WALDEN MEDIA IS A NIMBLE INDEPENDENT FILM STUDIO THAT DISCOVERS UNIQUE and COMPELLING STORIES ROOTED IN EVERY KIND OF COURAGE.
We then develop and produce them into television shows and motion pictures that celebrate what we have in common, create connection across generations wherever they are experienced, and provide a net positive effect on our society.
Notable projects include the limited series Manhunt for Apple TV+, as well as the features Finch, Wonder, Everest, Ray, Sahara, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, A Dog’s Purpose, the Journey to the Center of the Earth franchise, Charlotte’s Web, Bridge to Terabithia, The Chronicles of Narnia franchise, and Holes. Walden Media also created and produced the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning series The Baby-Sitter’s Club for Netflix.
LEADERSHIP
CREATIVE
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Frank Smith
President & CEO | Anschutz Film Group and Walden Media
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Benjamin Tappan
President of Production
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Juliana Janes
Executive Vice President | Development and Production
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Cher Hawrysh
Executive Vice President |
Physical Production -
Julia Friley
Vice President of Scripted Development
BUSINESS & oPERATIONS
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Ryan Jones
Chief Operating Officer | Anschutz Film Group and Walden Media
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Balazs Laszlo
General Counsel and Executive Vice President | Business Affairs & Strategic Planning
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Deborah Kovacs
Executive Vice President | Publishing, Marketing & Outreach
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Andy Rackauskas
Senior Vice President | Controller
Frank Smith
President & CEO | Anschutz Film
Group and Walden Media
Frank Smith is President and Chief Executive Officer of Anschutz Film Group (AFG), which includes its globally renowned Walden Media brand. Smith has been with AFG since 2003 and currently oversees all aspects of AFG and Walden Media’s operations (development, production, publishing, marketing, finance, legal and business affairs). Smith has been a producer or executive producer for Walden Media on film and streaming projects since 2013.
As a producer, Smith most recently produced the Cold War espionage thriller Billion Dollar Spy, starring Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, Harry Lawtey, Willa Fitzgerald, and Vera Farmiga, and the upcoming World War II drama Nuremberg, starring Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, and Leo Woodall. Other recent credits include the Apple TV original limited series Manhunt, about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the feature films Finch on Apple TV+, Rumble on Paramount Plus, and the theatrical releases Everest, A Dog’s Purpose, The BFG, and Wonder. Smith also was an Executive Producer of the Netflix original series The Baby-Sitters Club, for which he won the Emmy Award for Best Series in 2022 at the inaugural Children & Family Emmy Awards.
In his tenure leading Walden Media, Smith has overseen large budget motion picture franchise projects, co-production finance and distribution deals with major studios, and the structuring of foreign corporations for multijurisdictional film production tax incentives. Smith also works directly with The Anschutz Corporation on strategic planning and general operational issues. In the past, Smith has overseen business and legal affairs for AFG and Walden Media on numerous films including the Academy Award®-winner The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Journey to the Center of the Earth; the second and third “Narnia” films, Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader; and Parental Guidance, among others.
Prior to joining AFG in 2003, Smith was Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs at New Line Cinema/ Fine Line Features, in charge of legal acquisitions of motion picture content, as well as overseeing business affairs for development, production, financing, and distribution of motion pictures.
Smith received his J.D. from New England Law and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Pepperdine University. Smith is a noted published author in the area of copyright law.
Ryan Jones
Chief Operating Officer | Anschutz Film
Group and Walden Media
Ryan Jones has worked at Anschutz Film Group (AFG) and Walden Media since 2006 and has been responsible for financial planning & analysis and structuring talent deals and co-financing agreements on numerous films, including The BFG, Everest, and The Chronicles of Narnia franchise. Jones was responsible for overseeing the asset sale and disposition of large scale library content for AFG. Currently Jones oversees corporate finance and strategic planning.
Prior to AFG, Jones was Executive Director of Finance at Lionsgate as well as MGM Entertainment, overseeing deal analysis and FP&A.
Jones received his MBA from UCLA and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Pepperdine University.
Balazs Laszlo
General Counsel and Executive Vice President
Business Affairs & Strategic Planning
During his entertainment industry career, Balazs Laszlo has held positions at Anschutz Film Group (AFG) and Walden Media, Universal Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, and DreamWorks.
Laszlo joined Walden in 2006, where he plays an integral role in heading all business and legal affairs for the company, including negotiating individual talent agreements, overseeing motion picture and television production activities and managing co-financing arrangements with studios and distribution partners.
