Radiant Hires Voltage Sales Exec Ahead Of Cannes; Jackal Group Names Biz Affairs Head
by Patrick Hipes via Deadline 04/07/2015
Radiant Films International has hired former Voltage Pictures VP Sales John Short as SVP of the foreign sales outfit. He will report to Radiant president and CEO Mimi Steinbauer and help her handle international sales for the slate at the company, which is expanding operations into co-productions and co-financing and will leverage his contacts in Asia. The move helps set up Radiant’s team ahead of next month’s Cannes market.
“John is the perfect addition to the Radiant team bringing a wealth of experience in the foreign sales world having developed a strong network and relationships with buyers. He is passionate and dedicated to what he does and is eager to grow and push the company forward as we enter this exciting phase of expansion,” said Steinbauer.
Radiant’s current projects include teen action/thriller Take Down, in postproduction; the Tribeca Film Festival-set The Driftless Area starring Anton Yelchin and Zooey Deschanel; the IFC pic Hungry Hearts starring Adam Driver and Alba Rohrwacher who took Best Actor and Best Actress prizes at Venice Film Festival; and Alchemy’s summer release Madame Bovary starring Mia Wasikowska, Paul Giamatti and Ezra Miller.
Short had been VP Sales at Voltage, working on titles like Dallas Buyers Club, Fathers And Daughters and Good Kill. Before that he was at Hyde Park and Yari Film Group.
Gail Berman’s The Jackal Group has hired Bryan Thompson as head of Business Affairs. He had been head of legal affairs at Whalerock Industries where he worked with Wonderwall, Moviefone, and the company’s partnerships with Howard Stern, the Kardashian/Jenner sisters, and Tyler the Creator. In his new position, Thompson will oversee all legal matters for the company, including managing deals and transactions in all divisions including TV, film, digital, and commercial theater.
Fox Networks Group and Berman launched Jackal Group in June to develop and produce scripted, unscripted and factual entertainment programming for FNG’s channels, including Fox Broadcasting Company, FX/FXX, the National Geographic Channels, and Fox International Channels. They’ve been ramping up ever since, recently hiring Rory Koslow as SVP Film Development after the outfit inked a first-look feature film deal with Fox 2000.