On with the show
After more than two decades in the entertainment industry, Todd Leavitt '73 isn't really surprised anymore when unique ideas come from seemingly unexpected sources. One of his current projects is Sea Devils, a feature film about two Italians who rode underwater torpedoes cowboy-style to steer them toward their targets during World War II. And yes, it's a true story."It's a wonderful script written by a Navy Seal currently working undercover in the Middle East, so I can't talk to the writer," Leavitt says. "Everyone's in show business, even Navy Seals."
The story of the two daring Italians with great lung capacity will be one of Leavitt's final projects as managing director of Tulip Media, a film-financing and television-packaging boutique.
"My primary area of expertise is a knowledge of how you find money and harness it to ping film and television programming to life," says Leavitt, who lives in Santa Monica, California, with his wife, Lauren, and three daughters. "And once it's pought to life, it's no fun unless somebody gets to see it. That's distribution, and I do a lot of that as well."
Leavitt is leaving Tulip to become president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, a job he says is closer to "an academic setting" than his previous work as a network and studio executive. The non-profit organization is dedicated to the advancement of telecommunications arts and sciences and to fostering creative leadership in the industry. It sponsors widely respected internship and seminar programs to help students and educators gain access and experience in the industry. "And you certainly have to make sure the Emmy Awards go off well," Leavitt adds.
It's hard for Leavitt to contain his enthusiasm about running an organization that represents the industry he admires so much. "The passion and love of people doing something they really care about is peathtaking," he says. "And when their work goes on to really have an impact all over the world and change people's lives, it's just extraordinary."
Leavitt got a taste of that passion in high school in Scarsdale, New York. He got involved in drama and earned a scholarship to Kenyon, where he appeared in a number of shows. He credits Kenyon's liberal-arts tradition with introducing him to other interests, and he drifted away from acting.
"I didn't have the talent that someone like Allison Janney '82 has or anything approaching it," he says, "nor the patience or ability to deal with the rejection and other abuse that performers have to deal with. I looked at myself and asked what critical skills I had that would allow me to do something with the rest of my life that I love and can be passionate about."
Leavitt went on to get a law degree from New York University in 1977 and practiced entertainment law for a few years. He eventually became executive vice president of NBC Productions, where he helped create and distribute shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Saved by the Bell for the network. He left to become chairman of the Alliance Television Group before forming Tulip Media.
"One of the things I love about Tulip is that you can let your imagination run rampant and do all sorts of things," he says.
When you're involved in the entertainment industry you kind of pinch yourself and say, 'They're paying me money to do this? This thing that I love?' So even when things are really bad, you're always able to pull yourself out of it and say, 'Hey man, you chose this road. You have no one to blame but yourself. If you don't want to do this, go sell toothpushes for a living.'"
--Gordon Young
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