Since becoming Executive Vice President in 2018, he has advised the management team on creative, business and financial strategy. He has helped to structure complex asset deals and guide the company through a changing entertainment landscape as Walden continues to grow.
Before joining Walden Media, Lazslo was counsel in Universal Pictures’ motion picture legal department for five years, where he was responsible for legal support for a wide range of business units, including development projects, productions at various stages, management of term deals and support for corporate legal matters.
Prior to that, he worked for two years at Twentieth Century Fox as counsel overseeing domestic and international licensing and merchandising activities for the television and motion picture divisions, including management of international licensing agents and directing litigation matters related to infringement and piracy.
Laszlo’s first studio position was at DreamWorks in 1999 working with Laura Fox, then head of motion picture business and legal affairs for the company founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.
Laszlo began his legal career working for famed independent producer Roger Corman, who mentored and gave a start to many young film directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, and James Cameron, and who has been producing, financing and distributing independent film and television projects since the 1950s.
Laszlo holds a law degree from Whittier Law School and a joint BA degree in History and English from University of California, Riverside.
Deborah Kovacs
Executive Vice President |
Publishing, Marketing & Outreach
Deborah Kovacs is responsible for Anschutz Film Group (AFG) and Walden Media’s activities in book publishing and acts as liaison between authors, studios, publishing, and educational partners creating initiatives to promote awareness of Walden’s film, television and book projects, maintaining and underscoring the company’s longstanding commitment to education and literacy. Kovacs is also responsible for Walden’s social media and web presences. She has been a member of the Walden team since 2001.
Kovacs initiated Walden’s involvement in publishing by producing companion books based on James Cameron’s Ghosts of the Abyss (2003). From there, she went to on establish and manage Walden’s two co-publishing partnerships. The first, with Penguin Books for Young Readers from 2004-2008, resulted most notably in the New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor-winner Savvy by Ingrid Law. Since 2008, Kovacs has been responsible for Walden’s collaboration with the HarperCollins Children’s Books middle-grade imprint Walden Pond Press. Walden Pond Press has published more than sixty books, including National Book Award nominees The Real Boy by Anne Ursu and Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder as well as the Global World Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold and the acclaimed, multi-award winning Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson.
Kovacs began her career at Children’s Television Workshop, now Sesame Workshop, where she was editor of Sesame Street Magazine. She was also an editor in Scholastic Inc.’s magazine group and later spearheaded that company’s entrance into interactive media.
Just prior to joining Walden, Kovacs was Editor-in-Chief of Turnstone Publishing Group, producers and publishers of documentary-style children’s books, educational materials and websites created in partnership with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and others. She is also author of more than thirty children’s books, both fiction and non-fiction.
Kovacs has enjoyed mentoring new writers at Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program, at Simmons University’s MFA in Writing for Children program, and at the Highlights Foundation. She serves as a volunteer grant writer for Our Sisters’ School, a middle school in New Bedford, Massachusetts that provides an impactful, experience-based education to a diverse community of girls from underserved families.
Cher Hawrysh
Executive Vice President |
Physical Production
Cherilyn Hawrysh is Executive Vice President of Physical Production at Walden Media, which she joined in 2021. She most recently produced the Cold War espionage thriller Billion Dollar Spy, starring Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, Harry Lawtey, Willa Fitzgerald, and Vera Farmiga, and the upcoming World War II drama Nuremberg, starring Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, and Leo Woodall.
At Walden, Hawrysh also oversaw production on Manhunt (Apple TV+), the limited series chronicling the pursuit of John Wilkes Booth following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the critically acclaimed Netflix series The Baby-Sitters Club, which earned two Children & Family Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Series.
Over the course of her career, Hawrysh has played key roles in the development and production of film and television in both the U.S. and Canada, with deep experience filming on location in more than a dozen countries worldwide.
Prior to joining Walden, she held senior roles at Netflix and at the independent finance and production company Los Angeles Media Fund (LAMF), where she oversaw a diverse slate of scripted and documentary projects. Hawrysh began her career in documentary, producing award-winning global nonfiction, and made her transition into narrative as an assistant to Stephen King on Kingdom Hospital. She has since collaborated with a wide range of acclaimed talent, including Lena Waithe, Christine Vachon, Jim Carrey, Ethan Hawke, John Legend, and Judd Apatow.
