Alan B. Bursteen

Alan B. Bursteen—now there's a guy who’s basically seen it all in Hollywood. As the Co-Founder and President of Milestone Studios, LLC, he’s got his fingers in just about every part of the movie pie. Milestone isn’t your garden-variety production house; they can sniff out projects, wrangle talent, bankroll films, and actually get them in front of eyeballs around the world. They’re not just pumping out sequels either—original stories, adaptations from all sorts of material (novels, articles, even memoirs), you name it, they develop it. Budgets? Anywhere from five to fifteen million bucks per flick, so we’re talking that sweet spot where indie meets mainstream. Genres? Oh, they’re not picky: action, thrillers, horror, comedies, family stuff—it’s all fair game. Plus, if you’re a filmmaker stuck somewhere in development hell, Milestone can swoop in, slap some financing on it, maybe hook you up with distribution, the whole nine yards. Bursteen himself? The man’s a straight-up vet. Before Milestone, he ran New City Releasing, Inc., and became one of the top dogs in licensing indie films in the U.S. He’s the reason movies like Nolan’s “Memento,” “Crash,” “Boondock Saints,” and “Freeway” found their way to fans. Seriously, he’s negotiated more deals than you’ve had hot dinners—licensing over 750 movies, producing 150+ features, and stacking up 100 hours of TV on top. He even helped invent that “World Premiere” branding for HBO and the other big networks. Arizona State grad, member of all the big leagues (AFI, ATAS, PGA)—the guy’s just everywhere.