Psychopomp
Investigations
Laura Shapiro
CURRICULUM VITAE
Executive, producer, writer, designer, technologist, and strategist with a deep, sophisticated understanding of the worldwide entertainment and media ecosystem.
FILM, TELEVISION, INTERACTIVE & THEATER
2023 - Present
Psychopomp Investigations, Inc.
Producer, Writer, Psychopomp in Chief
Film, Television & New Media Production and Consulting. Esoteric Consulting and Investigation.
2021 - 2023
Full Circle
Story Editor (WGA)
Limited Series - HBOMax
Ed Solomon, Showrunner; Steven Soderbergh, Director; Casey Silver, Producer. Starring Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, Dennis Quaid, Jharrell Jerome, CCH Pounder. Point person for cutting edge New Media Branching Narrative version which was cancelled and rolled into Limited Series due to limited time. On staff from inception through post.
New Media / Interactive Producer
Point person for cutting edge New Media Branching Narrative version which was cancelled and rolled into Limited Series at the last minute due to time and budget.
2013 - 2023
Ed Solomon Productions
Director of Development & Production
Dramaturg and researcher for A-List screenwriter / producer on projects for major production companies, studios, streamers and networks.
Think of this and all the “Consultant” roles below as what a Staff Writer does in a television room — In collaboration with the principal, credited writer(s), I broke story, created characters and structure, wrote scenes and ancillary texts (eg what’s on a computer screen in a scene), assessed and challenged the principals’s ideas, and did research. I also gave notes through the entire production including dailies and post, advised on production business decisions, and worked extensively on development of film, television and interactive projects that did not get made.
Creative Consultant on numerous projects, including
Full Circle
Limited Series, HBOMax, 2023
No Sudden Move
Feature, HBOMax, 2021
Bill & Ted Face the Music
Feature, Hammerstone / Orion, 2014-2020
Mosaic
Limited Series/Interactive, HBOMax, 2016-2018
Now You See Me 2
Feature, Summit / Lionsgate, 2013-2016
Colossus
Feature, Imagine, 2013-2016
Beta
Feature, Bad Robot, 2013-2016
2019 - 2020
Amsterdam
Creative Consultant
Feature, David O'Russell
Story Consulting & Research. Written & Directed by David O. Russell. Starring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington
2019
Clarice
Creative Consultant
Series Pilot, Secret Hideout / CBS
Story Consulting & Research on pilot for CBS series based on Clarice Starling, the main character of Silence of the Lambs.
2016 - 2018
Mosaic
New Media / Interactive Consultant
New Media, HBOMax
Conceptualization & development of interactive branching narrative format segment of transmedia project. See above for detail.
2017
Noir
Creative Consultant
Pilot, Secret Hideout
Research & Story Consulting on pilot.
2014 - 2017
The Mummy / Dark Universe
Creative Consultant
Feature, Universal / Secret Hideout
Story Consulting & Research. Alex Kurtzman, Writer/Director/Producer. Starring Tom Cruise
2000 - 2012
Dyna Tech Laboratories
Script Analyst / Production Consultant
Despite the technical name, this is the production company of A-List screenwriter, Ed Solomon. (Men in Black, Charlie’s Angels, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, etc.)
2011
“Among Ravens” - Feature Film
Visual FX / Design
Graphic design for props, VFX using AfterEffects
2011
“American Revolutionary” - Documentary, P.O.V.
Visual FX
Graphic design for props, VFX using AfterEffects
2009 - 2011
Beautiful Wave
Producer
Feature, Portfolio Films / Anchor Bay
Produced, conceptualized and guided rewrite & reshoot / Post Production Producer through delivery. This was an independent film that was initially unreleasable. I was hired to “fix” it and take it through post, doing a surgical rewrite/reshoot which improved the film immensely. It was sold to Anchor Bay for direct to DVD release, (which was all it was ever going to achieve). Budget ended up slightly over $1 million. Starring Aimee Teegarden, Lance Hendrickson, Patricia Richardson
2007
Make It Happen Productions, Inc.
Producer / Post Production Producer / Director of Operations
Responsible for operations and all aspects of live-action production of short-form programming, promos & commercials for clients including Discovery Channel, FX, Warner Bros., and other networks, production companies & advertising agencies.
2003 - 2006
The Day Arnold Schwarzenegger Kicked My A**
Associate Producer
Feature Documentary, SMD Productions
Also: Cinematographer, Title Design/Graphics, Music Supervisor. Documentary about the 2003California gubernatorial recall election following one of the 134 candidates who ultimately lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger
2000 - 2006
SMD Productions, LLC
Creative Executive
All aspects of production, with an emphasis on Digital Production and Post-Production Technology, as well as Script Consulting, Budgeting & Production Audit, Marketing. Projects include the digital feature “Scream at the Sound of the Beep”.
