Vice has promoted Danny Gabai to head of Vice Studios and executive vice president. It is the first time the company’s studio will have a chief executive.
Gabai’s promotion, who was previously Vice Studios’ executive creative director, comes the day ahead of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where Vice will debut three films: “The Report,” “Judy & Punch” and “The Mountain.”
The films are among a seven-film slate that will come out of the division in the early part of 2019, which include the just-released Fyre Festival documentary, “The Greatest Party That Never Happened,” which debuted last weekend on Netflix. Upcoming features include “Lords of Chaos,” “Climax” and “Beach Bum,” which will premiere at SXSW.
Gabai will oversee the U.S. studios team that includes head of film Natalie Farrey and Gina Marcheschi, who runs the scripted television department.
“Danny and his team built Vice Studios by rejecting the status quo and championing purveyors of the weird and unexpected,” Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc said. “Hit films like Chris Smith’s ‘Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened’ and ‘Jim & Andy,’ along with Harmony Korine’s much anticipated new project, ‘The Beach Bum’ showcase Danny’s knack for finding the edge of culture. With his leadership, Vice is a place where storytellers can take their unconventional ideas and make them a reality.”
Under Gabai, who has been with the studio since its inception, the U.S. arm of Vice Studios has produced “Jim And Andy: The Great Beyond” and “The Bad Batch.” Prior to Vice, Gabai spent 10 years as a Motion Picture Agent at WME Entertainment and the William Morris Agency.
“It’s been a tremendous experience watching Vice Studios grow up from its beginnings as a skunkworks experiment,” Gabai said. “We have a team of creatives all over the world, working with some of the best filmmakers in the industry to bring the cutting edge Vice voice to life. It’s an honor to lead this team.”