Mort Handel, Chairman, Marvel Entertainment, announced today that David Maisel has been named Chairman, Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige has been named President of Production. This comes as Marvel Studios continues to build momentum on the production of a slate of self-produced and financed feature films based on some of its marquee Super Hero franchises, and as principal photography on the first film in this slate, Iron Man, begins this week.
Maisel joined Marvel in December 2003. He was responsible for the conception and execution of the company’s new film production initiative, including the establishment of the $525 million non-recourse loan facility to finance that strategy.
Feige joined Marvel in 2000 and has been involved in all of Marvel’s theatrical productions including the X-Men trilogy, Spider-Man 1,2 and 3, and the Fantastic Four and its upcoming sequel. He is currently serving as producer on Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. In his expanded role, Feige will also now creatively oversee Marvel’s animated projects for television and DVD, as well as video games.
Additionally, Marvel Studios has solidified its infrastructure with the recent hiring of a number of seasoned, industry executives. Joining Marvel Studios in senior executive positions are: Tim Connors as Executive Vice President, Business Affairs and Operations; Ross Fanger as Executive Vice President, Physical Production; Michael Brown as Senior Vice President, Marketing; Charlie Davis as Senior Vice President, Post Production; Rod Smith as Senior Vice President, Production Finance; Elizabeth Lynch as Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs; and Jean-Claude Boursiquot as Director of IT and Studio Technology. Marvel has also promoted Matt Finick to Senior Vice President, Studio Finance and Corporate Development and named Ryan Potter to Associate Counsel. Both have relocated to Los Angeles from Marvel’s New York office. Meanwhile, David Galluzzi, Assistant General Counsel, based in New York, will also be a key member of the Marvel Studios’ Business Affairs team. Marvel also announced that Michael Helfant, President and Chief Operating Officer, Marvel Studios, is exiting the company to pursue other opportunities.
In addition, Marvel Studios has promoted the following West Coast based staff: Eric Rollman, to Executive Vice President, Animation and Television; Ames Kirschen to Senior Vice President and Executive Producer, Video Games; Craig Kyle to Senior Vice President, Animation; Jeremy Latcham to Vice President, Development and Production; Stephen Broussard to Creative Executive; and Joshua Fine to Story Editor, Animation.
“This exceptional group brings decades of experience to Marvel Studios, and we couldn’t be happier to have this team in place as we launch our new studio initiative. Their collective talents, insights and creativity will help Marvel Studios continue to excel as we broaden our activities. With these moves, the build out at Marvel Studios to support all of its exciting new efforts is largely complete,” said Mr. Handel.
The executive moves follow on the heels of another recent record-breaking opening for a Marvel character feature project. Ghost Rider, whose $51.5 million set a President’s Day opening weekend record, crossed the $100 million domestic gross this past weekend. This summer, Marvel will release Spider-Man 3 with Sony Pictures, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer with Twentieth Century Fox. 2008 will mark the release of the first two self-produced features from Marvel with Iron Man slated for May 2, 2008 and The Incredible Hulk set for June 13, 2008.
Tim Connors, Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and Operations, joins Marvel from Technicolor where he served as Deputy General Counsel for Electronic Distribution Services. Connors also served in Business Affairs at DreamWorks SKG and as a Business Development Consultant for the Tokyo-based media company, Kadokawa Group Holdings.
Ross Fanger, Executive Vice President of Physical Production, is a co-producer on The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and previously worked as a co-producer for 20th Century Fox on such Marvel hits as the original X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand and Fantastic Four.
Michael Brown, Senior Vice President of Marketing, joins Marvel after six years as Vice President of Marketing at Regency Enterprises. Brown oversaw marketing for all of New Regency theatrical releases, including Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Unfaithful, Daredevil, Big Momma’s House and Epic Movie.
Charlie Davis, Senior Vice President of Post Production, joins Marvel with 23 years of post-production experience in both studio and independent environments. Davis’ previous credits include: X-Men, Fantastic Four, the “Alien”/”Predator” franchises, Independence Day, Fight Club, Planet of the Apes, and the upcoming Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Live Free or Die Hard.
Rod Smith, Senior Vice President of Production Finance, joins Marvel with over a decade of production accounting experience. At Walt Disney Pictures, Smith oversaw production finance for films including The Game Plan, Santa Clause 3, and Eight Below. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Production Finance at Universal Pictures.
Elizabeth Lynch, Vice President of Legal Affairs, joins Marvel from Walt Disney Pictures & Television where she served as Executive Counsel, Legal Affairs. Prior to Disney, Lynch represented clients in commercial litigation as an associate at Brown & Wood LLP in New York City.
Jean-Claude Boursiquot, Director of IT and Studio Technology, joins Marvel from Webzen America were he served as the IT/Operations manager. He brings over 9 years of experience working for major corporations such as Atari and Nordstrom in IT management roles.
Matt Finick, promoted to Senior Vice President, Studio Finance and Corporate Development, has been with Marvel Entertainment since 2003, most recently serving as a Senior Vice President of Corporate Development in the New York office.
Source: Marvel Entertainment, Inc.
