Image hires three former First Look executives
RELATED ARTICLES
September 12, 2007
The Aviator HD DVD, Blu-ray
Warner is flying its Leonardo DiCaprio-starring Howard Hughes biopic to both high-def formats on Nov. 6 (...
More
September 6, 2007
License to Wed DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray
Warner's $43 million-grossing romantic comedy More
September 4, 2007
UPDATE: Ocean's trilogy DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray
Warner will deliver the Ocean's trilogy—Ocean's Eleven,
August 31, 2007
Live Free or Die Hard DVD, Blu-ray
The fourth film in the Die Hard franchise will bow on Nov. 20 (prebook Oct. 24) and Fox promises...
More
The cast of Brothers & Sisters celebrated the series’ first season DVD release at Disney’s Sept. 10 event at the San Antonio Winery in Los Angeles.
To celebrate Docurama’s Air Guitar Nation, Borders in Long Beach, Calif., hosted an in-store appearance by the film’s star, Björn Türoque (aka Dan Crane).
American Idol Bo Bice sang the Blades of Glory anthem at DreamWorks and Paramount’s DVD launch event in Venice Beach, Calif.
» VIEW ALL GALLERIES
» VIEW FEATURED GALLERY
DeMille, Saltman, Beck move between indies
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 9/4/2007
SEPT. 4 | On the eve of its imminent purchase by BTP Acquisition Co, Image Entertainment has beefed up its roster with three new hires all hailing from various divisions at First Look Studios.
Stephen DeMille, who oversaw First Look Home Entertainment’s marketing division since 2001, has been named senior VP of marketing at Image. He will work closely with VP of feature film marketing John Powers and VP of new releases marketing Nick Lamer in crafting Image product campaigns.
Steve Saltman will serve as senior VP of domestic TV sales at Image, managing the supplier’s North American broadcast TV, cable satellite, pay-per-view and video-on-demand activities. Most recently, he worked as VP of network and new media at First Look Studios.
J. Beck, formerly VP of acquisitions at First Look Pictures, has been tapped in the same role for Image. Beck will work to acquire rights to content across such genres as features, music, comedy and TV.
The three hires all arrive at Image near the company’s expected acquisition by BTP at months end. They are leaving First Look as it too undergoes changes with the recent installment of its new leadership, driven by Avi Lerner’s Nu Image.
This mass jump to Image also represents a reunion of sorts for these three and Bill Bromiley, former First Look Home Entertainment president. Since May, Bromiley has served as chief acquisition officer for Capital Films U.S., one of BTP’s current company holdings.
David Borshell, Image chief operating officer, believes Bromiley will play some role in Image in the near future.
“It’s a likely scenario that Bill will be part of Image after the merger is complete,” Borshell said.
Of DeMille, Saltman and Beck, Borshell added, “Collectively they bring Image years of knowledge, experience and expertise encompassing the most important aspects of feature film production, acquisition and distribution. We are making great strides in building our feature film division, one that is extremely competitive with all other independents currently in the marketplace.”
While at First Look, DeMille worked to blend the marketing divisions of DEJ and Ventura Distribution, which have since folded into First Look. He previously co-founded A-Pix Entertainment, which handled content brands Lifetime Home Video and Discovery Channel.
Saltman is a 25-year entertainment sales veteran and has worked as VP of worldwide TV and new media at DEJ Productions.
While at First Look, Beck acquired more than 50 films for theatrical and home entertainment distribution.
