Milestone Studios is an integrated independent entertainment company specializing in the production of commercial feature films. Leveraging strong talent agency relationships, worldwide sales companies, and domestic distribution companies, Milestone develops both original content and high-quality IP adaptations—including fiction, non-fiction, and articles. Operating within highly marketable genres—such as action, thrillers, crime, horror, comedy, and family—the studio focuses on mid-budget titles ranging from $5M to $15M. Beyond internal development, Milestone serves as a strategic collaborator for independent filmmakers, offering full turnkey solutions to help secure vital packaging and distribution.

The company’s recent high-profile slate includes Gunslingers, starring Nicolas Cage; The Minute You Wake Up Dead, starring Morgan Freeman; Hunting Season, starring Mel Gibson; David Mamet’s adaptation of Speed-the-Plow, starring Ben Mendelsohn, Anthony Mackie, and Sharon Stone; Turnbuckle, starring Kate Beckinsale; The Marshal, starring Guy Pearce; Butcher’s War, starring Aaron Eckhart; and the upcoming thriller Invertigo, starring Inde Navarrette, the breakout star of Obsession.

Executive Team


Alan B. Bursteen is the Founder of Milestone Studios and a veteran entertainment industry executive with an extensive background spanning motion picture production, acquisitions, sales, and worldwide distribution.

Throughout his distinguished career, Bursteen has successfully licensed over 750 motion pictures, produced more than 150 feature films, and delivered over 100 hours of television series. The former President of New City Releasing, Inc., Bursteen established himself as one of North America’s most prominent licensing agents for independent cinema.

He was instrumental in negotiating distribution and international licensing deals for some of modern cinema’s most acclaimed masterpieces, star-driven features, and cult classics, including Christopher Nolan’s breakthrough, Memento. Paul Haggis’s triple Academy Award-winning Best Picture Crash, Troy Duffy’s cult phenomenon The Boondock Saints, Marlon Brando’s Free Money, and Shirley MacLaine’s Bruno.

An industry-trusted packager and financier, Bursteen’s career is marked by high-profile creative, distribution, and executive partnerships with Hollywood heavyweights. He has collaborated directly with comic book icon Stan Lee, including Stan Lee’s Harpies and Lightspeed; teamed up with blockbuster producer Joel Silver on gripping action-thrillers like Jane Doe and Double Tap; handled the distribution footprint for the dark comedy classic Freeway, starring Reese Witherspoon, which was executive produced by Oliver Stone; and worked alongside legendary producer Edward R. Pressman to license the action epic, Legionnaire.

Beyond individual features, Bursteen’s strategic vision helped shape the modern cable landscape, where he was instrumental in creating the lucrative “World Premiere” movie branding for HBO, Sy-Fy Channel, USA Network, and Starz, bringing premium films directly to these networks.

Having an established track record, he continues to lead Milestone Studios in developing, financing, and licensing a global slate of commercial feature films.

Bursteen holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications and Film Studies from Arizona State University. Reflecting his longstanding commitment to the entertainment community, he is an active member of the American Association of Producers (AAP), the American Film Institute (AFI), the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), and the Producers Guild of America (PGA).


Dawn Bursteen is an accomplished entertainment industry executive, producer, and the Founder of Milestone Studios. With a career spanning nearly 100 feature films and over 30 television series, she is a highly respected expert in entertainment marketing, worldwide distribution, and publicity. Today, she leverages this deep ecosystem expertise to guide independent filmmakers from initial development through global release.

Before launching her own production company, Bursteen spent decades building a prominent reputation within the studio system. She held senior executive positions across marketing, distribution, publicity, and promotions at several of Hollywood’s most prestigious entertainment entities, including Paramount Pictures, NBC-TV, Sony Studios, and The Samuel Goldwyn Company.

During her tenure at these studios, Bursteen orchestrated high-impact promotions and campaigns for some of the most successful and culturally significant blockbusters in cinematic history. Her extensive film portfolio features multi-award-winning, critically-acclaimed and box-office record-breaking titles such as Titanic, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Steel Magnolias, Bugsy, The Fisher King, Ghostbusters II, Awakenings, Postcards from the Edge, Hook, Glory, Total Recall, Look Who’s Talking, Boyz n the Hood, Flatliners, Narrow Margin, Jacob’s Ladder, The Prince of Tides, Avalon,Misery, and independent break-out features such as Hollywood Shuffle, Prick Up Your Ears, and Mystic Pizza.

Transitioning her promotional expertise to the small screen, Bursteen joined NBC-TV during one of the network’s most competitive and historic eras. As the head of prime-time series publicity, she oversaw campaigns for more than 30 television shows. Her leadership helped catapult the network’s ratings, providing sustained momentum for legendary, critically acclaimed hit comedy and drama series such as Friends, Seinfeld, Cheers, Frasier, Mad About You, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Law & Order, Quantum Leap, L.A. Law, and ER.

Today, Bursteen utilizes her vast network of talent representatives, creative talent, and agencies to run Milestone Studios. The independent banner operates as a powerhouse for cross-genre commercial films to develop original content.

In addition to producing original content, Bursteen oversees Milestone’s feature film slate and provides turnkey solutions that help independent filmmakers secure direct pathways to the global marketplace.