2005
A Good Soldier
Producer
Play, Odyssey Theater / Kanzanjoglous Productions
Producer of anti-Iraq war play written by Nick Kazan, starring Clancy Brown, Kaitlin Doubleday, Zoe Kazan.
2004
Intel-CES Opening Presentation
Post-Production Producer
Experiential Video, Steam, LLC
Post-Production for Video-Motion Graphics Presentation for Intel’s opening presentation for the CES Show in Las Vegas in January 2005.
2000
In Search Of
Research Producer
Pilot, Alan Landsberg / Haxan Films
Research and development of the reboot of the iconic television show, In Search Of, working directly with legendary producer Alan Landsberg and hot just off the success of Blair Witch Project production company, Haxan Films
1999 - 2000
New Regency / 20th Century Fox
Creative Executive
Development, research & technical consulting on projects with director F. Gary Gray under his overall with New Regency. Projects include: Crowded Room, Black Knight
1998
How To Get A Head At Sundance
Producer
Short, SMD Productions
Digital Short Film
1995 - 1996
Gary Hoffman Productions
Creative Executive
Development of cable & network movies, including “Soul of the Game” (HBO), “Bastard Out of Carolina” (Showtime).
1993 - 1995
Interword Media
Videowall Designer & Programmer
Videowall Programming & Design
1992 - 1995
American Dream Products
Creative Executive
Development of independent features. “How to Get Laid at the End of the World” (Independent Digital Feature produced in 1999), “Nightvision” (Independent Feature).
1990
Comic Relief / Los Angeles Homeless Coalition Short Film
Writer
Documentary Short about homelessness in Los Angeles funded by Comic Relief
1990
El Rescate / Comic Relief / Reebok International
Human Rights Fund Documentary for Oscar Party
Writer/ Producer
Wrote & produced fundraising video documentary for refugees organization based in Los Angeles, part of the Annual Academy Awards event described below
PUBLIC RELATIONS, GRAPHIC DESIGN, MARKETING & ADVERTISING
Freelance Graphic & Web Design and Production, 1992 - 2013
Freelance Clients include: Curtco Freedom Group, Flicker Media, Fries Multimedia, Glyhpix Design, Home Theatre Magazine, IBM, Ideaology Advertising, MGM Home Video, Radiology Advertising, Rysher Entertainment, Screenmancer Pictures, SMD Productions, LLC, Stanford University Press, Summit Entertainment
Notable freelance projects
Zimmerman & Markman Public Relations
Designer / Print Producer
Coordinated production & designed print advertising for clients including the American Civil Liberties Union, The Committee to Defend the Constitution, & MoveOn.org.
National Network to End Domestic Violence
PR Writer
Wrote and researched Press Kits on domestic violence for fundraising events.
Photosource
Creative Director
Creative Director for digital photography gallery and studio the first year Photoshop was released.
Los Angeles Arts Democratic Club
Public Relations Chair
Responsible for PR efforts of ad hoc group of L.A. artists during the NEA court battles of the 1990’s.
Edelman Worldwide
Media Project Coordinator
Created and coordinated special political media project on CIA involvement in human rights abuses in El Salvador. Wrote press materials and coordinated with international Human Rights organizations and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Commissioned by Dominique DeMenil.
MUSIC BUSINESS & EVENT PRODUCTION
Concert & Experiential Event Producer, 1990 - 2000
Notable freelance projects
Writers Guild Foundation
words into pictures
Event Production Consultant
El Rescate / Reebok International Human Rights
Annual Academy Awards Benefit After Party
Music, Video & Technical Producer/Writer
Albert Hofmann Foundation
Beyond The Doors of Perception & Albert Hofmann in America
Event Producer
Cirque de Soleil
Grand Opening / Big Green Benefit
Technical Producer
Technical Producer for Big Green Benefit following the opening night performance.
Maritz Communications
Nissan Dealer Show
Event & Video Producer
Car Dealer Show, San Francisco, CA. A spectacle level multi-media event with multiple producers, Budget: $7 million.
United States Conference of Mayors
benefit concert
Consultant
Development of variety television benefit concert special.
Environmental Media Association
Twin Peaks Party
Technical Producer
Technical Producer for event at Union Station featuring the cast of the television show
Birthday Bash / Fiesta America
Country & blues music festival
Director of Operations
5 stage 4th of July Country & Blues Music Festival in San Bernadino
Amazonia: Voices from the Rainforest
Feature Documentary
Event Producer
Fundraising event producer
Berkeley in the 60’s
Feature Documentary
Event Producer
Produced Premiere at the Wilshire Ebell Theater, featuring Marty Balin, and other fundraising events for Academy Award nominated feature documentary
National Abortion Rights Actions League
10th Anniversary Gala
Talent Consultant
Booked Bonnie Raitt & Elayne Boosler for Gala Fundraising Dinner in Washington, DC
American Foundation for Aids Research
Art Against AIDS Opening Night Gala
Production Consultant
Production consultant for fundraising gala.
