Inga Vainshtein Smith

Born and raised in Russia, Inga moved to the United States as a child and earned a BS from Princeton University in Computer Science before graduating with a degree in producing from the American Film Institute.

Among the films that Ms. Smith developed as an executive was the comedy smash hit "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures," the original "The Ninja Turtles Movie," and "The Specialist." While a Vice-President of Production at Paramount, Ms. Smith worked on "The Saint," "Sliver," "The Phantom," as well as "The Crow" and "The Brady Bunch Movie," among other projects.

Known as an executive with an eye and an ear for all types of talent, Ms. Smith also discovered singer/songwriter Jewel, and guided her career from singing in coffee shops to selling 15 million records worldwide and gracing the covers of Time, Rolling Stone, and Vogue. 

Ms. Smith has appeared in numerous magazine articles, including Time Magazine's cover story "The Shaping of Jewel", in which she was credited as being the instrumental force behind the singer's rise to the top of the charts. In addition to Jewel, Ms. Smith managed diverse artists including Grammy Nominated Tricky, Grammy winner Meshell Ndegeocello, Rust, Camus and Pseudopod. 

Ms. Smith also produced Pseudopod's CD with Paul Ebersol. Ms. Smith formed IV Entertainment, which develops and produces both film and TV. Ms. Smith was working with Mr. Naishuller, a Russian born director, when he came to international recognition in March, 2013 when his video clip went viral and became an instant internet hit, with 120 million views to date. Ms. Smith came on board Hardcore Henry as a US producer.

STX Entertainment