| THE SCENARIO TEAM |
Matt Keener | Partner
Matt Keener is Scenario’s managing partner and “Chief Story Officer”. His broad career has given him a unique perspective of the entertainment industry, having been a senior story development executive for two Academy Award-winning production companies, a story/packaging executive and MP/TV literary agent (ICM, APA), and private story consultant and confidential script doctor, as well as film financier, advisor, and a founding director of the Los Angeles Film Festival and Motion Picture Industry Institute. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he earned the distinction of Amos Tuck Scholar.
Stephanie Reuler | Partner
Senior Partner Stephanie Reuler was a Motion Picture Literary Agent at Innovative Artists, where she became known for her eye for discovering exciting emerging writers and directors, such as then-unknown, writer/director Christopher Nolan. Previously, she worked in story development at 20th Century Fox. Currently Stephanie is an independent producer, writer and director. She is a member of the Alliance of Women Directors and has been a juror for the Emerging Filmmaker competition at the Denver Film Festival, a judge for both the Dallas Docufest and the Harvardwood Pilot Contest. She has also programmed for Slamdance Film Festival. She is an honors graduate of the University of Southern California.
Jake Friedman | Partner
Jake Friedman is a partner and motion picture/television literary manager, representing writer, directors and creative producers. He is a former motion picture and television literary agent and development executive who started in the industry at the Gersh Agency. CBS then recruited him into its drama series department, where he developed network TV series from the pitch stage through pilot production. Jake was then hired by studio/financier Rysher Entertainment as director of development, working on a wide-ranging slate of feature film and TV productions. This was followed by a position as DOD at Dimension Films-based Platinum Studios, where Jake was instrumental in the development of the “Men in Black” franchise. Jake holds degrees in both English Literature and Communications from Syracuse University, attended NYU/Tisch and University of the Arts London, and is a voting member of A.T.A.S. and AFI.
Ivan Williams | Partner
Ivan Williams is a partner and Scenario’s executive vice president of finance. After a successful career as a senior business leader at major energy companies (ARCO and BP), he has been active starting up a media technology company, and executive producing feature films, Broadway musicals, musical recordings, theatrical plays, and Web tv shows. A member of Film Independent and the Sundance Institute, Ivan holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Oregon State University, and is a Dean’s M.B.A. Scholar at the UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, and a veteran Naval Reserve intelligence officer. An active contributor to his alma maters, Ivan serves as a member of the board of directors for Oregon State University’s Alumni Association, and is active with the University of California Irvine as chairman of the Dean’s Arts Council of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, serving as a member of the Graduate Division’s Dean’s Leadership Council, as an entertainment industry advisory board member for the Cybersecurity Policy & Research Institute, and a founding board member of the L.A./Orange County Anteaters in the Arts organization.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel | Partner
Jethro Rothe-Kushel is a former creative executive and motion picture and television producer, with a dozen feature films to his credit. He has successfully pitched projects to major studios, networks, and production companies (Warner Bros., Wonderland Sound and Vision, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, & Paramount). He has also directed award winning MTV music videos and documentaries. A Dartmouth College graduate, he is currently president of Dartmouth Alumni in Entertainment & Media Association and serves on the board of IVY Entertainment and is an active leader for the Producers Guild of America.
Lisa Schahet Schuster | Partner
Lisa Schahet Schuster has produced feature-length motion pictures, short films and television programs in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Having worked in development for John Wells Productions at Warner Bros., and in film production at 20th Century Fox, she currently develops and produces narrative and unscripted content for all platforms. As a Partner at Scenario, her focus is to develop and launch emerging talent. Lisa began her career in Chicago producing sports content and live events for ESPN, ABC, NBC and syndication, where as a rookie producer, she got a crash course in breaking news politics when she and her cameraman scooped big network crews in capturing the exclusive footage of the notorious Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan incident. Lisa is a graduate of Northwestern University and a member of the Producers Guild of America.
Maher Jafari | Partner
Maher Jafari has been instrumental in over 400 episodes of television, including hit prime-time comedies, documentaries, and live events as the head of story development for production companies at three major studios. Most recently, Maher managed television development and produced web series for comedian Kevin James’ company at Sony. Previously, Maher was Director of Development for executive producer Michael Edelstein at ABC Studios, where he discovered and developed a dozen projects sold to pilot. Prior to that, he was on the ground floor of ABC comedies GEORGE LOPEZ and FREDDIE, and Fox’s WANDA AT LARGE, as well as pilots with Louis C.K. and Ron White. He also functioned as Current Executive for mini-studio Mohawk Productions, handling production, writer staffing, and marketing for THE DREW CAREY SHOW, NORM, NIKKI and Adult Swim favorite THE OBLONGS. A graduate of The George Washington University in DC, Maher recently earned a Certificate in Marketing, Social Media & Web Analytics from UCLA Extension. He has served as a mentor for the Warner Bros. Writing Program, and is the winner of the John Lux Award for Outstanding Service for his work teaching leadership skills to teens.
Madisun Leigh | Partner
Madisun Leigh is a creative producer, with a background in story development and production, as well as marketing & promotion, she serves as Scenario’s VP of story development. She was director of operations at Landafar Entertainment & vice president of operations at Global Pictures Media. Additionally, she has served as production supervisor & production coordinator of Hollywood films with budgets exceeding $40m. Previously, Madisun was an on-air personality/music director and program director for CBS RADIO in Detroit, as well as technical director for F0X TV. She attended Michigan State University and earned certificates in Radio & Television Broadcasting at the Specs Howard School Of Broadcast Arts, and honors in Television & Film Producing and The Business and Management Of Entertainment at UCLA Extension, where she is a guest lecturer. She resides in Los Angeles, with her screenwriter wife Courtney and their chihuahua Soleil. She enjoys the ocean, music, pickleball, and meditation.
Our mission: story matters
Our street cred: our experience