The Founders
Janis Fischer
In January 2001, Janis Fischer was a volunteer in the pediatric ward at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City. Every Friday the hospital held a special movie night in the playroom where they showed movies that recently came out on video.
Janis thought it would be a treat for these sick children, who often can’t go to theaters because of their illnesses, to see the biggest blockbuster of the holiday season without having to wait months for its video release. And so she brought in a special screening copy of the Jim Carrey movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Janis shared her idea with her friend, children’s book publisher Joshua Gaspero, who immediately went to work helping her put together an organization to do just that. With incorporation and not-for-profit status in the works, the next challenge was getting the movies.
Thanks to the insight of a mutual friend, Tracy Tarrant, Janis was introduced to Evelyn Iocolano who had the right studio contacts to make it happen. With Evelyn’s help and relentless persistence LOLLIPOP became a reality.
Joshua Gaspero
An author of children’s books and screenplays, Josh is Co-Founder of Lollipop Theater Network and is a member of the Advisory Board. He is also Founder of The Jane Gaspero Memorial Library in Altomonte, a multilingual teaching library instructing over 100 children annually.
He was Chairman of Joshua Tree Publishing from 1995-2002, Chairman of Readers Digest Young Families from 1992-1995, and President & CEO of Harlequin Publishing from 1982-1992.
He received a BA in International Marketing in 1964 from St. Joseph’s College, Philadelphia, PA and attended American University, Washington, DC-Graduate School of International Business.
Three years after co-founding LOLLIPOP his son, Fabian, was diagnosed with A.L.L. (acute lymphatic leukemia) and he found out first hand how parents coped with a child suffering from a serious illness.
Evelyn Iocolano
In 2001, Evelyn Iocolano was approached with a simple, yet soon-to-be life-changing idea – how can we bring the magic of movies to hospitalized children undergoing long-term care?
It was then, working with Janis Fischer, that LOLLIPOP was born.
As Executive Director of LOLLIPOP, Evelyn has helped bring hundreds of movies, TV series and virtual programs to pediatric nationwide since the program’s inception.
In addition to her work at LOLLIPOP, Evelyn has worked on a number of motion pictures, including Craig Ferguson’s I’ll Be There and Kevin Allen’s The Big Tease. She has also worked as executive assistant to the vice president and general counsel of Edison Schools, Inc., and as executive assistant to the chairman and CEO of RKO Pictures.
Through her experience, she has developed countless relationships within the entertainment industry, which have been invaluable to LOLLIPOP’s mission.
Evelyn has also volunteered with Free Arts for Abused Children in both New York and Los Angeles, and she has produced a performance of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues which benefited the Step Up Women’s Network and its partners, Break the Cycle and Alexandria House.
Evelyn attended University of South Florida and Pace University, where she majored in advertising.
The Board
Chris Aronson
Paramount Pictures
Christopher Aronson is President, Domestic Distribution, Paramount Pictures, overseeing all domestic theatrical distribution and sales for the United States and Canada.
Previously, Aronson was President, Domestic Distribution for 20th Century Fox.
Aronson has also served as Executive Vice President and General Sales Manager for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distribution Company, and prior to that, served as Senior Vice President for Rentrak Corporation and started their theatrical division, which provides comprehensive box office data collection, analysis, and reporting for the film industry.
Chris is past Chairman and President of the Will Rogers Motion Pictures Pioneer Foundation and a member of the Academy’s Executive Branch and a member of the Executives Branch Executive Committee.
Chris and his wife Melissa live in Los Angeles, and he is also the proud father of three children: Christopher Jr., Lyndsay, and Daniel Payne. Chris is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
Carolyn Blackwood
Sphere Entertainment
** COMING SOON **
Dan M. Crown
Red Crown Productions
After 15 years in the exhibition business, Daniel Crown sold his theater circuit in 2007 and began investing in and producing independent films. In 2010, Dan founded Red Crown Productions together with Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Riva Marker.
Dan is a producer on Cary Fukunaga’s African child soldier film Beasts of No Nation, which was released in Fall 2015 as the first feature film acquisition distributed by Netflix. The film received two awards at the Independent Spirit Awards,Outstanding Independent Motion Picture at the NAACP Awards, a SAG award for Best Supporting Actor Idris Elba and one Golden Globe nomination.
In March 2016, Red Crown premiered Michael Showalter’s Hello, My Name is Doris, which stars Sally Field and Max Greenfield. The film won the Audience Award at last year’s SXSW film festival and was released by Roadside Attractions/Sony Worldwide. Red Crown also produced Jason Bateman’s sophomore directing effort The Family Fang, starring Bateman, Nicole Kidman, and Christopher Walken, which was acquired by Starz and released May 2016.
Dan is also a producer with Adama Pictures and Legende Films on HHhH, a feature chronicling the assassination of the most ruthless Nazi leader-Reich-protector Reinhard Heydrich, Head of the SS, the Gestapo, and the architect of the “Final Solution”. The film will be released by The Weinstein Company in the last quarter of 2016.
In May 2013, Red Crown released the critically acclaimed What Maisie Knew starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgard, and Steve Coogan. In November of 2014 Red Crown released Susanna Fogel’s Life Partners starring Leighton Meester, Gillian Jacobs, and Adam Brody.
Dan currently serves on the Board of Lincoln Center, Lenox Hill Hospital, Hamptons International Film Festival, Connecticut Public Broadcasting, The Jerusalem Foundation, The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, The Lollipop Theater Network, and is a Trustee of Vanderbilt University. A native of Chicago, Dan resides in New York City where he and his wife, Ellen, are the proud parents of four children.
Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She came to prominence after playing Mia Thermopolis in the Disney film The Princess Diaries (2001) and in its 2004 sequel.
Since then, Hathaway has starred in dramatic films such as Havoc and Brokeback Mountain, in 2005. She has also starred in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) with Meryl Streep and in Becoming Jane (2007) as Jane Austen.
In 2008, she won several awards for her performance in Rachel Getting Married and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2010, she starred in the box office hits Valentine’s Day, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and Love and Other Drugs and won an Emmy Award for her voice-over performance on The Simpsons.
In 2011, she had a voice role in the animated film Rio, and starred in Lone Scherfig’s adaptation of One Day. In 2012, she portrayed Catwoman in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and Fantine in Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables.
Her performance in the latter earned her rave reviews and several accolades, including the Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. People magazine named her one of its breakthrough stars of 2001,[1] and she appeared on its list of the world’s 50 Most Beautiful People in 2006
Ryan Johnston
Interphase Entertainment, LLC
Ryan Johnston has served as President and Chief Executive of InterPhase Entertainment, LLC since he formed the company in 2013. Ryan produces television and film as well as handles integration opportunities with sponsors throughout many platforms of entertainment and sports.
Ryan’s film credits include Co-Producer of The 5th Quarter starring Andie MacDowell, Aidan Quinn, and Ryan Merriman – a true story about the 2006 ACC Championship Demon Deacons football team and the loss of one of one of the key players Jon Abbate’s younger brother; Executive Producer of Sons of the Fallen starring Clint Black, Ryan Merriman, and Bill Goldberg – a LIVE Fathom Event seen in 500 AMC and Regal theaters nationally depicting 25 boys that lost their fathers serving overseas; and Executive Producer of country star Clay Walker’s Jesse James music video that debuted #6 on CMT’s charts.
Ryan’s work is seen throughout the industries of NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA, X Games, music and touring, in the tech sector, and even in the space industry. Ryan has produced events ranging from 2013’s ArenaBowl XXVI at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida that was seen LIVE on CBS and the AFL’s Annual Awards Gala where he launched KISS’ new football team “LA KISS” to producing KISS’ last date of their global Monster Tour at the same arena.
Ryan also serves at the President and Chief Executive of Champion Motorsports Marketing, LLC, a company he formed in 2006 which has diversified their roster throughout motorsports globally. Ryan recently announced PowerFelt, Inc. that he formed with his partners out of Wake Forest University’s Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials Center. PowerFelt, Inc. is developing products and currently has them being tested with leading technology and space companies to put its products around the globe, helping to power your cell phones, aircraft systems, placed on deep space missions to Mars, and even purifying water for third world countries. Ryan’s work moves to change the world historically and better life on our planet.
Ryan served 15 years in the Aviation branch of the U.S. Army, from the years of 1991-2006. He believes in giving back to the military and continues to serve on that front. He has personally lost more than a dozen friends to conflicts overseas and serves to help watch over children that have lost their parents while serving both within the Special Operations (SEALS) ranks and all branches of service.
Ryan has helped many charities over the years, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for children’s charities. He encourages clients and partners to support him in these efforts and believes that we all need to give back to help those less fortunate than ourselves. He believes we should not wait until a misfortune happens to our own families before we care about a cause, but that we should act now to help everyone. Ryan resides in Virginia with his two children Brandon and Ainsley.
Jack Kline
Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.
While serving as Chairman/CEO of Christie Digital Systems until April 2019. Jack Kline, a pioneer in digital cinema technology and architect of the innovative Virtual Print Fee (VPF), provided the leadership and guidance in growing Christie’s global expansion. Kline remains at the company as an Executive Advisor to the current CEO.
During his 40-year tenure at Christie, Kline was responsible for the company’s visionary acquisition strategy, which included the purchase of Canada’s ‘Electrohome Projection Systems’ in 1999, and shortly thereafter, Christie became the first OEM to license and bring to market digital cinema projectors using Texas Instruments’ DLP Cinema® technology. The move catapulted the company from a 35mm projector manufacturer to a global provider of high performance, digital projection solutions. It established Christie as a leader in the exhibition industry and set the stage for Christie’s dramatic growth, with annual revenue surging from several hundred million to nearly a billion dollars.
