Josie Rosen has been named executive vp, development and production at Gulfstream Pictures. The Warner Bros.-based production and financing company headed by producers Mike Karz and Bill Bindley is producing its first animated feature The Nut Job and has been tapped to produce The Genius Files.
Bolstering its team, Gulfstream also has tapped Margaret Chernin and Matt Phelps to serve as creative executives.
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Rosen was executive producer on the New Line/Warners films New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day as well as Lionsgate’s Killers, Summit’s Sorority Row and Warners’ Thunderstruck. She joins Gulfstream from Karz Entertainment, where she headed development and oversaw upcoming projects, including Honeymoon with Harry and West Texas United. Rosen previously served as president at Farrell Paura Productions. And, before that, as senior vp, production at Fox.
“We are thrilled that Josie will continue to work with us in this new, expanded capacity. She is among the best in our business – from her vast talent relationships to her exceptional script development skills,” Karz and Bindley said.
Chernin, who previously worked in the talent department at Saturday Night Live, identifying emerging comedic talent and helping to book hosts and musical guests, will focus on comedy development for both features and TV at Gulfstream.
Phelps joins Gulfstream from Paramount Pictures’ Motion Picture Creative Group and previously worked at United Talent Agency. He will focus on action, thriller and genre feature development.
Chernin and Phelps will report to Rosen, who said, “Margaret and Matt are hard working, highly respected and conscientious, with excellent taste.”
Gulfstream is backed by a multimillion-dollar development fund from the Korea-based 3D stereoscopic company Redrover and a consortium of U.S. private equity funds. Under a recent two-year pact, Gulfstream is co-financing film development with Warners, with the option of also co-financing production of the films, which will be distributed worldwide by Warners.
Next on the Gulfstream slate is the feature film adaptation of author Dan Gutman’s book series The Genius Files. Warners president of production Greg Silverman recently acquired the book and tapped Gulfstream to produce. Commercial director Robert Rugan has been hired to write the script adaptation with the story revolving around 12-year-old twins who are recruited to be part of a secret government experiment that uses young geniuses to solve complex national problems.
Gulfstream also is in production on the animated film The Nut Job, from Redrover and ToonBox Entertainment, with a voice cast that includes Katherine Heigl, Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser and Stephen Lang under the direction of Peter Lepeniotis.
