LEADERSHIP
RICK FRENCH
Rick is managing partner of Prix Productions, a film production company with offices in L.A. and Raleigh, that is producing the much-anticipated Buddy Holly inspired drama “CLEAR LAKE,” directed by Oscar winning director Bruce Beresford. He is also producing the survival drama “NOT WITHOUT HOPE,” starring Miles Teller, based on the New York Times best-seller of the same name; as well as “FOUR DOWN” in partnership with Academy Award nominated director Steven Cantor and executive producer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He is also producing a yet untitled documentary on the birth of rock ‘n’ roll that will be directed by Emmett Malloy, longtime manager of surf rock standard-bearer Jack Johnson. He is executive producer of the 2020 Artois Award nominated black comedy “THE TRUE DON QUIXOTE,” starring Tim Blake Nelson and Jacob Batalon – now available on streaming platforms — and the Southern drama “THE FOX HUNTER,” starring Reece Thompson, Madison Iseman and Raleigh’s own Ira David Wood III, which is being distributed by Indican in Fall 2020. Rick is also chairman & CEO of French/West/Vaughan, one of the nation’s 15 largest independently-owned public relations, advertising and digital media agencies; and is co-owner of the Daytona Tortugas, the Advanced A minor league baseball affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. He holds private equity investments in a dozen other media, sports and entertainment properties and sits on the board of directors of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation, the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association, Teen Cancer America and UNC-TV, North Carolina’s public broadcasting system.
Patrick Shanahan, Partner
Patrick Shanahan has been writing and directing films for more than a decade. Though his creative career began as a fine arts painter, Shanahan’s passion for film eventually became his primary focus following his film studies at both NC State University and the New York Film Academy. Since then, he has written and directed award-winning feature films, documentaries and music videos. He and Rick French teamed up to form Prix Productions, working together on the recently released film, “THE FOX HUNTER” and collaborating again on the Buddy Holly inspired rock ‘n’ roll biopic “CLEAR LAKE,” which Shanahan has written the screenplay for and will co-produce.