Company Launches
Literary agency Verve has launched Verve Ventures, an internal global business development arm. International sales veteran Amy Beecroft will run the new venture. Beecroft comes from First Look/Overseas Film Group, HBO, GreeneStreet Films, and FilmNation. They will hatch strategic partnerships in international and domestic film and TV, move into financing and sales, digital distribution, and develop new technologies.
In an effort to target the YouTube audience, Lakeshore Entertainment is launching Off the Dock as a full-service digital studio. They have acquired comedy Man Up, starring Justin Chon and Kevin Wu. Off the Dock will finance, produce, acquire and distribute “digital influencer-led content.”
Duff Goldman, celeb baker and Food Network star, will launch a food and cooking brand and channel on YouTube in partnership with Collective Digital Studio. Goldman’s YouTube channel will launch with up to three weekly shows, including one in which he will create his signature, customized cakes for YouTube stars. The content lineup is set to include how-to videos, pranks, and baking mistakes.
WWE Studios and Kiss mogul Gene Simmons have teamed up to launch Erebus Pictures, which will finance and produce horror films. The venture has set a three-picture co-production deal that will kick off with writer Matt Savelloni’s Temple.
Entrepreneur Richard Rosenblatt is at it again: This time, he’s betting on the mobile app Whipclip, that makes it easy for TV fans to snip and share pieces of video from more than 90 network shows. The app works like a mini-DVR in your phone. When you watch a show, it stores the last three minutes of live video, which can then be snipped out and turned into a shareable bit that can be posted on social-media sites like Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter, or emailed or texted to a friend.
Film
Zygi Kamasa has signed a new long-term agreement to continue as chief exec of Lionsgate UK, with increased responsibilities as chief exec of Lionsgate's European office. Kamasa will grow Lionsgate UK's film, television, home entertainment, and digital businesses, including distribution of Lionsgate and Summit films, production and release of its own Lionsgate UK titles and third-party acquisitions.
The distribution and marketing venture launched in 2014 to handle EuropaCorp's U.S. movie releases and Relativity’s slate has a new head film marketer. Tommy Gargotta, the former creative advertising chief at Sony, has joined Relativity EuropaCorp Distribution as President of Theatrical Marketing. He will report to Relativity President Tucker Tooley and EuropaCorp CEO Christophe Lambert.
Television
Madison Avenue vet Mike Rosen is getting expanded duties at NBCUniversal, where he will oversee ad sales for the company’s news programs in addition to its Spanish-language properties. The move comes as Seth Winter, the NBCU ad-sales exec who has supervised ad sales for all of the company’s live programming, will focus on sports, where the company is adding more content. Brian Sullivan is to step down in June as chief executive of German-language pay TV service Sky Deutschland. Carsten Schmidt, Sky Deutschland’s chief officer sports, advertising sales and internet, will take over the role.
Management, PR, Music, Agencies, Digital, Misc.
Verve has hired Madison Miller as HR and operations manager. Miller previously held the position of operations and outreach manager at non-profit organization Baby2Baby.
MoviePass, the subscription service that lets users see an unlimited number of movies in theaters, has brought in Erantzeri Corona (formerly head of customer acquisition at Hulu) as VP of marketing. At Hulu, Erantzeri led subscriber-acquisition efforts through multiple paid media channels. Before that, he was the founder of app-development firm AppOntology and worked in the financial-services industry.
Agent Marie Perry has joined Gersh to serve as the newly created head of the Commercial Production Division. She will represent below-the-line talent with an emphasis on commercials and music videos.
Veteran TV agent Babette Perry has joined Innovative Artists where she will create and run a broadcast/alternative TV division. Perry will rep talent including entertainment hosts, news and sports personalities, social media talent, experts in multiple disciplines, and news/alternative television producers.
Broad Green Pictures hired Adam Keen to be EVP of Corporate Communications and Worldwide Publicity. The move comes as the upstart indie production shingle/distribution company continues to build its slate. Keen, formerly at Relativity, most recently was at Warner Bros.