Richard Klein

Richard Klein launched and leads McLarty Media, an advisory practice that works with studios, production companies, writers and directors to successfully and accurately bring complex and politically or culturally sensitive stories to movie screens worldwide. He also leads McLarty Associates' Middle East & North Africa practice and is a regular in capitals and filmmaking destinations around the region. His and McLarty Media's work has been highlighted in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and elsewhere for bringing accuracy, intelligence, and texture to scripts and stories where stereotyping or inattention to detail risks undermining a film's credibility. Rich comes to this work after a career in foreign policy and national security positions tasked with understanding and operating in the Middle East. Since 2007, he has served as an adviser to most major Hollywood film studios, helping to find and secure hard-to-access production locations that can enhance a film's authenticity or dramatic look, counseling writers and directors on accurate script development and topics of political and cultural sensitivity, briefing cast and crew on character development and film location realities, and advising studios' marketing campaigns on possible political and cultural missteps. Earlier in his career, Rich was a reporter for U.S. News & World Report magazine, a speechwriter for two U.S. Senators and served in senior communications and policy positions in the Clinton Administration. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and international studies from Brandeis University, a graduate degree in Middle East security policy from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, and completed coursework at the Foreign Affairs Institute, the State Department's school for advanced policy and diplomacy study.