Russell is currently the lead marketing professor in the Creative Producing Program at the Dodge College of Film and New Media at Chapman University as well as a member of the faculty of the American Film Institute. He is also President of Pandemic Marketing Corp which provides strategic marketing, theatrical distribution, ancillary placement solutions and digital execution for the motion picture industry. 

Russell’s new book, co-written with Katherine MacDonald, THE MARKETING EDGE FOR FILMMAKERS: DEVELOPING A MARKETING MINDSET FROM CONCEPT THROUGH RELEASE has just been published by Focal Press and is presented by the American Film Market Association. 

Russell was formerly President of Marketing at Relativity Media and President of Marketing at New Line Cinema where he oversaw all of the company’s marketing efforts which resulted in over 44 Academy Award nominations and 26 wins. Under his marketing tenure, New Line achieved extraordinary success at the domestic box office with THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY, HAIRSPRAY, WEDDING CRASHERS, ELF, RUSH HOUR 2 AND 3, THE NOTEBOOK, AUSTIN POWERS IS GOLDMEMBER, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, ABOUT SCHMIDT and over 100 others. 

Prior to that he was President of USA Films, President of Gramercy Pictures and Executive Vice President of Miramax Films and released such films as MY LEFT FOOT, TRAFFIC, NURSE BETTY, TOPSY TURVEY, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, FARGO, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, ELIZABETH, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, DAZED AND CONFUSED, AND DEAD MAN WALKING.