Amnesty International
Human Rights Now Tour
Production Consultant
Consulted on the Los Angeles show at the LA Coliseum in this historic tour, with Peter Gabriel, Sting, Jackson Browne, et.al.
American Cancer Society
Tribute to Stevie Wonder
Technical Producer
Technical consultant for fundraising gala.
PUBLICATIONS
Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Movie Book: The Official Companion
Writer
Book - Wellbeck Publishing
Official history of the Bill & Ted movies. Commissioned by the creators of the franchise.
The First Time I Got Paid For It:
Writers’ Tales From The Hollywood Trenches
Editor / Writer
Book, Writers Guild Foundation - PublicAffairs / DeCapo Press
Editor of book of essays by leading film and television writers for the Writers Guild Foundation, published in hardcover October 2000 by PublicAffairs, an imprint of HarperCollins, and in paperback by Da Capo. Foreword by William Goldman; essays by 56 major film and television writers from Alan Alda to Steve Zaillian. Still in print and assigned in film schools over two decades later.
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Remaking Myths: The Jewish Origins of Horror, Fantasy, and Folklore - October 26, 2025
Moderator / Panel Sub-Committee Co-Chair
Jewish Writers Committee, WGAw
I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night
Featured Speaker, Labor Day 2023
Irvine United Congregational Church
Speech on Labor Day weekend, 2023. Less than one month later, the WGA strike ended.
Life After AFI
Guest Lecturer
American Film Institute
Guest Lecturer on feature film development for screenwriting program
The First Time I Got Paid For It
Panel Moderator
Tisch School of the Arts, NYU
Panelists: Tina Andrews, Richard LaGravanese, Marilyn Suzanne Miller, and Richard Wesley.
Ahead of the Curve- Advanced Concepts in Film Development: The Relationship Between
Panel Moderator
UCLA Extension Entertainment Studies Department
Created course “Ahead of the Curve – Advanced Concepts in Film Development: The Relationship Between Story and Market.”
COMMITTEES
Committee for the First Amendment
Jane Fonda’s revival of the McCarthy-Era entertainment industry coalition to protect our fundamental civil rights. https://www.committeeforthefirstamendment.com/
Jewish Writers Committee
Sub-Committee Co-Chair
Writers Guild of America, West
Remaking Myths: The Jewish Origins of Horror, Fantasy, and Folklore – October 2025
Words into Pictures Words into Pictures Film & Television Writers Forum
Panel Sub-Committee
Writers Guild Foundation
Produced Panels / Consulted on production and promotion of screenwriting.
Program Steering Committee
Independent Feature Project/West
Planning and production of fundraising events, workshops and seminars on independent film.
SKILLS
Producing & Project Management
Production – I’ve produced films, hired and supervised staff, run production companies, supervised production and post production, developed projects, and structured independent financing packages. These skills are easily transferrable to all types of project management.
Strategy and Management – I have a sophisticated understanding of how businesses interact with each other and with the culture. I am a seasoned strategist.
Technology Management
Technologist – I have a high level of conceptual knowledge of the business, cultural and political implications of our current trajectory.
Logistical Analysis – I excel at logistical work like databases, spreadsheets – anything involving organization of materials.
Systems – I’m extremely adept at setting up and maintaining complex systems.
Marketing
Graphics – Web design/programming and graphics, including 2D animation, for advertising agencies and private clients.
Promotional Writing – press releases, articles, promotional presentations, copywriting.
Market Strategy – conceptualization and execution of promotional plans and release strategies, pitch decks and other promotional materials
Experiential Production – large scale / celebrity-focused event production.
Writing
Research – my specialties are politics, history, technology, science, psychology, and occult/supernatural. I was once introduced to the head of a major studio as “the best researcher in Hollywood.”
Business – proposals, business plans, white papers, internal communications, manuals.
Book & Longform – I have twice been commissioned to write books for entertainment industry organizations and film franchises. Both books are still in print.
Dramatic – 20+ years experience. WGA member.
Software Proficiency:
Business Software – Microsoft Office; Pages, Numbers, Keynote for Mac; Google Suite.
Database Creation – Consumer level database programs like Scrivener, Airtable, and other commercial database programs.
Graphics – 2D graphics software with a particularly high level of expertise in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, and in general the Adobe suite.
Website Design & Front End Programming – HTML, CSS, Javascript, WordPress, Squarespace, etc
Video Editing – FinalCutPro, Premiere, DaVinci Resolve.