Longtime Paramount exec Lee Rosenthal is returning to the studio to serve as president of worldwide physical production for both Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Studios, president/CEO Brian Robbins announced to employees in a memo on Tuesday.
Lee will oversee physical production across Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Nickelodeon Animation and Live Action and report directly to Robbins. As part of a restructuring, the VFX and postproduction teams at Paramount will also report directly to Rosenthal.
“This new leadership position not only reflects Lee’s outstanding business acumen and strong filmmaker relationships, but the leadership he has demonstrated over his meaningful tenure as well. Please join me in welcoming Lee back to Paramount and into this exciting new chapter at our company,” Robbins wrote in the memo.
Rosenthal has worked at Paramount for 27 years, starting as vice president of production management for Paramount in 1994 and rising to become president of physical production in 2009. He has overseen production on several recent key tentpoles for the studio, including “A Quiet Place — Part II” and the upcoming “Top Gun: Maverick.” He had stepped away from production duties in August, serving as a consultant for Nickelodeon for six months.
Rosenthal’s return to Paramount is the latest staffing change by Robbins, who became the new president and CEO of the studio this past September. His appointment has been accompanied by a flurry of new hires and restructuring within the studio as it looks to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic with a 2022 slate that includes “Jackass Forever,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Babylon.”