Media and Entertainment | Top 101 Industry Experts

President, Executive Producer
Atlanta, GA, USA
ozzie@tylerperrystudios.com
Industry: Media/Entertainment
Field: TV and Film Production

As a highly acclaimed professional in media and entertainment, Ozzie Areu has achieved success as the president of Tyler Perry Studios. In his roles as president and executive producer, Mr. Areu is responsible for overseeing all day-to-day operations of the company. His daily responsibilities also include working with crews, TV & film producers and talent managers, as well as managing all facets of the studio, including feature films, television shows and stage play productions. Throughout all of his professional endeavors, Mr. Areu maintains the Tyler Perry Studios vision: “A Place Where Even Dreams Believe,” intertwining worlds through storytelling and family-friendly entertainment while inspiring audiences with real life and thought-provoking issues.

Impressively, in addition to serving as the president of Tyler Perry Studios, Mr. Areu has produced numerous films and hit television shows for Tyler Perry. These films include, “For Colored Girls,” “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” “Good Deeds,” “Madea’s Witness Protection,” “Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor,” “Peeples,” “Single Mom’s Club,” and “A Madea Christmas.” In addition, Mr. Areu executive produced the production of “Madea’s Tough Love,” which is his first foray into animated films.

Mr. Areu’s past credits in entertainment also include his role as an executive producer for numerous television shows for Mr. Perry, including, “Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse,” “Meet the Browns,” “The Tyler Perry Show,” and “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.” Currently, Mr. Areu is producing two dramatic series, titled “The Haves and the Have Nots,” and “If Loving You is Wrong,” as well as a situational comedy, “Love Thy Neighbor,” which all air on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Mr. Areu began his extensive career in 1995, when he started working at Warner Bros. In this capacity, he worked for Bright Kauffman Crane Productions on the sets of NBC Universal’s hit series, “Veronica’s Closet,” “Jessie,” and the Emmy Award-winning “Friends.” He was then provided with the opportunity of assisting actors Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt for five years during their work on such films as “Ocean’s Eleven,” and “The Good Girl.” After, Mr. Areu worked with Ellen DeGeneres before joining Tyler Perry Studios in 2006. He progressed to the role of president just two years later, in 2008.

Throughout the course of his remarkable career, Mr. Areu’s work has been consistently recognized for excellence. In 2012 and 2013, “House of Payne” received four NAACP Image Awards, including Best Comedy Series. Notably, “For Colored Girls” was named Best Picture at the 2011 BET Awards. Most recently, Mr. Areu received the Georgia Entertainment Gala’s Georgia Highlight Award, in recognition of his service to entertainment.

Featured by Variety Media, LLC, as the “right-hand man inside Perry’s empire,” Mr. Areu has produced a total of nine Perry films and currently oversees 300 employees within the studio, which spans 60 acres. Additionally, he manages 34^th Street Films, a film development and production company, also owned by Mr. Perry. A true asset to Mr. Perry and the studio as a whole, Mr. Areu aspires to continue to grow the company & brand on his behalf, creating intriguing family-friendly content. Continue reading →

Writer, Editor, Ghostwriter, Poet, Memoirist, Writing Instructor, Tutor, Agent, Consultant, Book Doctor
SJ Clark Literary Specialties, LLC
Lincoln, CA, USA
Industry: Media and Entertainment
Field: Ghostwriting and Writing Instruction

Literary agent Sue J. Clark is wholly immersed in the field of writing, editing and publishing. She not only edits client books and pitches authors to publishers; she also teaches the fundamentals of writing and publishing poetry, fiction and non-fiction to a stable of eager learners. Noting the obstacles writers face in promoting their work, Ms. Clark co-founded ShortReads Press, an organization that compiles, prints and circulates poetry, short fiction, personal essays and articles written by Northern Californians.

Ms. Clark draws upon a wealth of experience for creative inspiration in her own writings. “I owned a historic hotel and a travel agency,” she says. “I also co-owned two tourist trade newspapers and served as a poetry instructor at adult education schools and community facilities.” She has written a monthly travel column for the Lincoln News Messenger since 2005 and ghost-wrote “Is Anybody Listening: The True Story About the POW/MIAs in the Vietnam War,” published in 2005.

Ms. Clark received her bachelor of arts in speech communication in 1952 from the University of Washington and her Associate of Arts in 1949 from Stephens College.

Additionally, she has taken coursework in speech communication from Northwestern University. She is the recipient of the American Biographical Institute’s 2006 Woman of the Year award and the recipient of Highest Honor from the Military Writers Society of America. Ms. Clark is the president of the Lincoln Poetry Club. From 1991 to 1993, she served as the president of Lions Clubs International in San Francisco. From 1975 to 1977, she served on the National Society of Fundraising Executives Board of Directors. She is a member of Alpha Delta Pi.

Presently, Ms. Clark is ghost-writing a book about World War II and train hospitality management students. She also hosts the monthly Lincoln Poetry Club open-mic event at Twelve Bridges Library. Continue reading →