Sony extends De Luca's first-look deal through 2011

The deal was announced by Columbia Pictures presidents Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach.

It marks the second deal extension for Michael De Luca Productions, which was set up at Sony in 2004.

Belgrad said, “Mike has delivered commercial, money-making movies in 21 and Ghost Rider and he has a great group of ambitious movies heading into production.”

Tolmach added, “With The Social Network, Moneyball and other high profile projects in development, Mike’s grasp of mainstream pop culture and excellent filmmaker relationships are helping us tell real-life stories in highly entertaining ways. We’ve come to depend on his great taste in material and filmmakers.”

Also, De Luca has promoted Bryan Haas to creative executive at the company. He had been assistant to Josh Bratman since October 2004 after previously working at CAA.

De Luca Productions’ next projects include Priest for Screen Gems, the aforementioned Moneyball, Facebook story The Social Network, and a project based on Captain Richard Phillips, who was recently captured by Somali pirates.

The Captain’s story and The Social Network will be produced with Dana Brunetti and Scott Rudin; Rudin is also involved in Moneyball.

In addition to 21 and Ghost Rider, De Luca has also recently produced Jon Favreau’s Zathura and Jim Sheridan’s Brothers.

Before starting his own outfit, De Luca was head of production at DreamWorks and prior to that was president and COO of New Line Productions.

De Luca said of the extended pact: “I remain incredibly excited and truly grateful for the opportunity to make movies with Michael, Amy, Matt & Doug here at Sony Pictures. Beyond their filmmaking acumen, which includes an appetite for new talent and projects that truly capture the imagination, they have the best production, marketing and distribution teams in town. They are amazing partners and collaborators and I continue to be inspired by their incisive approach to our business.”