School of Cinematic Arts Directory Profile

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Jason Squire, M.A.

Professor Emeritus of Cinematic Arts

Affiliated Divisions:

All Departments

Email: jsquire@usc.edu
Work Phone: 213.740.3317
Office: SCA 422

Jason E. Squire teaches movie business, case study and screenwriting. He is editor of The Movie Business Book (MBB4), the field’s primary textbook, with numerous translations.

The Chinese edition was supervised by scholars at Beijing Film Academy, where he was Visiting Professor. He was also named Master of Entertainment Studies by DeTao Masters Academy in Shanghai.

Squire’s groundbreaking research on the business of entertainment helped establish “movie business” as a distinct area of academic study. He co-edited an earlier, pioneering textbook, the subject’s original knowledge formation.

His scholarly work was honored at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York at a panel he curated, featuring Shari Redstone, president of National Amusements and Vice-Chair of the Board, ViacomCBS Corp.

Squire was inducted as an Honorary Fellow (at the time one of eight international scholars) of The Mallen Scholars and Practitioners Conference in Filmed Entertainment Economics, a unique, annual gathering of established global professors hosted by UCLA, Yeshiva University and Yale.

He co-hosts a podcast series co-branded by Green Hasson Janks Accountants and MBB4, with Ilan Haimoff, GHJ Partner andLeader, Royalty Licensing and Forensics. Topics include “Entertainment Industry Financial Outlook After Covid-19” and “Making Sense of the New Motion Picture Ecosystem,” featuring participants from MBB4 including Michael Grillo, Executive Producer, THE AVENGERS: ENDGAME, veteran financial analyst Harold L. Vogel, author, Entertainment Industry Economics and Linda Benjamin, SVP, Entertainment Business Affairs and Operations, IMAX.

Squire presented his research on DIY micro-budget movies when UCLA hosted the Mallen global conference. His scholarly article “An Introduction to DIY Marketing and Distribution” was published by Film Art, the official journal of the China Film Association in Beijing.  

The USC Price School of Public Policy tapped his expertise to lecture for three groups of high-level visiting Chinese dignitaries: media executives and government officials from Shanghai, Shenzhen and Jiangsu Province.

In his industry career, Squire served as an executive at Avco Embassy, United Artists, 20th Century Fox and with producer Alberto Grimaldi (The Good, The Bad And The UglyFellini SatyriconGangs of New York). He has also written for the screen (Red Harvest) and executive produced the Conan The Barbarian soundtrack album.

He has served on panels at the U.S. China Co-Production Film Summit at Paramount, the Chinese-American Film Festival, the U.S. China Film and Television Expo, the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, USC East Asian Study Center and USC U.S.-China Institute, and moderated the annual SCA panel “DIY and the Micro-Budget Feature Model.” 

Squire was featured in “Variety Explains: Coronavirus and the Entertainment Industry.”

Other Media appearances include Agence France-Presse; ARD German Public Radio and TV; BBC News; CBC News; CCTV America; CCTV-6; China Daily; CNBC.com; CNN Money; German Press Agency (dpa); Good Morning America Online; The Hollywood Reporter; Hong Kong Phoenix Satellite Television; Indiewire; Irish Times; KCAL-TV; KCBS Radio; KNX Radio, Korean Broadcasting (KBS); KPCC Radio; L.A. Business Journal; La Opinion; Le Monde; Le Journal du Dimanche; Los Angeles Times; “Marketplace” on NPR (over 30 times); Newsweek; The New York Times; NHK Japan; Reuters; Stern.de.; Variety; Wall Street Journal. 

Other global honors include Keynote Speaker, “Summit on the Beauty of Film” at Beijing International Film Festival at the China National Film Museum; Guest Lecturer to investors and executives at "The International Training Workshop of TV and Movie Industry Financial Investment," Beijing Film Academy; Keynote Speaker, Shanghai Library; Guest Lecturer to industry professionals at The Cultural & Creative Industry Management Program of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB), Beijing; Guest Lecturer, CKGSB, Guangzhou; Guest Speaker to industry leaders sponsored by Visual Industry Promotional Organization of Japan (VIPO); Guest Lecturer, Tokyo University of Technology; Guest Speaker, 10th Shanghai International Film Festival; and Guest Lecturer, Film Business Academy launch, Cass Business School, City University, London.

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