SXSW: Brian Grazer, Morgan Spurlock, Russell Brand Set As Guest Speakers

Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Morgan Spurlock, and comedian/actor Russell Brand are set to appear at next year’s South By Southwest confab, which today announced the first wave of 2015 Convergence speakers. The announcement of over 60 sessions includes panels in the growing SXsports program, TV, and Digital sidebars. The 2015 edition runs from March 13 – 22 in Austin, Texas – scroll down for the rundown:

A Curious Mind: The Inspiration for a Creative Life

Brian Grazer (Imagine Entertainment), Charles Fishman (The Big Thirst)

Russell Brand Interview with Brian Solis

Russell Brand (Comedian), Brian Solis (Altimeter Group)

SXsports

Athletes are Suddenly Funny: The Power of Comedy & Sports

Patrick Starzan (Funny or Die)

Battling Tradition to Re-Invent Youth Sports

Matt Farrell (USA Swimming), Kurt Kamperman (US Tennis Association), Jeff Price (PGA of America)

Beyond the Bar Graph: Insights Over Info

Christopher Glode (Under Armour), Marybeth Thomson (MyFitnessPal)

The Business of Preparing Potential NFL Draftees

Jason Verrett (San Diego Chargers), Andy Staples (Sports Illustrated), CJ LaBoy (Relativity Sports),

Mark Verstegen (EXOS)

Competitive Advantage: Mental Health in Athletics

Patrick Baillie (Consultant), Scott Goldman (University of Arizona), Doug Hankes (Auburn University),

Carmen Tebbe (Oklahoma University)

The Democratization of Sports Commentary

Mary Pilon (The New York Times), Geoff Reiss (Twitter), Andre Pacheco (Second Mic)

Does Playing Sports = Brain Damage?

Jeffrey Kutcher (University of Michigan), Ben Utecht (Surrender the Game)

Drones & the Texas 500: A Live Broadcast Challenge

Jaime Carlin (Texas Motor Speedway), Benjamin Martin (Arch Aerial), Michael Rocha (Panasonic)

The Evolution of Audio in the 21st Century

Colin Cowherd (ESPN), Stephen A. Smith (ESPN), Traug Keller (ESPN)

Filmmaking Cues from Top Sports Cinematographers

Brian Schulz (Major League Baseball Productions), Skip Clark (FOX SPORTS), Al Francesco (NFL FILMS), John Tipton (HBO Sports)

The Future of Doping and PEDs

Jason Gay (Wall Street Journal), Matt Futterman (Wall Street Journal), Travis Tygart (US Anti-Doping Agency)

His & Hers Live Podcast

Jemele Hill (ESPN), Michael Smith (ESPN)

How the Data Era Will Build High Performing Humans

Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers), Kelly McGonigal (Stanford University), Haile Owusu (Mashable)

Gameday 2025: What’s In Your Living Room?

Holly Anderson (Grantland), Jeff Beckham (Jeff Beckham), Spencer Hall (SB Nation), Mark Kramer (Pac-12 Networks)

The In-Stadium Fan Experience in MLS

Adrian Hanauer (Seattle Sounders), Robb Heineman (Sporting Kansas City), Merritt Paulson (Portland Timbers)

Millennials & Sports: Reaching the Next Generation of Fans

Rich Eisen (NFL Media), Brian Rolapp (National Football League), Perkins Miller (National Football League), Peter Kafka (Re/code)

MLBAM & NASCAR: Sports and Technology Converge

Bob Bowman (MLB Advanced Media), Brent Dewar (NASCAR)

The Near-Future of Sports TV

Marie Donoghue (ESPN), John Ourand (Sports Business Journal), Ron Wechsler (NBC Sports), Dan Shanoff (USA TODAY Sports)

The New Cathedral: Sports Stadiums

Brian Mirakian (Populous)

Old Game, New Tricks: What’s the Future of Golf?

Shane Bacon (Back9Network), Charlie Kautz (TaylorMade-adidas), Andrew Kipper (Excel Sports Management), Ashley Mayo (Golf Digest)

Out on the Field: LGBT Pro Athletes in 2015

Jason Collins (Professional Athlete), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC), Mike Foss (USA TODAY)

Social Media Playbook: Activating Fans on Gameday

Brian Cheek (Postano), Pat Donahue (Los Angeles Kings), Grace Hoy (Arizona State University), Meghan Ryan (Boston Red Sox)

The Solid Verbal Live Podcast

Ty Hildenbrandt (Solid Verbal Media), Dan Rubenstein (Solid Verbal Media)

Sports Mega-Events: Do They Have a Future?

Ben Carrington (The University of Texas), Piara Powar (FARE), Lilian Thuram (Former Professional Athlete), Dave Zirin (The Nation)

Tech + Youth Sports = Universal Access

Tom Farrey (Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program)

Tech That’s Changing Sports and Building Empathy

Chris Kluwe (Professional Athlete)

Future of TV

The Art, Joy, & Power of Creating Musical Programs

David Koelle (Charles River Analytics)

Breaking the Fourth Wall in the Digital Age

Saba Hamedy (LA Times), Jon Schnitzer (Brain Factory), Peter Girardi (Warner Bros), Marc Goodchild (Sync Screen), Julian McCrea (Portal Entertainment)

A Drama Nirvana-How to Create a Multiplatform Hit

Beth Hoppe (PBS), David Zucker (Scott Free Productions)

Exploring Storytelling in the Digital Age

Andrew Cochrane (Mirada)

