PatMa, the production company founded by veteran producer Denise Di Novi and former CBS head Nina Tassler, has tapped ex-Showtime and Film 44 executive Joan Boorstein as president.
Boorstein will oversee the operations of the relatively new independent company, which has a focus on diversity and inclusion.
“We’re very lucky to have such a seasoned and talented executive join our team,” Tassler and Di Novi said Monday in a joint statement. “There’s no substitute for experience and relationships in this business and Joan possesses both in spades.”
Boorstein began her career at Showtime and rose through the company to become senior vp creative affairs. She was initially a movie executive at the premium cable outlet, working on Golden Globe winner Dirty Pictures, Soldier’s Girl, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone and Paris Trout. She later moved onto series, working on projects including Brotherhood, United States of Tara, Episodes, The Borgias and Penny Dreadful.
Boorstein also focused on feature documentaries, including Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic and The World According to Dick Cheney.
After departing Showtime, Boorstein worked with Penny Dreadful creator John Logan at his Desert Wolf Productions, and at Peter Berg and Michael Lombardo’s Film 44, where she developed a number of projects.
PatMa, named after Di Novi’s mother, Pat, and Tassler’s mother, Norma, is “committed to gender parity, and giving women and people of color more opportunities both in front of and behind the camera,” Di Novi said when she and Tassler launched the company. “PatMa will develop content that not only entertains, but surprises, challenges and awakens audiences to the emotional experiences of people from every walk of life.”
To that end, the company has formed strategic relationships with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the Center for Popular Democracy, Planned Parenthood and others.
