Riverside Entertainment Hires Scott Emmer, Ups Amanda Abicalaffe In Development

EXCLUSIVE: Scott Emmer has joined the indie production company Riverside Entertainment, based out of L.A. and Nashville, as Development Executive, with Amanda Abicalaffe elevating to Director of Development.

Based in Los Angeles, Emmer will now oversee all aspects of development across Riverside’s growing slate of films and series. He comes to the company after stints at Meta, Marc Butan’s MadRiver Pictures, Audience Network and ICM. 

In a statement to Deadline, he said: “I am thrilled and grateful to be joining the development team at Riverside. We share values of genuine collaboration as well as passion and commitment to premium storytelling.”

Brian Loschiavo, Riverside Entertainment Co-Founder and Executive Producer, called Emmer “the missing link we’ve needed in Los Angeles. Being an LA native with deep roots in the entertainment business, Scott’s relationships and instincts will help us level-up as we continue to expand into scripted.”

Abicalaffe joined Riverside in 2021, most recently serving as Development Coordinator, and in her expanded role, will continue to grow Riverside’s development slate out of Nashville. Originally from Curitiba, Brazil, she previously worked in production, casting and in the Non-fiction Television department at CAA. 

“Amanda has been an integral part of Riverside’s expansion into originals,” Loschiavo said. “She has good instincts and an eye for material. I’m excited for what the future holds.”

Abicalaffe shared that she “looks forward to continuing to develop the incredible projects we have on our slate as well as pursuing more female-forward narratives.”

Founded in 2015 by three former Disney colleagues, with an eye toward non-coastal audiences, Riverside Entertainment expanded its core commercial and promo business to long-form originals in 2019 with the music-world doc Bluebird. Other unscripted credits include feature docs Midland: The Sonic Ranch and the upcoming Black Outside, as well as series Disney Insider on Disney+ and Making Modern with Brooke + Brice on Magnolia Network. 

Last year, the company expanded into scripted with the thriller Manodrome, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Adrien Brody, which premiered in Berlin. Its latest narrative feature, the Appalachian crime thriller Dixie Crystal, starring Rob Morgan, is slated to shoot this summer.