Evoke Entertainment names Lisa Alford as VP of development, strikes two new content deals

LA-headquartered finance, management, production and distribution company Evoke Entertainment has appointed former Johnson Production Group exec Lisa Alford as its VP of development, in addition to hiring Breanne Laplante as head of business affairs.

Lisa Alford

Alford, based in LA, will focus on streaming, independent films and TV movies at the company, which was formerly known as Cartel Entertainment.

The exec, who was an executive producer at Johnson Production Group and has also held development positions at TriStar Television and Sony Pictures Television, will manage the company’s slate of films and output deals.

Vancouver-based Laplante, former VP of business and legal affairs and chief operations officer at Reel One Entertainment, will oversee business affairs for Evoke’s US and Canadian offices.

Laplante spent nearly 15 years with Reel One, having previously held roles at Insight Film Studios and the Canadian Media Producers Association.

In addition to those appointments, Evoke Entertainment has inked a pair of content deals. The company, led by co-founder and CEO Stan Spry, has signed an overhead, distribution and financing deal with Canada-US producer Anthony Fankhauser (Creepshow) and his production banner Ames Media.

It has also agreed an exclusive overall deal with producer Lexi Lewis (Love of the Irish) and her recently launched Magic String Productions. Lewis was formerly director of development and production for Cartel Pictures and has also held positions at Reel One and Hallmark Channel.

Since its inception in 2011, Evoke Entertainment has produced and financed series including Creepshow for Shudder/AMC, animated family series Twelve Forever for Netflix, Day of the Dead for Universal/Syfy and the in-production adult animated series Breaking Bear for Tubi.