The traditional pre-market shuffle intensified as it emerged that the Panorama co-founder was leaving to become co-president of Sierra/Affinity, signalling a major move into production for Nick Meyer and Marc Schaberg’s company.

Butan will share the president’s role with Schaberg, who will be co-president and COO.

Kimberly Fox will stay as head of international sales at Panorama, which will now focus on selling the Annapurna slate and third-party titles and move away from production.

Butan will bring the Panorama production titles with him; a tasty roster that includes Pride And Prejudice And Zombies for Burr Steers to direct, Lost City Of Z for director James Gray, police thriller Triple Nine with John Hillcoat attached and an adaptation of Diane Ackerman’s WWII novel The Zookeeper’s Wife that Niki Caro will direct.

The new arrival will work with Sierra/Affinity CEO Nick Meyer and Schaberg and oversee Sierra/Affinity’s film development and production activities.

The aim is for Butan to assemble a slate of wide-release, commercial titles to complement the supply lines from OddLot Entertainment and Bold Films.

“I am proud of what we accomplished at Panorama, but I couldn’t be more excited to be joining Nick and Marc,” said Butan. “I worked with Nick ten years ago at Lionsgate, and we have remained friends until now. The opportunity to work with him again and become a part of such a vibrant company which has been built in such a short time was one I couldn’t pass up. I feel all of our skill sets are complimentary and I am excited for this next chapter.”

“As Panorama currently focuses on sales, we will continue to work closely with Marc and Sierra/Affinity to create a seamless transition for these titles,” said Fox. “We are very excited to focus on our core business, the sales of so many high-quality films. Marc is a friend and we wish him all the best.”

“We have had several strong years of growth in conjunction with our Sierra/Affinity partners Odd Lot Entertainment and Bold Films and our enhanced packaging activities is a natural evolution,” said Meyer and Schaberg. “Marc is a talented leader and his taste in films aligns very nicely with our sensibilities and we look forward to continue our growth as a supplier in the global marketplace.  We are grateful to our friends at Panorama for working collaboratively with us as Marc makes the transition with these titles.”

Sierra/Affinity recently licensed a swathe of international rights on Sundance hit Whiplash to SPWA and will handle outstanding territories at the EFM next month. SPC will handle the North American release.

The Panorama slate includes Foxcatcher from Bennett Miller and Sundance entry The Voices by Marjane Satrapi.

Topics