George Stephanopoulos Is Ready for His Third Act

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The only problem George Stephanopoulos faces in the third chapter of his professional career is finding work that can remotely compare with the causal experiences he’s had from a storied career in media and entertainment. His legal work ranges from Casper the Friendly Ghost (1995) to the Oscar-winning narrative short film Two Distant Strangers (2020). In his so-called spare time, Stephanopoulos also produced a documentary short on Bronx artists and five narrative feature films, including 2016’s love letter to Greece, Swing Away.

Before delving into what may lie ahead, the legal and entertainment career of Stephanopoulos is as varied and complex as the films he has brought to life. The lawyer was known for his iconic ventures, bringing one of Saturday Night Live’s most famous recurring sketches, “Bill Swerski’s Superfans,” to the marketplace for merchandisers in the nineties; although, it did require a complex three-way negotiation with the National Football League and National Basketball Association, who believed they had claim to “Da Bears” and “Da Bulls.”

Stephanopoulos earned his stripes at Broadway Video Entertainment, the Lorne Michaels-founded production and distribution company that launched SNL spinoff movies like Wayne’s World (1992) and other powerhouses like hit TV series Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Kids in the Hall, and comedy film Tommy Boy (1995). Fun fact: if you ever bought a Best of SNL video to rewatch your favorite sketches, Broadway Video was always in the opening credits.

“It was my first job out of law school, and it was entry level, so it never occurred to me how cool of a job it seemed like to other lawyers in the industry,” Stephanopoulos remembers. “I worked seven days a week for the first two years because we were understaffed and a relatively small company, but that allowed me to learn the many different areas of the business. In looking back, I probably should’ve gone to more of those infamous SNL cast parties, but I was more concerned about doing the work and doing the best job possible.” 

“In looking back, I probably should’ve gone to more of those infamous SNL cast parties, but I was more concerned about doing the work and doing the best job possible.”

George Stephanopoulos

While it may seem like Stephanopoulos was bouncing all over the entertainment space for the first chunk of his career (other stops included Golden Books Family Entertainment, Discovery Communications, and Classic Media), that’s not the case in the least. The companies he worked for simply kept getting purchased and sold, and they wanted to hang on to Stephanopoulos as an innovative leader.

At one point in his early career, the lawyer helped negotiate buyouts of entertainment libraries he had helped acquire in a previous role. To make himself indispensable, Stephanopoulos read every contract of every deal that predated him, establishing himself as the resident expert on the prior exploitation and underlying rights associated with the historic properties.

While it’s common to see old properties made into new shiny Hollywood products over the last twenty years, Stephanopoulos was on the frontlines (and decades ahead) of acquiring and rehabilitating franchise characters from the likes of Underdog, Lassie, and The Lone Ranger. Plus, he helped make VeggieTales a household institution in homes across America. 

But it’s not just legacy media properties that dot the attorney’s CV. Stephanopoulos spent that last six years working for the digital media publishers NowThis, the Dodo, Thrillist, Seeker, and PopSugar (part of Group Nine Media), as well as Vox Media Studios, the TV/film division of Vox Media that acquired Group Nine Media in February 2022. The lawyer’s relentless curiosity (and, frankly, almost compulsory need to deep dive into new areas of law and business) has made him highly effective in leadership roles with the convergence of digital and traditional media.

But the question is, what is next for a lawyer and leader who still feels he has so much to do?

Stephanopoulos’ interests and creative pursuits remain at the intersection of law and film. He has considered teaching a course on the subject, while continuing his longstanding role with the Hellenic Film Society that promotes Greek filmmakers and Greek cinema, bridging the American gap to the historic country.

He also recently joined the advisory board of the All Rise film festival, hosted by Cleveland State University School of Film and Media Arts and in partnership with CSU College of Law. Stephanopoulos will be a guest speaker and curator at the 2024 festival this fall to discuss his work on projects, focusing on wrongful convictions, gun violence, true crime, and other social impact programming.

It’s also important to note that Stephanopoulos essentially put his legal career on hold in pursuit of making a film that took ten years to make it to the big screen. While trying to get his 2016 film Swing Away made, he produced four other films that would help him ultimately get his dream project completed—a film that is semi-autobiographical in nature, combining the lawyer’s love of sports, Greek heritage, and religious family upbringing.

Stephanopoulos is also no stranger to “development hell,” or the months, years, and decades that it can take for a film to come to life. He recalls buying The Lone Ranger rights out of bankruptcy in 1991. It had already been in turnaround at three studios and wouldn’t ultimately get made until Disney brought it to the screen in 2013. Whatever is next for Stephanopoulos, he’d rather not let it take Lone Ranger time.

“My plan is to continue to make movies and practice law,” Stephanopoulos says. “To do both is a powerful combination, but the tricky part is figuring out how to do it on your own terms in order to create the career you desire.”

Like any great movie, Stephanopoulos isn’t sure where his professional third act will land, but he will make it memorable.

“In the end, what I value most is not just what I’ve accomplished for myself, but to see other lawyers and students I’ve mentored early in their careers to have gone on to achieve incredibly distinguished careers in senior leadership at iconic companies with great reputations,” he says.

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