In 2005, Kline successfully created strategic partnerships with major Hollywood studios, exhibitors and technology providers to advance the deployment of digital cinema. He then played a critical role in developing the Virtual Print Fee (VPF) financial solution and the Christie/AIX deployment program. Kline was presented with the ‘Ken Mason Inter-Society Award’ at CinemaCon in 2014 and the ShowEast Hall of Fame award in 2019. The award honors individuals who provide “outstanding long-term contributions leading to the overall improvement of the motion picture experience.”
Kline is a member of various industry organizations, including the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE), the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers and the International Cinema Technology Association (ICTA). He is also actively involved with numerous charities, including Lollipop Theater Network, where he serves as member of the Board of Directors, the National Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) Society, Rise against Hunger, Orange County Business Leadership Committee, and Variety – The Children’s Charity of the United States.
Kline holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Tampa, Florida. He also received engineering training as a Combat Engineer Officer, United States Marine Corps, 1972-1976 and was honorably discharged as a Captain. Kline has 2 daughters and currently resides in Newport Beach, California with his wife of 47 years, Betsy.
David Robinson
Morgan Creek Entertainment Group
Robinson serves as President of Morgan Creek Productions, one of Hollywood’s most successful film and television production companies. In this capacity he oversees all aspects of the filmmaking process, including development, production, marketing, and distribution.
During Robinson’s tenure, Morgan Creek has generated a string of commercial and prestigious hits including The Good Shepherd, starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie; Man of the Year, starring Robin Williams; Georgia Rule, starring Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan; Two For the Money, starring Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey; and Dream House, starring Daniel Craig.
Up next will be the biopic of the late rapper, songwriter and actor, Tupac Shakur. Robinson graduated from Roanoke College in Virginia and currently sits on the board of the Sheriff’s Youth Foundation of Los Angeles County. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son and two dogs.
Alessandro F. Uzielli
Ford Motor Company
Alessandro (Al) Uzielli created and heads up Ford Motor Company’s Global Brand Entertainment (FGBE) office in Los Angeles. In 2004, when the FGBE office opened, it was the first internal product placement outfit for any of the American automotives. Uzielli and his team execute placements in film, television, and digital media for the Ford and Lincoln brands, as well as engaging the entertainment community as a marketing extension for all of their vehicles.
After graduating from Boston University with a Bachelors degree in Communications and Art History, Uzielli moved to California where he attended The American Film Institute, graduating with a Masters in Fine Arts.
Uzielli has since set up numerous projects at the major studios and produced such films as “The Proposition” starring Kenneth Branagh, and “Bongwater” starring Jack Black and Luke Wilson. He produced the extreme sports documentary, “Keep Your Eyes Open” with Lionsgate, featuring seven world champion extreme athletes and a score from former Beastie Boy, Mike D. While an executive at Destination Films, Uzielli contributed to the development and production of numerous feature films, including “The Wedding Planner,” “Bats,” and “Drowning Mona.”
Additionally, for twenty years, Uzielli was an owner of the UK luxury brand, Halcyon Days and, in 2003, he bought the classic Beverly Hills restaurant, La Dolce Vita. On the verge of bankruptcy, he restored the Rat Pack hang out to its original luster and it now enjoys a new found success as one of the area’s hot spots. He sold the restaurant in 2023.
Uzielli serves on the Photography Council at MoMA in New York City. He serves on the board of The Henry Ford Museum, The Brooks School, Ford House and Lollipop Theater Network.
Richard Zakin
Richard began his career at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, a Madison Avenue advertising agency in New York City. That led to roles at Compton, Inc. and then at Thompson Medical Company as Director of Advertising. Those experiences, and exposure to the growing Store Brand Industry, informed the remainder of his career, where he developed, manufactured, and marketed numerous products for retailers to be sold under their store names. Now ubiquitous, Richard was involved in the very early stages of the store brand industry, which helped him establish strong business and personal relationships with North America’s largest retailers. After 20 years in this field, Richard retired as Executive VP/ Managing Director of PBM Products, following its sale to Perrigo, Inc., to pursue other interests.
These included: travel; opening a restaurant; mentoring and investing in small businesses; engagement with non-profit boards; and, most importantly, an involvement with the Child Life Department at the UVA Children’s Hospital. Having experienced a difficult and long term hospitalization as a child, Richard is fully aware of the impact that Child Life has on reducing stress and emotional trauma in patients and their families.
That interest, along with a good bit of luck, brought Lollipop Theater Network to his attention. LOLLIPOP’s work is a natural extension of these prior efforts, supporting children at their most vulnerable through the on-site reach of entertainment and interactive media.
Richard and his wife, Meg, split their time between Charlottesville, Virginia and New York.
