Bleecker Street has elevated Kent Sanderson to CEO, succeeding the company’s co-founder Andrew Karpen who died in April from brain cancer.
With Sanderson’s promotion, Bleecker Street’s long-time executive Tyler DiNapoli has been named president and chief marketing officer while Rachel Allen has been upped to executive VP of publicity.
Sanderson and DiNapoli have been with Bleecker Street since its inception in 2014. Karpen, a former CEO of Focus Features, established the independent studio with a mission to make movies for adult audiences. The company has released roughly 70 films over 10 years, including “Logan Lucky,” “Captain Fantastic,” “Trumbo” and “Sasquatch Sunset.”
Sanderson was elevated to president in late 2023 and previously served as Bleecker’s head of acquisitions and ancillary distribution. In his prior role, he led the acquisition of Debra Granik’s “Leave No Trace,” Steven Soderbergh’s “Logan Lucky” and Gavin Hood’s “Eye in the Sky” while overseeing output and licensing deals with media companies like Amazon Prime Video, Showtime, Hulu, HBO, Netflix and Starz.
“It is my honor to lead Bleecker Street into its second decade. Andrew set a powerful example in which the filmmaker always comes first, the theatrical window is paramount, and great filmmaking is celebrated and championed,” said Sanderson. “All of us at Bleecker are committed to honoring and carrying that vision forward, and while the company will continue to evolve and grow, his legacy will always remain an inherent part of our DNA.”
DiNapoli previously led media and research for Bleecker Street. As president and CMO, he will oversee marketing across the entire film slate, as well as lead Bleecker’s primary office in New York City (as Sanderson operates in Los Angeles). Throughout his career, DiNapoli has managed campaigns for Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” Joe Wright’s “Atonement” and Henry Selick’s “Coraline.” He will continue to work closely with Myles Bender, president of marketing and creative advertising, who has also been with Bleecker since its start.
Allen joined Bleecker Street in 2023 and leads publicity, festival, and awards strategy. Her recent campaigns have included “Golda” and Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths.” Prior to Bleecker Street, she served in a senior publicity role at Cinetic Marketing.
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Bleecker Street’s upcoming releases include “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” directed by Rob Reiner with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer reprising their roles from the 1984 rock mockumentary, as well as Max Walker-Silverman’s “Rebuilding,” starring Josh O’Connor.
From Variety US