Finding a TV Partner in a Digital World

Jill Burkhart (Epix HD), Cynthia Kane (Al Jazeera America), Jennie Moris (Participant Media), Lois Vossen (PBS)

The Future of Concerts on TV

Evan Haiman (HDNet LLC/AXS TV), Lucia McCalmont (HDNet LLC/AXS TV)

Game of Thrones: Creating Immersive Entertainment

Sabrina Caluori (HBO), Melissa Eccles (Elastic)

Hyper-Reality TV & Online Video Are a Perfect Fit

Morgan Spurlock (Warrior Poets), Ran Harnevo (AOL)

Moving Beyond the Square Screen

Steven Masur (CDAS Venture Law Group), Allen DeBevoise (Machinima), Vivian Rosenthal (Snaps), Josh Gertz (DAQRI)

The New TV Star: How to Build an Audience Online

Kelly Day (AwesomenessTV), Josh Ong (The Next Web), Tyler Oakley (Tyler Oakley), Tom Ryan (Pluto.TV)

Online Success Without Cat Videos or Crotch Hits

Zach Anner (Zach Anner Productions), Chris Demarais (Rooster Teeth Productions), Brandon Farmahini (Rooster Teeth Productions)

Should You Develop Your Film Into a TV Series?

Katie Krentz (Cartoon Network), Julia Pott (Animator/Filmmaker), Hannah Fidell (Filmmaker), Sarah-Violet Bliss (Filmmaker)

Tech My Mind
Ayori Selassie (salesforce.com), Shanice Johnson (Malakai Creative), Bill Duke ( Duke Media), Julie Barrio (Reality SF)

What Serial Digital Fiction is Learning from TV

Jon Nathanson (Self), Jerry Fan (Jukepop Serials), Michelle Miller (The Underwriting), Jennifer Lee (Plympton)

Who’s Going to Fund My Webseries?

Jay Bushman (Independent), Marc Hofstatter (Indiegogo), Amy Dotson (IFP), Karim Ahmad (ITVS)

Digital Domain

19Reinos – A Game of Thrones Immersive Experience

Robert Pratten (Transmedia Storyteller), Purificación González (Canal+), Belen Santa-Olalla (Transmedia Storyteller)

Doing It in Public: BLEs and Modern Storytelling

Lisa Woods (thirteen23), Heath Pecorino (The Short Box), Sam Patteson (Rosetta Stone)

Tool-Kit for Crafting an Interactive Documentary

Cathy Fischer (ITVS), Mike Robbins (Helios Design Labs), Alex Wittholz (Helios Design Labs), Andrew Grace (Moon Winx Films)

Analog & Digital: Synching an Engagement Campaign

Rory Kennedy (Moxie Firecracker Films), Keven McAlester (Standard Pictures), Lauren Prestileo (American Experience — PBS), Molly Jacobs (American Experience — PBS)

Astrophysics Goes Hollywood: Cinematic Science

Frank Summers (Space Telescope Science Institute), Robert Hurt (NASA’s Spitzer Science Center/JPL-Caltech), Donna Cox (National Center for Supercomputing Applications)

Beyond Live, Why the L+3 Social TV Convo Matters

Natan Edelsburg (Sawhorse Media), Don Steele (Comedy Central), Michael Scogin (NBC Universal), Sabrina Caluori (HBO)

Forget Screens: Immersive Content Lives Everywhere

Bill Galusha (Autofuss / Bot & Dolly), Chad Hutson (Leviathan)

Worlds Without Boundaries: Books, Games, Films

James Frey (Full Fathom Five, LLC), John Hanke (Niantic Labs)

Convergence Day

3D Printing in the Movies

David Leigh (Harvest Technologies)

Databenders & Spoonbenders: Hacking Music & Design

Michael Hendrix (IDEO)

Data-Driven Strategy vs. Editorial Gut Instinct

Elizabeth White (Time Inc.), Jessica Novak (Refinery29.com), Mike Hofman (Conde Nast)

Live Music Streaming for Brands: Engagement

Hank Neuberger (Springboard Productions), John Petrocelli (Bulldog Digital Media)

Making Art While Entertaining the Internet

Sean Carney (Social Mal Practice), Molly Soda (MollySoda.Biz), Yung Jake (Adult Swim), Jayson Musson (Salon94), Jillian Mayer (Borscht Corp)

Making Music Physical Again

Kate Stone (Novalia), Charlotte Brimner (Musician)

Music as Personalized Medicine: Experiment at SXSW

Daphne Zohar (PureTech Ventures)

Music UX: Connecting Technology and Experience for Fans

John Paul (Featuring. Me), James Apollo (Possible), Justin Evans (Mix Genius), Alaina Thetford (Train Thetford (Train Case Management)

Online Distribution: Set the trend!

Pierre-Alexandre Labelle (Under The Milky Way), Emmanuel Cocq (European Commission Creative Europe MEDIA Programme), Daniela Elstner (Doc & Film International)

Science of Social Funding: 247 Campaign Patterns

Vann Alexandra Daly (Vann Alexandra), Missy Laney (Sundance Institute), Francis Pollara (KesselsKramer)

Streams, Shuffles and Statutes: Congress & Music

Chris Harrison (Pandora), Greg Barnes (Digital Media Association), Jason Chaffetz (U.S. House of Representatives), Elizabeth Frazee (TwinLogic Strategies)

Web Influence on the Future of Music Documentaries

Leah Horwitz (VH1), Lewis Bogach (CMT), Dave Sirulnick (MTV), Thomas Benski (Pulse Films/Vimeo on Demand)

Why Top Artists Today Need Spy Tools

Nico Sell (Wicker LLC)