An alumna of the UCLA Professional Program in Producing, the Canadian Film Centre, and the Schulich School of Business Media Leadership Program, Hawrysh is committed to bringing high-quality entertainment to the screen. She is a proud Canadian who, along with her husband and daughter, now calls Los Angeles home.
Benjamin Tappan
President of Production
Benjamin Tappan serves as President of Production at Walden Media, a role he has held since 2023, where he drives the company’s ambitious slate of film and television projects. Under his leadership, Walden Media produced the gripping Cold War thriller Billion Dollar Spy, starring Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, Harry Lawtey, Willa Fitzgerald, and Vera Farmiga, and the forthcoming World War II epic Nuremberg, featuring Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, and Leo Woodall.
With over two decades as a senior executive, Tappan has shaped compelling stories across development, production, and talent management. As the first scripted programming executive at EPIX (now MGM+) from 2015 to 2019, he spearheaded a bold original slate, including Get Shorty with Ray Romano and Chris O’Dowd, Berlin Station starring Ashley Judd and Richard Jenkins, Graves with Nick Nolte, and Godfather of Harlem featuring Forest Whitaker. Before EPIX, he served as Senior Vice President at Landscape Entertainment and Giant Pictures, managing high-profile studio deals with eOne, Fox Network, and 20th Century Fox. Tappan also honed his expertise over a decade as a literary and talent manager at firms like The Bauer Company, Marsala/Tappan Management, and ROAR.
Most recently, through his consultancy Tap/In Entertainment, Tappan specialized in scripted development, guiding projects with strategic insight. Known for his ability to unite top talent and bold narratives, he continues to champion stories of courage that resonate globally.
Juliana Janes
Executive Vice President | Development and Production
Juliana Janes is Executive Vice President of Development and Production at Walden Media, which she joined in 2024. An executive with more than 15 years’ experience leading development and production at leading companies, Janes will help to expand Walden’s slate of premium film and television projects with a focus on stories of courage.
Prior to Walden Media, Janes worked at BRON Studios, where she served as Executive Vice President, leading a diverse range of film and television projects. Her tenure at BRON saw the successful development and production of acclaimed series such as KIN and TEN PERCENT, along with the feature film AMERICANA, starring Sydney Sweeney and Paul Walter Hauser.
Before her time at BRON, Janes was the Senior Vice President of Development and Production at Gulfstream Pictures, where she oversaw all creative aspects of the production company’s projects in collaboration with Warner Bros. Television. Her portfolio included producing the Disney+ film SECRET SOCIETY OF SECOND BORN ROYALS and developing the GREEN EGGS AND HAM series for Netflix.
Earlier in her career Janes partnered with Jennifer Garner to launch Vandalia Films, where together they focused on elevated female-driven content, championed female writers, and forged partnerships with many female-led companies.
Born and raised in Davis, California, Janes is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara.
Julia Friley
Vice President of Scripted Development
Julia Friley is the Vice President of Scripted Development at Walden Media, where she creates and develops commercial film and television projects with a focus on projects that explore authentic characters rooted in stories of courage.
Since joining Walden in 2020, Julia has been involved in the creative development and production of Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning series The Baby-Sitter’s Club, the animated underdog adventure Rumble on Paramount+, Apple TV+’s record breaking sci-fi feature Finch, and the girl power spooks of A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting at Netflix.
Julia grew up with a passion for literature and as a rabid theatre kid in Calgary, Alberta, chasing down any theatrical production that would allow her to sweep the stage. She fell in love with film studying abroad in Prague while pursuing her BFA at Boston University in Theatre Arts. After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles and solidified her love of well-told stories by working at an independent bookstore where she specialized in young adult, adult and children’s fiction.
Prior to joining AFG, Julia worked in development at Paramount Animation, Fox Family, Columbia Pictures and Sony’s International Film Group.
Andy Rackauskas
Senior Vice President | Controller
Andy Rackauskas has worked at Anschutz Film Group (AFG) and Walden Media since 2007 and has been responsible for financial reporting and analysis including budgeting and enforcing company policies and procedures. Rackauskas controls treasury functions, domestic and foreign production funding, government compliance, and audits.
Prior to AFG, Rackauskas was Assistant Controller at AEG Presents (Formerly AEG Live/ Goldenvoice/ Concerts West) as well as Where International and Ticketmaster Publications, overseeing accounting activities.
Rackauskas received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting/ Business Administration from California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo.