Jeb Brody new Imagine Features president by Brian Grazer Ron Howard

EXCLUSIVE: Imagine Entertainment has hired Jeb Brody to be President of Imagine Features. Brody had most recently been President of Amblin Partners, which was downsized by Steven Spielberg. Imagine founders Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are bringing Brody aboard to lean more heavily into feature films.

Karen Lunder, who ran the division and produced the films Thirteen Lives and the upcoming release Eden, is becoming a fulltime producer for Imagine, where she will work on a slate of high priority projects.

Brody will oversee the Features development team which includes SVP of Film Allan Mandelbaum, and Joyce Choi. As part of this expansion, Choi has been promoted to Director of Development.

Brody is a well regarded exec and producer who has experience in films large and small, from the Sundance hit Little Miss Sunshine, to the studio franchise Fifty Shades of Grey, and the Sam Mendes-directed 1917.  Brody came to Amblin from Secret Hideout, where he was an Executive Producer on 2017’s The Mummy, and prior to that as President of Production at Focus Features where he oversaw production and acquisitions on a diverse slate that included Dallas Buyers Club and The Place Beyond The Pines.

“Jeb Brody is a phenomenal addition to our team,” said Justin Wilkes, President of Imagine Entertainment. “Brian, Ron and I believe that his leadership will be instrumental in shaping our diverse slate of projects as we look to further increase our development slate, elevate our production efforts and continue to push the boundaries of storytelling across various platforms for audiences of all generations. We are also thrilled to continue our incredibly successful relationship with Karen Lunder, who has been an invaluable colleague and we look forward to her continuing to contribute to Imagine’s growing film slate.”

Said Brody: “Joining Imagine Entertainment is such an incredible opportunity to collaborate with a team renowned for producing the most satisfying, intelligent and authentically exciting content across all media. Imagine has a long history of producing and celebrating great filmmaking, and I’m immensely excited to work with Brian, Ron, Justin, and the team to help continue this extraordinary legacy.”

On the feature front, the Howard-directed Eden wrapped production in Australia last month, with Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Bruhl and Sydney Sweeney starring. Recent films include tick, tick…Boom!, and Thirteen Lives. Before it expanded into television series and documentaries, Imagine was identified for its feature films, including the Best Picture winner A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code, Frost/Nixon, 8 Mile, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Parenthood, The Nutty Professor, Night Shift, and Splash.