop investigating a gruesome murder of a local boy.

In 2019, Erivo starred in Kasi Lemmons’ HARRIET, where she brought the legacy of Harriet Tubman to the big screen. Focus Features released the film in theaters on November 1, 2019, and Erivo's performance was met with critical acclaim. Additionally, Erivo lent her voice to the movie’s title song, “Stand Up,” for which she co-wrote. “Stand Up” won “Best Original Song” at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Both Cynthia and “Stand Up” were nominated for two Academy Awards as well as two Golden Globe Awards in the categories of “Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” and “Best Original Song” respectively. Additionally, “Stand Up” received a nomination for a Grammy Award in the category of “Best Song Written for Visual Media.” 

The film also garnered ten NAACP nominations as well as AAFCA and Society of Composers & Lyricists Award wins.