Focuses on entertainment and media finance.
Advises in financing, distribution and production of film and television projects in the United States, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Head of the firm’s media, entertainment & sports practice.

Chris represents financial institutions, mezzanine investors, production companies, and equity providers in entertainment financing and co-financing related to motion pictures, television, digital platforms and music.

Addressing complex issues as they arrive, Chris combines responsiveness and commercial pragmatism. He meets tight deadlines by being in tune with market practices and spotting critical issues for clients.

Chris handles financing and other transactions involving production, financing and distribution of content. His clients include:

Borrowers
Distributors
Content creators
High-net-worth individuals.

Representative Work

Represented the lender with an ultimates facility to BRON Studios, a Canadian motion picture company, to co-finance a slate of Warner bros films.
Advising East West Bank in multiple loans to Tyler Vision, LLC for use in paying production costs for various seasons of multiple television programs.
Represented HPS Investment Partners, LLC in connection with a multi tranche, first-in last-out term facility to Kobalt Music Group.
Representing a video game company with respect to negotiations and various issues related to the derivative rights and potential production of film and television projects based on the underlying intellectual property for its video games.
Advised MUFG Bank in connection with various loan facilities for Lions Gate Entertainment.
Represented Comerica Bank in a production loan to B4T Productions, Inc. for the film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Advised client in their partnership agreement with and in the creation of an international media company.
Advised Bank of America in a $300 million credit facility with Miramax related to the financing of its current and future production slate. Also advised the client in the $120 million refinancing of FilmNation Entertainment LLC’s existing credit facility relating to the funding, production, acquisition, and distribution of multiple theatrical motion pictures and television programs.
Counseled a United Arab Emirates sovereign investment fund in connection with various investments in the entertainment and media areas, including the initial capitalization of AGC Studios.

"Chris has a distinct commercial instinct, which not only enables him to identify and succinctly provide advice on the most important business points of a particular transaction, but also enables him to help steer a transaction to a successful close."

Chambers USA, 2021

Education
J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 2005
B.B.A., University of Washington, cum laude, 2001
B.A., University of Washington, 2001

Bar Admissions
California

Recognitions

The Hollywood Reporter, Top 20 Dealmakers, 2020 and 2022.
Chambers USA, Leading Practitioner in California Media & Entertainment: Transactional, 2015-2024.
The Legal 500 US, Media & Entertainment, 2017-2018; Media and Entertainment: Transactional, 2019-2024; Next Generation Lawyer, 2019-2022; Leading Lawyer, 2023-2024.
The Hollywood Reporter, Power Lawyers, 2018-2024.
Variety, Legal Impact Report, 2017-2021, 2023 and 2024.
Variety, Dealmakers Impact Report, 2016-2017, 2019-2020, 2022 and 2024.
Los Angeles Times, Legal Visionary, 2023.
Los Angeles Business Journal, Leaders in Law, 2018.
Daily Journal, 40 Under 40, honoring top young lawyers in California, 2017.

Affiliations and Public Service

Member, California Bar Association.
Member, Entertainment Law Section, Beverly Hills Bar Association.

Speeches and Publications

Speaker, “Trends in Motion Picture and Television Finance Summer 2023: Labor Strikes, Barbenheimer and the Investment Landscape,” GHJ’s Media Clips Podcast, September 2023
Speaker, “Trends in Motion Picture and Television Financing,” GHJ’s Media Clips Podcast, March 2023
Speaker, “Current Trends in Motion Picture and Television Financing,” GHJ’s Media Clips Podcast, September 2022
Speaker, “State of the Film and Television Industry,” GHJ’s Entertainment Videocast Series, May 2022
Speaker, “Producing Film and Television Programs During The Pandemic Update,” GHJ’s Entertainment Videocast Series, December 2021
Speaker, “Producing Film and Television Programs During The Pandemic,” GHJ’s Entertainment Videocast Series, March 2021
Speaker, “The Entertainment Industry During COVID-19,” OnAir With Akin, September 2020.
Speaker, “Overcoming Legal, Insurance and Finance Issues for Production Companies during COVID-19,” GHJ’s Media Clips Podcast, September 2020
Speaker, “Dealmaking and Production Delays: How Long Will They Last and What Can You Do in the Meantime?,” Winston Baker, April 2020.
Moderator, “New Approaches to Financing Project Driven Deals,” Winston Baker’s Global Film Industry Value Chain Development Forum, June 2018.
Moderator, “Acquire or Be Acquired: Surviving the Era of Mega Merger Deals,” Winston Baker’s 2018 Content Capital Summit.
Guest lecturer, Shanghai Vancouver University Film School, 2018.