MUMBAI: CBS Corporation announced the top executive for its new film division, naming Amy Baer the President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Films. The announcement was made by Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation, to whom Baer will report.
In this new position, Baer will be responsible for charting the creative direction for CBS Films, overseeing the development, production, acquisition, distribution and marketing of its films.
CBS officially announced the formation of CBS Films in March 2007 along with the hiring of Bruce Tobey as Chief Operating Officer. Tobey, who will report to Baer, has been planning the business and financial structure for the new movie division. He will oversee departments such as Business Affairs, Legal, Finance and Home Video distribution.
CBS Films plans to develop and produce four to six movies a year, spanning all genres with production budgets up to $50 million per film. The films will be released domestically through a U.S. theatrical distribution unit to be established within CBS Films.
Baer joins CBS from Columbia Pictures where she served as Executive Vice President of Production since 1998, overseeing the development and production of an impressive roster of films. During her tenure at Columbia and other Sony Pictures Entertainment companies, the movies she supervised have grossed more than $1.8 billion in worldwide box office.
Baer has developed and overseen production of such hit films as MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING; THE MASK OF ZORRO; S.W.A.T.; the Julia Roberts/Susan Sarandon-starrer STEPMOM; the critically acclaimed ADAPTATION for which Chris Cooper won the Oscar and SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE, starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, for which Keaton won a Golden Globe award.
In addition, she supervised Nancy Meyer’s latest romantic comedy THE HOLIDAY starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black, and the 2006 holiday hit THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, for which Will Smith received an Academy Award nomination.
“With Amy at the helm, we look forward to building a smart, disciplined film business that produces high quality movies that live up to CBS’s legacy of success in all content areas,” said Moonves. “We think Amy is the ideal executive to establish a creative footprint for CBS in this business. She is a gifted executive with an incredible eye for good material and a resume of success covering a wide range of critically acclaimed and commercially successful films. Equally as important in this industry, she has a strong reputation for nurturing creative talent and for serving as a passionate champion of the projects she brings in.”
“The chance to build a new movie studio with Leslie at CBS is just about the only thing that could pry me away from the colleagues and projects I love at Sony,” said Baer. “The resources at CBS are a gold mine for a new film company, and their mandate to develop films with wide appeal-across all genres-fits perfectly with my instincts and interests. I look forward to working with Bruce and forming a new team that is focused on making a diverse slate of films that resonate with a broad audience.”
Prior to joining Columbia, Baer worked at TriStar Pictures from 1992 to 1997, rising through the ranks to Executive Vice President of Production. Before coming to TriStar, Ms. Baer was Director of Development at Guber-Peters Entertainment Company, where she helped develop the hits JUMANJI and SINGLE WHITE FEMALE. She began her career at CAA in 1988 as an assistant to the late Jay Moloney.
