Lin Pictures has hired Jonathan Eirich as president of film production, a position that calls for him to oversee the company’s live-action feature slate, TheWrap has learned. Eirich, who most recently served as senior VP of production at DreamWorks, will report directly to Lin Pictures principal Dan Lin.
At DreamWorks, Eirich oversaw movies such as “The Help,” “Need for Speed,” “I Am Number Four,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and Steven Spielberg‘s upcoming Cold War spy thriller starring Tom Hanks. Eirich also oversaw development of two high-priority DreamWorks projects — Rupert Sanders’ “Ghost in the Shell” starring Scarlett Johansson and Ringan Ledwidge’s “Glimmer.”
After working at CAA, Eirich joined DreamWorks in 2006 as Stacey Snider’s creative assistant and he was promoted to creative executive in 2007. He quickly worked his way up the ranks, moving from director of development to VP of production in 2011 before rising to senior VP in 2013.
“As a studio executive, Jonathan has always had great taste in material and strong filmmaker relationships. Since I made the transition myself seven years ago, I’m excited to help Jonathan transition from studio executive to producer. Together with the Lin Pictures team, we are focused on building an environment in which filmmakers can create their best work,” said Lin.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Dan Lin and the team at Lin Pictures at a time when the company is growing on the heels of the amazing success of the ‘LEGO’ franchise. Dan is a visionary producer whose belief in fostering an environment of total creativity to empower the best storytellers around is true to the culture of DreamWorks where I have had the honor to spend the bulk of my career,” added Eirich, who will oversee a feature film team that includes executives Mark Bauch and Ryan Halprin.
Lin Pictures has a production deal with Warner Bros. for both film and television. Lin recently produced “The LEGO Movie” as well as “Gangster Squad” and both “Sherlock Holmes” movies. It is currently in production on three more LEGO movies — “Ninjago”, “LEGO Batman” and “The LEGO Movie Sequel,” which will all be released between 2016 to 2018. On the TV side, Lin’s drama series “Forever” currently airs on ABC with Ioan Gruffudd starring.
Lin Pictures is also developing Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of Stephen King’s iconic novel “It,” a live-action adaptation of the animated series “Jonny Quest” and a third installment in the “Sherlock Holmes” franchise.